• The meeting was originally intended to be held somewhere in the north west of Ireland and was organised by the City of Derry & District Motor Club. The initial event was moved to the north coast but the name was never changed.

• The first race was held on Saturday 20 April 1929 and was held over exactly 200 miles on an 11-mile course. W J McCracken was victorious in the handicap race, his race winning time on his 348cc Velocette being 3hr8m35s.

• The original start and finish was located near Magherabuoy but moved to the Portmore Road in Portstewart in 1930. It moved to its current location between Juniper Hill and Millbank Avenue in 1973.

• The only time the races haven’t been held since 1929 were 1940-1946 (World War II), 1948 (unavailability of fuel supplies), 1963 (lack of finance), 1972 (lack of political stability) and 2001 (foot and mouth epidemic).

• The course now has four chicanes to reduce speeds – Juniper Hill (added in 1983), the start and finish (1988), Magherabuoy (1996) and Mathers Cross (2010).

• The link road from University Corner to Ballysally Roundabout was first used in 1980.

• The Coleraine and District Motor Club have organised the event since 1964.

• Alan and Ernie Lyons were the first brothers to win races at the NW200 in 1955. The only other brothers to win races are Joey and Robert Dunlop and William and Michael Dunlop.

• The only fathers and sons to win races are Tony and Michael Rutter and Robert and William and Michael Dunlop.
• Thursday evening races took place for the first time in 2012.

• Ten riders have recorded three or more wins in a single meeting – John Williams, Joey Dunlop, Steve Cull, Robert Dunlop, Phillip McCallen, David Jefferies, Michael Rutter, Bruce Anstey, Steve Plater and Alastair Seeley.

• Williams was the first rider to record a hat-trick, winning the 350cc, 500cc and 750cc races in 1974.

• Robert Dunlop is the only rider to achieve four hat-tricks, achieving the feats in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.

• Phillip McCallen holds the record for the most wins in a day with five – 400cc, 600cc, 250cc and both Superbike races – set in 1992.

• The 2017 North West 200 sees 10 former winners on the grid with 64 wins between them.

• Alastair Seeley now holds the record number of wins (17) followed by Robert Dunlop (15), Joey Dunlop and Michael Rutter (both 13), Phillip McCallen (11), Bruce Anstey (10) and Tony Rutter (9).

• With nine and five wins respectively, Seeley has won more Supersport and Superstock races than any other rider.

• Seeley has won the last five of the last six Supersport races, including the last four in 2015 and 2016.

• The feature Superbike race has only taken place twice 92012 and 2014) in the last six years.

• Phillip McCallen still leads the way for total number of podiums on 28 followed by Michael Rutter and Alastair Seeley (27), Joey Dunlop and Ian Lougher (26), Robert Dunlop and Bruce Anstey (25).

• John McGuinness’ 6 race wins currently span 12 years with his first win, the 250cc race, coming in 2000 and his most recent, the Superbike, occurring in 2012.

• Michael Rutter’s 13 wins span an even longer period with 15 years between his first win in 1997 and most recent, the Superstock in 2012.

• Bruce Anstey made his debut in 2002, setting pole position and then winning the Production race.

• Christian Elkin is the last newcomer to win a race, bagging the 250cc victory in 2007.

• Glenn Irwin was the last newcomer to finish on the podium, taking second in the second Supersport race of 2015.

• Robert Dunlop gave the Honda RC45 its first ever International victory in 1994.

• Artie Bell gave the legendary Featherbed Norton its first International victory when he won the 1950 500cc race.

• Jimmy Guthrie won four successive 500cc races from 1934-37 and also set the first 80mph lap in the process.

• Mike Hailwood only made one appearance at the North West 200, finishing second in the 1958 250cc race.

• Jack Brett set the first 100mph lap in 1957, just a month before the same feat was achieved at the Isle of Man TT by Bob McIntyre.

• The first 120mph lap was set by Mick Grant in 1975 whilst Tom Herron set the fastest ever lap seen at the NW200 with a speed of 127.63mph in 1978.

• The fastest ever speed recorded through the speed trap was 209mph by Honda’s Anstey last year.

• The current outright lap record is held by Michael Dunlop at 123.207mph, set in the 2016 Superbike race.

• 19 riders have lapped the course at more than 120mph.

• Honda claimed their first victory in 1964 with Ralph Bryans winning the 250cc and 350cc races and they’ve now won more NW200 races (92) than any other manufacturer. They’re followed by Yamaha (77), Norton (37), Suzuki (31) and Kawasaki (20).

• Yamaha’s first NW200 win came in 1968 with Rod Gould’s victory in the 250cc race.

• 1970 saw Suzuki add their name to the roll of honour when Stuart Graham won the 500cc Production race.

• Norton hasn’t won a race since 1991 when Robert Dunlop and Trevor Nation shared the two Superbike victories.

• BMW’s first win came in 2010 when Keith Amor won the Superstock race.

• Yamaha is the only manufacturer to have a clean sweep of the programme, winning all five races in 1979.

• Only three non-European riders have won races at the North West 200 and they’re all from New Zealand – Stu Avant, Robert Holden and Bruce Anstey. Avant was the first in 1982.

• Nigel Beattie is the only rider from the Isle of Man to have won a race at the North West 200, the 2006 250cc.

• The only dead heat came in the 1977 350cc race when timekeepers were unable to separate Ray McCullough and Tony Rutter after more than sixty-six miles of racing.

• Prior to Jeremy McWilliams’ win in 2013, the last Grand Prix winner to win at the North West 200 was Mick Grant in 1982.

• Around two million people, from all around the world, will tune in online to watch what is Ireland’s largest sporting event.