Highlights North West 200

The North Atlantic coastline of Northern Ireland

is a beautiful sight.

Miles and miles of stunning views, seaside towns, historical ruins

and world-famous landmarks, like here, at the Giant's Causeway.

But in the month of May every year, it's the roads which provide

all the entertainment and excitement.

Normally open to the public,

nine miles are closed for motorcycle racing.

And this is a bike event like no other.

This is the International North West 200.

Road racing is one of

Northern Ireland's oldest sporting traditions.

This is the scene here at Portstewart

on a glorious May evening.

They've been racing here for over 80 years.

On the streets and through the countryside.

At speeds of over 200mph.

Welcome to highlights of

this year's Vauxhall International North West 200,

one of Northern Ireland's biggest and best sporting events.

Many of the giants of motorcycle road racing are here

to provide some exciting, exhilarating entertainment.

Here are some of the contenders.

Ian Hutchinson, a talented Englishman

and multiple international road race champion.

Michael Dunlop, from Northern Ireland's famous biking family,

is one of the biggest crowd-pullers.

Guy Martin is one of the sport's most popular riders

often better known as a television personality.

Also from England, Michael Rutter,

a veteran with over 20 years' North West experience.

And local man Alastair Seeley.

The master of this circuit, he's the event record-holder.

Alastair Seeley has 17 North West 200 victories,

so who better to give us a quick 60-second guide to this circuit

which winds its way through

the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush.

Well, it's all about Slipstream City,

they call as a nickname for this place. It's just very high-speed.

Bikes are in top gear for a long, long time.

Coming from high speed down to slow speed for the chicanes,

it's very easy to out-brake yourself.

It gets quite physical on the big bikes through the coast road.

You know that you've got the church up through to Black Hill

is all flicking direction very quickly.

Hard work there,

but the satisfaction is we get to Juniper Hill

where they say that's where the races are won or lost.

It depends who's behind you as well.

Some riders are better on the brakes than others.

Already we have cracked the 200 mile an hour this week,

but if we can get the wind blowing in the right direction

and a tailwind,

with my stature, my size and my machinery,

I'd like to see us try and take the speed record.

Well, Seeley has made an impressive start to this year's North West.

Despite a mistake early in the first race, he recovered to secure a win

in the superstock class

and stretch his record number of victories to 18.

And Seeley is in pole position for this, the next race,

the supersports.

Well, I'm joined on the grid

by British superbike rider Michael Laverty.

Michael, Alastair Seeley very much the man to beat.

Yeah, definitely.

In my opinion, the favourite today. For all classes.

Every race he is entered in, he is the favourite,

and he's at home on the Kawasaki,

in supersport, on the BMW, he just...

In superstock race, he just looked like he had

an extra little bit in the locker,

and that's going to be tough for the guys

to kind of rise to that challenge, to defeat him today.

-But I can see him extending his winning record today.

-OK, enjoy.

It's time to race.

-COMMENTATOR ONE:

-It's not really perfect conditions,

but here we go anyway,

with Alastair Seeley on pole from Lee Johnston and Michael Dunlop.

Second row. There is Martin Jessopp.

Two wins to his name now at the North West 200.

Dean Harrison and James Hillier.

Peter Hickman. Ian Hutchy, a bit low-key.

William Dunlop likewise.

The youngster there, Adam McLean

beside the mature rider Bruce Anstey and James Cowton.

We like veteran as we get older. Who is it going to be, then?

As we watch the lights and get ready for the off.

Seeley on pole, nearest the camera. Looking up, waiting to go.

Gearlink Kawasaki off the line,

but has he done it, or has Michael Dunlop done it?

Oh, it's going to be close.

Looks to me like it's number 34, Alastair Seeley, Gearlink Kawasaki.

We're on board with Dean Harrison

who got a good start from the second row.

But what about the mature man there, the veteran, Bruce Anstey,

dived down the inside.

That was a start from Bruce Anstey,

but it's Alastair Seeley in the lead.

Lee Johnston, Hutchy, Martin Jessopp, Bruce Anstey.

Dunlop at the back of that little group.

Then it's James Cowton and Dean Harrison up the inside

as the leaders get round clear.

Oh, that was very, very close there.

36, Jamie Coward we saw diving up the inside.

So, we climb up.

As you said, not perfect conditions, but it's drying all the time.

They're on dry tyres. 34, Seeley looking good.

As is number four, Ian Hutchinson on that brand-new R6 Yamaha.

Off the start line we go with Jamie Cowton.

Screaming through first, second, third gear.

Of course, they've had a sighting lap,

but tyres still a little bit cool as they go through Millbank Avenue.

Then it's Primrose Hill. Round the outside!

Brave move there from Jamie Cowton. Right round the outside of everyone.

So, Seeley over the coast road. Look at them. All riding almost...

Their bodies all moving at the same point on the track.

Getting close to it. Tom Weeden, Taylor Lindsay Racing Honda,

and again, look at those eyes.

They are looking 250 metres up the road,

because that's where you're going to end up in split seconds.

It's all about focusing a long, long way in front of you.

-Oh!

-Oh, dear!

And that was a bit of a lack of focus, I think.

Just locked the front up going into a chicane.

Well, that was, luckily, one of the gentle parts of the circuit,

so I'm sure Tom Weeden will be walking away from that

and kicking himself as he does so.

As we ride, again, with Alastair Seeley.

Who is behind us? Is there going to be a slipstream?

That Gearlink Kawasaki singing out there.

The gearing sounds perfect. Back through the gears.

Oh! There we go - Jessopp. Martin Jessopp.

He has already won a couple of races here this weekend, on Thursday.

He's really got it across him now.

Martin Jessopp knows that he can do it,

and once you know, then you can do it.

Again, that's what the folklore says.

We'll see if it's true for Martin Jessopp,

we'll see if Alastair Seeley can start notching up the wins.

Look at it.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15...

-Unreal. What a freight train we have here.

-There are so many.

The entire first wave, in fact, is in the train and in the slipstream.

And here it goes, working for Alastair Seeley.

Yeah, the little lad.

The Wee Wizard, we call him, and he is quite tiny.

He's very capable of getting himself hidden behind that screen,

trying to keep himself on the bike.

Bumpy part of the course here as they all get on the brakes.

Bruce, again. Fairly late on the brakes.

Hutchy even later. Jams it down the inside.

That's short-circuit stuff from Ian Hutchinson, isn't it,

on this chicane?

That's 600 racing. That's why we all love it so much.

And Alastair Seeley will be liking it

better than anybody at the moment,

but can he make the break?

That's his trademark race craft here, isn't it?

Get away, break the tow.

That's William Dunlop there.

William Dunlop just got past Bruce Anstey

on the very, very fast R6 Yamaha, last year's model.

He's passing the new model, as well, right now.

-And Jessopp back in front.

-Swapping places in this draft.

These boys all know that it's the last lap that makes the difference.

If you're all up in this together,

then you have an opportunity when the last lap comes along,

and that's what they'll all be thinking about.

This is the three-cylinder Triumph we're just passing here right now,

the Riders machine of Jessopp.

On board with Alastair Seeley. Look at this. Three abreast.

William Dunlop has made up so much ground.

That bike is fast.

He's going from the inside line. Slotted into second place.

Oh, there was almost a touch there! Did you see that?

Yes, I did, and it was Bruce Anstey that got pushed out wide,

but he's soon cutting it back in again right now.

So William Dunlop there, number 16 Caffrey Racing R6 Yamaha.

He's right behind Alastair Seeley as they come onto the coast road.

Left under the bridge and up to this swooping left turn at the crest.

Yeah, and they're still all bunched up. Looking on the inside.

Is he going to slot into third?

Not this time around. Thinks better of it.

William Dunlop hits the front, though.

Dunlop at the front.

I'll tell you what,

they're slipstreaming along the coast road now, aren't they?

I mean, it used to just be on the long straights,

but they're getting a tow along here as well.

The Yamaha is fast.

William Dunlop has got the inside line. How brave he is.

Alastair Seeley is going to be round the outside.

He owns the chicanes along the coast road, Seeley.

-He is the man...

-Oh, my goodness!

They're all getting squeezed here. Lee Johnston is down.

-That was, I think...

-Adam McLean, it was, who touched him.

..touched him and they just got caught...

But unfortunately Lee Johnston has gone down there,

the number 13 rider on the Jackson Racing Honda.

Well, Alastair Seeley, I was about to say, owns these chicanes.

We keep saying we should rename this one Seeley's

because he did extraordinary things here starting from a few years ago.

Now everybody tries it - including William Dunlop, in fact.

Yeah. William is back in front.

There is the wet patch going into the chicane.

He went on the inside line. Nice move from William. Superb.

The 32-year-old from Ballymena is now in front but not for long.

Seeley's back at it!

Seeley is straight back at it, straight back out in front.

And Primrose Hill and then onto York Corner.

-Seeley, Dunlop, Hutchy.

-Hutchy's not done with either, yet, is he?

And Adam McClean is not done with...

As Hutchy thinks about William Dunlop,

-Adam McLean is having a go at Martin Jessopp, I think.

-Yeah.

Dean Harrison a bit wide there. Gets past.

-That's Michael, isn't it?

-It is.

Is that the back-end of Michael Dunlop? He's coming along strong.

This was the pass.

That was William Dunlop sneaking underneath.

Alastair Seeley coming out, still with a bit of road,

but he didn't get the drive off the corner.

If you go in fast, you come out slow.

Alastair Seeley's switch back, took the advantage back again.

It's reaction times at the circuit race.

That's the move and it was kind of Adam McLean leant on top of

Lee Johnston a little bit.

Spots more rain here, look.

On the screen, there is definitely spots of rain on the screen.

This is the move from the outside. This is the replay.

And, really, Lee had nowhere to go.

He was on the inside and had nowhere to go realistically.

Here, I'm sure he'll be having words. I'm sure Adam McLean...

-He's a sensible and...

-There, you can see.

-Oh, yes.

-Diminished grip.

With that rain flag...

There is spots of rain here at Station Corner, which is about

the worst place in the world you'd want it.

Meanwhile, Alastair Seeley is in front and we ride with

Bruce Anstey who is not enjoying these conditions

because everyone else is getting past him now. He's cruising.

Look at that rev counter.

He thinks the race is going to be stopped, I think.

You see the rev counter just at 13,000 and we know it has got

another two- or 3000 on top of that. He's racing at the front.

-Alastair Seeley and William...

-Oh, here we go.

They're not stopping, are they, these two?

Dunlop goes shooting through.

Late braking Alastair Seeley into University. Hutchy on the inside.

Sneaks into second place there and it's getting greasy, I think, now.

A few spots of rain still falling.

Very difficult on a nine-mile course

because it can be raining in one place, dry in another.

William Dunlop looking to add to his tally of wins.

Ian Hutchinson looking to add to his.

Michael Dunlop looking to add to his.

Michael Dunlop is quite low down the list of North West 200 winners.

And, of course, Seeley is right there at the top,

especially after Thursday, and he's looking to tackle the podium

and win tally records of...

Philip McCallen and Hutchy is looking to tackle the slipstream.

-That worked for him, didn't it?

-Yeah, it did.

You can start to see a little wetness on those rear tyres.

Hutchy very late on the brakes. Is he going to get it stopped?

He's jammed it down the inside,

Adam McLean slots in there into third place.

There's Michael Dunlop we're looking at right now in fourth.

So quick, isn't it? First and fourth... The blink of an eye.

Straight back out of the slipstream and on the throttle. So, here we go.

-It's Hutchy out in front at the moment.

-It is.

-But not for long.

-But not for long.

There goes William Dunlop going through.

Talking of race wins, William Dunlop has four, Michael has five.

Look how quickly Seeley's coming out behind those.

It's still all to play for for all of these riders.

We've still got a dozen bikes in a train here.

And anyone that's in front is going to encounter the weather first.

It's always a tricky situation because you don't really know

how much rain there's been. You can't sort of see it.

It's on your visor. It's kind of mental rain, we call it.

It looks worse as we ride with Seeley who has, basically,

put his indicator on and passed Hutchy coming down here

into the Metropole.

Look how late he is, Ian Hutchinson!

Jams it right down the inside there. I'm not having any of that.

Pushes Seeley a little bit wide.

Oh, these short-circuit racers, though,

they've got these reaction times. They could go either way.

They're waving at them.

Seeley's back underneath Hutchy as they go through Church Corner.

That's not normally a place that you would pass,

but it is William Dunlop out in front underneath the railway bridge.

-Still damp on the track, you can see it.

-Yeah.

Over the coast road then and hard on the brakes.

Hutchy again up the inside. This is like short-circuit racing.

Change of weight, climbing to the front of the bike.

These bikes have about 140 brake horsepower.

Seeley comes back round the outside. Hutchy will be on the inside.

-Who is going to brake the latest?

-Adam McLean probably!

LAUGHTER

Seeley managed to get over and take his piece of track that he wants.

But it is, William is going to lead over the line again.

Are they going to stop this race? There is spots of rain everywhere.

William Dunlop leads Alastair Seeley, Ian Hutchinson, Adam McLean

and then Michael Dunlop.

And it looks drizzly.

I don't like the look of this and I'm sure they won't.

As I said, getting spots of rain on your visor...

Extremely difficult to know how wet it is on the track.

Once you start seeing tracks from the tyres, you know.

Yeah, there's wet on the camera. A big blob of water there.

Little splashes. That's not just been kicked up.

Oh, you can see the wetness there.

Oh, and he is having a big slide. Issues!

-Oh!

-I'm surprised that... Arms are coming out.

Hutchy has put his hand up.

Ah, will they stop it?

-Bruce.

-We ride with Bruce. Bruce is retiring.

-Yeah.

Whether he's got a problem

or whether his problem is the weather...

I think it probably is, actually. Anyway, look over that patch there.

And now, as Williams comes out he just gets on the power there,

first gear, spins up. Clearly getting wear...

Alastair Seeley takes the advantage.

Seeley's gone. Seeley has made the break. This could be Seeley.

Look at Michael Dunlop. Look at Adam McLean!

If he can do that, I can do that!

Yeah, thinking, "I'm not sure if I should pass these lads.

"I'm not old enough to do that."

Oh, just missed a gear there, Adam McLean.

Didn't quite get that right.

I think he went back too many gears, quite possibly.

Seeley through the Ballysally Roundabout.

It's reasonably dry here, isn't it? Look at the road.

We haven't got the same wetness. It all seems to be at the top

of the circuit near the coast. And on the run out towards University.

-It's looking better, isn't it?

-It is. No red flags coming out.

They are not stopping it. The rain must have abated, one assumes.

The battle hasn't abated though.

This still going on, but Seeley possibly in that little rain shower

because he is so clever with conditions, Alastair Seeley.

He can ride fast in poor conditions.

He's just done exactly that and ridden away from this group.

Yeah, we saw the diminished grip flag coming out there

as Adam McLean's Kawasaki bounced into the corner.

So, Alastair Seeley leads this race.

Not far to go to the finishing line.

Bouncing along on this bumpy part of the circuit,

-but flat-out all the way.

-There's the two Dunlop Brothers.

William, 32, Michael, 28 years old and William the elder gets through.

Gets past. His bike is faster there's no question about that.

He's probably slightly narrower built as well which makes

a difference on... Piercing through the air.

I'd say that William has that very trick, R6 Yamaha engine

that seems to be pulling him away.

Michael is the younger brother but the bigger brother, isn't he?

A bit more of a wind break.

He's stocky, is the word I guess you'd say.

Anyway, there's nothing stocky about this man down the front here.

Alastair Seeley.

Absolutely superb around this course.

This is going for his 19th win here.

This is going exactly according to his plan, isn't it?

He came here for wins and a bit of record-breaking.

He needed to be out in front in this race. That's what he's done.

Programmes being waved as he goes right at Church Road.

The two Dunlop Brothers still slugging it out behind him.

Hickman and Cowton are still together.

Listen to the sound of that lovely three cylinder machine.

Martin Jessopp gets passed.

Seeley is kind of cruising. He's got a 3.5 second advantage now.

No lap records going,

but it's looking like very much Phillip McCallen's podium record

is going to go and he's going to add another win, already having 18.

This will be his 19th win here at the North West 200.

Phenomenal stuff.

And what he's looking for, of course, after that

isn't win number 20 so much as the four in a day

-or five in a meeting.

-Yeah.

So, can he do it?

Can he take all the records that are up for grabs this week?

That's it.

One more corner and Alastair Seeley takes that win

and 19 of them he has now.

Well, he made that look easy once the rain had given him

the break and the Dunlops follow him across the line.

-You can see he's very happy, isn't he?

-Oh, yeah.

Nice way to start your day in tricky conditions.

There's confirmation of it.

Four second advantage Seeley has over William Dunlop.

Hutchy backed out of it in the rain.

Win number 19. Impressive stuff.

Just kind of used my head, rode smart.

The coast road was a bit slippy but managed to work it out where it

was slippy and grippy and just put the head down in the last lap.

Had we look again coming out of Magherabuoy,

seen there was a bit of a gap so just kind of didn't make

any mistakes and brought it home for another win.

Seeley in unstoppable form.

Road racing is part of Northern Ireland's sporting DNA.

Tens of thousands of people flock here every year to watch

their heroes compete.

So, why is this form of motorcycling so popular here?

I caught up with two former racers to find out.

It's in our heritage. You know, road racing is Northern Ireland.

We just love racing.

You can say what you like.

I could ride around Silverstone all day long and all week long.

It would never give you the same satisfaction of racing

somewhere like the North West 200.

The sheer speeds that come with it, the hedges flashing by

and just the craziness about it, the madness of it all.

These roads are closed.

These roads all go one way and you're racing on them.

So, the little kerb that you almost trim going to work,

your knee is over the top of it come race day.

Really the most famous world-known person I have raced against

is Joey Dunlop.

You know, multi-F1 world champion.

You never forget Joey.

He'd got a fag in his mouth and greasy hands

and he was working on his bike.

He'd have an engine upside-down in the back of the van and I'd

probably be looking thinking, "Well, he's not going to be any threat."

Then he'd put it all together and the fag went out and the visor

came down and we never saw which way he went.

The Dunlop name, as you know, is known worldwide.

I've been walking down the street in Japan with Joey Dunlop

and, I don't know why,

but hundreds of people just appear going "Dunlop, Dunlop!"

He was rather, rather special and such a smooth, stylish rider.

That was the other thing.

I have raced against Brian Reade, I have raced against Robert Dunlop.

I've raced against some of the best road racers in the world.

I'd better not insult the other guy. Carl Fogarty, who we all know.

King of the jungle.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I see that pack

head off down through Millbank and Primrose.

The front wheels are up in the air, they're all jostling for position

down to York Corner and then when I see a helicopter shot

with them four abreast on a road that's just

a normal width and they're doing 208 mph, it's hard to explain to anyone.

Look at the fans who come to the North West 200. 100,000 people.

But the North West 200 is really where I've made my name.

I came along here in 1992, excited and wanted to win races.

I've done something that no-one else had ever done.

I've won five North West 200 international road races in one day.

Well, can Alastair Seeley emulate that record of five wins?

He's certainly looking very impressive and he sealed a hat-trick

with a runaway victory in wet conditions

in the first Superbike race.

With two more races still to go.

Next up, it's the Superstocks and, Michael,

Alastair Seeley no doubt will start favourite again.

Indeed. He'll be looking to get off that treble marker.

He's only ever won three in a day.

This is his opportunity to make it four.

He'll be definitely gunning for that, but he'll have stiff opposition.

I can see his teammate, Ian Hutchinson,

being a big challenge this time.

He's had a quiet day by his high standards.

These superstock machines, I mean,

they go as quick almost as the superbikes.

Through the speed trap sometimes at over 200 miles an hour.

Unbelievably so for a bike that's so close to the showroom spec bike.

It's unbelievable.

The lap time Alastair done in race one was only 0.7 of a second

off the best ever two wheel lap around this circuit,

so that just goes to show how close they are in performance.

Yeah, I can see this being a fight at the front.

Yeah, I can see it being a very interesting race.

Over to Richard and Steve.

We've had just about every kind of weather and now it's

fine and dandy for the Superstock race.

Yes, still a bit damp out there and there is still rain in the air,

but this is the second Superstock race.

There is your front row of the grid.

That man again, Alastair Seeley, Michael Rutter, Lee Johnston.

And, who can bet against Seeley getting another win here?

Hutchy, Harrison and Martin Jessopp might.

Michael Dunlop, James Hillier and Horst Sauger there in ninth.

William Dunlop, Peter Hickman and Dan Kneen.

We haven't seen a lot of him this weekend, but he is here.

That's your front row - Rutter in the middle, Seeley on the outside.

Who gets the start here?

Johnston is it.

Yeah, I think it probably was, actually.

We ride with William Dunlop. He's on a Temple Golf Yamaha R1.

Dean Harris!

Dean Harris and Lee Johnston right behind him and then

that man Seeley was in there in third place.

You can see those dark clouds up there. I hope they keep the rain in.

We ride with Hillier looking back at Peter Hickman.

That was a flying start from...

Hutchy's gone wide!

Hutchy has gone deep and wide.

He just couldn't get it stopped.

It is a bit scrabbly around there.

The first corner, really, of the race.

Dean Harrison back out in front with a good lead

over Lee Johnston who didn't get away well

and Hutchy will be kicking himself for that one.

Still in fourth place, though.

He didn't lose too much time actually, but it was

a real deep lunge into that bottom corner.

The second wave gets away and there's 47 in there.

That's Alistair Kirk, 45 going through.

That's Marek Cerveny, isn't it? The Czech rider.

We spoke to him several times. He loves it here at the North West 200.

There is nothing like this in the Czech Republic

so you all need to come here.

James Hillier, we're looking back.

There is Michael Dunlop, the number three Suzuki.

Look at that lot swarming down there!

-The whole gaggle of them down the front here.

-He's about to be mugged!

He is and he is bugged by Michael Rutter.

Alastair Seeley, Lee Johnston. Extraordinary stuff.

Horst Sauger on the number 22 bike there just about to get past,

by the look of it, but there's so much of that going on in the

slipstream, especially with the bigger bike.

-They punch bigger holes in the air.

-Yeah, they really do.

But that man, number 34,

Alastair Seeley gets to the front straightaway in this one.

Again, rain in the air. You can see those dark clouds.

We're riding with Dean Harrison.

He's had a very good North West 200, but so, too, has Michael Rutter.

In fact, we've seen a fairly widespread of performance and

Ian Hutchinson has just been a daemon on the brakes all week, hasn't he?

Yeah, the key to the North West is having a bike that

has a straight line over the bikes,

having one that stops really well and one that's fast.

Other than that, it doesn't matter.

And you need a rider who does all of that as well.

Yeah, the rider has a lot to do with it.

Dean Harrison, nothing wrong with that silicon engineering,

Kawasaki, as far as speed is concerned.

They're just touching each other. The knees were touching.

-Flames out of the back of Hutchy's Superstock bike.

-I tell you what...

Dean Harrison goes straight on!

-Oh, the shame.

-Making sure he's stopped.

And away you go. Away he goes.

Disappointing there for Dean Harrison.

He got wrapped up in the moment, didn't he?

Yeah, he got a bit excited there with all the outbraking going on.

Here we go. Standby for some more outbraking.

It's Hutchy Seeley, touchy-feely time.

-Here they go.

-This is it.

Unfortunately, I think what it was... He was on the paint.

He didn't want to pull the brakes on too hard in the middle of the road.

Fortunately, imagine that... taking out Alastair Seeley.

The Renault has got nothing on these boys.

Diamond Nine by the Causeway Coast racers. Outstanding.

There's Michael in front of him.

Michael has a look over his shoulder, basically saying,

you can go past, so Michael Dunlop must be pulling out.

Michael Dunlop gave his brother that place quite easily.

He didn't know who it was. He's just got a bit of a problem.

Seemingly he had a problem. No problem here with Hutchy.

Straight through on the inside.

There's an awful lot of this going on this weekend.

We're finding places to overtake that never used to exist before.

-You can see the difference in size...

-Oh!

I was about to say, the difference in size.

There's a big gap behind Alastair Seeley's bum and Hutchy uses

the whole length and switches back to the inside.

Seeley round the outside.

This time, Seeley gets into Juniper's chicane.

Seeley had a lovely sweep into the chicane there.

There's no point in arguing about it on this lap.

But on the last lap, that might be worth fighting over.

I think so, yeah. Lee Johnston there on the back of them.

And Rutter is still there. They can't shake him off.

Someone has put something in his porridge, haven't they,

Michael Rutter, this weekend? He's rejuvenated.

He's either got a painting in the attic, hasn't he? Or...

Oh, front wheel pouring the air.

He would have lost a bit of time with that.

It must have been just that...

Because obviously Hillier is still going round the back.

Peter Hickman doing a good job this time.

Smith's BMW through down towards York Corner.

And this time...

It's all slightly well-behaved this time, actually, isn't it?

They're saving themselves.

BOTH: OH!

-Too much gas.

-Is it raining? That was an unusual slip there.

It's a tear-off from Lee Johnston.

With Hillier now. Horst Saiger having a wonderful day here today.

He loves this circuit, and he's loving it even more,

because he charges up the inside.

Michael Dunlop, he definitely has retired.

-Lee Johnston...

-Rutter!

..and Alastair Seeley about the same, but Rutter still in there.

It's like a truck, the slipstream, when they're three abreast.

Rutter was looking for a place to get through there, but he

couldn't find one, because there's so many motorbikes in front of him!

Lee Johnston goes through on the big BMW.

So it's Lee Johnston at second place at the moment,

splitting Seeley and Hutchy. But that's all changed now.

Hutchy back in front at Mather's Cross with Seeley behind him,

Johnston in third place, Rutter so close in fourth.

-Here comes Seeley.

-This is a great race, it really is.

So equal, these bikes are. They should be,

because they're just about all BMWs out there.

In fact they are, the top five are,

that whole pack you're looking at right there, all BMW 1000s,

the sports machine that you can go and purchase.

These are fairly heavily modified, though.

They have different fork internals,

they have different race ignition-type things.

It's not a cheap bike, I can tell you. But ostensibly, standard.

Lee Johnston! Yes, back into second place.

And he's tracking Seeley now as they go onto the coast road.

So it is Seeley, Lee Johnston, Ian Hutchinson and Michael Rutter.

In line abreast through here.

This is talent again, isn't it?

There's a lot of North West 200 winners that we're looking at

-down here at the moment.

-There's a bit of class on track, isn't there?

Alastair Seeley now has 20 wins to his name. This would make it 21,

a nice little number to have,

but he's still got Alastair Seeley and Ian Hutchinson and

Michael Rutter, for that matter, very, very much in touch.

They're all in this, aren't they? Look at them, how close they are.

The slipstream still ahead of them, so anything could happen,

anybody could win this.

Across the start/finish line, chicane, through the timing beams

and it's just going to go tick-tick-tick-tick, that quickly,

because there's no space between the top four, five, really.

-Hickman's in it, as well, isn't he?

-I think he probably is.

It only needs a slight mistake from any one of these guys for

Hickman to be right up there, as well. The wind's still blowing.

It's still blowing on their noses as they head up towards University now.

This is the left turn at York where they'll start heading up in

that direction, up towards University. Up the hill they go.

This is where you need all the traction control you can get.

A good old look over the shoulder there from Alastair Seeley.

"Uh-oh! One I don't mind, but I didn't want four behind me!"

Round the roundabout. Yep, Hickman definitely in touch.

Michael Rutter...

And then out onto the fast part of the course.

Yeah, this is the speed section through Station Corner.

So important to get this right.

I think by now it's dry enough for the guys to keep

the throttle wide open through there.

They're grabbing sixth gear just before they get to that point.

-Here's the tow.

-Yeah, and it is Lee Johnston.

-Hutchy!

-Hutchy's on the right.

-Rutter!

-Rutter again!

Sneaky old boy, he's just coming through on the inside.

Is he going to get through? There's no room to get through!

He might have the slipstream, but there's not a piece of tarmac left.

That last lap, when he was all over the place! Oh, who's that?

Engine blow-up.

There's a big cloud of oil smoke.

I hope there wasn't any oil on the track as a result of that.

-Oil and water are a bad combination.

-It is 38 there. Unfortunate.

That's Andrew Duggan.

Right, back to the front, and we're back on board with

James Hillier, looking at Dean Harrison behind us.

And away out of the Mill Road Roundabout.

But Michael Rutter gets a lovely tow,

and then there's no bits of track left for him to be on.

The boys don't pull over for him, do they? They just block him out.

Right, Seeley, has he made the split? I doubt it.

Lee Johnston there you can see right beside Hutchy.

Hutchy's got himself in the slipstream.

And Hutchy's good on the brakes. Ian Hutchinson having a great ride.

They're all riding really... Oh, rain, Steve.

-Now, that's not what we want at all, is it?

-Not at all.

-Seeley in the lead.

-Where's it raining?

I didn't see where that umbrella was up. And they won't know.

Lee Johnston up the inside of Ian Hutchy as they go round Metropole,

turning left again and then banking over to the right-hand side.

-It looks dry, doesn't it?

-It does at this point.

It's probably further round the course. We'll wait and see.

The marshals will put out a red and yellow flag if it is raining

at any point to indicate diminished grip levels.

If there's diminished grip here, the white lines are not the place to be.

-But look, here comes Rutter now!

-Again three abreast one more time,

trying to keep the bikes straight as they can.

He just doesn't know when to stop, does he?!

Michael Rutter just does not know when to pack it in.

Is there rain here? I'm just trying to look.

There's no tracks from the wheels of the bikes at the moment.

Looking still dry as they come up Juniper.

So Seeley leads again, for the time being.

But can he keep the lead? Will they let him keep the lead?

It is Seeley, Hutchy, Rutter, Lee Johnston and Hickman,

and Hutchy had a little bit of a spin up there, as well, didn't he?

Hickman's right on the tail of them, so he's definitely in it.

I don't think they've encountered any rain yet.

If there is rain on the track and it's getting slippy,

the riders will put their hands up, but I haven't seen any indication,

so one assumes it's not this part of the course.

It must have been around by Station.

That's the only thing I can think of.

-It's not a place you really want...

-No,

the last place you want to arrive to see a flag out indicating rain.

Well, Seeley tucked down behind the bubble,

and he can tuck himself away, which helps an awful lot.

And Hutchy, Rutter, Johnston, Hickman. Mill Road looks fine.

Hickman's getting very racy at the back.

There is some spots on this.

William Dunlop we're with. I don't know if that's

a fly or rain that we've got on his camera as he comes up the hill.

I think that might even be a bit of rain.

But anyway, Horst Saiger still in there, number 18, Dan Kneen.

-16 is William.

-Round Mill Road, it looks dry.

Here comes Hutchy out of the slipstream, here comes Rutter

out of the slipstream. For the final time,

Rutter can actually see racetrack in front of him!

Yeah, there's only two bikes as opposed to three in front of

him right now! OK, over they come.

-Hands are up. Hands are up.

-It's raining here.

-It is raining.

-University.

-Hutchy wants it stopping. It's raining a lot there.

You can see how gingerly they're going through there.

The red flags are out, so that's it, it'll go back a lap.

And there it is:

What a shame. That spoiled a really cracking race.

You're seemingly unbeatable round here at the minute.

I don't know, I just like the place!

I fell in love with it, and I think it's fell in love with me,

too, now, so, erm, don't get jealous, Danny.

There were two other winners in the Supertwin class,

which is for smaller machines.

Englishman Martin Jessopp took the

chequered flag in the first race.

And Michael Rutter became the event's third most successful

rider of all time with a win in race two, his 14th victory

at the circuit.

There's one more race to go. It's the main Superbike event,

and Alastair Seeley starts as the favourite again.

And he now chases another record.

He will try and equal this man, Phillip McCallen's, record of

winning five North West 200s in a single event.

-Phillip, do you think he can equal your record?

-I think he can.

He's riding superb, he's just a master today.

He's showing people how it's done, and, yes,

he could win five in an event. But, Stephen, I won five in a day.

So you'd still have the bragging rights.

I still will have the bragging rights.

He's doing superb, but his is four today.

Hopefully, he'll be aiming for one on Thursday.

But there's one man who's going to cause him big trouble today,

I think, and that's Glenn Irwin. I really think Alastair's biggest

rival in this race will be Glenn Irwin.

Well, this is the biggest race of the week,

the North West 200 Superbike race. Sit back and enjoy.

So, the final race of the day. We've been waiting a long time for this.

Michael Rutter, Alastair Seeley, Glenn Irwin on the front row.

All on slick tyres. Michael Dunlop, Martin Jessopp and Peter Hickman.

William Dunlop has come on strong just this afternoon at last.

And, of course, the rest of the guys

all getting ready for the lights to go out.

Who will get the best start as the North West 200 gets under way?

-This is the feature race.

-This is the big one.

And it's a cracking start from Glenn Irwin.

We ride with Derek Shiels as they go down to Mill Bank.

And look how close they are, jostling for positions, but

it's number 2, Glenn Irwin on the big Ducati, who gets out in front.

He's only had 11 laps of practice.

This is going to be like a big practice session.

Michael Rutter just showing that he is still,

at the end of the day, up for this in second place now, but Glenn

Irwin always pulling away from him as they go round York Corner.

Yeah, tyres just coming up to temperature. They come off warm.

-We ride with Martin Jessopp.

-And look behind, here comes wave two.

182 off the line is Xavier Denis.

But back on board with Martin Jessopp.

There is of course Ian Hutchinson charging past on the Tyco BMW.

-Or not.

-Or not, yeah. He gets alongside, trying to get in the

slipstream of Michael Rutter. It's going to work now, almost certainly.

And it does. Most importantly, it's this race that we're talking about.

This is the battle for the lead.

Look at them, both fighting the bikes around. Hutchy,

when they get in the dirty areas, starts upsetting the bike,

they start wriggling around.

Now, Glenn Irwin's bike seems to wriggle around on its own,

but it's not maybe the best-handling bike out there.

But he is useful enough to fight it.

They've all done a bit of wriggling during the course of these

last couple of laps. We're into lap three now.

Back on board with Jessopp, looking back at Peter Hickman.

I think Dunlop is away and up the road.

But so is Glenn Irwin. He's dropped Hutchy, and Seeley's coming.

Yeah, here comes Seeley. They'll work together.

Probably won't want to, but they will do,

because there's Seeley using Hutchy's slipstream.

Charging down there. Same deal.

We're coming up towards the coast road.

Who is going to be the fastest there?

Glenn Irwin is learning every single lap what this bike is doing.

As I said, he only had 11 laps' practice prior to this race.

Every single lap he's working out where the line is,

where the grip is.

It's Irwin, Seeley, Hutchy. Michael Rutter's still there.

These three are close enough together that any of them,

all of them, could win it.

They could cross the line almost side by side,

the way they're going on at the moment.

Irwin, a bit of a shock, I think, to everybody here,

especially Alastair Seeley,

because nobody expected someone who hadn't seen it often enough...

-Oh! Hutchinson!

-Hutchy again slides it in there,

really aggressive on that back brake.

Oh, he missed a gear there. Did you see him miss a gear?

Right-foot gear change for Hutchy since he broke that left leg

so badly. He's switched over to a right shift.

You can see him fighting for the gears.

Missed a gear coming out of that chicane.

Will Rutter be able to capitalise on that? It remains to be seen.

Hutchy over the crest, but Irwin hasn't seen as much of this

racetrack as any of them.

Seeley's run 18 times and he's done 18 laps,

and now he's out in front.

There is the replay of Hutchy just slithering in there nicely.

Oh, again wriggling around. Very, very fast.

And rather nervous. "Fidgety" probably is the word.

Here comes Hutchy on Seeley now.

This is going to help them both pull up towards...

And you can see them closing on Glenn Irwin.

-They're right in the slipstream there.

-Towpath!

-One either side.

-He's holding on to it!

-He is holding on to it.

As I said, I think it's arguably the most powerful bike here today.

It's probably the slipperiest at being able to punch through the air.

But look at that, it's like a Red Arrows formation.

He is up to his elbows in alligators, isn't he, Glenn Irwin,

at this point in time?

Hutchy and Seeley side by side, crowding him into University,

but he's just so cool, isn't he? Look, he's through.

And Michael Rutter's not done with yet.

Number 11 is on the back of this four.

And just behind them is Michael Dunlop.

So, we have a long, long way to go for this race yet.

Wouldn't want to put any money on anyone at this moment in time.

Seeley, of course, looking for another win.

That would give him his maximum amount of wins here on any occasion.

And trouble Phillip McCallen.

Yeah, it'd really upset Phillip McCallen if he did it.

Anyway, a long way to go yet. Glenn Irwin again on the bumpy part.

Just watch that bike moving around.

And if you can see it moving from here,

trust me, if you were on it, it would be quite horrendous.

At this point here, look at it start bucking around and just shifting.

Hutchy just looks so balanced by comparison,

but you know he's desperately...

Oh, desperately late on the brakes!

The back wheel was up in the air. When it came down, it went sideways.

Look, again trying to get on the power,

trying to put that 200-odd bhp to have it spinning up.

Glenn Irwin again having to move over to the track,

and then now again you can see him really fighting it, the big

exhaust pipe sticking out of the back and rattling around everywhere.

Martin Jessopp - all very calm and collected down there, isn't it,

compared to what's going on at the front?

These boys ought to be behaving like grown-ups, shouldn't they?

No!

They're entertaining us. There goes Dean Harrison

down the inside on the Kawasaki.

And look at this, Hutchy, back wheel's up in the air,

and when it comes down it's sideways.

Glenn Irwin's thinking he's never going to make it,

-but again, how close was that?

-Here comes Seeley.

Alastair Seeley on the outside there, not close enough. Or is he?

Hutchy up the inside is in close.

Glenn Irwin, do you know, he hasn't got the experience of the

others, he might not have that bike set up as neatly as they have

for the high-speed straights. When he comes back next year,

-he'll know an awful lot more than he does now.

-He certainly will.

They have found another formidable competitor here with this bike.

Paul Bird will be loving this, I'm quite sure about it.

I think Glenn Irwin's probably enjoying himself, as well.

Michael Dunlop on the back heel.

He likes winning races, but on the other hand,

with a brand-new motorcycle, he's setting it up for the season,

probably thinking this is all coming together nicely now.

I would say he'd be very happy with where he is at the moment,

running with these front guys with bikes that are all hugely

sorted and fixed up, have been for many, many years around here.

-Looking good, the Bennett Suzuki.

-But Glenn Irwin looking best of all.

Hutchy and Seeley side by side out of the start/finish chicane,

and I think Michael Dunlop's probably waiting for these boys

to bump into each other and disappear into a front garden!

Or at least go up a slip road. Glenn Irwin said he used to

come here and ride his BMX bike on the golf course -

I know he shouldn't have done that -

and just dreamed of coming and racing it.

I can imagine he would have dreamed of winning, as well.

But still a long way to go.

York Corner. They've done it so fast. Look at that!

Just pulled out a lead again.

He's six or seven bike lengths in front, while Seeley and Hutchy,

team-mates, are tripping over one another a little bit.

They're all trying to get in the corners together.

The Ducati off the corners has that lovely growl.

They do reel him in underbraking into those slow corners, don't they?

-And then he's gone.

-Yeah, and that's often the fast way of doing it,

slow in and really fast out.

And the important thing around the North West here is being fast

on the exits, because every 5mph you carry from the corner, you're

carrying that all the way down the straight.

So there's no point in trying to get into a corner too fast and

then screwing it all up and not getting a good exit.

-Are they close enough to make the slipstream do its stuff?

-Yep.

-The helicopter doing its best up there. Look at it.

-Can't keep up.

Absolutely flat out. You'll see the exhaust pipes going, maybe.

But we're seeing the exhaust pipes here,

the big double pipes out the back of the Panigale.

They're not able to get past.

It is like a formation. Irwin, foot comes down.

Up through, changing up.

He's punching the hole in the air and bringing them forward.

They just don't seem to have anything left to go past.

It's almost like, in order to get past him,

they need another gear that they never even thought of fitting to

the bikes or another cog that they never even dreamt would be needed.

And the trouble is for those guys, he is so good on the brakes.

Glenn Irwin, I'm talking about. He's race sharp.

He's been on the podium twice at British Superbike races this year.

He's on top, top form, and I think outbraking him is going to

take another one of those wild dives of Hutchy. But here it comes.

Maybe it's going to be Seeley first.

Alastair Seeley's got the run on him this time.

He's on the inside for the corner.

And look at it now, wriggling around! Unreal!

Oh, and Hutchy as well, again! No?!

THEY LAUGH

That was very forceful of Ian Hutchinson.

There's no other way to get through and get past that machine,

but he definitely stuck it to Glenn Irwin then.

And Glenn Irwin's coming back at him out of the slipstream now,

using the power of the Ducati, alongside Ian Hutchinson.

There's Hutchy, and Irwin goes straight in front of him and

closes that door in front of him.

They're just inches away at 185mph. OK, then on the brakes again.

You can see Irwin jammed up against the fuel tank as

he puts that braking on. Pulling about 1.5Gs in braking force.

You can imagine having half of somebody else on your back

when you put the brakes on.

Michael Rutter at the back of this group

is looking particularly strong.

Michael Rutter's had an ace weekend at the North West 200, hasn't he?

He absolutely has, yeah. 14 wins around here right now.

This man we're looking at, Seeley, has 21 wins.

Irwin on the inside.

Hutchy again slithering it into the corner.

Seeley leads them over the coast road. Is this it?

Is this the moment Seeley's been waiting for?

Is this the moment where he goes, "Right, I'm free and clear,

"I'm going to break away now"? Because that's how he likes to race.

He's going to have to be very good on the coast road to do it,

because I don't think there's any way

he can pull away on the straights. And again not even on the corners!

-Glenn Irwin jams it down the inside.

-I had my eyes shut.

That might be Seeley's chicane,

but Glenn Irwin's just taken charge of it.

He's adopted it! RICHARD LAUGHS

That was stern stuff from Glenn Irwin.

He is so determined, isn't he?

We're looking at Derek Shiels here, as you can see,

and getting a good idea of just how much work is going into this

if you're actually in the seat doing that.

-And just look at Glenn Irwin.

-I think Glenn Irwin's worked it out.

If there is any chance of rain and a red flag, every time he leads over

the start/finish line, if it goes back a lap, it's going to be his.

I think that's what he's working out. You never know.

Look at the people stood there clapping and cheering.

Tear-offs come off, trying to get some clear vision.

Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop are having

a little dice of their own at the back.

There's some serious talent at the front here.

This is just an extraordinary performance from Glenn Irwin.

He is a Superbike rookie around here, effectively,

so few laps on that machine, and yet look at the way he's running.

He's making Seeley ride out of his skin, isn't he?

Big black marks coming up the hill, black marks on the brakes

going down through the gears again, nipping through that chicane.

Seeley nearly running into the back of him that time.

And again, Glenn Irwin will punch it off that corner,

using the drive and the grit. It's all very well having power,

but you've got to have good electronics and good throttle feel,

throttle connection. Seeley's gaining, gaining.

Is he going to try and pass him before they get to Station Corner?

They're not going to go through two abreast, I can assure you.

And they don't. Seeley drops back.

Look at the crowd, they're loving this, and so am I.

And already Hutchy all but up the back of Michael Dunlop.

And so, Michael Dunlop moving forward and Seeley still

stuck behind Glenn Irwin.

I'm surprised all those people at Station weren't running away then.

Yeah. What I can tell you is the performance of these bikes,

it's going to happen on the coast road,

as it often does here at the North West 200.

I don't see Seeley getting away. Each time he's trying it,

Glenn Irwin comes back at him,

and unfortunately for him, he comes back at him on the coast road.

As they do it again and again and again - I mean,

just look at this - they keep saying, "If I was in the draught

"it'd be all right, and we're planning..."

You're not planning anything here!

They're scrapping, they're just racing and scratching

and taking what they can when they can,

and it's just going to go on like that until they run out of laps

-and whoever's in front will be the winner.

-You're right.

I think the plans have all gone out the window.

Michael Dunlop looking good. As I say, he's adapted to that bike.

He's ridden so many different bikes here.

Last year, he started here with a Yamaha, rode that for a few races

and then switched back to the BMW, but he's ridden Hondas,

you name it, around this course. OK, helicopter view.

This time around, Glenn Irwin gets through the Mather's Chicane first.

Gets through without being attacked by a sliding Hutchy.

There's no question that the tyres will be past their optimum

right now. I know it's not a hugely long race,

but tyres are best usually on their second lap.

Here he comes, Seeley jamming it down the inside.

They're neck and neck on the braking zone. Who dares wins.

Who's going to brake the latest?

It's who's got the wheels on the ground.

And round the outside, surely not!

-He does it.

-Just did not want to be beaten into

that chicane, did he, Glenn Irwin?

Generally, whoever's got the inside line's got the corner.

Seeley had the track position, but Irwin had his eyes shut, I think!

Yeah, or Glenn Irwin didn't know the rules.

Down they come towards the Metropole.

Now these two, it's a splinter group now.

They've just about got away, I think, from Hutchy.

What an extraordinary race this has turned out to be.

It's been a long wait for the final race of the day at the

North West 200, but wasn't it worth waiting for!

Hutchy with Michael Dunlop hunting him down.

Seeley loves the coast road.

He likes overtaking on these swooping corners.

Glenn Irwin doesn't like being overtaken, and he's resisting.

Seeley stuck behind him as they turn left into the Juniper Chicane,

and Seeley gets on the gas as hard as he can, but Irwin's faster.

Hutchy and Dunlop and Rutter are closing in, I think,

while those two are scrapping. That gap might be closing down.

Yeah, it might well be. But really, it looks like a two-horse race

at the moment, doesn't it? Both riders from Carrickfergus.

Kind of neighbours. I don't think they go out drinking together.

Surely Seeley's not going down the inside here.

There's a wet patch just there. Watch it.

He thought better of it.

If they were better friends, you'd call them the Carrick Crusaders.

-But they aren't, are they?

-Not that I know of.

They're certainly not on the track here at the moment.

But they'll have a lot of respect for one

another at the end of this race, because it has been a proper duel in

the sunset here tonight at the North West 200 with still more laps to go.

Who's getting tired? I mean, Alastair Seeley, in fairness,

has done about five races so far today.

Yeah, that's a point, because Glenn Irwin's fresh out of the box.

We're on the final lap, and that thing's all over the place

going up towards the roundabout.

Seeley saw that, tries to come on the outside, and...

-Irwin's just having none of it, is he?

-No. Legs are out everywhere.

He stopped it in the middle of the corner. That's pretty smart.

He really backs it down in the middle of that roundabout just

so he can fire it off the corner.

No-one's coming round the outside of him then, but they might do now.

Seeley has got the run out of the chicane,

and it's wriggling all over the place.

He's trying to keep it down on the ground, but...

Oh, my goodness me, it's like a broken toilet seat he's sat on.

That BMW's normally so tidy and shipshape with him on board,

-isn't it?

-Slipstream City. Here we go. Seeley is in the slipstream.

He's going to go left or right. And he goes over to...

-Oh!

-He's on the grass, Steve!

-Oh, my goodness me!

Seeley, the camber of the road sort of dragged him into it and

he had to shut the throttle.

So he should have done. In the dirt at 175mph. Hutchy took advantage.

He probably got sprayed in water and stones.

I can't believe what I've just seen there.

-Alastair Seeley is back on the throttle.

-He is!

He's coming hard at Ian Hutchy.

Glenn Irwin is braking down into the corner,

but Seeley's right back behind Hutchy. Theoretically,

he should have been passed by both Michael Dunlop AND Michael Rutter.

Here we go again. The camber of the road drops, and look at that,

the wheels are in the dirt, they're in the gutter at that point.

-He just had to roll out of it.

-I think it's a ditch.

It's far worse than that. That was so close to the edge.

That would have confused the traction control, almost certainly!

Right, well, look, he's come straight back.

I'd have been off to the toilet myself, but anyway...

Alastair Seeley has just got back into gear and he's coming again.

It's not over yet. We've got half a lap to go.

Irwin won't know what happened behind him, so he won't know

that Alastair Seeley ought not to be

doing this at this particular moment in time.

So he's just going to treat him like he's treated him all race.

Oh, they're closing on traffic.

There was a backmarker just going through the bottom of the

-screen there, and if that... Yes, look.

-There he is, number 24.

That could be awkward. That's Andy Sellars.

He's going to get a lesson, because these two are charging through.

Irwin's going to go round the outside.

He's had to shut the throttle a bit. Definitely compromised his line.

-Oh!

-Seeley's gone down the inside into Church.

Seeley goes through at Church Corner.

Is this the deed that needed doing?

But I think we've still got another run down to the Juniper Hill

Chicane, so over the top of Black Hill in a minute.

-That was close there.

-That was!

There's no question that Glenn Irwin had to just compromise his line,

shut the throttle a bit, and Seeley didn't need a second invitation.

But Irwin's slipstreaming him up the hill.

Now coming out of the draught, going over the top. This is tough stuff.

Are they going to touch? And Seeley's wriggling around.

Now Irwin's got the inside line.

That was a magnificent job from Glenn Irwin.

Alastair Seeley was almost out of control trying to stay in front,

and he couldn't do it. And Irwin went scything past him so neatly.

And look at his sideways.

They're power-sliding up Juniper Hill up to the line.

Surely Seeley's not going to try and dive up the inside.

-Is Glenn Irwin going to do it?

-He's got to do it now.

Seeley hasn't got a chance of getting past him. As they go

towards the line, it is Irwin and Seeley and Hutchy.

What a breathtaking... What a FANTASTIC race that was.

That was an astonishing performance from those two.

Absolutely stunning. Look at that, 0.172,

Glenn Irwin from Alasdair Seeley,

Irwin with his first ever win here.

Really enjoyable race, Alastair.

20 wins round here. You can't not respect him.

We've had our differences in the past,

but for him and Ian to race that close... I didn't look behind.

I don't know who else was there. 220 brake, these bikes are. It's insane.

It's awesome. Best sport in the world.

The way I was confident was carried from my wins,

and then with Glenn it was going to be an epic battle,

and then throw into the mix Hutchy.

It was just made for good entertainment.

Well, what a sensational finish to this year's international

-North West 200, Michael.

-Unbelievable. A cracking finale.

It was the best conditions of the day, the best race of the day.

They saved the best till last.

Glenn Irwin rode above and beyond his years.

He looked like a seasoned professional round here,

and hard to believe it was his first time here on a Superbike.

Alastair Seeley takes some beating around here,

and to pull that off on the last lap, an incredible feat.

Alastair was the man throughout the whole event.

To win four times and then miss out on the blue riband,

he'll be a little bit disappointed. He was the man of the meeting,

-but Glenn Irwin goes home the hero.

-Michael, thanks very much indeed.

I hope you've enjoyed the coverage of this year's North West 200.

But for now, from everyone here on the north coast,

until this time next year, it's bye-bye.

MUSIC: Audio, Video, Disco by Justice