NW200: UPDATE: Female spectator and rider remain critical

A female spectator was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital after being injured during an incident in the Superstock race at the North west 200

The incident involved three riders and happened in the Superstock race.

On Sunday morning, a statement isssued by the North West 200 organisers said: “North West 200 competitor Stephen Thompson and the female spectator injured in a crash during the Superstock race on Saturday remain in a critical but stable condition in the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast.”

Mr Thompson, from Crumlin, Co Antrim, was initially taken to the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine but was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The injured woman was airlifed to the RVH from York Corner in Portstewart.

Austrian Horst Saiger escaped with minor injuries while Bradford’s Dean Harrison walked away unhurt and continued racing later in the day.

The horror incident happened on the stretch of course from York Corner to Mill Road Roundabout, where Scottish competitor Mark Buckley was killed in a a crash in 2012.