Racer Michael Dunlop is fined for speeding on NW200 course
ROAD racing star Michael Dunlop has been in court for speeding on the North West 200 course.
Dunlop was at the wheel of a vehicle which police were behind along the Station Road in Portstewart on March 15 this year, Coleraine Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.
Officers were able to see by their speedometer that the defendant was doing more than the permitted 30mph.
The 30-year-old, from Lisboy Road near Dunloy, Co Antrim, pleaded guilty to an excess speed charge.
The Station Road where the defendant was detected speeding at 1.45am on March 15 is used as part of the North West 200 motorbike road race course each May.
Dunlop, who has regularly taken part in the NW200, is more associated with legally speeding along the Station Road on a motorbike as part of the races, which attract tens of thousands of spectators.
A prosecutor told the court that on March 15 police were behind a vehicle which turned from the Portmore Road onto the Station Road at Portstewart.
By checking the speedometer in their own vehicle they could see that the defendant’s speed was in excess of 47mph and never fell below 47mph.
Officers spoke to the defendant at a roundabout and despite being offered a fixed penalty ticket, he opted to take the matter to court.
At court District Judge Peter King asked the defendant how fast he thought he was going. The defendant said the matter
“is what it is” and said he would like to have seen evidence of the speed. The judge said the defendant was not the first person and would not be the last to have his speed recorded in such a fashion, and said police said they had used their speedometer to arrive at the judgment that his speed was 47mph.
The defendant was given three penalty points, fined £65 and also has to pay the offender levy of £15.
He left court in a vehicle emblazoned with the name Michael Dunlop Racing and bearing a personalised number plate.