Press Release | May 16, 2022
Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing) took his factory-backed Honda Fireblade to both race wins at the 2022 North West 200 in Northern Ireland, May 14-15. The BSB star has now won the last six races held at the Triangle Circuit and on three makes of motorcycle, with his previous wins coming on Kawasaki and Ducati.
Irwin took the first race win ahead of Honda’s Davey Todd, taking the win by 0.253 seconds. The second race was laden with controversy after all 24 Dunlop riders pulled out on safety grounds. It was later revealed Dunlop found an issue with a batch of their Superbike tires, with images and video on social media circulating of tires coming apart at speed. Michael Dunlop very nearly lost control at over 120 mph when his tire disintegrated on the Coast Road. As a result, Dunlop pulled all its riders from the second Superbike race and only Metzeler-shod riders took part, with Todd, Peter Hickman, Brian McCormack, Lee Johnston, Michael Dunlop, Connor Cummins and Dean Harrison all absent from the start.
Irwin dominated the depleted field in race two, taking the win by 2.4 seconds ahead of Richard Cooper (Suzuki) and Josh Brookes (Ducati).
Other winners included Pierre Yves Bian (Paton) and Joe Laughlin (Paton) in the two Supertwin races, Lee Johnston in Supersport and Alastair Seeley taking both wins in the Superstock events.
Today [May 14, 2022] at the 2022 fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 history was made as Honda Racing UK’s Glenn Irwin stormed to victory in both Superbike races aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, taking a record-breaking six Superbike wins in a row at the 8.9-mile Triangle circuit.CN
SUPERBIKE
RACE 1
- Glenn Irwin (Hon)
- Davey Todd (Hon)
- Richard Cooper (Suz)
- Josh Brookes (Duc)
- Alastair Seeley (Yam)
RACE 2
- Glenn Irwin (Hon)
- Richard Cooper (Suz)
- Josh Brookes (Duc)
- Ian Hutchinson (BMW)
- James Hillier (Yam)
This is a press release from Honda UK…
Photos Courtesy of Honda Racing
The opening race of the day was the six-lap Anchor Bar Superbike Race, where Irwin started from pole position after a sensational qualifying session earlier in the week. Straight off the line Glenn was in the lead, but hot on his heels was Davey Todd on the Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles Fireblade.
It was then a battle of the Blades over the six laps, which saw Glenn and Davey swapping places throughout. On the final lap, Davey fought back diving up the inside at Magherabuoy, but ran wide. With Davey wide Glenn made his move and keeping Davey at bay along the coast road, he crossed the line claiming his fifth NW200 Superbike race in a row by a quarter of a second. The win also marked the first International Road Race win for the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, which made its Road race debut at the North West 200.
Having made history in the opening Superbike race, all eyes were on the final feature Merrow Hotel and Spa Superbike Race. Dominating proceedings throughout the seven laps, Glenn crossed the line to claim his sixth consecutive Superbike race win, 2.494s ahead of Richard Cooper in second.
Honda’s North West 200 campaign has also been successful for John McGuinness MBE, who comes away with solid results aboard the Fireblade coming home 11th in the opening Superbike Race, as well as fifth in both the CP Hire Limited Superstock and Merrow Hotel and Spa Superbike Races.
The Honda Racing UK team will now turn its attention to the third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship next weekend (20-22 May) at Donington Park, where Honda will mark the 30th Anniversary of the Fireblade with a weekend of celebrations, before heading back to the Roads for the Isle of Man TT Races on 29 May – 10 June.
#1 Glenn Irwin: Job done! When I came here I’d had success before at the North West 200, but to come here with Honda was something else and we arrived at a time where my BSB career has taken a huge step forward, so we arrived probably with me riding the best I have ever ridden. You do put pressure on yourself, you’ve won here before and you feel like you can do it again, but it never works like that, you have to fight for it and you can’t be complacent. Fair play to my team, today has just been a dream! We came here to win the big ones and the level here is so high, so to win both the Superbike races this year and lead that caliber of field is such a good feeling. I want to thank everyone who has helped and supported me along the way, the team, Honda UK, my family, my friends and all my sponsors, as well as the North West 200 organizers, its sponsors the marshals and everyone behind the scenes who makes the event happen, and of course the supporters. The last lap of the feature Superbike race was incredible, it was so overwhelming with the support out there along the course.
#2 John McGuinness MBE: It’s all super positive today, the team has worked mint and we’ve all had a laugh, but got down to business when we needed to. My other side of the garage with Glenn, what can I say, just brilliant, what a class act! My side has just been getting better and better, the first Superbike race was a bit disappointing, the tyre on the bike in front of me delaminated and it spooked me out a little for the rest of the race. The Stocker race I got stuck in, I ride that week in, week out and just felt comfortable and bike fit! We had the six-lap Superstock race, followed straight away by a seven-lap Superbike race, that’s quite hard, but I felt good. The sun shone today, everyone is safe, there was no red flags and it’s a testament to the riders and organizers. It was so good to see the fans out there, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen crowds like that around the course here – it was epic! I’ve enjoyed this week, working again with Honda, my team, Glenn – the atmosphere in the paddock, the weather today – road racing is back!
Metzeler in Seventh Heaven at North West 200 With Wins in Every Class
The following is a North West 200 race recap from Metzeler…
- Metzeler riders dominated the 2022 North West 200 with Seeley, Bian, Loughlin and Irwin sharing the spoils while McWilliams, Cooper, Jordan and Brookes add to the podium tally.
- Metzeler riders dominated the 2022 North West 200 with Seeley, Bian, Loughlin and Irwin sharing the spoils while McWilliams, Cooper, Jordan and Brookes add to the podium tally.
May 14, 2022 – After a three-year wait, the North West 200 roared back into the coastal town of Portstewart this week, and it proved a dominant week of racing for Metzeler riders, with seven wins coming from Racetec RR Slick and road-legal Racetec RR equipped riders across the Superbike, Supersport, Superstock and Supertwin races.
As the first major road race since 2019, the opening day of practice on Tuesday saw riders take time to dial themselves back into the high-speed nature of the 8.9 miles North West 200 circuit. With the weather remaining dry for qualifying on Thursday, it saw lap times tumble, and it was a clean sweep of pole positions for Metzeler riders, as Richard Cooper topped the Supertwin qualifying, with Alastair Seeley taking Supersport pole and Glenn Irwin Superstock. In the blue-ribboned Superbike class, Irwin took that even further with an incredible ride to set the then fastest-ever lap to claim pole.
THURSDAY RACES
Cold and wet weather greeted the riders for the opening evening of racing, but despite the tricky conditions, North West 200 specialist Seeley dominated proceedings. The opening Supersport race saw him battling throughout the four-lap race, eventually taking the win by 1.984s. Fellow Metzeler rider Jeremy McWilliams made it a memorable race, with the 58-year-old taking third place.
The Superstock race was a different affair, with Seeley controlling the race from the front, taking the win by 12.894s. Despite it only being his second year at the event, Cooper was able to claim third place to make it four podium finishes from the six available on Thursday. With the weather continuing to deteriorate, the opening Supertwin race was pushed back to Saturday.
SATURDAY RACES
Thankfully, the main race day dawned with beautiful blue skies and warm weather, ensuring near-perfect conditions for the six races. Kick-starting the day in perfect style, Pierre Yves Bian took victory in the opening Supertwin race ahead of Paul Jordan, while Joe Loughlin would win the second race in the afternoon, joined once again by McWilliams in third.
The first of the Superbike races proved one of the best races of the week, with Irwin going head-to-head with Davey Todd, with the duo continuously swapping places throughout the six laps. Coming down to the final lap, Irwin was able to find a way through at Metropole corner, seeing him become the first rider to win five North West 200 Superbike races in a row.
The second of the Superstock races saw a similar performance from Seeley on the IFS Racing Yamaha. Fending off an early race challenge, he was able to make full use of his road-legal Racetec RR over the six laps to take his third win of the weekend and his 27th around the iconic course.
With the Superbike feature race being held over seven laps, safety concerns saw only Metzeler riders advised to compete. Just as he did in the opening race, Irwin launched off the line to control the race from the front, being closely pushed by the impressive Cooper on the Hawk Racing Suzuki. The Honda rider was able to eventually pull away to take his sixth consecutive North West 200 Superbike win, with each victory coming on Metzeler Racetec RR Slick tires. Completing the podium in third was Josh Brookes, who made his first return to the event since 2014.
Metzeler UK Racing Manager Jason Griffiths: “A huge crowd witnessed this amazing spectacle on the North Coast today. Our thanks to the Metzeler riders for their fantastic performances. Alastair Seeley produced a masterclass of wet weather riding on Thursday night to take a double victory, while Richard Cooper showed his class across multiple classes and Glenn Irwin continued his domination of the Superbike class at the event, achieving a winning debut for the new Metzeler partnership with Honda Racing. The conditions encountered across the practice sessions and the races meant the full Metzeler racing range was in action this week. Taking all the pole positions in itself was an achievement and the race results are, of course, incredible. The quality work carried out by the R&D team and of course the Metzeler manufacturing facility cannot be overlooked. A real team effort.”
Thursday:
Supersport Race One
- Alastair Seeley
- Davey Todd
- Jeremy McWilliams
Superstock Race One
- Alastair Seeley
- Davey Todd
- Richard Cooper
Saturday:
Supertwin Race One
- Pierre Yves Bian
- Paul Jordan
- Lee Johnston
Supersport Race Two
- Lee Johnston
- Davey Todd
- Michael Dunlop
Superbike Race One
- Glenn Irwin
- Davey Todd
- Richard Cooper
Supertwin Race Two
- Joe Loughlin
- Lee Johnston
- Jeremy McWilliams
Superstock Race Two
- Alastair Seeley
- Lee Johnston
- Dean Harrison
Superbike Race Two
- Glenn Irwin
- Richard Cooper
- Josh Brookes