The first Superbike race at the North West 200 has been red flagged after Ryan Farquhar's KMR Kawasaki blew up on the exit of Church Corner depositing fluid along the coast road. Farquhar's machine snapped sideways just after the railway bridge with the rider lucky to stay on board but, unbeknown to Farquhar, rather than the slide being due to the rain and standing water, it was oil and it wasn't until the Juniper chicane that he realised and was able to pull off the circuit.

With heavy rain falling, Michael Rutter, Martin Jessopp, Guy Martin, James Hillier and Adrian Archibald were just some of the riders deciding that conditions were too dangerous to continue but the race got underway albeit cut to four laps. Michael Dunlop took the early lead from Farquhar, Bruce Anstey and Alastair Seeley, the leading pair swapping places on the run towards Mather's Cross. However, it was Seeley who was again a demon on the brakes and shot past both on the brakes into the Magherabuoy chicane.

With Seeley pulling away, Farquhar was almost off after the engine let go just after Church and the red flag soon came out. With a metre wide oil slick along a 2-mile section of the course, doubts now remain if the meeting will be able to continue.