Race legends feature in new game

Joey Dunlop on his trademark Honda in a scene from the game

By Arthur Strain
BBC News

Two of Northern Ireland's motorcycle racing aces feature in a new road racing computer game.

TT Superbikes Legends includes the late Joey and Robert Dunlop, along with representations of the North West 200 and Ulster GP road racing circuits.

The Isle of Man TT course also features in the PS2 game.

Joey Dunlop won 26 victories at the TT before his death in a race crash in Estonia in 2000. His brother, Robert, died at the North West 200 in May.

Clark Evans, director of Jester Interactive, said that both riders were legends who had made a "significant contribution" to road racing.

"I view this really as a tribute to them, and all the other road racers - that's why we called it legends.

"They made such a contribution to the sport, and I'm a big fan.

"The idea was to let game fans experience the circuits they rode on."

Mr Evans said that they had worked with nine-times TT winner David Jefferies in their first TT game, but he died at TT 2003 before its release.

Racer Mike Hailwood also features in the game and Mr Evans said that they had received support from his widow, Pauline, and the Hailwood estate.

William Dunlop, one of Robert's sons, said that he had not known the game was being developed, but added he did not have any objection to it.

"You couldn't have a game like that without the two Dunlop boys," he said.

Making the game saw developers walking the courses and photographing every twist and turn to make the game as lifelike as possible.

Developers at Jester also took account of changes in the road surface to make the response of the computer bikes accurate. It features six courses from the last six decades of road racing.