This obituary by well-known author and commentator was originally hosted by the Independent newspaper
(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-dunlop-motorcycle-road-racing-champion-830600.html)

As the page referenced is no longer available I have taken the liberty of saving a copy here:


The death of Robert Dunlop in practice for the North West
200 is a grievous blow for motorcycle road racing, the
variant of the sport that takes place on closed public
roads - as opposed to purpose-built tracks known as short
circuits. Although the Isle of Man TT is the best-known road
race, the NW200, which takes place on a high-speed nine-mile
triangle linking Portrush, Coleraine and Portstewart,
attracts what is arguably a better entry, as well as
Northern Ireland's biggest sports crowd of the year.


Dunlop was the event's most successful rider, with 15 wins,
more even than his elder brother Joey, who was widely
regarded as the best road racer of the modern era. It's a
measure of the regard in which the Dunlop brothers were held
that even the violence around Drumcree church ceased for
Joey's funeral in 2000 after Robert voiced displeasure at
having the journey home to Ballymoney with the body
disrupted. (Joey was killed in a crash at an obscure race in
Estonia).

Robert Dunlop won five Isle of Man TTs but was severely
injured there in 1994 when a wheel of his 750cc Honda
collapsed. He was out of the sport for two years but came
back to win again, although his injuries confined him to the
lightweight 125cc class. He was riding a 250cc bike at the
NW200 for the first time since 1994 when it appeared to
seize during Thursday evening practice on one of the
circuit's long, fast straights; he was thrown off and hit by
another rider.

Serious injury - and worse - in road racing is normally due
to the unforgiving nature and close proximity of stone walls
and street furniture, but not this time. However, following
so closely on another fatality at the Tandragee 100 race two
weeks previously, the future of the massively popular sport
in a country with no first-rank permanent track looks rocky.
Back in 2002, questions were asked in the Northern Ireland
Assembly about insurance for road race events as a direct
result of settlements following Robert Dunlop's TT accident.
They will now be asked again.

Julian Ryder