PICTURES: New Irish road racing season underway at Cookstown 100
The new Irish road racing season roared into life as practice commenced in dry and sunny conditions at the KDM Hire Cookstown 100 on Friday.
Ballymoney's Michael Dunlop made his debut on the roads on the Tyco BMW Superbike as the 15-time Isle of Man TT winner finished third fastest on the combined times in qualifying.
Mullingar's Derek McGee, last year's man of the meeting, topped the leaderboard on his Kawasaki followed by fellow southern Irishman Michael Sweeney.
Derek Sheils, who suffered an engine failure with his Suzuki Superbike, was fastest in the Supersport class.
Roads will close around the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit in County Tyrone at 10am on Saturday for a packed race programme.