Todd’s agonizing victory in Supersport 1 and Seeley’s ride in Superstock 1

2023-05-12 10:06:42

The North West 200 celebrated its first day of racing this past Thursday, a day that started with a major scare, the one given to us by Lee Johnston after suffering an accident during the last Supersport free practice that ended with the Ashcourt Racing driver being transferred by helicopter to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries that, according to the organization, were not life-threatening.

The first race of this NW200, at Supersport Race 1, started after 18:00 local time, with some delay. The weather conditions were perfect, with no rain, dry asphalt and a temperature that, without being warm, did not compromise the grip of the tyres.

The start of the test was rough: a crash on the first lap, at the height of the Mill Road Roundabout, forced to stop the race with a red flag. Those involved did not suffer significant injuries, but the restart of the test took almost an hour to clean the road and guarantee the safety of the rest of the pilots in the restart.

An hour later, Supersport Race 1 started for the second time, this time without problems. The battle was really intense from start to finish, especially between Richard Cooper, Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison, Alastair Seeley, Michael Dunlop y Davey Todd, with practically constant position changes taking advantage of the slipstreams on the endless straights of the NW200 layout.

Seeley started the sixth and final lap in the lead, followed by Cooper, Todd, Dunlop and Harrison, but the order changed at the University corner, at which point the Honda – Milenco by Padgett driver won second square to Cooper, clocating to Alastair’s wheel for the final attack on Metropole.

Todd made it to the final Juniper chicane ahead of this pack of wolves, and while it wasn’t easy, managed to hold off Seeley’s final attack for his second victory in the North West 200 by a tenth difference over Alastair (2nd), a podium completed by Richard Cooper (3rd) followed by Michael Dunlop (4th) and Dean Harrison (5th).

What a finish!

Davey Todd takes the win after a thrilling Supersport race to get us going ????

The Superstocks are up next…

Watch and listen live ⤵️#BBCBikes #NW200

— BBC SPORT NI (@BBSCPORTNI) May 11, 2023

Soon after, the grill cleared again to give entry to the Superstock machines, who completed their first race of this edition when the sun was already beginning to say goodbye on the horizon of the Northern Ireland sky. Alastair Seeley dominated at will, and although Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgetts Honda) took the lead early on, Seeley took command of the race before reaching University, at which point he took to his heels.

His next three laps were completed at record pace, and that allowed the SYNETIC BMW Motorrad rider enjoy a lead of almost six seconds on the fourth lap, signing a career record in 4 minutes and 19.52 seconds. Alastair’s recital continued until the sixth lap, when a red flag signaled the end of the race; Nathan Harrison, who was running seventh at the time, suffered a fall that forced the stoppage of the test. Luckily, he only suffered minor injuries.

The early end of the test gave Seeley his 28th North West 200 victoryleading a podium to which they also climbed Davey Todd (2º) y Michael Dunlop (3º), both protagonists of a beautiful fight that could not be resolved on the track after the appearance of the red flag. special mention for Raul Torraswho managed to get into the top 20 of the race thanks to a hard-fought 17th position for the Spanish rider on the Toll Racing Team’s Honda.

Read also: North West 200 2023: Schedules, preview and where to watch it live

Delays caused by red flags prevented the celebration of Race 1 of the Supertwin category, which will be rescheduled for Saturday, a day in which a total of six races will be held if the weather permits.

NW 200 Supersport Race 1

NW 200 Superstock Race 1