North West 200 results, Superbike Race 2 - Two red flags to complete the week

This weekend sees the 2023 North West 200 take place. Racing takes place on Thursday 11 May and Saturday 13 May. Check back to this page throughout the week for North West 200 results.

Overview

Superbike Race 2 - Irwin takes eighth NW200 win in double-red-flagged second Superbike race.

Superstock Race 2 - Seeley secures 29th NW200 win as Todd suffers mechanical

Supertwin Race 2 - Cooper dominates again as McWilliams, McLean complete the podium

Superbike Race 1 - Irwin triumphs in shortened first Superbike race

Supersport Race 2 - Todd takes second Supersport win 

Supertwin Race 1 - Cooper dominates red flagged Supertwin Race 1

Superstock Race 1 - Seeley wins as controversy centres on FHO

Supersport Race 1 - Todd comes out on top in multi-rider fight for first SSP honours

Superbike Race 2

Superbike Race 2 was set to bring a conclusion to the 2023 North West 200. As the Superstock race which preceded it, the race was shortened from six laps to five. It was also red flagged twice, and won by Glenn Irwin, who took his second win of the week.

From the start, the same riders who fought for the Race 1 victory earlier on Saturday were at the front for the second Superbike race. Glenn Irwin, Alastair Seeley, Michael Dunlop, and Dean Harrison all featured at the front. The only missing character was Davey Todd, although it was uncertain whether his non-participation had anything to do with his retirement from the preceding Superstock Race 2.

At the end of lap one, the red flag was thrown for a crash for James Hillier at the Juniper Chicane. Hillier was taken to hospital.

The short distance covered on the initial start meant it was certain that the restarted race would be run over the reduced-full distance of five laps.

On the restart, it was Dean Harrison who made the holeshot and took the early lead, ahead of Michael Dunlop and Glenn Irwin, who took the lead at University.

Again, there were four riders at the front: Irwin, Harrison, and Dunlop were joined again by Alastair Seeley.

By the end of lap three, Irwin was making his break. Seeley, Harrison and Dunlop seemed resigned to a three-way battle for second.

However, they never got the chance to fight, as the red flag came out as the leaders began lap four for a crash for Mike Browne at Juniper. Browne is reported to have sustained minor injuries.

That meant Irwin took his eighth North West 200 win, ahead of Alastair Seeley and Dean Harrison, who completed the podium, while Michael Dunlop finished fourth.

Behind, John McGuinness was fifth, ahead of Michael Rutter, who was the last rider classified on the lead lap. Mike Browne (7th), Brian McCormack (8th), Sam West (9th), and Gary McCoy (10th) completed the top 10.

It took a long time for the result to be declared after the red flag. It seems that there was some confusion over whether the result should be taken from the end of lap two, when Alastair Seeley led, or the end of lap three, when Glenn Irwin led.  In the end, of course, the decision went the way of Irwin.

Full North West 200 results from Superbike Race 2 are below.

2023 North West 200 | Superbike | Race 2

Superstock Race 2

Before the start of Superstock Race 2, the race was shortened to five laps, from six, over safety concerns, the origin of which is unclear.

Michael Dunlop made the holeshot, to the relief of everyone who saw Seeley run away with Thursday’s first ‘Stock race.

Seeley, though, took the lead at the Mill Road Roundabout on the first lap. Davey Todd then found his way past Dunlop into University on the opening tour, but Seeley was already beginning to escape.

Todd was unable to do much about Seeley’s pace, and Dunlop re-passed him into the Metropole before the first lap was done.

By the end of lap one, Seeley seemed to have more or less got the race won - his pace was simply untouchable for his rivals on that opening tour. By the end of lap two, however, he had been caught by both Todd and Dunlop.

Although Seeley was unable to escape in the same way as he did on Thursday, he was led every lap on his way to his 29th victory on the famous Triangle (and TAS Racing’s 30th win).

Michael Dunlop took a solid second place, and in third was Dean Harrison, after a blow-up for Davey Todd’s Honda on the final lap.

After Seeley and Dunlop crossed the line, the red flag was brought out for the Todd failure. That did not change the podium, but it did cost the riders yet to finish the chance to battle it out into the Metropole and Juniper.

Everyone behind Harrison was classified one lap down, and were led by Michael Rutter in fourth. Behind, James Hillier was fifth, ahead of John McGuinness (6th), Craig Neve (7th), Erno Kostamo (8th), Sam West (9th, after a 10-second penalty), and Michael Evans, who completed the top 10.

Full Superstock Race 2 results from the North West 200 are below.

On the subject of the race duration change, the North West 200 PR team originally put out a statement saying that the race duration was shortened at the request of Dunlop Tyres and after consultation with Dunlop tyre technicians. However, Dunlop responded to this, saying that this was incorrect, and that they had made no such request.

2023 North West 200 | Superstock | Race 2

Supertwin Race 2

Just as in Race 1, the second Supertwin race was won by Richard Cooper, who ran away in the second half of the race. 

At the start of the race, the same three riders that led in the original start of Race 1 - Richard Cooper, Jeremy McWilliams, and Adam McLean - led at the beginning of Race 2. 

McWilliams and McLean kept Cooper company in the first two laps of the race, but then the #47 decided to escape, as he did in Race 1, on lap three. His winning margin was 4.8 seconds.

McWilliams and McLean did not have Paul Jordan to consider in their battle for second this time, which meant it was a duel between only themselves. Until the end of lap three, that is, since McWilliams broke free of McLean halfway round lap four.

Behind, Paul Jordan was fourth, ahead of Stefano Bonetti (5th), Joe Loughlin (6th), Cory West (7th), Emmet O’Grady (8th), Jamie Williams (9th), and Kris Duncan, who completed the top 10.

Full Supertwin Race 2 results from the North West 200 are below.

2023 North West 200 | Supertwins | Race 2

Superbike Race 1

Race 1 for the Superbikes at the North West 200 went the way of Glenn Irwin after an intense fight with Davey Todd and Dean Harrison before the red flag was thrown.

There was a good start from Davey Todd from the second row fired him up to second place immediately, but it was Dean Harrison who took the early lead on the DAO Racing Kawasaki.

It was Todd, though, who led the five-rider lead group by the end of the first lap. Alastair Seeley, Glenn Irwin, Harrison, and Michael Dunlop were also in contention in the early stages.

Seeley dropped out of the lead battle by lap three, seemingly with mechanical problems, and Dunlop pulled out a lap later.

There were then three riders left at the front, with Glenn Irwin, Dean Harrison, and Davey Todd contesting the win.

Their fight was brought to a premature halt on lap four, due to a red flag for a crash at Black Hill. The rider involved is reported to be okay.

The red flag meant that Glenn Irwin took the win, ahead of Davey Todd and Dean Harrison, while Michael Rutter was fourth, ahead of John McGuinness (5th), James Hillier (6th), David Datzer (7th), Mike Browne, Erno Kostamo (9th) and Michael Evans who rounded out the top 10.

2023 North West 200 | Superbike | Race 1

Supersport Race 2

The second Supersport race of the 2023 North West 200 saw Davey Todd take victory for the second time at the 2023 North West 200.

Alastair Seeley on the Milwaukee Ducati took the early lead, ahead of Davey Todd on the lead Padgett’s Honda. The two swapped places at York on the first lap, and, after a slipstream battle, it was Todd who led into University on the first lap.

From there, the typical Supersport slipstream battle ensued, with Seeley’s Ducati and Todd’s Honda joined by Dean Harrison’s Yamaha, Peter Hickman’s Triumph and Michael Dunlop’s Yamaha. 

Richard Cooper was also in the lead battle early on, but he ran on at the first chicane and had to stop, which cost him vital time and track position, and it took a lap before the #47 was back in contention.

On lap five, Cooper tried to make his break, and he was helped by Seeley, who went straight at the final chicane and had to stop (as Cooper). However, Todd took up the challenge, and chased Cooper onto the final lap.

By the time they got to University, Todd led, and Hickman and Harrison were close enough to ensure a four-way fight in the final half of the last lap.

Cooper led the way into the Metropole, and the feeling was that his speed along the Coast Road would help him to victory should he lead into it. However, he braked too late, and Todd cut underneath him on the exit. 

Cooper reclaimed the lead on the run to Juniper, where Todd out-braked him. Leading into the final corner, Todd was able to take his second Supersport win of the week, making it a perfect event on the 600 for the #74 and for the Padgett’s Honda team.

Behind Todd were Cooper and Hickman, the latter of course out of action in the 1000cc classes after the Superstock controversy for FHO Racing on Thursday night, so turning all his attention to the Supersport and Supertwin classes.

For Cooper, second place was a second podium in two races to start Saturday, after he took victory in the first Supertwin race which preceded the Supersport outing.

Dean Harrison took fourth place, ahead of Michael Dunlop (5th), Alastair Seeley (6th), Adam McLean (7th), Mike Browne (8th), Paul Jordan (9th), and Joe Loughlin who completed the top 10.

Full Supersport Race 2 results from the 2023 North West 200 are below.

2023 North West 200 | Supersport | Race 2             

Supertwins Race 1

Due to the delays to racing on Thursday, the first Supertwins race of the North West 200 race week was pushed to first-thing on Saturday morning. In the first of two races on Saturday for the ‘Twins, Richard Cooper came out on top.

It was Richard Cooper who made the holeshot and took the early lead on his Kawasaki Ninja 650, trailed by Jeremy McWilliams and Adam Mclean. These three made an early break on lap one, and by lap two McWilliams was showing he had a machine, in the form of the Paton S1R, capable of taking the fight to Cooper.

McWilliams led Cooper onto lap three, but as he did so the race was red flagged due to a one-rider incident at Dhu Varren.

The race was restarted over the full, four-lap distance, and the restart was much the same as the original. Cooper led from McLean and McWilliams up to Station, but this time the leading trio were joined by the PreZ Racing bike of Paul Jordan.

Jordan, was detached from the leading three when he made a mistake at the Metropole on the first lap, but by the time they reached the Ballysally Roundabout he had been able to reel them back in. There was no doubt the slipstream had been of benefit to him, but it was also clear that there was a strong bike underneath Jordan.

Not as strong as that under Cooper, though. By the beginning of lap three, the penultimate tour, he had extended his lead significantly over McLean, McWilliams and Jordan, who were now fighting for second place.

Cooper’s lead by the end of the race was seven seconds, and it was over Paul Jordan, who beat McLean for second, while McWilliams ended a relatively distant fourth having run over the gravel in the final chicane.

Peter Hickman was fifth on his Yamaha R7, ahead of Joe Loughlin (6th), Kris Duncan (7th), Jamie Williams (8th), Franceso Curinga (9th) and Cory West, who completed the top 10.

Full Supertwin Race 1 results from the 2023 North West 200 are below.

2023 North West 200 | Supertwin | Race 1

Superstock Race 1

Race 1 for the Superstock riders saw Alastair Seeley take the victory after dominating the race, which was shortened by a red flag on the penultimate lap.

There was controversy before the race, as the FHO Racing BMW riders, Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes, were excluded from the entire meeting for running illegal wheels. The issue seemed to be that the standard wheels - which must be run by regulation in the Superstock class - of the BMW M 1000 RR were illegal because they were carbon, but changing to aluminium wheels would be illegal, because the bike is homologated with the standard, carbon wheels.

Of the riders who were able to start, Davey Todd made a clean holeshot on the Padgett’s Honda to start the race. His lead lasted only until Station Corner, though, as Alastair Seeley hit the front on the Synetiq BMW, Seeley's bike having not been disqualified.

From there, Seeley powered away at the front, taking his 28th win at the North West 200. Todd stayed relatively close to Seeley, but made a mistake at the first chicane on lap two, which dropped him behind Michael Dunlop. Todd was able to regain second place, and finished there, ahead of Michael Dunlop in third place on the MD Racing Honda.

In fourth place was Dean Harrison, while Michael Rutter won out in a battle for fifth place with James Hillier and John McGuinness. In eighth was Craig Neve, ahead of Sam West (9th) and Michael Evans who completed the top 10.

On lap five, the red flag was thrown, bringing an end to the race. The cause of the red flag was a crash for Nathan Harrison, who sustained minor injuries.

2023 North West 200 Results | Superstock | Race 1

Supersport Race 1

The first Supersport Race at the 2023 North West 200 ran under perfect dry conditions, although a red flag soon after the start delayed the race somewhat. When the race eventually did get going, it became one dominated by a multi-rider lead group; a battle which went the way of Davey Todd in the end, who took his first dry North West 200 win.

Supersport Race 1 did not restart after the aforementioned red flag until just before 19:00. The late start did not deter Alastair Seeley, though - he made the holeshot, albeit it was a short-lived time at the front as Davey Todd took the lead in the opening stages. 

The slipstream effect was immediately present. Not that it will have been a surprise to the riders, but after only one lap it seemed unlikely that any rider would be able to break away at any point in the race’s six laps.

The front group numbered five by the final lap. Richard Cooper had led the vast majority of the race, but it was the pole-sitter, Seeley, who led onto the sixth and final lap. 

An apparent lack of top-end on the Ducati cost Seeley on the run to Station on the final lap. He lost out to Todd's Honda, and then to Cooper's Yamaha, who fought for the lead until Metropol. There, Cooper was passed briefly by Alastair Seeley, who almost ran into Todd in the process. The slide that Seeley induced to avoid a crash meant that Todd got away, and was able to pick up his first win. 

Seeley, on the other hand, was able to overcome Cooper for second place, while the #47 took third.

Michael Dunlop was fourth, ahead of Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman. 22 seconds behind the leader at the finish was Adam McLean in seventh, while Paul Jordan (8th), Pierre Yves Bian (9th) and Conor Cummins (10th) rounded out the top 10.

Perhaps the most pressing news before the start of the race concerned Lee Johnston, who crashed in Supersport practice on Thursday morning. At the time of writing, the only information about Johnstone’s condition is that it is non-critical, and that he was air-lifted from the track to hospital following his crash.

Full 2023 North West 200 results from Supersport Race 1 are below.

2023 North West 200 Results | Supersport | Race 1

Image credit: North West 200/Pacemaker Press.

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