The vetern Ballymoney rider lost his life after crashing during Thursday evening's 250cc practice session for the North West 200, when he was thrown from Roy Hanna's TSR Honda.
Dunlop was pitched over the handlebars of his machine on the first lap of the qualifying session, falling into the path of Lisburn rider, Darren Burns, who was unable to avoid colliding with the stricken rider.
Robert sustained critical chest injuries during the incident and passed away in the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine shortly after 10pm on Thursday night.
His death comes just weeks after Irish racing star, Martin Finnegan,was killed following an accident at the Tandragee 100 road races in County Armagh on May 3.
Robert's brother, Joey, was killed following a crash in Estonia eight years ago.
Over 50,000 people attended the TT legend's funeral in Ballymoney in 2000 and Robert's untimely death is expected to generate a similar outpouring of grief as the 'Mighty Micro' had a massive following in Northern Ireland.
Robert, who often talked about the difficulties he faced in trying to forge a racing career in the shadow of his world famous brother, was a legend in his own right, earning the respect and admiration of his peers for his ability to compete at a competitive level on all classes of machinery.
He was equally adept at taking on the best on the roads as he was on the short circuits and his death has cast a black cloud over the 2008 North West 200 road races.
Robert was the most successful rider in the history of the event in Portstewart with 15 wins and was widely tipped to add to that tally this year.
He had planned to ride a 250cc machine competitively for the first time in ten years at the North West.
Dunlop made no secret of his love for the North West 200 circuit and he was a tremendous ambassador for the event and the sport in general.
He survived a life-threatening accident at the Isle of Man TT races in 1994, sustaining dreadful injuries that left him confined to riding in the smaller 125cc class for the past 14 years.
His death serves as a devastating blow for road racing and in particular the North West 200, where the organising Coleraine and District Motor Club places the utmost emphasis on making the event as safe as it possibly can be.

PAY YOUR TRIBUTES TO ROBERT DUNLOP HERE

ROBERT DUNLOP TRIBUTES