Lee Johnston
Five-time winner on BBC iPlayer

Adam McLean's riding, he looked really smooth on that motorcycle.

His bike has got a beautiful big pipe on it, some different airducts and things like that.

1 Richard Cooper (Kawasaki) 111.998mph

2 Adam McLean (Yamaha) 111.706

3 Paul Jordan (Aprilia) 109.721

4 Peter Hickman (Yamaha) 109.230

5 Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) 109.032

6 Michael Sweeney (Aprilia) 108.882

7 Jamie Coward (Kawasaki) 108.596

8 Michael Rutter (Yamaha) 107.839

The chequered flag has gone out to bring this session to an end, although the riders who are still out on circuit can still complete their laps and register speeds towards their grid positions.

We'll bring you details of those soon...

KMR team boss Ryan Farquhar explains to BBC Sport NI something of the complexities of setting up his Supertwins machines for racing.

Simon Reid speaking on BBC iPlayer: "Dean Harrison did 209mph on the outlap of practice [in Superbike qualifying on Wednesday] and that is a crazy speed straight out of the bat.

"I can't wait to see how things unfold tonight and I think it is going to be super competitive and when the weather is like this it makes it even closer!"

Adam McLean has improved his best lap speed to 111.477mph as he still occupies second on the leaderboard, 1.3 seconds behind Richard Cooper's provisional pole setting speed.

Cooper has recorded 10 laps and McLean nine so both are getting plenty of track time under their belts.

Paul Jordan, Peter Hickman, Jeremy McWilliams and Michael Sweeney complete the top six at the moment.

Storm Stacey speaking on BBC iPlayer: "I really like this [North West 200], it is something that has caught my eye.

"I promised my late father that I would never do the TT, but he didn't say road racing!

"I have got plenty of time. I have unfinished business at BSB and I know what I want to achieve there and I just have to do it."

Lee Johnston
Five-time winner on BBC iPlayer

Ryan Farquhar has built winning bikes for a long time now. I know he said there are bigger teams, but he is solely committed to the one class [Supertwins].

Ryan Farquhar speaking on BBC iPlayer: "I love Supertwins because it is the only class left that you can tune and modify and that's the bit that I enjoy.

"Plus when you have who I personally think is the best rider on the grid it makes it all easier.

"Richard Cooper likes continuity and I'm 100% committed to doing the best for him and he knows that."

Peter Hickman has moved into fourth place on the qualifying leaderboard with a speed of 109.205mph.

The Lincolnshire rider has four victories to his name at the North West 200.

The top positions looking fairly settled for the moment with Cooper, Mclean and Jordan the top three.

Philip McCallen
11-time race winner on the BBC Sport website

The wind has changed direction. Yesterday it was a tailwind heading towards Coleraine, the fastest part if the track.

Today is a head wind which will knock a little bit of speed off them so they might have to drop the gears.

Richard Cooper is one of three former winners in the Supertwins class in the field this week.

The Nottingham rider has four wins to his name, with Jeremy McWilliams three and Peter Hickman those two successes from last year.

Other riders to have won two races in this category since their introduction more than a decade ago are Lee Johnston, Ryan Farquhar, Ivan Lintin and Martin Jessopp.

Manufacturers wise, Kawasaki are by far the most successful with 17 triumphs, having been the dominant force for many years.

Yamaha have two wins, with Italian Stefano Bonetti the sole Paton victor so far.

Lee Johnston
Five-time winner on BBC iPlayer

The track is in good condition as far as bumps and jumps go, but there is just a lot of dust. However, that will have cleared up today.

Richard Cooper has gone quicker again and has recorded the fastest ever qualifying lap for the Supertwins class at the North West with a circuit at 111.998mph.

The previous best was set by Cooper on the Tuesday of practice week in 2024 - 111.723.

McLean sits second still on 110.767, 2.3 seconds adrift of Cooper's time.

Jenny Tinmouth
Fastest woman around the IOM TT

Luckily enough the riders had looked at the forecast for today and it meant there was no panic yesterday.

It's great to get the Supertwins out first today as I'm sure they will want to test the developments they have done over the winter.

Richard Cooper sets the fastest lap of the session so far with 11.285.

The lap record for this class clearly means business.

For the record, that benchmark stands at 112.490 from 2022 so we may be due a new lap record this time round.

Four of Cooper's five wins to date at the North West have come in this Twins class, the other in the Supersport class 12 months ago.

Lee Johnston
Five-time North West 200 winner on BBC iPlayer

It's quite open this year in the Supertwins. There will be close racing as always.

We said to expect faster speeds and that's exactly what's happened.

McLean has upped the pace to 110.331, taking advantage of the clear road in front of him.

Cooper has gone faster on 109.943 and Jordan circulated at 109.721.

Those three dominating the lap speeds so far.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at the North West 200

Just a reminder this is the only session the Supertwin riders will get to set the grid for Saturday's two races.

No pressure, then!

There's plenty of familiar names leading the way so far, but we're still waiting to see what Peter Hickman can do on a flying lap.

Adam McLean was at the front of the field at the end of the second circuit, with Kawasaki-mounted Richard Cooper giving hot pursuit on his Kawasaki.

That was also the order on the timesheets as McLean put in a lap of 109.301mph, followed by Cooper at 109.118 and Paul Jordan with 108.318.

Expect those lap speeds to increase even more as the riders get more confident with their machines as the session continues.