 | |
| Venue | The Triangle |
|---|---|
| Location | Northern Ireland |
| First race | 1929 |
| Most wins (rider) | Alastair Seeley (29) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Honda (96) |
The International North West 200 is a motorcycle road race first held in 1929 on a 8.970 mi (14.436 km) street circuit known as the Triangle between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast and Glens, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is the largest annual sporting event in Northern Ireland, with the race weekend attracting over 150,000 visitors from all over the world.[1] The course is one of the fastest in the world, with average speeds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and top speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h).[2]
Originally intended to be held somewhere in the north west of Ireland[3] and organised by the City of Derry & District Motor Club, the initial event was moved to the north coast but the name was never changed. Since 1964 the event has been organised by the Coleraine and District Motor Club. In 2010, the meeting featured daytime practice on the Thursday for the first time.[4]
The 2011 event took place on Saturday 21 May. There were significant delays due to a hoax bomb alert and then an extensive oil spill on the track caused racing to be cancelled after the completion of only one race.[5]
In 2022 the event returned as the fonaCab & Nicholl Oils North West 200. It was the first time the event has been held since 2019 after being cancelled for two consecutive years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
On 9 February 2023, an announcement was made by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland with regard to the running of the 2023 event. This followed a significant increase in the insurance premium required to cover the event and consequently placed the 2023 race schedule under threat of being cancelled.[6]
However on 15 March 2023, the event's organisers, the Coleraine & District Motor Club issued a statement via their Facebook page stating that in the wake of a sizeable donation by a prominent businessman and a revision of the quotation in connection with the insurance premium, that the 2023 International North West 200 would be taking place.[7][8]
- ^ Other motorists have responsibility for bikers too, campaign warns Archived 23 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Northern Ireland Executive Website 14 May 2009 Retrieved 28 January 2010
- ^ "Honda rider Steve Plater fastest at NW200 practice". BBC News. BBC. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "The History of the North West 200". North West 200 Website. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "Local People Urged to Support new NW200 Daytime Practice Session". North West 200 Website. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
- ^ "North West 200 racing abandoned". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "North West 200 organisers 'not giving up fight'". BBC Sport.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/northwest200 [bare URL]
- ^ "Motorcycle racing to go ahead in Northern Ireland". BBC Sport.