Six talking points from a returning NW200

Out of all Irish road racing, only the Cookstown 100 continued uninterrupted throughout the pandemic, with many of the top riders sticking solely to the short circuits during that time. With the eagerly-awaited return of the Isle of Man TT just two weeks away, the Triangle circuit provided a perfect warm-up for the road warriors, and took no time in providing a reminder of why we’d all missed road racing, with Peter Hickman clocking in at 198mph through the speed trap in the very first (and damp) session of the event.

Michael Dunlop drops PBM, rejoins Hawk

The drama began before the racing had even come close to starting, however. Michael Dunlop, who is no stranger to off-track, team-related politics, was to be the star of the season, signing with Paul Bird Motorsport to ride Ducatis at both the North West and the Isle of Man. However, it was announced at the launch of the TT that a late falling out between both parties, which Dunlop said was due to a lack of available testing time on the bike, resulted in the 19-time TT winner walking away from the deal. With no ride for one of the biggest names in road racing, you could almost hear the chattering teeth of nervous organisers. Luckily, help came in the form of a Suzuki GSXR1000RR from Stuart Hicken’s Hawk Racing squad, the same team that took Dunlop to victory on a similar bike in the 2017 Senior TT, having ridden for them from 2014 aboard BMWs.

Ironically, Josh Brookes, riding the PBM Ducati, got the better of Dunlop in opening practice, with the duo taking the top two spots on the timesheets in a journalist’s dream start. Unfortunately, that was the closest we got to a Dunlop/Brookes duel, with Saturday’s tyre dramas, which we’ll get to shortly, denying us that pleasure – although we’re sure Mr Bird was chuckling to himself as Brookes walked away with a podium to close out Saturday evening.

Damp tarmac doesn’t dampen spirits

As is so often the case on the Coast Road around Portrush, the weather played more than a supporting role in the overall story of the week. After a damp Tuesday, the rain came down properly ahead of Thursday evening’s opening Supersport race, although not before a dry morning’s practice saw Glenn Irwin smash the lap record on his way to pole in the Superbike class. Organisers decided to give every class two sighting laps due to the lack of “proper” wet running on Thursday night, and after an early red flag in the opening race put the timetable even further back, failing light and deteriorating conditions meant the night-ending Supertwins race had to be postponed until Saturday.

Not all riders lined up on Thursday evening, however, with front runners Glenn Irwin and Lee Johnston, tipped for success in the Superstock and Supersport classes respectively, decided to sit out and wait for the better weather that had been forecast for Saturday.

The racing that did happen on Thursday was everything that road racing fans had hoped for. An incredibly closely fought battle between the most successful man around the North West and rising star Davey Todd provided the most excitement. Todd lost out in the end after Seeley was forced to get his elbows out, securing his 25^th victory around the Triangle in the process. Meanwhile, 58-year-old Jeremy McWilliams proved experience is key, taking a fantastic third on his return to the roads. The Thursday night Superstock race was more strung out, with the gaps almost resembling a TT race, but once again it was Seeley from Todd, with Richard Cooper rounding out the podium on this occasion.

Bad day for Dunlop

Although the results weren't ideal across the week for local hero Michael Dunlop, we’re actually talking about Dunlop tyres on this occasion. With Saturday’s perfect weather and great racing building towards a hugely anticipated, meeting-closing blue riband North West 200 race. Unfortunately, as the riders lined up to take the start, suddenly a number of bikes started to be pushed back into the paddock, and the fans were left with only half of the grid in front of them. Eagle-eyed spectators, and anyone watching the BBC’s extensive coverage, were quick to notice that it was every single bike shod with Dunlop rubber that was being removed.

It began with Peter Hickman’s retirement in the first Superbike race. Having set the fastest lap - and breaking the lap record in the process - cameras suddenly cut to the FHO Racing machine pulling off at the slip road at University corner. Initial thoughts were that the BMW had just found itself running a little too hot, but a statement from the FHO squad later confirmed that Hickman had suffered tyre failure and had decided to withdraw from the final Superstock and Superbike races on safety grounds.

With arguably the best road rider on the planet on the sidelines, it was already a less-than-ideal PR situation for Dunlop, but then two high-profile tyre problems in the Superstock race for Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd, its namesake having a rear tyre delamination while the latter suffered a front tyre blowout, forced Dunlop’s hand. Having discovered a fault in the batch of tyres that had been brought along to the event, the manufacturer was forced to advise all teams running their rubber to remove their bikes from the grid.

Record breakers shine on sunny Saturday

In stark contrast to the conditions that were put in front of them on Thursday night, the sun arrived for Saturday’s full day of racing - extended to six races thanks to the postponement of the Supertwin race from Thursday. Lap records tumbled in every single category, with Peter Hickman setting a new outright lap record in the opening Superbike race, while Davey Todd caused jaws to drop around the entire nine-mile course beating the previous Superbike record on his Superstock bike. Todd also set a new lap record in the 600cc Supersport category, while Jeremy McWilliams came away from the weekend with the new Supertwin lap record – in somewhat controversial circumstances that will be explained further down.

Already enjoying a strong start to his 2022 season, having won all three races at the British Superbike Championship’s season-opening weekend at Silverstone, Glenn Irwin went into the North West aiming to become the first ever person to win five consecutive Superbike races. Riding with the works Honda squad, and having sat out Thursday’s racing, his very first race of the weekend was the opening Superbike encounter. Irwin attempted to make a break from the start, but had the Padgetts Honda of Davey Todd for company for the full six laps. Todd kept Irwin honest for all six laps, but he could not get in the way of a record-breaking victory. With a depleted grid lining up for the final race, the tally was stretched to six in a row with ease, with Irwin leading home Richard Cooper’s Suzuki and Josh Brookes.

Going into the meeting with more wins around the North West 200 course than any other rider in history, Alastair Seeley needed just one win to reach that milestone 25^th victory. As mentioned earlier, a brace of victories in the wind and rain on Thursday evening had already brought him up to 26, and his use of Metzeler rubber proved vital in the second Superstock race. With the issues for the Dunlop runners removing his closest of rivals, Seeley was able to comfortably run away from the chasing pack, increasing his total to 27. When asked what his goal was in terms of a number, he stated his original goal was to reach 25, but then admitted that the temptation to reach his race number of 34 was high.

Richard Cooper wins two races, loses both in stewards’ room

The “man of the meeting” decision on Saturday evening split opinions right down the middle, with a number, including Clive Padgett, claiming there was no doubt that Davey Todd deserved the accolade, while others claimed that Richard Cooper deserved the nod for his performances. Cooper first turned heads on Thursday evening with a podium finish in the Superstock race, but it was his display in Saturday’s opening Supertwin encounter that really impressed. Getting the jump from the start, Cooper used his diminutive stature to his advantage on the smaller capacity machines and streaked away from the chasing pack. Running for Ryan Farquhar, himself a dab hand at the lightweight machines in his riding days, the bike looked untouchable, and in the hands of Cooper, it was.

Originally meant for Jeremy McWilliams, a sponsorship hiccup meant McWilliams went back to IFS Racing and Paton machinery, leaving Cooper as a late replacement on the Kawasaki. With his race one performance backed up by a similar result in the second Supertwin race later that day, Saturday evening should have been one of celebration for Steve Parrish’s Revival team-mate, but instead it was one of frustration and disappointment. With a protest lodged against the JMcC machine, stewards decided in hugely controversial fashion that there had been an illegal modification to the frame, which even Steve Plater, working for the event itself, admitted was just a fairing bracket and had no bearing on performance. The decision stood, however, and both of Cooper’s victories were struck from the record books, handing the trophies to Pierre Yves Bian in race one (the first ever French winner at the North West), and Joe Loughlin in race two. Second place in the final Superbike race was little consolation for Cooper.

Davey Todd arrives at the sharp end

Tipped by many in the last few years as one to watch out for, Davey Todd was scheduled to be a works Honda rider alongside Glenn Irwin in 2020. With no road racing for two years thanks to a global pandemic, it seemed that Todd may have missed his golden opportunity, but where one door closed another big one opened in the shape of Padgetts Racing. Clive Padgett has a strong history of producing excellent bikes, and was pivotal in Ian Hutchinson’s five TT wins in a week 12 years ago. With a strong bike underneath him, Todd was at the front of almost every race he took part in, but unfortunately could not get himself higher on the podium than second place all weekend.

The results alone don’t tell the entire story, however. While it may look like Todd was a perennial runner-up all week long, he took the race winners to their absolute limit, with Glenn Irwin admitting he had never had to ride as hard as he did in the opening Superbike race. Alastair Seeley and Lee Johnston had similar compliments for Todd after their encounters, and perhaps the best performance of the youngster’s week came in the final Superstock race. Having missed his braking point at University on the opening lap, Todd found himself in a ditch at the side of the road. Not to be deterred, he worked his way back up to second place just two laps later, smashing the lap record in the process, and probably would have beat Seeley to the win had the Dunlop rubber under the Padgetts Honda not given up on him.

And now on to the TT…

With the North West firmly in the bag, all attention now turns to the most epic racing circuit on the planet - the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course. 219 corners taking in the vast majority of the diminutive island in the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man TT has been one of the most missed events over the past three years, but organisers took the opportunity to make some major safety improvements during the enforced break. The new Safety Management System comes as a result of a major review into every area of the event, and changes will be noticed in race control, race regulations, accident response, marshalling and paddock structure. An electronic red flag system, placing 33 light panels around the course, will also be put in place to work in conjunction with marshal’s flags so riders are made aware of danger as soon as possible.

We’ll be looking ahead to the TT in more detail very soon, but the most noticeable change for fans will be the new set of regulations in the Supertwin and Sidecar categories, alongside new Supersport rules adopted worldwide. The most important thing for now is that real road racing is finally back, and it’s just as epic as we remembered.

Images courtesy of NW200.