North West 200: Glenn Irwin extends winning Superbike sequence to eight

Glenn Irwin extended his winning run in the North West 200 Superbike class to eight races by taking victory in both of Saturday's big bike events.

Irwin was declared the winner of both races after they were brought to an end prematurely by red-flag incidents.

The PBM Ducati rider sits one behind the record nine Superbike wins achieved by Joey Dunlop and Michael Rutter.

Alastair Seeley increased his record number of wins to 29 by completing a double in the Superstock class.

Davey Todd made it a pair of victories in the Supersport category, while Richard Cooper won both Supertwins events.

In the first Superbike race, Irwin finished 0.6 seconds ahead of Todd, with Dean Harrison completing the podium places.

The race was red-flagged on the fourth lap, with the results taken after the riders' previous circuit.

The result of a restarted race two was called after the leading riders had completed three laps of a scheduled five before the race was halted.

Irwin was followed across the line by Seeley and Harrison, with the result declared after a nervous wait for confirmation.

Irwin continues big bike dominance

Irwin had endured a difficult time in qualifying, with the practice time available for Superbikes having been curtailed, and the Carrickfergus rider, who leads the British Superbike Championship, reporting high-speed stability issues with his machine.

The 33-year-old was immediately on the pace in race one however and became involved in a dice at the head of the field with Todd, Seeley, Harrison and Michael Dunlop.

Todd led after lap one, but it was Dunlop who crossed the line first next time round, thanks to a lap of 122.712mph, the fastest of the race.

Seeley retired after the second lap and then Dunlop dropped back on the next circuit and subsequently pulled into the pits, leaving the top three to contend for the win.

Irwin hit the front and maintained his advantage, Harrison eventually moving into the runner-up spot, but having to settle for third behind Todd on the lap countback.

Race two was red-flagged after James Hillier crashed out and the restart developed into a four-way battle involving Irwin, Dunlop, Seeley and Harrison.

Irwin led after lap one but Seeley led the way nine miles later, then Irwin re-established himself at the front before the race was stopped after Mike Browne crashed at Juniper Hill, sustaining minor injuries.

Seeley stars again

Having won Thursday night's Superstock six-lapper, Seeley took a lights-to-flag win in Saturday's race for the same machines on his Synetiq BMW by TAS Racing, this time over a reduced five-lap distance.

Behind him, Dunlop was involved in a high-speed contest for second with fell with fellow Honda rider Todd, whose engine blew up on the fast run to Metropole Corner on the final lap, bringing the race to a premature halt.

That left the Ballymoney rider to clinch that runner-up place, with Seeley having the added distinction of securing a new lap record of 124.484mph.

DAO Kawasaki pilot Dean Harrison was third, followed by Michael Rutter, James Hillier and John McGuinness.

Cooper's two Twins wins

The first attempt to run the first Supertwins race was halted after the leading riders had completed two laps, the red flags coming out after Michael Sweeney came off at the Dhu Varren section.

The Skerries rider was subsequently taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast "as a precaution".

The primary protagonists from the initial running came to the fore again in the re-start as Jeremy McWilliams, Cooper and Adam McLean battled it out at the front, with Paul Jordan also now getting in on the joust for the podium positions.

Paton-mounted McWilliams was the leader after lap one but Cooper made a break for it on the second circuit, building up a lead which he extended after lap three courtesy of a new lap record for the class at 112.251mph.

The Nottingham rider took the chequered flag by seven seconds from Jordan, with McLean third and McWilliams, Hickman and Joe Loughlin completing the top six.

Race two followed a similar pattern as McWilliams and McLean both enjoyed spells in the lead, before Cooper made the decisive move on lap three and pulled clear to win by almost five seconds.

Three-time race winner McWilliams came home in second, with McLean third.

The victories went some way to make up for the 40-year-old's exclusion from the results last year for a technical infringement after he had crossed the line first in both Twins races.

Todd Supersport double

The second Supersport race of the meeting saw Todd complete his double in the class after an exhilarating six-way dice at the front.

Todd's only previous North West success had come in the same class in wet conditions in 2019.

Cooper had to settle for second on this occasion, 0.25 seconds adrift of the Yorkshireman, with Hickman on the third step of the rostrum, ahead of Harrison, Dunlop and Seeley.

The top three riders all bettered Seeley's two-day-old lap record for the class on their fifth circuit as the lead changed hands several times.

In the end, it was Hickman on his Triumph who emerged with the new benchmark at 118.273mph.

Superbike race one

1 Glenn Irwin (NI) Ducati

2 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda

3 Dean Harrison (Eng) Kawasaki

4 Michael Rutter (Eng) Honda

5 John McGuinness (Eng) Honda

6 James Hillier (Eng) Yamaha

Fastest lap: Michael Dunlop 122.712mph

Superbike race two

1 Glenn Irwin (NI) Ducati

2 Alastair Seeley (NI) Honda

3 Dean Harrison (Eng) Kawasaki

4 Michael Dunlop (NI) Honda

5 John McGuinness (Eng) Honda

6 Michael Rutter (Eng) Honda

Fastest lap: Alastair Seeley 124.47mph

Superstock race two

1 Alastair Seeley (NI) BMW

2 Michael Dunlop (NI) Honda

3 Dean Harrison (Eng) Kawasaki

4 Michael Rutter (Eng) Honda

5 James Hillier (Eng) Yamaha

6 John McGuinness (Eng) Honda

Fastest lap and new lap record: Alastair Seeley 124.484mph

Supertwins race one

1 Richard Cooper (Eng) Kawasaki

2 Paul Jordan (NI) Kawasaki

3 Adam McLean (NI) Kawasaki

4 Jeremy McWilliams (NI) Paton

5 Peter Hickman (Eng) Yamaha

6 Joe Loughlin (RoI) Kawasaki

Fastest lap and new lap record: Richard Cooper 112.251mph

Supertwins race two

1 Richard Cooper (Eng) Kawasaki

2 Jeremy McWilliams (NI) Paton

3 Adam McLean (NI) Kawasaki

4 Paul Jordan (NI) Kawasaki

5 Stefano Bonetti (Ita) Paton

6 Joe Loughlin (RoI) Kawasaki

Fastest lap: Richard Cooper 112.057mph

Supersport race two

1 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda

2 Richard Cooper (Eng) Yamaha

3 Peter Hickman (Eng) Triumph

4 Dean Harrison (Eng) Yamaha

5 Michael Dunlop (NI) Yamaha

6 Alastair Seeley (NI) Ducati

Fastest lap and new lap record: Peter Hickman 118.273mph