Alastair Seeley extended his record number of North West 200 wins to 28 by taking a Superstock victory, while Davey Todd was the winner of a thrilling Supersport race on Thursday.
Todd saw off an array of challengers to come out on top after a scintillating six laps to secure his second NW200 win on the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda.
Seeley dominated the Superstock event to clinch his 11th win in that class aboard a Synetiq BMW by TAS Racing.
The Supertwins race was postponed.
It is now expected to be staged on Saturday, adding to the five-race programme already planned.
The first attempt to stage the Supersport race was halted by an incident involving two riders at the Mill Road roundabout which brought out the red flags.
After a delay, the action got underway again in fast and furious fashion as seven riders jockeyed for position at the front around the 8.9-mile Triangle circuit.
The lead changed throughout as the middleweight class lived up to its reputation for close exciting racing but it was Nottingham rider Richard Cooper who led across the line on each of the first three laps.
Behind him, Todd, Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison, Alastair Seeley and Adam McLean were lined up waiting to take advantage of any slip-up.
To the delight of many of the thousands of spectators around the course, Dunlop hit the front on his MD Racing Yamaha by the end of the fourth circuit but the thrilling action continued for the final two laps.
Lap five yielded a new lap record for 13-time Supersport winner Seeley on his V2 Ducati – the Carrickfergus rider circulating at 118.066mph, more than a second inside Todd’s previous benchmark.
That charge saw Seeley cross the line in front of Cooper, Todd, Dunlop, Harrison and Hickman as the leaders headed out on their final lap of six.
The frontrunners continued to jostle for top spot but in the end it was Yorkshireman Todd who held off the chasing pack to take victory by 0.1 seconds from Seeley, with Cooper completing the rostrum and Dunlop, Harrison and Hickman making up the top six.
Just over one second covered those top-six finishers.
“I worked so hard for that, it means so much,” race victor Todd told BBC Sport NI after taking the chequered flag.
“I’m over the moon. It was about who was strongest on the brakes and I didn’t want to let that one slip away.”
Seeley seals Superstock win
Before the start of the Superstock race, the bombshell news was revealed by FHO Racing rider Josh Brookes that his team, which also includes Hickman, had withdrawn from the meeting after the carbon wheels they were using on their BMW machines was deemed by organisers not be within the meeting’s regulations.
As fans were still digesting that setback, the Stock race got underway and it was Seeley who immediately stamped his authority on proceedings from the drop of the flag.
The former British champion broke the existing class lap record on consecutive laps, his second and third circuits, as he pulled clear.
Seeley first dipped under Todd’s previous benchmark with a lap of 124.196mph, then chopped another half a second off that with 124.427, four minutes 19.525 seconds.
Behind him, the battle for the other two podium spots was raging between Todd and Dunlop, before a red flag situation intervened with most of the field on their final lap.
As the race had progressed beyond two-thirds distance, Seeley was declared the winner on a lap countback, enjoying an advantage of 10.3 seconds over runner-up Todd, Dunlop, Dean Harrison, Michael Rutter and James Hillier.
It emerged that Nathan Harrison had come off at Dhu Varren and it is reported that the Manxman sustained minor injuries.
“It’s nice to rattle another one out,” said Seeley before proceeding to take his position on the top step.
“It is a match made in heaven [his relationship with TAS Racing]. Philip gave me the opportunity back in 2009 and we brought two titles very quickly.
“It’s a great team, they are a great bunch of guys with a big family atmosphere and this year we are very happy – and I keep saying that a happy rider is a fast rider.”
Supersport race one results
1 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda
2 Alastair Seeley (NI) Ducati
3 Richard Cooper (Eng) Yamaha
4 Michael Dunlop (NI) Yamaha
5 Dean Harrison (Eng) Yamaha
6 Peter Hickman (Eng) Triumph
Fastest lap and new lap record: Alastair Seeley 118.066mph on lap five
Superstock race one results
1 Alastair Seeley (NI) BMW
2 Davey Todd (Eng) Honda
3 Michael Dunlop (NI) Honda
4 Dean Harrison (Eng) Kawasaki
5 Michael Rutter (Eng) BMW
6 James Hillier (Eng) Yamaha
Fastest lap and new lap record: Alastair Seeley 124.427mph on lap three
