After eight years of difficulties, Ian Hutchinson was able to return to the podium at the North West 200 with MLav Racing.

Ian Hutchinson was back with a bang at the 2025 North West 200 as he returned to the podium in the opening Superstock Race of the week.

The 45-year-old finished third in the Amici Ristorante Superstock Race after finishing 11th in the Fraser Homes Supersport Race and fifth in the Milwaukee Superbike Race.

It has been a difficult eight years for Hutchinson as he has suffered several injuries and, in February 2023, suffered a stroke while cycling in Spain.

But after all these difficulties, the new MLav Road Racing project and Hutchinson have gelled and found their way to the front at their first racing event.

"Michael Laverty gave me a ring in November about doing this project," Hutchinson said after the Amici Ristorante Superstock Race.

"It has sort of come together in the last four weeks, to be honest, it has been very rushed. We have got here, and I have been believing since 2017, with my crash, that I could come back.

"Two years after that was bad with the frame on my leg, then COVID, then I had a stroke. It's been a nightmare really, eight years of being nowhere near the pace. But I have kept believing in myself and I have kept going and training hard."

An emotional Hutchinson was lost for words after returning to the podium places and was overjoyed that he 'can still ride' after all of the difficulties that he has overcome.

"I am not really sure to be honest," he explained.

"I just hope my daughter is watching because I can still ride!"