Tyco Suzuki's Alastair Seeley banged in a superfast lap at the end of Superbike qualifying at the Northwest 200 today, using it as a banker for pole position in case rain interrupts the second session on Thursday.
The Irishman was three seconds quicker than John McGuinness on a 120.689mph lap which was only fractionally slower than his record of 121.875 set in 2010. Last year's event heralded no records due to inclement weather.
“The plan was to go fast from the start. It could turn out to be crucial that we were P1 in the Superbike and Supersport sessions today if the weather turns bad," said Seeley.
McGuinness, on the Honda Legends Fireblade, said he didn't feel like he was at any kind of pace and was just enjoying a ride around the nine-mile triangle while third-placed man was William Dunlop, looking for his first big-bike win at the Coleraine circuit.
Seeley's team-mate Guy Martin was fourth on the sheets with Martin Jessopp, who clocked 208mph to record the fastest speed ever on the circuit, finished in fifth. Returning hero Ian Hutchinson was sixth, Michael Dunlop seventh, Cameron Donald eighth, Michael Rutter ninth and Gary Johnson tenth.
