NW200 Superstock: Dunlop takes first win on BMW in shortened race

Michael Dunlop has taken his debut in on the BMW S1000RR in the superstock race at the Vauxhall North West 200, winning after leading for only one lap in the shortened race after a serious incident brought out the red flags after three laps of six.

Michael Rutter had bene the early leader, but him and Dunlop spent the first two laps dicing and trading the lead on their similar BMWs until Dunlop was able to make a move at Metropole stick on lap two, and pulled out a substantial lead when the red flags came out.

Gary Johnson was third, coming through from the front row of the second wave with clear roads as well as the quickest speeds through the trap, while Austrian Horst Saiger was fourth despite controversy with sixth placed finisher Martin Jessop after the pair locked elbows on the second lap. Alastair Seeley split the pair in the closing stages of the race.

The red flags came out when Penz13.com BMW rider Simon Andrews fell heavily on the approach to Metropole. He was airlifted to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.