NW200: Hat-trick for Seeley in Superstock thriller

Alastair Seeley completed another North West 200 hat-trick after beating Peter Hickman to the win in the second Superstock race.

It was the second Tyco BMW of Dan Kneen who took an initial lead on lap one, followed by team-mate Seeley, veteran Micahel Rutter and the Carl Cox MD Racing machine of Michael Dunlop, but Thursday’s race winner Peter Hickman was looking strong as he took the lead on the run toward Metropole on lap two.

Running wide on the exit of Metropole, Hickman lost out with Seeley inheriting the lead but it wouldn’t be the end of the battle.

While the likes of Kneen, Rutter, Harrison and Dunlop were well in the mix, everything was beginning to point towards another Hickman vs Seeley showdown.

Dan Kneen momentarily re-took the lead before going straight on at Mather’s Cross on the final lap, leaving Hickman out in front with Seeley giving chase.

Seeley made his move on the Smith’s BMW in the early stages of the coast road, leaving Hickman with little choice but to settle for second with Dean Harrison taking third.

Michael Dunlop finished fourth for MD Racing ahead of Gary Johnson on the RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki while Kneen would eventually complete the top six after his incident at Mather’s.

Martin Kessop finished seventh ahead of James Hillier with Conor Cummins and Dan Cooper rounding out the top ten.