Glenn Irwin claims the first Superbike win at the 2026 North West 200

The first races of the Supertwin and Superbike classes officially opened the “Race Day” of the 2026 edition of the North West 200, delivering two widely expected winners who nevertheless had to sweat bullets to clinch victory. Peter Hickman in the Supertwins had to wait until the penultimate chicane to beat the evergreen 62-year-old Jeremy McWilliams, while just 0.181 seconds gave Glenn Irwin yet another hurrah at the “Triangle,” pipping Dean Harrison.

The four laps of the Maxwell Freight Services Supertwin/Sportbike Race lived up to expectations, handing another win to Peter Hickman. Lining up with the Yamaha R7 in the unmistakable Swan colors and prepared in-house by PHR Performance, the TT phenomenon beat Jeremy McWilliams, who at 62 years old remains combative and competitive between Portrush, Portstewart, and Coleraine with the Yamaha tuned by Flitwick. “Jezza” had found himself in the lead on the final lap, only to leave the door open for “Hicky” to slip through at Juniper Hill, effectively handing him the victory. Close behind in third was Alastair Seeley (Aprilia Binch Pro by 3B Construction), followed by Paul Jordan (Aprilia Jackson Racing), who staged an extraordinary charge from the back. An excellent tenth was the Swiss rider Mauro Poncini with the Aprilia Scott Racing, just ahead of Andrea Majola, entered by his own Majo Road Racing by EA team with the Paton S1-R from VAS Engine.

Equally spectacular was the first Superbike race, with Glenn Irwin delivering one of his most significant victories at the “Triangle.” Not only for edging poleman Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) by 0.181 seconds, but for building this triumph after a troublesome debut with the new Nitrous Competitions Ducati Panigale V4 R at Oulton Park in the opening round of the 2026 British Superbike. After so many issues that seemed to cast doubt on his participation in the North West 200, the Carrickfergus native secured his personal twelfth victory in a contest restarted following an initial red flag due to an incident at Station Corner.

Fourteen seconds off the lead, Michael Dunlop finished third with his Honda CBR 1000RR-R (preferred over the Ducati Panigale V4 R), with Peter Hickman (8TEN Racing BMW) and Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) completing the Top 5, Ian Hutchinson (Team RST BMW) sixth, rookie Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing Ducati) seventh, and John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK) eighth. Out, instead, was our own Maurizio Bottalico with the Crowe Performance BMW.