NW200: Alastair Seeley matches Joey Dunlop’s tally of 13 wins

Alastair Seeley leads Glenn Irwin and Bruce Anstey in the Supersport race at the North West 200 on Thursday evening

The Carrick rider notched his 13th victory around the 8.9-mile course to join Ulster legend Dunlop and Michael Rutter on the all-time winners’ list.

It was Seeley’s sixth triumph in the Supersport class but he didn’t have things all his way on the Tyco Suzuki after becoming embroiled in a battle with event newcomer and former British Supersport rival Glenn Irwin on the opening laps.

Irwin incredibly shot into the lead and refused to lie down when Seeley took over, exchanging passes with his fellow Carrick man until machine trouble with the Gearlink Kawasaki forced the 25-year-old out on lap four.

Seeley was being chased by Bruce Anstey (Padgetts Honda) and Michael Dunlop on the MD Racing Yamaha, who eventually took up the chase after passing the veteran Kiwi on the run to Metropole on lap four.

Dunlop lapped at 116.514mph to set the fastest speed of the race as he closed the deficit to Seeley to around one second, but his challenge was short-lived as Seeley smashed the lap record on the penultimate lap with a speed of 117.077mph to open a gap of two-and-a-half seconds.

The 35-year-old put more daylight between himself and Dunlop on a faultless final lap to win by seven-and-a-half seconds at the finish, with Fermanagh’s Lee Johnston gaining the upper hand in his battle with Anstey to claim the final rostrum place on his ECC/Burdens Triumph, 14.7 seconds behind Seeley.

Dean Harrison finished fourth on the Mar-Train Yamaha R6 ahead of Isle of Man contender Conor Cummins (Jackson Honda), with Keith Amor (Rig Deluge Honda) and James Hillier on the Quattro Plant Kawasaki completing the top eight.

William Dunlop, who was feeling the worse for wear after a crash during qualifying for the Supersport class at York hairpin, was a retirement on lap three on the CD/IC Racing Caffrey Yamaha while battling inside the top six.

Gary Johnson was also a retirement on the second of the Mar-Train Yamaha machines.

Meanwhile, Ryan Farquhar won the Supertwins race after a thrilling final lap battle with his SGS/KMR Kawasaki team-mate Jeremy McWilliams.

Former Grand Prix rider McWilliams made his move at Metropole but Farquhar edged ahead again on the run to the line and managed to hold on for an emotional victory after leading throughout the four-lap race.

Jamie Hamilton took third place on the Cookstown/B.E. Racing Kawasaki after Martin Jessopp was hit with a 60-second time penalty for jumping the start.