Irwin tops NW200 Superbike practice speeds

Glenn Irwin set an unofficial course lap record in posting the fastest speed of the opening Superbike practice session at the North West 200 on Wednesday.

The PBM Ducati rider topped the timesheets with a lap of four minutes 18.553 seconds, 124.895mph.

That speed bettered Peter Hickman's two-year-old existing benchmark of 124.799 by two tenths of a second but remains unofficial as only laps registered in a race count towards the official record books.

Irwin was fastest for most of the session until Milwaukee BMW rider Davey Todd moved to the summit of the leaderboard with a circuit at 124.243.

The Carrickfergus rider reasserted his authority on his final lap to take provisional pole for the three Superbike races, the first of which will be staged on Thursday evening after the completion of the qualifying sessions earlier in the day.

The 34-year-old has won the last eight editions of the premier big bike class of the meeting and is aiming to equal and surpass the record of nine Superbike wins at the event achieved by Michael Rutter and the late Joey Dunlop.

Todd was quickest of the Superstocks with a speed of 123.752, with Dean Harrison next (123.476), marginally ahead of Michael Dunlop (122.416).

Richard Cooper was fastest in the Supersports at 117.767mph, just 0.8 seconds ahead of second-placed Todd on 117.418.

The Supertwins run was halted because of a red flag, with Jeremy McWilliams recording the best speed of a truncated session at 106.862mph.

Irwin had encountered difficulties in opening qualifying for the North West in recent years but has laid down an early marker as to his intentions this year.

"We've had very difficult first sessions in recent years but this year I'm happy to report that the bike is stable and going in a straight line which is half the battle," said the Northern Irishman of his Ducati Panigale V4.

"We don't seem to be too down on speed on the BMW as much this year as last, maybe a couple of miles per hour.

"I knew Davey would be strong, he's got all the electronics - traction control, anti-wheelie, and he has been riding incredible in the British championship.

"We know he's prepared to ride quite hard but what surprised me was how hot the pace was early on.

"I encountered a bit of traffic on the final lap but still got the unofficial lap record. The pace is incredible."

Yorkshireman Todd was to the fore in each of his three classes as he aims to build on the three Supersport successes he has achieved at the event in recent years.

"I've had a great first day here. I didn't really expect much, I just wanted to get comfortable and make sure the bikes are going well.

"The team have done a fantastic job in getting the bikes ready. We have put in so much preparation, the testing, the work before we came here, and the bikes were awesome.

"We knew we had a good package but things change of course when you get here.

"The track is still a bit dirty so there is a lot more speed to come in terms of lap times. The circuit isn't yet where it will be for racing."

Qualifying will continue on Thursday morning with roads closing for practice from 09:00 BST, with the first three races taking place on Thursday evening, roads close 16:45.

Wednesday practice speeds

Superbikes - 1 Glenn Irwin (Ducati) 124.895mph; 2 Davey Todd (BMW) 124.243; 3 Michael Dunlop (Honda) 122.870; 4 Peter Hickman (BMW) 121.846; 5 Dean Harrison (Honda) 121.756; 6 Ian Hutchinson (Honda) 119.963

Superstocks - 1 Davey Todd (BMW) 123.752mph; 2 Dean Harrison (Honda) 123.476; 3 Michael Dunlop (Honda) 122.416; 4 Peter Hickman (BMW) 121.879; 5 John McGuinness (Honda) 121.417; 6 James Hillier (Honda) 120.683

Supersports - 1 Richard Cooper (Yamaha) 117.767mph; 2 Davey Todd (Ducati) 117.418; 3 Michael Dunlop (Triumph) 115.489; 4 Michael Browne (Yamaha) 115.190; 5 Peter Hickman (Triumph) 114.905; 6 Paul Jordan (Honda) 114.37

Supertwins - 1 Jeremy McWilliams (Paton) 106.862mph; 2 Adam McLean (Kawasaki) 106.707; 3 Michael Sweeney (Kawasaki) 106.356