2024 North West 200 | 6 Talking Points

Absences Dominate Entry List; Honda headaches reach roads

The first shocks of the 2024 North West 200 came upon the confirmation of the entry list, with the most notable names being those that weren’t there. Perhaps the most heartbreaking of these was the withdrawal of fan favourite Lee Johnston. Seriously injured 12 months ago in an incident at Church Corner, Johnston was due to return to the roads aboard his Ashcourt Racing machines at the Triangle Circuit this year.

Unfortunately, lightning would strike twice as the Yorkshire-based Ulsterman broke his tibia and fibula in a testing accident in Spain. The popular rider was still involved at the event, though, joining Keith Huewen and Steve Parrish in a banter-filled commentary box. Also missing was the North West 200’s most successful rider of all time, Alastair Seeley. The “Wee Wizard” lost his ride in the off-season, despite finishing third in the British Superstock Championship and despite race organiser Mervyn Whyte’s best efforts.

Finally, Honda suffered yet another racing-based setback, in line with the disappointment (read: embarrassment) that is its current form in both MotoGP and the World Superbike Championship. The works Honda Racing outfit arrived in Northern Ireland with only Superstock machinery, citing a lack of parts and the congested British Superbike schedule meaning it needed to prioritise its entry in the British Superbike and Supersport Championships.

Glenn Irwin breaks records

Going into the event this year, all eyes were on Glenn Irwin, where his untouchable run of eight victories in the Superbike class had left him just one behind the record of Michael Rutter and the great Joey Dunlop in the premier category. All signs in qualifying pointed towards another strong year for the current leader of the British Superbike Championship and his PBM Ducati.

A fight from Davey Todd threatened to spoil the party for Irwin, but a last lap charge proved unsuccessful for the Milwaukee BMW rider, outbraking himself into Juniper, and allowing the Ducati rider to take his ninth Superbike victory on the bounce. Todd would also provide Irwin with his closest challenge in both of Saturday's Superbike races, but his charge would be scuppered by backmarkers on the coast road and into both the Juniper and Quarry Hill chicanes. These backmarkers, and where they were caught by the leaders, would cause Irwin to question the quality of some of the riders’ granted entries to the North West 200, citing the dangers of trying to ride flat out against much slower riders with far inferior racing experience under their belts.

On a more positive note, Irwin scoring a hat-trick of Superbike victories meant he not only beat Rutter and Dunlop's record, but extended it further to 11. The win in the blue riband North West 200 race also saw the 34-year-old equal the record for the most consecutive wins across all classes in the 95-year history of the event. In his final post-race interview, Irwin declared his love for the North West 200, but also confirmed he would never return to the TT, after becoming its fastest ever newcomer in 2022 with Honda.

Davey Todd bounces back after bouncing down the road

The term “rollercoaster” may be a bit of a cliché these days, but for Davey Todd it perfectly sums up his Thursday evening. Having hovered around the top of all three categories he’d entered, Todd went into Thursday as one of the clear favourites, whether it was aboard his 1000cc BMW or all-new resplendent Ducati V4 in the Supersport class.

A close-fought race with Superbike aficionado Glenn Irwin meant the Middlesbrough man came an agonising second place in his first road race with the legendary TAS outfit. A lightning start in the following Supersport race looked promising for the Ducati, before getting unceremoniously wiped out by a falling Adam McLean at York Corner on the opening lap, leaving the door wide open for Richard Cooper to take a dominant win.

Questions hung over whether Todd would make the start of the Superstock race barely an hour later, but his grit and determination shone through - part of the charm that has made him a firm fan favourite, and he gingerly made his way onto the Milwaukee BMW for Thursday's final race. However, much like his performances in the British Championship, Todd took a commanding victory ahead of Dean Harrison's factory Honda. Clearly still feeling the effects of the earlier incident, the relief was clear to see on Todd's face in parc fermé, but the path now looks set going to the TT, arguably with his best shot at that elusive first victory of his career.

Come Saturday, Todd righted the wrongs of the Thursday night by leading across the line at the end of a classic Supersport encounter. A four-way fight for the win saw Todd get the better of Richard Cooper and Michael Dunlop, with the three separated by less than a second at the line. The momentum continued in the following Superstock race, as Todd repeated his Thursday result to secure another hat-trick of victories.

Peter Hickman finds success on smaller machinery

Peter Hickman has become known in recent years as the man to beat when it comes to big bikes on the Isle of Man. After all, 10 of his 13 TT wins have come aboard a 1000cc BMW. With Glenn Irwin and Davey Todd having a stranglehold on the big bike classes at the North West, and with his usual FHO Racing team not competing following its high-profile withdrawal in 2023, it was always going to be tough for Hickman to reach the top spot of the podium. And all of that was before an issue where his own PHR Performance BMW M1000RR could barely make it the full six laps without running out of fuel.

Despite the issues, Hickman did manage to place on the podium as runner up to Todd in the second Superstock, but it was aboard his eye-catching Swan Racing Yamaha R7 where his weekend would come alive. It was perhaps somewhat surprising that the 6’2” rider scored his best results in a class with the lowest power output, especially given his main rival was the diminutive Richard Cooper.

On both occasions, the gap between the two at the finish would be less than a second, making it even more frustrating for Cooper, who was aiming to take four wins from four across the Supertwin and Supersport races - eventually only taking one after Davey Todd’s spill on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Hickman’s double victories in the Supertwin category will give the Louth-based rider huge confidence in adding to his tally of 13 wins going to the Isle of Man TT, having won the second Supertwin TT in 2023, and being a firm favourite in the ‘big bike’ classes.

McGuinness and McWilliams prove age is just a number

While most of the headlines are dominated by the ‘younger’ stars of Glenn Irwin (34), Peter Hickman (37) and Davey Todd (almost an actual youngster at 28), the elder statesmen of the sport got one over on their younger competitors. With a combined age of 112, both John McGuinness and Jeremy McWilliams managed to secure third-placed finishes this weekend.

McWilliams alone is a great ambassador for the more experienced racer, still competing as a works rider on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, where he rides in the King of the Baggers series for Indian Motorcycles. The Belfast rider, who enjoyed a lengthy Grand Prix career throughout the 1990s and 2000s, was on the pace all weekend in the Supertwin category, threatening the front of the grid throughout qualifying. While he was unable to hang on to the fast-charging Cooper and Hickman, he held on to third place to secure a popular result at the chequered flag.

Even more popular, however, was the return to the winners’ enclosure of John McGuinness for the first time in over a decade. Competing only aboard a Superstock Fireblade (as per Honda’s decision to not bring either Superbike or Supersport machines), McGuinness benefited from both teammate Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop failing to make it to the finish. But that takes absolutely nothing away from McPint’s achievement, as he was made to work hard for it. WTF Racing’s James Hillier did the best he could, but failed to make his way past the works Honda.

The cheers from the grandstand were arguably the loudest all weekend, and McGuinness was visibly emotional as he rode into the winners’ enclosure. The moment was then made even sweeter as race-winner Davey Todd realised his close friend was rolling up alongside him for the post-race interviews.

Appetite whetted for the TT; can Dunlop overcome injury to equal (or beat) uncle Joey?

One of the best parts of the North West 200 each year is that it gives us our first glimpse of what’s to come in a couple of weeks when the Isle of Man TT rolls around again. The North West may not be the first real road race of the year - that’s the Cookstown 100 at the end of April - but it is the first international meeting of the season, and therefore a first look at the top teams.

While the Superbike results may not give the clearest indication due to the number of expected front runners having to run their Superstock machines, the potential running order for the Superstock, Supersport and Supertwin classes certainly adds plenty of fuel for thought. The way Davey Todd was able to control the field in the Superstock races - the bike he rides week in, week out at the front of the British Championship - suggests that there very much could be a popular win at the Isle of Man next month.

A concern for some fans, though, will be the speed and fitness of Michael Dunlop. Currently sitting just one victory behind his legendary uncle Joey, Dunlop could very well equal, and overtake Joey’s 26-win record. However, an accident at Cookstown has left Dunlop at less than 100%, which he said was part of the reason he couldn’t hang on at the front as well as he’d have liked. Despite the injury, he racked up five podium results - all third - across the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport classes, and when it comes to the Isle of Man, you can never count out a Dunlop…

Article image, list image, images 2 and 5 courtesy of North West 200, Pacemaker Belfast.

Images 3 and 6 courtesy of North West 200, Pacemaker Press.

Image 4 courtesy of North West 200, Rod Neill/Pacemaker Press.