Stellar line-up announced for North West 200 as organisers confirm final entry list

The home crowds had plenty to shout about in 2022 as Carrickfergus men Glenn Irwin and Alastair Seeley chalked up five victories between them.

With Irwin deciding against competing at the Isle of Man TT this year after making his debut last June, the North West will be the only road race where the British Superbike contender will be in action on the PBM Ducati V4R, notwithstanding a potential return to the Macau Grand Prix in November.

Seeley – the all-time record holder with 27 wins – saves his road racing exploits exclusively for the NW200, as does Nottingham’s Richard Cooper – a double podium finisher in the Superbike class last May on the Hawk Racing Suzuki.

After reuniting with the Moneymore-based TAS Racing team to ride the SYNETIQ BMW in the National Superstock 1000 Championship this season, Seeley is seeking more success in the Superbike and Superstock classes on the M1000RR. The 43-year-old will also line up in the Supersport races but has yet to confirm his plans.

“I’m coming back with a very good team, a high-profile British Superbike team and obviously at the North West I’ve had a lot of wins with TAS Racing, just over half of my wins,” said Seeley.

“SYNETIQ BMW are going to supply me with the machinery – the Superstock and Superbike are confirmed – so I just have to get my Supersport bike confirmed now and hopefully we can put it on top of the box again.”

Cooper, who was first across the line in both Supertwin races last year before being disqualified on a technical infringement, will ride a Yamaha R6 for Ulster team Boyce Precision Engineering/Alistair Russell Racing. Cooper will also take his place on the Superbike grid, with his machine yet to be unveiled.

The trio face formidable opposition from road racing’s regular big-hitters, including the outright lap record holder, Peter Hickman, on the FHO Racing BMW.

Already a two-time Superstock winner, Hickman is now eager to claim a Superbike success to complete a full set of victories at the major road races, following multiple wins at the TT, Ulster Grand Prix and Macau.

His team-mate, Josh Brookes, finished on the rostrum in the blue riband Superbike race in 2022 on the PBM Ducati and is also a major contender.

Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop has switched to Honda power with Hawk Racing and will ride his own Honda and Yamaha machines in the Superstock and Supersport classes respectively.

Fermanagh’s Lee Johnston is also Honda-mounted for the big-bike classes with his Ashcourt Racing team and will race a 600 Yamaha, which he rode to victory at the NW200 13 months ago.

After four runner-up finishes in 2022, rising star Davey Todd could have a breakout year on the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda. He will be joined in Portrush by team-mate Conor Cummins.

Honda Racing UK will run John McGuinness and new signing Nathan Harrison, while 14-time winner Michael Rutter will give fans a treat on the MotoGP-derived Honda RC213V-S.

Former Superstock winner James Hillier (OMG Yamaha), Dean Harrison (DAO Racing Kawasaki) and Jamie Coward (KTS Steadplan Honda) are also key contenders, while Adam McLean (J McC Roofing Racing), Paul Jordan (PreZ Racing), Michael Sweeney (MJR BMW), newcomer Mike Browne (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing), Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau BMW) and Jeremy McWilliams (IFS/Bayview Hotel Paton) bolster the Irish challenge.

A big overseas contingent features former Supertwin winners Pierre Yves Bian from France and Italy’s Stefano Bonetti, plus Erno Kostamo from Finland and German David Datzer – who finished first and second respectively in last year’s Macau GP.

Maria Costello, Nadieh Schoots and Patricia Fernandez-West add further depth to the star-studded entry.

Practice begins on Tuesday, May 9 with final qualifying and the first three races on Thursday, May 11. The main five-race programme takes place on Saturday, May 13.