Despite his remarkable winning sequence, first qualifying has proved difficult for Irwin in recent years as he struggled with set-up issues on his Kawasaki in 2019, Honda in 2022 and Ducati 12 months ago.
Last year he indicated that his machine was plagued by instability at high speed in opening practice before going on to post a double of race wins on Saturday.
“One thing I would love to do at this year’s North West is to turn around my practice form,” the Carrickfergus man explained.
“Last year we qualified on the third row after a terrible Tuesday, putting myself under pressure.
“I know what the bike, team and myself are capable of but I’d like to discover that earlier in the week, just to settle my mind.”