North West 200 gets underway with Dunlop and Seeley setting the pace

2023 North West 200

With Ben McCook

The 2023 North West 200 is go! A successful (and incident free) opening day of practice took place at the scenic, Northern Irish coastal event today where local men, Michael Dunlop and Alastair Seeley made all the headlines.

Dunlop stuck the Hawk Racing Honda Fireblade on provisional pole in Superbike before a late fast lap banked him second place on the Stocker also.

Seeley was just 1.9s behind ‘The Bull’ in SBK but went fastest in Superstock and Supersport. A really impressive showing from the pair.

Nottingham’s Richard Cooper then posted the fastest time in the Twins session to disrupt the native’s lockout of provisional poles.

The BSB leading hot favourites; Glenn Irwin and Josh Brookes’ opening day didn’t quite go to plan. Brookes completed just one lap in the SBK session and Irwin suffered with stability issues.

While Brookes had problems in Superbike he did manage seventh in the SuperStock session later in the day, ahead of real road specialists Conor Cummins, John McGuinness and James Hillier.

The morning got off to a slow start. An engine blow-up during the opening ‘newcomers’ session caused a 30-minute delay for the SBKs. As the Sun beamed down on the assembled grid, there was some agitation within the ranks due to a lack of communication on what was actually going on. It’s worth noting that Dunlop and Seeley were visibly relaxed at that time and perhaps that made the difference once the riders finally got out on track.

Eventually a session (cut to half an hour) got under way. The opening session at the North West is always frantic due to the unique nature of the circuit, so a cut session could only up that ante. Many riders traditionally do a single lap before stopping for adjustments as there is no way of knowing if the bike is even close to being set up right before hitting the long four-kilometre straight that leads them into Coleraine at 320 km/h. This morning’s shortened session made every decision made in pitlane that little bit more important than usual.

Brookes was so concerned by the issues he was having that he immediately parked the FHO BMW just minutes after the start.

RelatedPosts

David Johnson reflects on NW200 and looks to the TT

May 16, 2024

John McGuinness on podium at NW200 in lead up to TT

May 15, 2024

Glenn Irwin posted, “FP1 always enjoyable on the North Coast but not so much when you can’t go on a straight line… roll on Thursday for the boys will digest the data and we go again.” Irwin received a new engine from Ducati especially for the event but could it be a poisoned chalice? It wouldn’t be the first time a very powerful Superbike arrived at the North West completely unsuitable for the job.

The late Richard Britton had an awful time many years ago attempting to tame Yukio Kagayama’s Rizla Suzuki. In theory it should have been one of the best bikes on the grid … but those who witnessed the big Suzuki weave and shake its head around the North West will testify that it was far from it- Britton just could not get the thing to do straight. It will be fascinating to see if Irwin has better luck getting his Beer Monster Ducati to behave. “An easy fix“ he reckons. Only time will tell.

But take nothing away from Dunlop’s performance today. He has put in the hard work getting ready for this event and it would appear he has the Honda well and truly disciplined. He looked both determined and on point all session in the main event and the fans were delighted with his showing. He then timed his run perfectly in the Stock session to bank a very late fast lap that put him second while his rivals took the chequered flag and headed back to the pits. He also came home fourth in Supersport and fifth in the Twins. A solid start for the Ballymoney man.

The Honda SBK is obviously well suited to the circuit with half the top 10 on Fireblades. Lee Johnston clocked the third best time behind Seeley and ahead of Hickman in 4th, with John McGuinness in fifth. Dean Harrison was sixth on the DAO Kawasaki and Davey Todd and Conor Cummins were the other Hondas on the leader board either side of Irwin in seventh and ninth. Newcomer, Mike Browne completed the top 10; a very impressive showing on the ex- Ian Hutchinso Burrows BMW.

So far Seeley looks to be the man with all his I s dotted and T s crossed. On today’s evidence he has to be in with a chance of winning every race. Any doubts that hung over his unfamilar Supersport Ducati V2 have been quickly dismissed by today’s pole. Some thought that maybe the unfamiliar machine wouldn’t suit Seeley or the circuit but obviously that’s not the case.

However, as ever, Supersport will be anyone’s race and the most hotly anticipated of the day. Seeley has a gaggle of R6s snapping at his heals with Richard Cooper, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop all within touching distance.

It’s a similar situation in Superstock, only this time it’s Dunlop, Hickman and Todd in pursuit.

As ever the Supertwins class provided a little flavour to the day. A field full of Patons, Aprillias and R7 Yamahas mean that the bikes look and sound noticeably different to the other classes. But it was a KMR Kawasaki that topped the timesheets today.

Richard Cooper picked up where he left off last year. Smooth and stylish as ever, you can rest assured that his bike will be 100 per cent legal this year. Ryan Farquhar will have made sure that nothing has been left open to interpretation in the design of that little bike after last year’s furore. So far Jeremy McWilliams and TT 2022 podium man complete the top three behind Cooper.

Not long after the roads opened today the heavens opened. Heavy showers have fallen at various times over the past number of days and the outlook for Thursday’s final session is unpredictable. It looks as though the organisers might well be playing cat and mouse with the weather for the rest of the week. However, that is not something new for the North West and those in charge will know what to do when the time comes. Thursday’s final day time session is followed by three evening races before Saturday’s main event closes out the meeting.

2023 North West 200 Results
Superbike First Qualifying Times

1. Michael DUNLOP Honda – Hawk Racing 4:22.658 122.943mph
2. Alastair SEELEY BMW – Milwaukee BMW Motorrad 4:24.587 122.047mph
3. Lee JOHNSTON Honda – Ashcourt Racing 4:28.887 120.095mph
4. Peter HICKMAN BMW – FHO Racing BMW Motorrad 4:29.922 119.635mph
5. John McGUINNESS Honda – Honda Racing UK 4:30.287 119.473mph
6. Dean HARRISON Kawasaki – DAO Racing 4:30.379 119.432mph
7. Davey TODD Honda – Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles 4:30.740 119.273mph
8. Glenn IRWIN Ducati – BeerMonster Ducati 4:31.076 119.125mph
9. Conor CUMMINS Honda – Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles 4:32.146 118.657mph
10. Mike BROWNE BMW – Burrows by RK Racing 4:33.796 117.942mph

2023 North West 200 Results
Superstock First Qualifying Times

1. Alastair SEELEY BMW – SYNETIC BMW Motorrad 4:21.769 123.361mph
2. Michael DUNLOP Honda – MD Racing 4:23.729 122.444mph
3. Peter HICKMAN BMW – FHO Racing BMW Motorrrad 4:24.853 121.924mph
4. Davey TODD Honda – Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles 4:26.409 121.212mph
5. Lee JOHNSTON Honda – Ashcourt Racing 4:26.502 121.170mph
6. Dean HARRISON Kawasaki – DAO Racing 4:27.280 120.817mph
7. Josh BROOKES BMW – FHO Racing BMW Motorrad 4:28.516 120.261mph
8. Conor CUMMINS Honda – Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles 4:29.173 119.967mph
9. John McGUINNESS Honda – Honda Racing UK 4:30.499 119.379mph
10. James HILLIER Yamaha – OMG Racing 4:32.236 118.618mph

2023 North West 200 Results
Supersport First Qualifying Times

1. Alastair SEELEY Ducati – Powertoolmate Ducati 4:36.589 116.751mph
2. Richard COOPER Yamaha – BPE by Russell Racing 4:36.983 116.585mph
3. Dean HARRISON Yamaha – BPE by Russell Racing 4:38.119 116.109mph
4. Michael DUNLOP Yamaha – MD Racing 4:38.281 116.041mph
5. Peter HICKMAN Triumph – K2 Trooper Triumph by PHR 4:39.471 115.547mph
6. Lee JOHNSTON Yamaha – Ashcourt Racing 4:40.499 115.123mph
7. Davey TODD Honda – Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles 4:42.395 114.350mph
8. Mike BROWNE Yamaha – Burrows by RK Racing 4:43.301 113.985mph
9. Paul JORDAN Yamaha – PreZ Racing by Prosper2 4:44.063 113.679mph
10. Adam McLEAN Yamaha – JMcC Roofing Racing 4:45.841 112.972mph

2023 North West 200 Results
SuperTwin First Qualifying Times

1. Richard COOPER Kawasaki – KMR Kawasaki 4:49.037 111.723mph
2. Jeremy McWILLIAMS Paton – JMW Bayview Racing 4:52.452 110.418mph
3. Paul JORDAN Kawasaki – PreZ Racing by Prosper 4:56.801 108.800mph
4. Adam McLEAN Kawasaki – JMcC Roofing Racing 4:57.615 108.503mph
5. Michael DUNLOP Kawasaki – McAdoo Kawasaki Racing 4:59.210 107.924mph
6. Lee JOHNSTON Aprilia – Ashcourt Racing 5:00.181 107.575mph
7. Michael SWEENEY Paton – Team ILR/Frog Racing 5:00.615 107.420mph
8. Stefano BONETTI Paton – Team ILR/Frog Racing 5:01.072 107.257mph
9. Peter HICKMAN Yamaha – PHR Performance 5:01.357 107.155mph
10. Joe LOUGHLIN Kawasaki – G2-Tech 5:07.701 104.946mph

2023 North West 200 Schedule