The 2026 North West 200 will take place on Northern Ireland’s north coast from May 6 to 9 and will feature a variety of interesting stories.
A highly qualified team of drivers and some of the most exotic two-wheeled machines in international road racing are being assembled for nine races on the famous 8.9-mile triangular circuit linking the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush.
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Ahead of the game, BBC Sport NI reports on some of the storylines that could impact this year’s event.
Will Irving win more when he returns?
The event has been given a major boost by the news that record 11-time Superbike champion Glenn Irwin will return to action this year after sitting out the 2025 event following his decision to retire from road racing in October 2024.
Owen will ride the new Ducati V4 for the Nitrous competition team, with whom he completed last year’s British Superbike Championship on a Yamaha.
Owen’s 11-game winning streak in the top flight between 2017 and 2024 will make him the favorite to add to his record in this round.
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Eight of these successes were achieved on Ducati bikes, two of them on Honda bikes and one on a Kawasaki bike.
If any further motivation is needed, the 36-year-old has the added carrot of becoming the most successful rider in any individual class at the event.
Carrickfergus rider Alastair Seeley has won 13 Supersport and 12 Superstock class races ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Can Seeley add to his winning record?
Alastair Seeley’s name has been synonymous with the North West 200 for nearly two decades and the County Antrim man will be hopeful of adding to his 29 wins to become the most successful rider in the event’s history.
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The 46-year-old’s most recent win was a Superstock double in 2023, and he returned to the podium 12 months ago with a third-place finish in the Superbike category after sitting out the 2024 edition due to a lack of suitable machinery.
This time around, the former British Superstock and British Supersport champion will focus on the smaller capacity Supersport and Supertwins classes with support from Binch Racing, the team with whom he competed in the British Short Circuit two years ago.
Seeley will ride a Ducati V2 in two Supersport races and an Aprilia in the Supertwins/Sportbike category in a bid to reach the landmark 30 wins.
Seeley’s past period of dominance is epitomized by the fact that he won 11 consecutive North West races between 2008 and 2018.
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Will Michael Dunlop continue his high note?
Michael Dunlop ended his winless run in the North West with a hat-trick of wins each in the Superbike, Super Stock and Supersport categories last year.
The Ballymoney rider continues to rack up TT wins but since 2016 he has been unable to secure first place in the North West until 2025 when he completes the Triple Crown.
Having ended his drought, the 37-year-old will be determined to add another eight wins to his record in Superbike and Supersport on his Ducati, with support from Hawk Racing, Scar Racing and his own MD Racing team.
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The County Antrim man deepened his links with the Italian manufacturer 12 months ago when he won two Supersport races at the Isle of Man event to give the Italian manufacturer its first IOM TT win since 1995.
Dunlop will also compete in the Superstock class, where he will seek further success in front of his hometown fans before returning to the Isle of Man to try and improve his all-time record to 33 wins.
Are there any first-time winners?
If a first-time winner were to be chosen in 2026, perhaps the most likely name to be considered would be Honda rival Dean Harrison.
The Yorkshire rider scored five podiums at the 2025 North West, taking his total to 15, but is yet to take the top spot.
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The 37-year-old has finished second eight times and accumulated seven third-place finishes, but he will take confidence from his two Superstock TT victories last June, taking his total in that race to five.
Other names to win for the first time include Australian two-time BSB champion and former NW200 lap record holder Josh Brookes, who this year competes in both road and short circuit races for the DAO Honda Racing team.
High-profile newcomer Storm Stacey has a strong pedigree in the BSB series and while winning a race on his debut at the Triangle may be a big ask joining the ranks of 26 former rookies, the Bathams Ducati is not to be underestimated.
Will multiple England winners achieve greater success?
Yorkshire’s David Todd has established himself as a prolific champion in the North West in recent years, building on his first win in 2019 with a double in 2023 and a hat-trick in the last two years.
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The 30-year-old plans to ride a BMW again as part of the 8Ten Racing team and claim victory in the Supersport class, but he may still be feeling the aftereffects of the injury suffered in the crash at Daytona in the US in March, having spent recent weeks recovering and recuperating. This will likely dampen his efforts, time will tell.
Nottingham’s Richard Cooper was another standout performer on the triangular circuit, winning seven races and finishing on the podium 17 times.
The multi-time British champion will continue his productive partnership with BPE by Russell Racing, racing Yamahas in the Supersport class, while also starting to compete in the Sportbike/Supertwins class with Powerslide Suzuki Team, and the Superstocks class with SMS/Nicholl Oils BMW Team.
Todt’s teammate Peter Hickman has won four races in the past – two in Superstock and two in Supertwins – and is targeting more race wins, particularly in the Superbike class where he has raced for so long in the British Superbike class and achieved so many results in the TT.
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Hickman was keen to get back to his winning ways in road races after being forced to sit out last year’s TT after suffering multiple injuries in a qualifying crash.
Ian Hutchinson, John McGuinness and Michael Rutter are the other multiple winners looking to impress a legion of fans as they continue their long and illustrious road racing careers.