By Following a frantic start it was Ivan Lintin on Mckinstry racing ER6 Kawasaki who lived it his nickname lighting Lintin in gaining a healthy lead at the end of lap 1 as the battle raged behind with up to 9 riders battling over second position. Lap 2 saw Lintin continue to grow his lead whilst Lee Johnston was showing good form on East Coast racing ER6 Kawasaki in moving into second place as Jamie Hamilton was also in the mix for Stewart Smith racing.
Keith Amor was working his way through and by lap 3 was right with the leading bunch for second place and soon onto lap 4 four Amor was in second place and Lee Johnston was third, the two of them broke away from the chasing pack and went in pursuit of Lintin who was still comfortably clear out front.
Soon though both Keith Amor and Lee Johnston where reeling the Mckinstry racing rider in, fans around the North West 200 sensed we had quite a race on our hands here. Michael Dunlop was pushing and pushing on Mcadoo racing ER6 Kawasaki before encountering problems whilst James Hillier was getting quicker as the race went on Quattro Plant Kawasaki super twin.
The fifth lap of the race saw Amor and Johnston still battling over second place before issues struck the flying Scotsman’s KMR Kawasaki super twin which meant that Johnston was now clear in second place and was fast reeling Lintin in for race victory which would be the East Coast racing’s rider first at North West 200.
Final lap beckoned and as the lap went on Lee Johnston was continuing to reel Ivan Lintin in and soon general Lee hit the front at just the right time with not long to go on final lap. Lee Johnston crossed the line on lap six to record his first North West 200 victory, a well deserved win for Lee who was delighted with his first North West 200 win.
Ivan Lintin was second, despite having lead for so long it was still a top result for Ivan who is confident of fighting for race victory in second super twin race on Saturday. James Cowton produced a stunning performance to finish in third place, Kendo racing rider James rode immaculately throughout and his efforts where rewarded with a first North West 200 podium finish.
James Hillier finished fourth for Quattro Plant Kawasaki, Jamie Hamilton was fifth, Ryan Farquhar was sixth, Martin Jessopp seventh, Jeremy Mcwilliams eighth, Paul Shoesmith ninth and Timothee Monot was an excellent 10th place finisher. A fascinating race throughout which saw Keith Amor break the super twins lap record with a lap speed of 108.644 mph, but the race belonged to Lee Johnston who is now firmly established as one of leading road racers in the world.
