The 2026 North West 200 promises to produce another exhilarating week of high-speed action over the 8.9-mile Triangle circuit on the north coast of Northern Ireland.
The event attracts the world’s leading exponents of road racing on an array of exotic machinery, with an atmosphere to match as thousands of spectators thrill to the action trackside.
Will Glenn Irwin make a winning return after a one-year absence and add to his record tally of 11 Superbike wins? Can Alastair Seeley, the most successful rider in the history of the event, make it win number 30?
Can Michael Dunlop build on his treble last year? Could Dean Harrison claim a first success? Will Peter Hickman get back on the top step? Will Richard Cooper be a winner again? What of star newcomer Storm Stacey? So many questions to be answered.
As this year’s event prepares to rev into action, we bring you up to speed with all the information you need to know, including details of coverage across BBC Sport NI.
BBC coverage details
BBC Sport NI will provide live video coverage of all the qualifying and race sessions on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Coverage will begin at 09:45 BST on Wednesday 6 May and run until 14:45, with the qualifying session also available to view on YouTube.
Thursday’s qualifying will be broadcast from 09:30 until 14:45 on BBC iPlayer and the website, with the three-race programme to follow from 16:45 until 20:45.
On Saturday, the live coverage commences at O8:45 and continues throughout the day until 18:30.
Stephen Watson, Larry Carter, Phillip McCallen, Lee Johnston, Alanna Maher and Faith Harper will take you through the action and all the atmosphere which surrounds the event, with commentary from Steve Parrish and Keith Huewen.
There will be live audio coverage of the racing on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Foyle from 17:00 to 21:00 on Thursday and on Saturday from 09:30 until 19:00, with BBC Radio Ulster FM also airing the coverage from 14:00 to 18:00.
Gavin Andrews and Orla Bannon present, with commentator Chris Kinley, Adrian Coates and Jamie Hamilton also part of the team.
There will also be regular BBC Bikes Podcasts available throughout the week and live text commentaries to accompany the live video coverage on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
BBC Newsline will be live at the race from Tuesday to Friday, while highlights programmes will be broadcast on Friday 8 May at 22:40, Sunday 10 May at 22:30 and Monday 11 May at 23:10. All programmes will also be available to view on the BBC Sport website.
Road closures and practice and race schedule
Road closing times
Wednesday 6 May – 0900 to 1500 BST for practice
Thursday 7 May – 0900 to 1500 for practice
Thursday 7 May – 1645 to 2100 for racing
Saturday 9 May – 0900 to 1900 for racing
Race schedule
Thursday – Superbike (4 laps); Supersport (4 laps); Superstock (4 laps)
Saturday – Supertwin/Sportbike (4 laps); Superbike (6 laps); Supersport (6 laps); Superstock (6 laps); Supertwin/Sportbike (4 laps); Superbike (6 laps)
Most wins
Alastair Seeley – 29; Robert Dunlop – 15; Michael Rutter – 14; Joey Dunlop – 13; Glenn Irwin – 11, Phillip McCallen -11; Bruce Anstey – 10; Davey Todd – 9; Tony Rutter – 9; Michael Dunlop – 8; Ian Lougher – 8; Steve Plater – 8; Richard Cooper – 7
Lap records
Superbike – Glenn Irwin – Ducati – 125.779mph, 2024
Superstock – Alastair Seeley – BMW – 124.484, 2023
Supersport – Michael Dunlop – Ducati – 118.650, 2025
Supertwin – Richard Cooper – Kawasaki – 112.490, 2022
Race results 2025
Superstock race one – 1 Michael Dunlop; 2 Dean Harrison; 3 Ian Hutchinson
Supersport race one – 1 Michael Dunlop; 2 Richard Cooper; 3 Davey Todd
Superbike race one – 1 Davey Todd; 2 Dean Harrison; 3 Peter Hickman
Supertwin race one – 1 Richard Cooper 2 Adam McLean; 3 Jeremy McWilliams
Superbike race two – 1 Michael Dunlop; 2 Davey Todd; 3 Peter Hickman
Supersport race two – 1 Richard Cooper; 2 Dean Harrison; 3 Michael Dunlop
Supertwin race two – 1 Paul Jordan; 2 Michael Sweeney; 3 Barry Furber
Superbike race three – 1 Davey Todd; 2 Dean Harrison; 3 Alastair Seeley
Top 10 fastest riders
1 Glenn Irwin 125,779mph; 2 Davey Todd 125.673; 3 Michael Dunlop 125.539; 4 Dean Harrison 124.973; 5 Peter Hickman 124.799; 6 Richard Cooper 125.545; 7 Alastair Seeley 124.484; 8 Ian Hutchinson 123.198; 9 Josh Brookes 123.141; 10 Lee Johnston 122.894
What’s new in 2026?
Supertwin machines have been part of the race schedule since 2012 but this year the class has been revised to allow Sportbike specification machines to reflect the wider development of the Sportbike class and its adoption at World Superbike and British Superbike level.
Both Supertwins and Sportbikes are derived from middleweight road going motorcycles by tuners and engineers with significant performance adaptations.
Along with the Paton S1-R, Aprilia RS 660, Kawasaki Z650 and Yamaha YZF-R7, eligible bikes now include Triumph Daytona 660, Suzuki GSX-8R and the Chinese CF Moto 6755R-R.
For the first time this year, the North West will form part of a European series, the new European Series Road Racing Superbike Championship (ESR).
The NW200 will be the second round of the six-round series, with Thursday’s Superbike race and the feature North West 200 Superbike race on Saturday counting towards standings.
Notable among the newcomers to the event this year are leading British Superbike contender Storm Stacey, who rides a V4 Ducati for the Bathams Racing team, along with IOM TT podium finisher Rob Hodson.