A BRADFORD road motorcycle racer is hunting for at least a place on the podium at a huge event which starts today.

Dean Harrison hopes to achieve the feat at the North West 200, Ireland's largest outdoor sporting event with race weekends attracting over 150,000 visitors from all over the world.

Harrison will be racing in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport classes for the DAO Racing Kawasaki team.

The race, which has not been held for the last two years due to Covid, was created in 1929.

It is held on an 8.970-mile street circuit known as the Triangle between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast and Glens.

The course is one of the fastest in the world, with average speeds of 120 mph and top speeds in excess of 200 mph.

The 33-year-old was excited at the prospect of returning to an event he first starred in back in 2012.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: "It feels really nice to return to what is a huge event for the sport and the second biggest in our calendar.

"I will be racing twice today and four or five times on Saturday,

"My aim is to achieve a podium finish which would put me in good stead for the Isle of Man TT in a fortnight's time."

Harrison will not be returning to Northern Ireland, as initially expected, two months later for the Ulster Grand Prix following the collapse of a government funding package.

The historic event was set to take place from August 16-20 after failing to run in 2020 and 2021 due to a combination of financial problems and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the T&A in March, Harrison said: "It's a big miss. I love it there. The course is extremely fast and it flows well. It has also kept its originality throughout time, whereas other courses have chopped and changed with the layouts.

"When the calendar is set out at the beginning of the year it's a course that gets the riders excited, and it gives us something to look forward to. It's one of the best road race tracks in the world."

He added: "It's very sad to see the event cancelled because they've spent so much money around the venue recently on things like new buildings and a control tower.

"I hope they can make use of it in the future. If it was to close down, it would be a big loss to everyone, not just the riders.

"There are thousands of people who turn up over the course of the four days and it brings a great deal of tourism to the area. It would be a huge loss for everyone."