2009 North West 200 Races


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.
Steve Plater and William Dunlop took double victories at the meeting, with Alastair Seeley winning the other race held. Two races were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Practice

Superbike

topped the timesheets on Tuesday, on his Relentless Suzuki ahead of the Hondas of John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Steve Plater. Anstey's team-mate Cameron Donald rounded out the top five, ahead of the first Yamaha of Michael Rutter and the Kawasakis of Ryan Farquhar and Conor Cummins.
In the Thursday session affected by rain, Guy Martin topped the timesheets on the Hydrex Honda CBR1000RR, just ahead of a similar bike ridden by Ian Hutchinson. Denver Robb was third on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, as times were over ten seconds slower than Tuesday.
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Bruce AnsteySuzuki 1000cc4:25.371121.632 mph
2 John McGuinnessHonda 1000cc+ 1.400120.994 mph
3 Alastair SeeleySuzuki 1000cc+ 3.383120.101 mph
4 Keith AmorHonda 1000cc+ 3.843119.896 mph
5 Steve PlaterHonda 1000cc+ 4.774119.483 mph
6 Cameron DonaldSuzuki 1000cc+ 4.898119.428 mph
7 Michael RutterYamaha 1000cc+ 5.739119.057 mph
8 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 1000cc+ 5.977118.953 mph
9 Conor CumminsKawasaki 1000cc+ 6.250118.833 mph
10 Ian LougherYamaha 1000cc+ 6.637118.664 mph

Superstock

-born Alastair Seeley dominated the first Tuesday Superstock session, setting a lap of 4:28.754, giving him an advantage of over 2.5 seconds. The lap was also good enough for the third fastest lap in the Superbike/Superstock session. Dungannon's Farquhar was second on a Kawasaki, while an all-Irish top three was completed by Kilkenny's John Walsh on his Yamaha. Cummins was fourth on his Kawasaki while William Dunlop's Yamaha rounded out the top five.
In the second session, Donald set the fastest time, just 0.7 seconds behind his team-mate Seeley, with the third Relentless Suzuki of Anstey in third.
Thursday's session was affected by adverse weather conditions, with Derek Brien topping the timesheets but was some nine seconds off the pace of Seeley. Seeley was only sixteenth in the session, as he would only set three laps in the session. Les Shand was second, just edging out another Yamaha, ridden by Michael Pearson.
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Alastair SeeleySuzuki 1000cc4:28.754120.101 mph
2 Cameron DonaldSuzuki 1000cc+ 0.724119.778 mph
3 Bruce AnsteySuzuki 1000cc+ 2.115119.163 mph
4 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 1000cc+ 2.594118.953 mph
5 Gary JohnsonHonda 1000cc+ 3.092118.735 mph
6 Keith AmorHonda 1000cc+ 3.333118.630 mph
7 John WalshYamaha 1000cc+ 3.550118.535 mph
8 Les ShandYamaha 1000cc+ 3.896118.385 mph
9 Conor CumminsKawasaki 1000cc+ 4.788117.999 mph
10 Guy MartinHonda 1000cc+ 5.509117.688 mph

Supersport

After a decent session with his 250cc bike, Michael Dunlop surprised the rest of the field by setting the fastest lap in the Tuesday Supersport session. His 4:33.664 lap was over a second and a half faster than the next best lap, by Plater on the HM Plant Honda. Amor was third ahead of Anstey, Ian Hutchinson, William Dunlop and McGuinness.
Thursday's session was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Michael DunlopYamaha 600cc4:33.664117.946 mph
2 Steve PlaterHonda 600cc+ 1.745117.199 mph
3 Keith AmorHonda 600cc+ 2.914116.703 mph
4 Bruce AnsteySuzuki 600cc+ 4.521116.029 mph
5 Ian HutchinsonHonda 600cc+ 4.626115.985 mph
6 William DunlopYamaha 600cc+ 4.749115.934 mph
7 John McGuinnessHonda 600cc+ 5.115115.782 mph
8 John WalshYamaha 600cc+ 7.199114.923 mph
9 Gary JohnsonHonda 600cc+ 8.580114.361 mph
10 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 600cc+ 9.180114.118 mph

250cc

Sunny conditions marked the start of the 250cc session on Tuesday, in which Christian Elkin topped the timesheets. Elkin's Honda lapped the circuit in a time of 5:02.594, edging out defending race winner Michael Dunlop's Honda by just over a tenth of a second. McGuinness was third, with a lap of 5:05.326, narrowly shading another Honda, ridden by Belfast's Mark Lunney. The first Yamaha rounded out the top five, with David Craig edging out Darren Burns.
Thursday's session was completed before adverse weather conditions curtailed the day. Elkin continued his good form, with a lap of 4:56.654, nearly eight seconds faster than the next competitor. Denver Robb was second, ahead of McGuinness and Phil Harvey. Paul Robinson rounded out the top five on his Honda.
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Christian ElkinHonda 250cc4:56.654108.806 mph
2 Michael DunlopHonda 250cc+ 6.059106.628 mph
3 Denver RobbHonda 250cc+ 7.850106.001 mph
4 John McGuinnessHonda 250cc+ 8.206105.877 mph
5 Mark LunneyHonda 250cc+ 8.719105.699 mph
6 Phil HarveyHonda 250cc+ 8.764104.824 mph
7 David CraigYamaha 250cc+ 10.219105.182 mph
8 Darren BurnsHonda 250cc+ 10.323105.147 mph
9 Davy MorganHonda 250cc+ 11.669104.688 mph
10 Barry DavidsonHonda 250cc+ 11.760104.657 mph

125cc

The only Aprilia in the field topped the Tuesday timesheets, with Ballywalter's David Lemon riding it to a lap of 5:20.756 and the only 100 mph lap of the session. Although, William Dunlop recorded a 100 mph lap, he did not complete enough laps to qualify. Lemon's time was good enough to give him a three-second advantage over Oliver Linsdell's Honda, with Chris Palmer, Paul Robinson and James Ford, all on Hondas, rounding out the top five.
Thursday's session was completed before adverse weather conditions curtailed the day. William Dunlop topped the session, improving on his non-qualifying time from Tuesday, but was still over a second shy from the best time of the week, set by Lemon. Lemon was only fourth in the session, with Palmer and Robinson both slotting in between.
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 David LemonAprilia 125cc5:20.756100.630 mph
2 William DunlopHonda 125cc+ 1.205100.253 mph
3 Chris PalmerHonda 125cc+ 2.05899.988 mph
4 Oliver LinsdellHonda 125cc+ 3.10499.665 mph
5 Paul RobinsonHonda 125cc+ 4.09999.360 mph
6 Mark LunneyHonda 125cc+ 10.45797.453 mph
7 James FordHonda 125cc+ 10.99397.295 mph
8 Jon VincentHonda 125cc+ 14.68796.224 mph
9 Nigel MooreHonda 125cc+ 15.16096.088 mph
10 Graham WilsonHonda 125cc+ 15.36696.029 mph

Races

Race 1; 250cc Race final standings

Saturday 16 May 2009 3 laps – 26.79 miles
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 William DunlopHonda 250cc14' 48.194108.455 mph
2 Chris PalmerHonda 250cc+ 6.149107.709 mph
3 Phil HarveyHonda 250cc+ 7.174107.586 mph
4 Mark LunneyHonda 250cc+ 8.400107.439 mph
5 Denver RobbHonda 250cc+ 10.234107.219 mph
6 John McGuinnessHonda 250cc+ 14.900106.665 mph
7 Paul RobinsonHonda 250cc+ 22.986105.719 mph
8 Andrew NeillHonda 250cc+ 29.812104.933 mph
9 Barry DavidsonHonda 250cc+ 37.496104.062 mph
10 David MateerYamaha 250cc+ 1 lap103.344 mph

Fastest Lap: Michael Dunlop, 4'55.591 on lap 2

Race 2; Superbike Race Race final standings

Saturday 16 May 2009 2 laps – 17.862 miles
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Steve PlaterHonda 1000cc8' 45.964121.779 mph
2 Bruce AnsteySuzuki 1000cc+ 0.639121.631 mph
3 John McGuinnessHonda 1000cc+ 2.019121.313 mph
4 Cameron DonaldSuzuki 1000cc+ 2.488121.205 mph
5 Conor CumminsKawasaki 1000cc+ 3.266121.027 mph
6 Guy MartinHonda 1000cc+ 4.516120.742 mph
7 Keith AmorHonda 1000cc+ 5.351120.552 mph
8 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 1000cc+ 5.823120.445 mph
9 Gary JohnsonHonda 1000cc+ 7.969119.961 mph
10 Ian HutchinsonHonda 1000cc+ 9.515119.540 mph

Fastest Lap: Steve Plater, 4'22.577 on lap 2

Race 3; Supersport Race final standings

Saturday 16 May 2009 4 laps – 35.725 miles
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Steve PlaterHonda 600cc18' 16.091117.332 mph
2 Bruce AnsteySuzuki 600cc+ 0.515117.277 mph
3 Michael DunlopYamaha 600cc+ 2.632117.051 mph
4 John McGuinnessHonda 600cc+ 3.144116.996 mph
5 William DunlopYamaha 600cc+ 9.420116.332 mph
6 Ian HutchinsonHonda 600cc+ 9.761116.296 mph
7 Michael RutterYamaha 600cc+ 10.588116.209 mph
8 Gary JohnsonHonda 600cc+ 11.070116.159 mph
9 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 600cc+ 17.337115.505 mph
10 Ian LougherYamaha 600cc+ 28.697114.338 mph

Fastest Lap: Steve Plater, 4' 33.126 on lap 2

Race 4; 125cc Race final standings

Saturday 16 May 2009 4 laps – 35.864 miles
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 William DunlopHonda 125cc21' 26.004100.005 mph
2 Chris PalmerHonda 125cc+ 7.24399.445 mph
3 Oliver LinsdellHonda 125cc+ 12.84699.016 mph
4 Mark LunneyHonda 125cc+ 26.63297.976 mph
5 Stephan SavelkoulsHonda 125cc+ 28.53497.799 mph
6 James FordHonda 125cc+ 29.00997.779 mph
7 Jon VincentHonda 125cc+ 41.47096.881 mph
8 Phil HarveyHonda 125cc+ 57.25895.742 mph
9 Andrew NeillHonda 125cc+ 57.37695.733 mph
10 Graham WilsonHonda 125cc+ 1' 00.13295.537 mph

Fastest Lap: William Dunlop, 5' 18.482 on lap 2

Race 5; Superstock Race final standings

Saturday 16 May 2009 2 laps – 17.862 miles
RankRiderTeamTimeSpeed
1 Alastair SeeleySuzuki 1000cc8' 50.296120.784 mph
2 Ryan FarquharKawasaki 1000cc+ 0.899120.579 mph
3 Keith AmorHonda 1000cc+ 3.802119.924 mph
4 Cameron DonaldSuzuki 1000cc+ 4.242119.825 mph
5 Guy MartinHonda 1000cc+ 5.133119.626 mph
6 Ian HutchinsonHonda 1000cc+ 5.717119.496 mph
7 Conor CumminsKawasaki 1000cc+ 5.984119.436 mph
8 Les ShandYamaha 1000cc+ 6.722119.272 mph
9 Gary JohnsonHonda 1000cc+ 11.226118.280 mph
10 James McBrideHonda 1000cc+ 20.942116.195 mph

Fastest Lap: Alastair Seeley, 4' 27.40 on lap 2