Stage is set for Irish motorcycling's glamour night in Belfast

World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea is a massive favourite to scoop the main award of the evening at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and retain the title of 2019 Irish Motorcyclist of the Year after clinching a record-breaking fifth crown last season.

Rea became the most successful rider in the history of the World Superbike Championship as he fought back against early pacesetter Alvaro Bautista of Spain, who won the first 11 races of the campaign on the Aruba.it Ducati.

Former MotoGP star Bautista had opened a healthy points lead after the first four rounds, but Rea produced a master class in damage limitation as he rattled off a succession of runner-up finishes to remain in contention on his Kawasaki.

As the season progressed, he gradually began to wear Bautista down, turning the tables with a series of crucial victories and taking over at the top for the first time in 2019 after a dream hat-trick at the UK round of the series at Donington Park in July.

From there, Rea never looked back and he continued to pile on the pressure. The 32-year-old, who celebrates his birthday next month, was crowned champion at Magny-Cours in France with two rounds remaining.

He won 17 races in total – one more than Bautista – and closed out the championship with a huge 165-point lead over his main rival.

It was perhaps Rea’s greatest world title success so far as the Ballyclare man came from behind to maintain his stranglehold on World Superbikes.

On Friday night, Rea will be among the special guests at the sparkling annual bash before he recommences his winter testing programme next week ahead of the opening round of the 2020 championship at Phillip Island in Australia at the end of February.

Rea said: “It’s a fantastic night for motorcycling in Northern Ireland and I was delighted to win the Irish Motorcyclist of the Year for a fourth year in a row last year, to mirror my four World Superbike titles.

“I always look forward to the awards in Belfast and what makes it more special is the fact that it is voted for by the fans.

“I get to hang out with lots of my peers and also people from other disciplines, it’s a pretty cool night,” he added.

“Bringing all the big names in motorsport in Northern Ireland together, we can all sit in that one room and be really proud that we still keep motorcycling on the map here and fight at the world level.”

Contenders for the prestigious accolade also include Michael Dunlop, Josh Elliott, Andrew Irwin, Glenn Irwin, Lee Johnston, Jack Kennedy, Eugene Laverty, Mark McLernon, Korie McGreevy, Carl Phillips, Alastair Seeley, Michael Sweeney and Derek Sheils.

The nominees will be whittled down to a final shortlist of on the night, although no one is realistically anticipating anything other than a Rea victory.

The overall winner has been decided by an online public vote, which is overseen by a panel of experienced judges.

A dozen awards will be presented, hosted by BBC Sport NI’s Stephen Watson and BT Sport MotoGP commentator Keith Huewen.

The accolades include International Road Racer of the Year, Short Circuit Rider of the Year, Team of the Year, Race of the Year and National Road Racer of the Year.

Special awards include RPS Group Hall of Fame, NI Air Ambulance Services to Motorcycling and Greenlight Television King of the Road.

The event will be streamed live on the Greenlight Television King of the Road Facebook page.