Heartbroken Louise Dunlop says she finds it hard to believe that her daredevil motorcycle racer husband — who defied death so often — has gone.

“I still think he’s there,” says the woman who had witnessed Robert “hovering on the brink of eternity” so often after horrific crashes.

“There is a coat over the garage door, which is Robert’s coat. I haven’t moved it. I still feel I’ll see his face pop up and ask me for a cup of tea.”

Louise, who was by Robert’s side for nearly 30 years, says she knew he would never quit the sport that claimed the life of his brother Joey and so many of his friends.

“I knew he would never retire. He often told me this and many times he mentioned he would go on racing until the end came.

“I leave the meaning of that up to interpretation.

“But take it from me, Robert Dunlop had no wish to sit on the sidelines and watch racing, even with sons taking part. It was just the way he was made. As he told me often enough, ‘I do what I do’.”

Louise first met Robert when she was enjoying a working holiday from her home in Norfolk.

She knew all about working with horses and decided to take a six-month break and work for Templepatrick Auctions in Co Antrim.

She first met Robert after her friend Ken Dundee gave her tickets for the Mid-Antrim Club prizegiving at the Country House Hotel, Doagh.

“He wasn’t very impressive,” she says of that first meeting. “And he was also very small, so much so I had to kick off my high-heel shoes to dance with him. But I liked him, and the affection grew as time went on. We had a great circle of friends. We would party, race and come home.

“The first time I saw Robert race was at Carrowdore in Co Down, and eventually Robert and I were inseparable when it came to paddock clan, who followed all the boys on bikes.”

But it wasn’t all glamour, far from it.

“Robert’s life changed when our first son, William, was born,” said Louise. “He had to be more serious about getting a career. While everyone enjoyed road racing, Robert had to earn some real money, and he did this through steel erecting. He worked for many years in this business, even in the days when he became a top road racer. He and Joey would go down to building site and do a job at which they were highly skilled.”

Falling for a road racer meant danger was constantly in the air and Louise recalls many occasions when Robert’s life hung in the balance.

Indeed Robert Dunlop’s history of terrifying accidents began even before he took up racing.

Said Louise: “Not many people know this, but when he was only 17 he was driving home late at night along the Frosses Road, which leads eventually to Ballymoney and Coleraine, at the famous bit where the trees cross the road and make an archway.

Robert crashed into one of those otherwise picturesque pieces of nature and broke his neck.

“He was in traction at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and he carried the scar for the rest of his life.

“He was in a van when it came off the road and hit that tree, but the accident left him with a weak neck for the rest of his life.”

Probably his first racing near-miss was at the Isle of Man TT in 1985 when he ended up in intensive care with life-threatening internal injuries.

“Robert drifted in and out of consciousness, and we thought we were going to lose him,” recalls Louise. “All the family were there, hoping against hope that he would pull through. How often we had been in that position with Robert on the brink of eternity.”

His uncle, Dick Barclay, decided to ring a faith healer, Matt Gibson, who had so often helped Robert’s brother Joey. Matt came to the Isle of Man, and all was well. Robert pulled through and it was on the next hazard.

Such was the amount of injury that dogged Robert Dunlop through his career, David Wood, one of his pals and mentors, believed that Robert should give up road racing and concentrate on the Grand Prix sport, but this never really took off. Robert was in love with racing between the hedges and trees.

The most serious accident happened in 1994 in the Formula1 TT when Robert’s Honda ran into trouble at Ballagh Bridge and the back wheel disintegrated.

Robert hit a wall and injured his arm and leg so much that surgeons said afterwards that the limbs would be useless.

In fact it was reckoned that if Robert had been a younger man the limbs would have been amputated.

Louise recalls that while surgeons were rebuilding Robert in the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald she had to deal with their financial problems.

“We had sold our house at Ballnacree. This had happened under my direction while Robert was on the operating table.

“When he realised it, Robert was furious. But we just had no money and we needed every penny we could get.”

Robert became involved in a bitter law suit for compensation over the crash which wrecked his career.

“Eventually Robert decided to settle out of court, and he received £750,000, but we owed furious amounts of money and we had very little to take home,” recalled Louise.

Courageous Robert defied his horrific injuries to return to racing. He was one rider who had to race in order to live. It was his life.

Said Louise: “Robert often asked me what he should do if he gave up riding and I said to him, ‘Why aren’t you involved with the media? You are good at being a pundit and a bit like John McEnroe’.

“Robert thought long and hard about this and on some occasions would come to me and ask if it would work if he joined the commentators on television and radio.

“But the bottom line was that Robert loved to race and he felt that even on television and having his face beamed into every household he would still miss the buzz of the race.”

I felt dad’s presence on bike

When Louise Dunlop heard her husband had crashed during practice at the North West 200 in May 2008 she didn’t immediately fear the worst.

“A friend rang and told me about it and then my son Michael who was also racing phoned and said it was bad.

“I had become used to Robert having accidents, many of them life threatening and I suppose I thought this was just another instance of Robert showing that he would crash and still go on,” said Louise.

But soon after a devastated Louise discovered that this time Robert hadn’t survived she had to deal with the fact that two of their three sons, William and Michael, wanted to race at the North West.

NW200 organisers were also concerned — and what followed was incredibly emotional as the Dunlop boys dramatically defied the decision by course stewards not to let them race.

Clerk of the course Mervyn White, himself hit for six by Robert’s death on May 15, went to the hospital and then to Robert’s Ballymoney home where he spent a couple of hours with Louise.

“She informed me the race should go. She said, ‘That would have been Robert’s wishes’. Robert’s sons William and Michael were in a state of shock. They found it hard to take in, and I could understand this.”

The following day William told Mervyn he planned to race. Mervyn had reservations over William’s state of mind in the aftermath of the tragedy and because he’d had so little sleep, but after meeting him thought it would all right because he is such a tough character.

“Meanwhile the stewards had met and wouldn’t allow William to ride. I was informed of this decision and I must say I was quite happy,” said Mervyn.

But the story took another twist on Saturday morning — race day — when Michael Dunlop rang Mervyn and announced he wanted to race as well.

“I kept the stewards informed, and they met again to say neither William nor Michael should race,” added Mervyn. “When roads were closed for the race I went on a final lap to see the roads were clear.

“On the car radio I received a call that, incredibly, both William and Michael were on the starting line.

“I came back and saw the Dunlop boys on the grid. The stewards had an impromptu meeting at the side of the road and agreed they would have to let them ride.”

Said Mervyn: “My view was that it would have been difficult to take them off the grid. The place was full of photographers and press men. What would have been the result of pictures showing the two Dunlops, 48 hours after their father’s death, being dragged off the grid? It’s just too horrific to think about.

“So I thought it was in the best interests of everyone that they raced, but nobody could have envisaged that the result of this 250cc race would end up with such a result. You couldn’t have dreamed it up.”

William was unfortunate, his bike broke down early in the race. But Michael triumphed in a race that he had only decided to take part in at virtually the last minute.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “ My father’s body was lying in my house, and the funeral was very much on everyone’s mind. With two minutes to go I made the decision to race. I know it sounds a little cold-blooded, but I had to get going again and put everything out of my mind.

“I felt my father’s presence and I knew I would win.”

Louise Dunlop didn’t watch the race live but she had been kept informed of what was happening by Robert’s brother, Jim, on the mobile phone.

“Bear in mind Robert’s body was still in our house, but I didn’t want to stop Michael or William taking part,” she said.

“I was still getting over the shock of Robert’s death after the meeting, but I must say Michael’s win came just at the right time. It’s just what Robert would have wanted.”