The Northwest 200 has been the annual big day out for my family for many years. This year was no exception. Glorious weather, lap records broken in four out of six races, and a new absolute course record to boot.
On top of that, there wasn't a serious accident to mar the proceedings from start to finish. That's saying something for a circuit consisting of nearly nine miles of closed public roads where Michael Rutter has been clocked on a factory Honda at speeds in excess of 201 mph.
One of the great moments was the sight of Robert Dunlop lining up on the grid alongside his two sons William and Michael.
The undoubted highlight was Robert's 125cc race win over English visitor Mick Wilcox. Wilcox led the race from the start, only for Dunlop to prise it from his grasp in the final yards in one of the great victories of his career.
Robert Dunlop's 125cc victory raises his total number of Northwest 200 wins to 15 and consolidates his position as the most successful rider in the history of the event. This year's win was, to say the least, emotional. It is Dunlop's first success on the ultra fast roads course since 1994.
A lot has happened since Robert Dunlop last won the Northwest 200. Two weeks after he notched up an emphatic treble at the 1994 event, Robert Dunlop nearly lost his life after crashing when the rear wheel collapsed on his RC45 Honda at Ballaugh village during the Formula 1 Isle of Man TT.
The injuries sustained that day finished Robert Dunlop as a Superbike rider and have caused him pain and suffering every day since.
When Robert's older brother, Joey, was killed after crashing in the Estonian capital Tallinn in 2000, the expectation was that Robert would stop racing. He surprised everyone and kept going, showing a mental toughness that most of us couldn't muster.
Now his children are entering the racing fraternity. Michael Dunlop is 18-years-old, and made his road racing debut in April at the Cookstown 100. Despite being a little wild, he has talent in abundance, a fact he underlined by winning his first ever road race by a margin of 22 seconds.
He crashed out of his Northwest 200 debut in the early stages, but insisted on standing at the edge of the track until has father went past and could see that his youngest boy was okay.
Michael's older brother William has already competed in three Northwest 200s, and although only 21 is widely tipped by fans and media alike as a future star of the sport. Amongst his already impressive achievements he can list 125cc road race wins in 2005 at Athea and Skerries, a 250cc runner-up finish behind John McGuinness at the 2005 Ulster Grand Prix, and a win at the opening race of the 2006 season at the Cookstown 100.
He is quiet, unassuming, shy and quick to smile and is evidently happier to do his talking on the track and away from the media. He is making a full-on assault on the 2006 racing season, contesting 125cc, 600cc and superbike classes at most of the Irish road races, and is preparing to take on the likes of ex-World Superbike star Fabrizio Pirovano in the Suzuki GSX-R European Cup.
Despite the fact that he fell off at the most recent round at Monza, the championship will be a valuable learning experience for him, as it travels to tracks like Brno, Assen, Brand's Hatch, and Imola, before concluding in October at Magny Cours.
Next week William Dunlop will take on the challenges of the toughest track of them all as he makes his debut at the Isle of Man TT. He will become the fifth member of the Dunlop family to ride the mountain circuit. His father is a five-time TT winner, and his Uncle Joey is the event's most successful rider ever. Jim Dunlop, brother of Robert and Joey has also raced in the TT, and Jim's son Sam marked his debut on the course with a win in the 2005 Manx Grand Prix Newcomers race.
William Dunlop has a lot to live up to when he lines up on the Glencrutchery Road to take on the hardest challenge in motor cycle sport, 30 years after Joey Dunlop made his debut there.