North West 200
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The North West 200 is a motorcycle race meeting held each May in Northern Ireland, using public roads. The circuit between the towns Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine (the Triangle) is considered among the fastest in the world, with speeds topping 200mph, and enters the outskirts of those towns, passing many private houses. To facilitate this, street signs are removed at parts of the track and bales of hay used to wrap the base of lampposts and telegraph poles in case of an accident. It is one of around fifteen events run on public roads between April and October throughout the island of Ireland. In 2006 it was the highest attended sporting event in Ireland, with up to 150,000 people from Ireland, Britain, Europe and beyond descending on the "Triangle" for the week.
Practice nights are held on Tuesday and Thursday before the race. The race meeting on Saturday requires public roads to be closed during the afternoon. The meeting takes its name from the main race of the afternoon - the 'North West 200,' originally ran over 200 miles, before changing to its current format of six separate races each running 4-6 laps of the 8.966 mile circuit, 8.83 miles on the first lap of every race. This forms part of the larger tradition of Irish road-racing and the Isle of Man TT races race weekend attracts thousands of fans, many of whom camp on fields beside the circuit. It is the largest annual sporting event in Ireland, with over 100,000 visitors from all over the world every year.
Many world-class riders have taken part. Arguably the most famous is the late Joey Dunlop, who has 13 race wins, but the event has been dominated in recent years by Englishman Michael Rutter, who has won 11 races from 1997 to 2006. Joey Dunlop's younger brother Robert holds the record number of wins at 'The Triangle', with 15 victories in his career.
[edit] Total overall race winners
| Rider | Wins |
|---|---|
| Robert Dunlop | 15 |
| Joey Dunlop | 13 |
| Michael Rutter, Phillip McCallen | 11 |
| Tony Rutter, Ian Lougher | 9 |
| Bruce Anstey, Steve Cull | 6 |
| Ian Simpson, Arthur Wheeler, John Williams, Mick Grant, Woolsey Coulter | 5 |
| Bob McIntyre, David Jefferies, Jimmy Guthrie, Ernie Nott, Eddie Laycock, Tommy Robb | 4 |
| Alan Shepherd, Artie Bell, Callum Ramsey, Geoff Duke, Charlie Williams, Jim Moodie, Eric Fernihough, Ralph Bryans, Ray McCullough, Rod Gould, Trevor Nation, Tom Herron, Sammy Miller | 3 |
| Alastair King, Andy Watts, Bob Anderson, Carl Fogarty, Charlie Manders, Crasher White, Dave Leach, Derek Chatterton, Derek Ennet, Donny Robinson, Fred Stevens, Gary Cowan, Graham Wood, Ian Newton, Jack Brett, John Blanchard, John Cooper, Kevin Mitchell, Peter Williams, Phelim Owens, Richard Creith, Robert Holden, Roger Marshall, Ryan Farquhar, Steve Hislop, Steve Plater, Tim Hunt, Walter Rusk | 2 |
| Adrian Archibald, Alan Carter, Alan Lyons, Bill Smith, Billy Guthrie, WHT Meagean, Bob Foster, Bob Jackson, Brian Reid, Cliff Carr, Courtney Junk, Darran Lindsay, David Madsen-Mygdal, David Morgan, Denis Parkinson, Derek Minter, Dickie Dale, Ernie Lyons, Geoff Barry, George Buchan, Graham Walker, Harold Daniell, Harold Kirby, Harry Pearce, Iain Duffus, Ian Hutchinson, Ian McGregor, Ian Richards, Ivor Arber, Jack Moore, Jackie Robinson, Jackie Wood, James Whitham, Jimmy Little, Joe Woodside, John Newbold, Keith Huewen, Kenny Irons, Malcolm Templeton, Malcolm McQuigg, Malcolm Uphill, Martin Sharpe, Michael McSorley, Mick Lofthouse, Mike Edwards, Nigel Beattie, Norman Brown, Owen McNally, Paul Smart, Percy Tait, Peter Gill, Raymond Porter, Reg Armstrong, Richard Britton, Rob Orme, Roger Hurst, Ron Haslam, Ronnie Mead, Samuel Smith, Stanley Woods, Steve Murray, Steve Tonkin, Stu Avant, Stuart Graham, Syd Lawton, H G Tyrell Smith, Wal Handley | 1 |
