Star Seeley sets sights on more success at NW 200

FOR East Antrim rider Alastair Seeley the North West 200 has been a happy hunting ground in recent years, with the Carrick man having no less than eight wins to his credit.
Carrick rider Alastair Seeley is looking forward to the NW200. INLT 20-902-CONCarrick rider Alastair Seeley is looking forward to the NW200. INLT 20-902-CON
Carrick rider Alastair Seeley is looking forward to the NW200. INLT 20-902-CON

This year will be somewhat different, however as he has switched from the TAS Suzuki squad, which gave him so much success, to the Gearlink Kawasaki team for the supersport races and MSS Kawasaki for the superstock and superbike races.

Speaking before the recent Oulton Park BSB meeting, he was quietly confident about having a successful NW 200.

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“We have had a couple of tests on the superbike up to now, but the superstock bike is brand new so it will be closer to the North West before I get a run out on it. Michael Rutter won on the Kawasaki last year, so it won’t be far away.

“The superbike felt really good at the tests. There were a few, small teething problems to be ironed out which will hopefully be sorted at the final test. Initial impressions were that it felt fast and stable, but you can never really tell until you get it up there and wound up to the fast speeds.

“As I ride the supersport bike week in week out, it will be good coming to the race and I wont have to do too much to it. I’m looking forward to it, but I am not going to say too much this year because last year when I didn’t get what I wanted on the results front, I got shot down for it so I will just go as I do every year, enjoy it, relax and hopefully get some good results.”

Asked what he thought about claims from Tyco Suzuki star Josh Brookes that he would beat him and win first time out at in the superbike races, Seeley replied: “It will be a big ask for his first time going there but because it’s so fast and is a stop-start sort of track it doesn’t take that much to learn the place. If he were to do it, it would be some achievement, but I think he needs a couple of years to do it.”

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Last year Seeley had a much-publicised coming together with William Dunlop at Church Corner in the second supersport race, which the Carrick man went on to win. The Times asked Seeley if he thinks William will be pushing hard to get his revenge this time around and if he thinks Stuart Easton can carry on where he left off at the British supersport?.

“William says that his main priority is the supersport races,” Seeley said. “He probably sees that through what he did last year when he won the opening race. After all, it is the bike he rides week in week out at BSB, so it will be the one he is most comfortable with. However, you need a lot of luck to win at the North West.

Sometimes it is just a matter of hanging in there until the last lap and sort it all out on the Coast Road - that is unless you have a missile of a bike and you can clear off! We’ll wait and see. As for Stuart, he will be strong at the North West. He carries a lot of corner speed and he is very smooth. He doesn’t make many mistakes.”

Seeley is competing in six of the eight races at the NW 200, but said, at worst, he would be happy with last year’s tally.

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“Yeah, six podiums. You can’t complain about podiums. To bum it up and say you‘re going to win the heap, you need an awful lot of luck and be on top of your game. Sure anything can happen around the NW 200. We’ll see what happens on race days,” he concluded.

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