North West 200 Preview
The 2026 Briggs Equipment North West 200 gets underway today on Northern Ireland’s high-speed Triangle circuit, with opening practice before Thursday evening’s first three races and Saturday’s full race day.
This year’s build-up has no shortage of moving parts. Glenn Irwin is back after missing last year’s event, Michael Dunlop’s big-bike plans remain a point of intrigue, Davey Todd has been ruled unfit after his Daytona injuries, and the new European Series Road Racing element adds another layer to the Superbike races.
For Australian readers, there is also a direct line of interest. Josh Brookes returns chasing a long-awaited North West 200 victory, including aboard the Uggly&Co GSX-R750 Suzuki in Supersport, while David Johnson continues with Platinum Club Racing and Kawasaki UK on the updated Ninja ZX-10RR.
Competitors have been trickling into the seaside paddock over the weekend and during Bank holiday Monday, but this morning there has been a huge influx of riders, mechanics and transporters with many BSB teams arriving fresh from the opening round of the championship at Oulton Park.
There is also a healthy contingent of riders who have travelled from continental Europe who took part in the first round of the all-new European road racing Series at Hengelo in Holland over the weekend. Interestingly, the first two SBK races at the ‘North West’ will count towards that championship.
Glenn Irwin
The big talking point from this year’s event is Glenn Irwin’s return, after he missed just one ‘North West’ since his retirement from road racing late in 2024. Sensationally, it was revealed on Monday evening that Irwin’s return had been in doubt after a disastrous start to the season at Oulton Park.
Irwin has signed up to campaign a V4RR Ducati in Nitrous competitions trim this year, but was struggling with technical issues and gave a very frank and honest assessment of the new bike after race one at the Cheshire circuit.
Visibly frustrated, he compared the bike’s performance to a ‘600’, and when asked if there was anything he could do to improve it, he quipped bluntly, ‘paint it a different colour’. Behind the scenes, he had contacted NW 200 race coordinator Mervyn Whyte to inform him that he most likely wouldn’t be able to take part in the event.
Thankfully, the team discovered a faulty gearbox sensor had been the cause of his woes throughout the weekend and were able to rectify it in time for race three, where he managed a fifth-place finish with noticeably improved pace. The 11-time NW 200 Superbike winner will now take his place on the grid after all, much to the delight of the local fan base.
Michael Dunlop
Another local hero, Michael Dunlop, is also pencilled in to ride a V4 Ducati. He tested one at the recent BSB test but said that getting the bike late had left him on the back foot, describing the machine as a ‘different animal’.
Last week, he turned up at the Cookstown ‘100’ roads meeting where he won four races. However, it was the 2025 Superstock BMW that he pulled out of the van at Cookstown, leaving some question marks over the direction he may go in for this year’s big bike races at the North West and TT.
Dunlop has been known to change machinery at the last minute when he feels a bike isn’t the right tool for the job, and there will be great anticipation over the next 24 hours to see if it is indeed the Ducati or something else, he may ride.
He has in recent times made an annual Superbike reveal on the eve of practice at the North West and so we shouldn’t have a long wait to find out what’s happening. Currently his machinery in all classes is listed as ‘TBA’.
Peter Hickman
Peter Hickman returns to the event this year after a controversial and bruising 2025 season. Last year, he angrily declared that he wouldn’t be back at the NW200 when the stewards decided not to penalise Michael Dunlop for failing to stop in the stop-box after he overshot Mather’s chicane.
Hickman had also overshot and did stop, but it was his 8-Ten teammate, Davey Todd who Hickman felt should have been awarded the race win. The organiser’s decided that there was some ambiguity over whether the footpath MD had taken to constituted an ‘overshoot’ and so they couldn’t penalise him on those grounds.
Since then, Peter has declared his love for the event and that his remarks were made in the heat of the moment (although he stands over his views on the matter).
Things were getting a bit ugly on social media in the aftermath of last year’s controversy as rival fans fired shots, and ‘Hicky’ was seen to engage in some robust discourse with some of his detractors. But the Burton-upon-Trent man’s horrendous crash at the TT just a few weeks later really put things into perspective and it’s fair to say there won’t be many who aren’t delighted to see him back on the grid this time around.
Mind you, if it comes down to a final lap dogfight between the pair in Saturday’s big race, last year’s drama will certainly add some spice to proceedings.
Davey Todd
Hickman’s teammate, Davey Todd, will not take part. He travelled to the event but failed a medical on arrival. His participation this year was put in doubt after he was seriously injured at the Daytona 200 at the end of March.
Todd was thrown from his Triumph when mechanical failure (as a result of damage from an earlier crash) caused an issue with his steering, and he hit the famous wall at the Florida event, breaking his foot, tibia and femur, amongst other injuries.
Since then, Todd’s been recuperating at ‘Formula medicine’ in Italy, and his progress from wheelchair to BMW M1000RR in just over six weeks has been nothing short of astonishing.
A few days ago, he completed three 25-minute sessions at Valencia, but is unfortunately not fit enough to take part this week. He’ll be hoping the time he has between now and the TT is enough to make the difference, and he can make the Glencrutchery Road start line.
Dean Harrison
12 months ago, Dean Harrison finished on the podium in five races and no one will be hungrier than ‘Deano’ to claim his first ever win here.
The Honda racing man had a really strong 2025 that saw him take a Superstock double victory at the TT on the Fireblade and it might just be that he is the one who is most settled of all the top men coming into the new season. He arrives on the Irish north coast after a successful weekend in British Supersport that sees him sit fourth in the standings.
John McGuinness
His Honda racing teammate, John McGuinness will make his 100th start this year. He had prepared last year to celebrate that particular milestone, (getting a special helmet made up for the occasion) before realising that he had miscalculated and that he was in fact a year too early. All being well, the 54-year-old will hit the milestone this time around (the helmet is dusted off and ready this year). He currently has 96 starts to his name.
McPint led the opening superbike race last year when unexpected tailwinds had caused half the field to overshoot chicanes. Unfortunately for the Morecambe missile, he also fell foul of the gusting winds and overshot himself, losing the lead in the process.
Don’t be surprised to see him repeat his 2024 podium finish this week. Yesterday, he lapped Oulton Park faster than he ever has before and clearly still has plenty to add to the occasion.
Richard Cooper
Richard Cooper will be somewhat of an unknown quantity this year. He has parted ways with Ryan Farquhar, breaking up a partnership that delivered four victories in the Supertwins class. With the class morphing into Sportbike, ‘Coops’ has jumped ship to Suzuki, riding for the Powerslide team.
In supersport he remains with BPE Russell racing, but will campaign an R9 Yamaha, rather than the trusty R6 that has served him so well. As an added bonus, fans will enjoy watching the former British Superstock champion ride a 1000 cc bike at the event for the first time since 2022.
At his disposal, the Nottingham man has the SMS Nicholl Oils BMW that David Allingham took victory on at Oulton Park on Monday. You wouldn’t bet against him increasing his victory tally in any of the classes he rides in by the end of this coming week.
Alastair Seeley
Last year, Alastair Seeley rode that SMS Nicholl Oils M1000RR and finished on the podium in the feature race. For 2026, he rides a Ducati in the Supersport class and makes his Supertwin debut riding for Binch racing. Currently the most successful NW 200 Rider ever, the ‘Wee Wizard’ will have four chances to take his wins tally to 30; a milestone he is itching to reach.
‘Lord’ Storm Stacey
Storm Stacey is one of the most eagerly awaited newcomers to the event. Describing himself as a ‘just a daft lad’, the 23-year-old and his trademark top-hat will be a welcome addition to the road racing paddock and it would be more surprising than not if he isn’t in the hunt come race day.
Stacey has been under the tutelage of Michael Rutter since the start of last season, and lines up in the Superbike class for Bathams racing on yet another V4RR Ducati. He rides an MLav BMW in the Stock races. Glenn Irwin has him marked down as a future race winner.
Rob Hodson
Rob Hodson hasn’t raced in Ireland since his brother Jamie lost his life at the Ulster GP nine years ago. In the years that have since passed, Rob has gone on to become one of the top riders at the TT and had a successful Macau GP last year, finishing fourth in the far east event. The SMT Honda man should fit right in at the North West.
Josh Brookes
Brookes arrives in Northern Ireland armed with the DAO Racing Honda Fireblade he races in BSB and a Carl Cox motorsport Suzuki for Supersport. Last year, Brookes complained of stability issues on his Jackson racing Fireblade and lamented the nervous nature of the bike compared with the BMW he had previously ridden.
However, he returns on a Honda, only this time under the DAO racing umbrella. The team are making a return to the roads after concentrating on British championships for a number of years. But make no mistake, they know what they are doing; they have a Senior TT win to their name from 2018 when Dean Harrison raced for them.
Brookes will be hoping to finally chalk up a North West 200 victory over a decade on from his debut. And it may well be that the Supersport 750cc Suzuki is the bike he gets the job done on.
David Johnson
Adelaide’s ‘Davo’ Johnson returns with the factory backed Platinum club racing Kawasaki for a 3rd year. Johnson has made no secret in the past that he isn’t overly keen on the ‘North West’ as he always has one eye trained on the TT.
In saying that, he managed a top 10 finish in the final Superbike race at last year’s event and will certainly have the speed to fight with the top men if he finds himself in the thick of things.
Mitch Rees
New Zealand’s Mitch Rees had a cautious debut at last year’s meeting after he crashed in practice exiting Metropole corner. But the Whakatane bike dealer went on to have a highly impressive debut at the TT and will be raring to go this year. He’s back with the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda team and the Kiwi could be a dark horse for success this time around.
Other contenders
Mike Brown has been knocking on the door of an international roads victory for some time now. He seems happy and settled in the BPE Russell racing team alongside Richard Cooper, and will race an R9 Yamaha for the team in Supersport. Towards the end of last year, the team acquired a Fireblade for him to race in the big bike races and he’s never looked more comfortable on a 1000 cc.
Ian Hutchinson has this year set up his own RST racing team for the 1000 cc races and rides a BMW in Superbike and Superstock.
The ‘Miracle Man’ bagged an emotional podium last year, blinking back the tears as he told his daughter via the TV coverage, ‘Daddy’s still fast’. He also rides the Burrows Engineering V2 Ducati in Supersport.
2025 race winner Paul Jordan is another man who’s made the leap to the V2 Ducati in Supersport and he was looking very impressive at the recent Cookstown event, where he set a new lap record on his way to victory.
The Jackson racing man has spent the winter training at a Muay Thai camp in Thailand and if Cookstown is anything to go on, he looks to be reaping the rewards. He rides a Fireblade in the big races and an Aprilia in the Twins.
Last year, Jordan won the second Supertwins race after Richard Cooper and Adam McLean crashed out at Juniper in the closing stages. McLean was desperate to make amends this year but has pulled out of the event at the 11th hour, as he requires surgery on some old injuries.
Up steps 62-year-old former Moto GP star, Jeremy McWilliams. McWilliams takes over McLean’s Flitwick Yamaha in the Twins race, and the factory-backed CD racing Kawasaki in Supersport. He had been due to race a Ducati in the Supersport class for JMCC racing, but jumped ship to CD racing; the lure of a spare bike and a team of mechanics was too enticing. Leon Jeacock takes over the JMCC Ducati.
Other names to watch out for are Jamie Coward, Erno Kostamo, Dominic Herbertson, Gary McCoy, Maurizio Bottalico, Franco Bourne and Darryl Tweed.
The weather in the area is currently bright and sunny, but the forecast for tomorrow’s opening practice session is unfortunately a bit iffy and is giving light rain showers for most of the afternoon.
However, the outlook has been changeable over the past week, and all concerned will be frantically refreshing their phones right up until the flag drops to get proceedings underway in the morning. Check back in for news of that opening qualifying session tomorrow.
2026 North West 200 Schedule
 Schedule |
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| Date | Type | Road Closing Times |
| Wed 6th May | Practice | 9:00am – 3:00pm |
| Thu 7th May | Practice | 9:00am – 3:00pm |
| Thu 7th May | Evening Racing | 4:45pm – 9:00pm |
| Sat 9th May | Race Day | 9:00am – 7:00pm |
| Practice Schedule Wednesday 6th May (9:00am – 3:00pm) | ||
| Session | Bike Class | Approx Time |
| 1st Session | Newcomers Only | 9:45 |
| 2nd Session | Superbike | 10:30 |
| 3rd Session | Supersport | 11:45 |
| 4th Session | Superstock | 12:45 |
| 5th Session | Supertwin / Sportbike | 13:45 |
| Thursday 7th May (9:00am – 3:00pm) | ||
| Session | Bike Class | Approx Time |
| 1st Session | Superbike | 9:45 |
| 2nd Session | Supersport | 11:00 |
| 3rd Session | Superstock | 12:00 |
| 4th Session | Supertwin / Sportbike | 13:00 |
| Race ScheduleThursday 7th May – Evening Racing (4:45pm – 9:00pm) | ||
| Race No. | Race | Approx Time |
| R1 | Milwaukee Superbike Race (4 laps) | 17:30 |
| R2 | Fraser Homes Supersport Race (4 laps) | 18:30 |
| R3 | Amici Ristorante Superstock Race (4 laps) | 19:15 |
| Saturday 9th May – Race Day (9:00am – 7:00pm) | ||
| Race No. | Race | Approx Time |
| R1 | Maxwell Freight Services Supertwin/Sportbike (4 laps) | 10:00 |
| R2 | Briggs Equipment Superbike Race (6 laps) | — |
| R3 | Tides Restaurant Supersport Race (6 laps) | — |
| R4 | CP Hire Superstock Race (6 laps) | — |
| R5 | John M Paterson Supertwin/Sportbike (4 laps) | — |
| R6 | Merrow Hotel and Spa Superbike Race – Possible Road Closing Extensions (without using full contingency day): (6 laps) | — |
| Contingency & Additional Information Contingency Days (in case of extreme weather): Wednesday 6th May and Friday 8th May 2026. Possible Road Closing Extensions (without using a full contingency day): | ||
| Day | Normal Closing | Extended Closing |
| Wednesday 6th May | 9:00am – 3:00pm | 5:00pm – 9:00pm |
| Saturday 9th May | 9:00am – 7:00pm | 7:00pm – 9:00pm |
