Irwin extends NW200 Superbike winning run

Glenn Irwin leads Davey Todd and Dean Harrison in Superbike race one

Glenn Irwin extended his winning run in the North West 200 Superbike class to seven races by taking victory in Saturday's opening big bike event.

The race was red-flagged on the fourth lap, with the results taken after the riders' previous circuit.

Davey Todd made it a Supersport double by winning race two in that class and Richard Cooper won the Supertwins.

Irwin had endured a difficult time in qualifying, with the practice time available for Superbikes having been curtailed, and the Carrickfergus rider reporting high-speed stability issues with the machine on which he leads the British Superbike Championship.

The 33-year-old was immediately on the pace however and involved in a dice at the head of the field with Todd, Alastair Seeley, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop.

Todd led after lap one, but it was Dunlop who crossed the line first next time round, thanks to a lap of 122.712mph, the fastest of the race.

Seeley retired after the second lap and then Dunlop dropped back on the next circuit and subsequently pulled into the pits, leaving the top three to contend for the win.

Irwin hit the front and maintained his advantage, Harrison eventually moving into the runner-up spot, but having to settle for third behind Todd on the lap countback.

Irwin's success moves him to within two of the record nine Superbike wins held by Michael Rutter and the late Joey Dunlop.

Cooper tops Supertwins

The first attempt to run the first Supertwins race was halted after the leading riders had completed two laps, the red flags coming out after Michael Sweeney came off at the Dhu Varren section.

The Skerries rider was subsequently taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast "as a precaution".

The primary protagonists from the initial running came to the fore again in the re-start as Jeremy McWilliams, Cooper and Adam McLean battled it out at the front, with Paul Jordan also now getting in on the joust for the podium positions.

Paton-mounted McWilliams was the leader after lap one but Cooper made a break for it on the second circuit, building up a lead which he extended after lap three courtesy of a new lap record for the class at 112.251mph.

The Nottingham rider took the chequered flag by seven seconds from Jordan, with McLean third and McWilliams, Hickman and Joe Loughlin completing the top six.

The victory went some way to make up for the 40-year-old's exclusion from the results last year for a technical infringement after he had crossed the line first in both Twins races.

Todd Supersport double

Davey Todd celebrates the second of his Supersport wins this year

The second Supersport race of the meeting saw Todd complete his double in the class after an exhilarating six-way dice at the front.

Cooper had to settle for second on this occasion, 0.25 seconds adrift of the Yorkshireman, with Hickman on the third step of the rostrum, ahead of Harrison, Dunlop and Seeley.

The top three riders all bettered Seeley's two-day-old lap record for the class on their fifth circuit as the lead changed hands several times.

In the end, it was Hickman on his Triumph who emerged with the new benchmark at 118.273mph.

Superbike race one

1 Glenn Irwin (NI) Ducati

2 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda

3 Dean Harrison (Eng) Kawasaki

4 Michael Rutter (Eng) Honda

5 John McGuinness (Eng) Honda

6 James Hillier (Eng) Yamaha

Fastest lap: Michael Dunlop 122.712mph

Supertwins race one

1 Richard Cooper (Eng) Kawasaki

2 Paul Jordan (NI) Kawasaki

3 Adam McLean (NI) Kawasaki

4 Jeremy McWilliams (NI) Paton

5 Peter Hickman (Eng) Yamaha

6 Joe Loughlin (RoI) Kawasaki

Fastest lap and new lap record: Richard Cooper 112.251mph

Supersport race two

1 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda

2 Richard Cooper (Eng) Yamaha

3 Peter Hickman (Eng) Triumph

4 Dean Harrison (Eng) Yamaha

5 Michael Dunlop (NI) Yamaha

6 Alastair Seeley (NI) Ducati

Fastest lap and new lap record: Peter Hickman 118.273mph