By For the first time this decade, Superbikes opened competition on Thursday evening of Northwest 200 race week.
A relative sprint for riders, four-lap distance, the Briggs Equipment Superbike race vaulted into commission at 5:42 PM.
Best away on the run to York Corner was Milwaukee BMW’s Davey Todd.
Todd remained P1 up to the Mill Road Roundabout, closely pursued by qualifying lap record holder Glenn Irwin.
At lap one’s end Todd and Irwin had opened a 3.5 second plus advantage over the chasing pack headed by Dean Harrison.
The pre-race anticipated duel between Irwin and Todd was living up to expectations.
Throughout lap two, former Duke Road Race Rankings Champion Todd was holding firm, stopping the hard charging, Irwin.
As lap three dawned, Todd, Irwin individually inside the outright lap record, both lapping sub 4 minutes 16.9 seconds, were covered by just 0.155 of a second.
Michael Dunlop was up to third, just in front of fellow Mountain Course ‘Aliens’ Harrison and Peter Hickman.
Lap three carried a similar theme to the previous lap albeit you could clearly see Irwin’s growing willingness to take P1.
He briefly did this only for Todd to re-take the lead but by lap three’s end, Hager PBM Ducati’s Irwin had taken over leader reigns.
With one lap remaining, the top six order was Irwin, Todd, Dunlop, Harrison, Hickman, Cummins.
Could Todd regain the initiative, stop Irwin’s history making quest?
Slip-stream city was in full effect with the pair swapping positions.
At the Bet McLean Chicane Irwin robustly kept P1, which he maintained till the chequered flag.
Irwin is now equal with Joey Dunlop and Michael Rutter on nine Northwest 200 Superbike race wins.
Completing the top three between behind Todd, eventually 2.545 behind Irwin was 25 times TT winner Dunlop.
Hickman placed fourth, Harrison took fifth with Milenco by Padgetts Conor Cummins sixth.
John McGuinness MBE, James Hillier, Paul Jordan, Erno Kostamo obtained positions seventh to tenth.
NW200 – Briggs Equipment Superbike Race Result:
1st – Glenn Irwin
2nd – Davey Todd
3rd – Michael Dunlop
4th – Peter Hickman
5th – Dean Harrison
6th – Conor Cummins
7th – John McGuinness MBE
8th – James Hillier
9th – Paul Jordan
10th – Erno Kostamo
11th – Craig Neve
12th – Ian Hutchinson
13th – Sam West
14th – David Johnson
15th – Amalric Blanc
16th – Julian Trummer
17th – Eddy Ferre
18th – Laurent Hoffmann
19th – Luca Gottardi
20th – Emmet O’Grady
21st – James Chawke
22nd – Kris Duncan
23rd – Martin Morris
24th – Marty Lennon
25th – Sean McTaggart
26th – Liam Chawke
27th – Paul Cranston
28th – Jean Pierre Polet
29th – Craig Kennelly
30th – Donald MacFadyen
31st – Brad Clarke
Photo credit: Derek Wilson
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
