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. 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).
Michael Karl Rutter nicknamed "The Blade", is a British motorcycle racer. He currently races in the National Superstock 1000 Championship aboard a BMW S1000RR. He has a reputation for being at his best in wet conditions and his favourite circuit is Oulton Park. He won 29 British Superbike Championship races with the most recent being at Silverstone in 2010, and finished as series runner-up twice. He has also contested MotoGP and World Superbike Championship events.
John Warren McGuinness is an English specialist Isle of Man TT professional solo motorcycle rider with 23 wins.
Ryan Alan Robert Farquhar is a professional motorcycle racer who primarily competes in road racing. Farquhar won the Dukes Road Racing Rankings four times. He won five races at the Cookstown 100 in one day and now holds the most Irish national wins by any one rider, at 201. He previously raced a Kawasaki ZX-10R, a Kawasaki ZX-6R and a Kawasaki ER6.
The 2007 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Centenary race event held from 26 May to 8 June 2007.
Bruce Anstey is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former lap record holder on the world-famous Snaefell Mountain Course with a time of 17 minutes 6.682 seconds, at an average speed of 132.298 mph (212.913 km/h) set during the 2014 Superbike TT Race. Anstey was signed to race for the Padgett's Honda Racing Team having previously ridden for TAS Suzuki Racing, Valmoto Triumph and DTR Yamaha. For thirteen consecutive seasons, from 2002 - 2015, Bruce Anstey managed to secure a top three finish at the world's three most prestigious road races; the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix.
TAS Racing is an international motorcycle road racing team based in Moneymore, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Owned by Hector Neill, with his son Philip Neill as the team manager, the team has been known under a series of names: TAS Suzuki (2000–2006); Relentless Suzuki (2007–2011) an energy drink product of Coca-Cola; Tyco Suzuki (2012–2014) a security services supplier. In late 2014, after a 15-year partnership with Suzuki, the team signed to become the road racing partner for BMW Motorrad.
2008 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 24 May and Saturday 7 June on the 37.733-mile Snaefell Mountain Course and was the 89th Isle of Man TT Race. After the 2007 Centenary TT Races, the 2008 event included a second 600cc Supersport Junior TT race and the re-introduction of two-stroke motor-cycle racing with a Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race on the Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man.
The 2008 North West 200 took place on Saturday 17 May at the 8.966 mile circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart, in Northern Ireland. The meeting was overshadowed by the death of Northern Irish rider Robert Dunlop, the record-holder for wins at the circuit, who was killed in a practice crash on 15 May. The 47-year-old had been travelling in a group of three riders at the Mather's Cross section of the course, when his bike seized at 160 mph. He would later succumb to his injuries in a Coleraine hospital. Robert's sons Michael and William continued to race at the meeting, with Michael winning the 250cc race.
The 2009 North West 200 Races took place on Saturday 16 May 2009 at the 8.966 mile circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart, in Northern Ireland. The 2009 race week was the 80th anniversary of the festival, when Malcolm McQuigg, Harry Meagen and Ernie Nott picked up the race wins in 1929.
Ian Hutchinson is an English professional motorcycle road racer specialising in events held on closed public roads, such as the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix.
The 2009 Ulster Grand Prix incorporating the Dundrod 150 National Road Races took place between Wednesday 12 August and Saturday 15 August 2009 on the 7.401 mile Dundrod Circuit, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Six races were held with Ian Hutchinson, Ryan Farquhar, Guy Martin, William Dunlop and Conor Cummins sharing the victories. Farquhar also took a class win in the Supertwins.
Dundrod Circuit is a motorsport street circuit used for the Ulster Trophy for Formula One and Formula Two cars from 1950 to 1953, the RAC Tourist Trophy for sports cars between 1950 and 1955, and for the motorcycle Ulster Grand Prix from 1953 onwards. It is situated near the village of Dundrod in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The nearby Clady Circuit also in County Antrim was used for the Ulster Grand Prix between (1922–1952) before moving to the Dundrod Circuit.
The 2010 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 29 May and Friday 11 June on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 2010 races again included a second 600 cc Supersport Junior TT race. The Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race class previously held on the 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man for the 2008 Isle of Man TT and 2009 Isle of Man TT were dropped from the 2010 race schedule. The 2010 Isle of Man TT Races included the one-lap TT Zero for racing motorcycles "to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions." which replaced the TTXGP and also a Suzuki 50th Anniversary Lap of Honour and the TT Classic Parade which were held before the main Senior TT race.
Michael Dunlop is a Northern Irish professional motorcycle racer. Part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, Michael is the brother of William Dunlop, son of Robert Dunlop and nephew of former World Champion Joey Dunlop, all of whom were killed in racing accidents.
The 2010 North West 200 Races, the 71st running of the event, was held on Saturday 15 May 2010 at the circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, in Northern Ireland.
Alastair Seeley is a motorcycle road racer riding in Superstock 1000 class for Northern Ireland based Synetiq BMW.
The 2011 Relentless International North West 200 was the 72nd running of the road racing event and took place on Saturday 21 May 2011 at the circuit, known as "The Triangle", based around the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, in Northern Ireland. As with 2010, the event featured daytime practice on the Thursday rather than during the evening. Traditionally only the main NW200 race has been run over six laps, however in 2011 all five events were to be six lap races. For the first time since 1989 there was no scheduled 125 cc event.
The 2014 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 24 May and Friday 6 June 2014 on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The main races were six solo motorcycle races and two sidecar races. The festival also included Pre-TT Classic Races held on 23, 24 & 26 May 2014 at the Billown Circuit in Castletown. Post-TT races scheduled for 7 June 2014 were cancelled by race organisers on safety grounds due to a thunderstorm and heavy overnight rain.
2015 International North West 200 was the 76th running of the motorcycle road racing event which took place between 11–16 May 2015 at the circuit, known as "The Triangle", based around the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, in Northern Ireland.
