NW200: Record holder Alastair Seeley hoping to land knockout blow in silverware bid

Seeley renewed his old ties with Northern Ireland’s TAS Racing team to ride the SYNETIQ BMW in the National Superstock Championship – a title he won back in 2009 – and the Carrick man knows from past experience that competing at the sharp end in the highly competitive British series will ensure he is in tip-top shape for his favourite event of the year this week.

The 43-year-old’s new helmet design this year features the old adage ‘the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune’, and Seeley has done the wise proverb justice after a solid start to the championship on the M1000RR.

He looked on course for a race victory on bank holiday Monday at Oulton Park in Cheshire until he was skittled by the wayward Alex Olsen, who made a hopeless lunge on the Ulsterman into Lodge.

A physical altercation ensued and while it changed nothing for Seeley in terms of his gutting no-score at Oulton, the two-time British champion has arrived in Portrush ready to deliver a knockout blow in his pursuit of more silverware on the big road racing stage.

“When Covid came, myself, Glenn Irwin and Andrew (Irwin) and Simon Reid did nothing but cycle, cycle, cycle, so we were nearly ready for the Tour de France by the time Covid had finished,” said Seeley.

“I probably had never seen as many small roads around the country in all my days, so I’ve no excuse for getting lost now if I’m out on the bike.

“But we kept ourselves right, we did a lot of training and then once Covid was over, I actually went back to BSB, but I was riding something that wasn’t very competitive. We all talk about having ‘chatter’ in racing, but with my bike you’d have needed a gumshield in, so it wasn’t good,” he added.

“I couldn’t really showcase my talent and what I could do, so I think I dropped out of the shop window a little bit and now it’s time to prove what we can do.”

Seeley has assembled an impressive array of machinery for the three classes he will compete in at the North West, including his SYNETIQ BMW M1000RR Superstock bike, a Milwaukee-liveried BMW Superbike and a Ducati V2 Panigale Supersport machine, backed by Powertoolmate and Milwaukee in a collaboration between TAS Racing and Moto Rapido.

He rolled back the years in 2022, claiming a treble after leaving empty-handed when the North West last took place in 2019, clinching two victories in the Superstock races and a lucky 13th Supersport triumph, all on IFS Yamaha machinery.

Three more wins would give Seeley a milestone total of 30 victories, a feat he admits would be ‘awesome’.

“Obviously another hat-trick would be awesome but the conditions last year on the Thursday when it cold and wet, having a lot of experience helps in those conditions,” he said.

“It was very important last year to win in the dry last year as well or you would’ve had guys saying, ‘he only won because it was wet’, so it was nice to do it in both conditions.

“Every year I try and go with the same mentality, the same mindset, try and arrive healthy with no injuries and let everything click into place.

“I take the family with me and obviously we have a dog to bring now too, so he’ll keep us on our toes!

“For me, it works. I haven’t changed much over the years and I still go with the motorhome and park up in the back field. I spend the full week up there – I managed to get the week off work, which was good,” Seeley added.

“So I just enjoy the whole event and it’s nice to meet everybody coming into the paddock and Lewis (son) is able to come down and enjoy the whole thing.

“He’s there, the whole family is there and my missus will keep me on my toes – she keeps me fed and watered and I’ll be ready to go.”