ALASTAIR Seeley has now equalled Robert Dunlop’s record of 15 wins on the 8.9 mile Triangle course, formerly known as the North West 200, despite numerous red flags.
The 35-year-old from Carrickfergus battled the tough weather condition to win the Supersport race and Superbike event.
“I have been coming here since I was child and Robert and Joey Dunlop were heroes of mine.” Seeley said.
“To be with those guys is totally awesome and to equal Robert’s record is very special to me.” Seeley said after winning the Superbike race on the Tyco BMW S1000RR.
Proving he’s back to full fitness, Ian Hutchinson fought hard on-board his PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R alongside Seeley to take second with Valvoline Padgett’s Honda’s Bruce Anstey finishing third.
The Superbike race gave Seeley the record, but the 600cc battle saw Lee Johnston and newcomer Glenn Irwin fight it out over five laps with Seeley making a controversial move at Juniper Hill chicane to take his first win of the day on Saturday.
Johnston lost second place to Irwin who has made an incredible debut at the North West 200. Johnston over a chiane and was then penalised by ten seconds which meant the Gear Link Kawasaki rider, Irwin, took second.
Veteran KMR/SGS Kawasaki teammates Jeremy McWilliams and Ryan Farquhar put on another epic battle in the Supertwin race. McWilliams celebrated his 50th birthday last month and fought his way round the 8.9 mile course to take the win from Farquhar and Hamilton.
The Superstock race saw Seeley lose out to Johnston after he snatched the lead in a last lap move at Juniper. The ECC/Burdens BMW racer made it a clean sweep for local racers as he took the chequered flag ahead of Seeley and Hutchinson.
The final race of the day, the feature Superbike event, was abandoned due to gusts of 40mph making racing unsafe.
Unfortunately there were various red flags throughout the course of Saturday with one incident deemed serious. The opening Superstock race had to be cancelled after a serious accident involving racers Stephen Thompson, Horst Saiger and a female spectator.
Superbike race results – 5 laps:
1. Alastair Seeley BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing 22:15.677 Ave. 120.505mph
2. Ian Hutchinson Kawasaki - PBM Kawasaki 22:15.982 (+0.305) 120.478mph
3. Bruce Anstey Honda - Valvoline Racing by Padgetts 22:16.220 (+0.543) 120.456mph
4. Lee Johnston BMW - ECR/Burdens 22:17.598 (+1.921) 120.332mph
5. Michael Rutter BMW - Penz13.com Bathams by BMW 22:19.200 (+3.523) 120.188mph
6. John McGuinness Honda - Honda Racing 22:20.644 (+4.967) 120.059mph
7. William Dunlop BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing 22:27.467 (+11.790) 119.451mph
8. Guy Martin BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing 22:29.984 (+14.307) 119.228mph
9. David Johnson BMW - Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade 23:00.199 (+44.522) 116.618mph
10. Keith Amor BMW - Rig Deluge Road Racing 23:15.092 (+59.415) 115.373mph
Superstock race results – 5 laps:
1. Lee Johnston BMW - ECR/Burdens 22:17.138 Ave. 120.374mph
2. Alastair Seeley BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing 22:17.330 (+0.192) 120.356mph
3. Ian Hutchinson Kawasaki - PBM Kawasaki 22:17.557 (+0.419) 120.336mph
4. Michael Dunlop Yamaha - MD Racing 22:18.299 (+1.161) 120.269mph
5. William Dunlop BMW - Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing 22:31.884 (+14.746) 119.061mph
6. Martin Jessopp BMW - Riders Motorcycles 22:32.157 (+15.019) 119.036mph
7. James Hillier Kawasaki - Quattro Plant Muc-Off 22:57.494 (+40.356) 116.847mph
8. Keith Amor BMW - Rig Deluge Road Racing 22:57.592 (+40.454) 116.839mph
9. Conor Cummins Honda - Jackson Racing 22:58.322 (+41.184) 116.777mph
10. David Johnson BMW - Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade 23:05.793 (+48.655) 116.147mph
Supersport race results – 6 laps:
1. Alastair Seeley Suzuki - Tyco by TAS Racing 27:53.011 Ave. 115.509mph
2. Glenn Irwin Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki 27:55.578 (+2.567) 115.332mph
3. Lee Johnston Triumph 675 - ECR/Burdens 28:03.660 (+10.649) 114.779mph
4. William Dunlop Yamaha - CD-IC Racing 28:07.038 (+14.027) 114.549mph
5. Keith Amor Honda - Rig Deluge Road Racing 28:27.955 (+34.944) 113.146mph
6. Dean Harrison Yamaha - Mar-Train Racing 28:28.334 (+35.323) 113.121mph
7. John McGuinness Honda - Jackson Racing 28:29.951 (+36.940) 113.014mph
8. James Hillier Kawasaki - Quattro Plant Muc-Off 28:41.255 (+48.244) 112.272mph
9. Ben Wilson Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki 28:44.761 (+51.750) 112.043mph
10. Michael Rutter Kawasaki - Gearlink Kawasaki 28:45.678 (+52.667) 111.984mph
Supertwin race results – 4 laps:
1. Jeremy McWilliams Kawasaki - SGS / Manx Gas by KMR 19:58.361 107.367mph
2. Ryan Farquhar Kawasaki - SGS / Manx Gas by KMR 19:58.793 (+0.432) 107.328mph
3. Jamie Hamilton Kawasaki - Cookstown BE Racing 20:09.979 (+11.618) 106.336mph
4. Christian Elkin Kawasaki - McKinstry Racing 20:29.298 (+30.937) 104.665mph
5. Jamie Coward Aprilia 550 - Scott Racing Motorcycles 21:08.555 (+1:10.194) 101.426mph
6. Michael Russell Kawasaki - Emerald Road Racing 21:11.921 (+1:13.560) 101.157mph
7. Ian Morrell Suzuki 21:18.962 (+1:20.601) 100.600mph
8. Maria Costello Kawasaki - ESM/Hol-Taj 21:21.469 (+1:23.108) 100.404mph
9. David Madsen Mygdal Kawasaki - Full Factory Winnerswear 21:36.150 (+1:37.789) 99.266mph
10. Graham English Kawasaki - Tiva Engineering 21:36.235 (+1:37.874) 99.260mph
