Storm Stacey says he “felt more sorry for Davey Todd” than he did for new 2027 team-mate Glenn Irwin after ending the Northern Ireland rider’s Superbike winning streak at the North West 200 this year.

Stacey won the headline Superbike race, which was red-flagged and declared a result because of oil on the coast road.

The 23-year-old road racing newcomer was credited with the win on the GRYD Racing BMW from Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison and Carrickfergus man Irwin (Nitrous Competitions Racing Ducati) in third, who had earlier clinched his 12th Superbike victory on his return to the North West after a year’s absence in 2025.

Todd earned his first Superbike win at the North West in Irwin’s absence in 2025 after previously having to settle for second best on multiple occasions behind his nemesis.

placeholder image — Glenn Irwin and Davey Todd shake hands after the opening Superbike race at the North West 200 in 2024, which Irwin won on the Hager PBM Ducati. (Photo by Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press)

The 31-year-old missed the event this year through injury but was a part of BBC NI’s NW200 punditry and commentary team.

Debutant Stacey, who also beat Michael Dunlop in a sensational Superstock race to clinch his first NW200 victory, will return to the North Coast road race in 2027, when Irwin will be his team-mate in Michael Laverty’s GRYD Racing Team to ride BMW M1000RR machinery.

“It was special,” said Stacey, reflecting on his Superbike success in May.

“But I race against Glenn every weekend in BSB, so I’ve beat Glenn multiple times and he’s beat me multiple times. We just race together, and that’s that between me and Glenn.

“The streak he had going, I’m a bit sad for him that I broke it but it is what it is, and you’ve got to be in it to win it.

“The one I felt more sorry for was Davey, because Davey has been trying to beat Gleen round here for a lot of years and Davey was commentating on that race, and he got to watch me beat Glenn as a newcomer. That wouldn’t have been nice.”

All eyes will be on BSB team-mates Stacey and Irwin at the North West next year as they go head-to-head on the same machinery, but the Staffordshire rider believes having Irwin in the same team could be a bonus.

“I get on with Glenn really well and I think highly of Glenn. Will we get on all the time? Maybe not,” said Stacey.

“But Glenn’s Glenn, I’m me and I think we’ll help each other out a lot.

“I think everyone knows for sure once the visor goes down and the lights go out, we’re racing our own race.

“But I’m more than happy to help him and he’s got more experience than me around here, so there’s still stuff I’ll be able to learn from him.

“But I’m really looking forward to working with him because I think we will be a good team between us. We do talk already quite a lot.”

8TEN Racing BMW rider Todd will be aiming to make up for lost time in 2027 when he returns to the major road races and will have another chance at finally putting one over on old rival Irwin.

The Saltburn man finished as the runner-up to Irwin three times in 2024, losing out by less than half-a-second twice on the Milwaukee BMW.

In 2023, Todd was denied a win by Irwin by six-tenths-of-a-second in the opening Superbike race and was just 0.253s behind the Ulsterman the previous year in 2022, when he was riding Honda Fireblade machinery for Clive Padgett’s Honda squad.