North West 200: Irwin Breaks Lap Record, Wins Pole

North West 200: Irwin Breaks Lap Record, Wins Pole

© 2024, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By David Swarts.

Glenn Irwin claimed pole position during Superbike final qualifying Thursday at the Briggs Equipment North West 200, in Northern Ireland. Riding his Hager PBM Ducati Panigale V4 R Superbike, Irwin covered the 8.970-mile circuit of closed-off public roads in 4:16.433 for an average speed of 125.928 mph, which is a new outright lap record for the course.

Davey Todd was the best of the rest with a time of 4:18.663 and an average speed of 125.928 mph, but Todd’s Milwaukee BMW was fastest through the speed trap with a top speed of 209.8 mph.

Michael Dunlop qualified third with a 4:20.933 and 123.756 mph average speed on his MasterMac Honda CBR1000R-RR Fireblade SP by Hawk Racing.

Richard Cooper earned pole position in Supersport qualifying with a lap at 4:33.627 and an average speed of 118.015 mph on his BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Todd qualified second at 4:34.304 (117.723 mph) on his Powertoolmate Ducati Panigale V2, and Cooper’s teammate Mike Browne was third-fastest at 4:37.104 (116.534 mph).

Todd grabbed pole position in Superstock qualifying with a time of 4:19.324 and an average speed of 124.524 mph on his Milwaukee BMW. Peter Hickman was second-best at 4:19.578 and 124.402 mph on his PHR Performance BMW, and Dean Harrison was third in the field of 48 riders with the 4:21.525 (123.476 mph average speed) he did on his Honda Racing UK CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.

Peter Hickman captured pole position in Supertwin qualifying with a lap time of 4:51.323 and average lap speed of 110.846 mph on his Swan Racing Yamaha YZF-R7. Cooper was second-quickest with a 4:52.971 (110.222 mph) on his Jack Reid Cars Kawasaki 650, and 60-year-old Jeremy McWilliams bounced back from a crash on Wednesday to qualify third with a 4:55.822 (109.160 mph) on his Bayview Hotel/JMW Paton on Thursday.

 

Jeremy McWilliams (99). Photo by Pacemaker Press International, courtesy NW200 Press Office.
Jeremy McWilliams (99). Photo by Pacemaker Press International, courtesy NW200 Press Office.

 

The first round of racing will commence Thursday evening followed by a day off on Friday and the final round of racing on Saturday.

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