Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at the North West 200

Stephen Parsons is an early contender for livery of the week with his Pokemon themed Kawasaki Supersport machine.

The sun is shining on the north coast and the Supersport machines and their riders are on the grid preparing for their first practice session.

This class always produces some close exciting racing....with the quality entry assembled for 2023, expect more of the same this year.

Husband and wife, Cory West and Patricia Fernandez-West, are both competing at this year's North West 200 for the same team - JMcC Roofing Racing.

The American couple are racing in different classes.

Patricia is now an experienced racer around the Triangle circuit and will campaign some of the larger capacity machinery, but Cory is making his debut and will confine his efforts to the smaller Supertwins machines.

Nottingham rider Richard Cooper will switch from Yamaha machinery to a Ryan Farquhar-prepared Kawasaki for the Supertwins class.

The R7 which Cooper was scheduled to ride has not materialised but former North West winner Farquhar has come to the double British Superstock 1000cc champion's rescue with a last-minute deal.

Cooper will be supported by another Northern Ireland team - BPE by Russell Racing - in the Supersport category.

North West 200 course lap record holder has revealed to BBC Sport NI that he is having trouble accessing the tyres he would like for this year's event.

As a result, wet conditions may present problems for the Lincolnshire rider later in the week.

"We are ok today in dry conditions but I don't know what is going to happen for the rest of the week," said the nine-time Isle of Man TT winner.

Ducati's Glenn Irwin looks back at his dramatic last-gasp first victory in the feature Superbike race at the North West 200 in 2017.

A taste of the action from last year's North West 200.

Here's hoping for some more of the same in the next few days..

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at the North West 200

It's safe to say that everyone is pretty relaxed ahead of practice.

The newcomers are out first for their opening laps before the Supersport machines hit the track.

The newcomers are now out on the circuit and the 2023 North West 200 is officially underway.

The action will be getting underway soon on the north coast...

After weeks of uncertainty over whether this year's North West 200 would go ahead because of well publicised insurance issues, the best road racers in the world are now gathering on the north coast of Northern Ireland for the international speed spectacular.

Read more.

Image source, BBC Sport

Full streamed video coverage of Tuesday's practice is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer from 10.30pm.

Image source, BBC Sport

Former North West 200 winners Keith Huewen and Steve Parrish are all set and ready to go in the commentary box.

The pair will guide you through the action throughout the week, with Stephen Watson and Larry Carter out on the grid.

The all-important weather forecast.

The sun is out on the north coast at the moment...but showers are expected later on.

Wetter track conditions would naturally mean slower speeds and also make choice of tyres more difficult for the competitors.

The defending North West 200 Superbike champion Glenn Irwin 'warmed up' for today's opening practice session with an early morning dip in the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at the North West 200

It's the North West 200 and it's Northern Ireland - two ever-reliable factors when it comes to the weather.

Walking to the paddock this morning you get a good sense of the track conditions.

It's largely dry but there are plenty of damp patches to keep the riders on their toes.

All eyes will be on the skies today and fingers will be crossed that the forecasted showers hold off until after practice.

Just a matter of weeks ago it looked like this year's North West 200 may not happen - with the entire future of the event hanging in the balance - but here we are, ready and raring to go for the first practice session for this year's event.

The rain has stayed away for now but the roads are still damp from overnight rain. Here's hoping the predicted showers will not arrive until after today's five sessions are completed.

First to blast off the line this morning will be the newcomers, course debutants who have not competed at the race before, complete with resplendent orange jackets indicating their status.

That will be followed by sessions for the Supersports, Superbikes, Supertwins and Superstock classes.

Roads have now closed around the 8.9-mile Triangle circuit, with the bikes set to roar into action in around half an hour's time.

Stay with us until 15:00 BST for live video streamed coverage of all today's qualifying sessions and check out how your favourite riders are doing with text updates of the practice leaderboards of the various classes. We have you covered!