Stacey secures sensational debut win in Superstock

Storm Stacey scored a sensational win in the Superstock class on his North West 200 debut on Saturday. The 23-year-old English rider, a regular frontrunner in the British Superbike series, saw off the challenge of runner-up Michael Dunlop to win by 1. 26 seconds after a breathtaking last-lap battle between the two.

The lead swapped between the pair at the front before Stacey pulled clear of his rival and fellow BMW rider with a new class lap record of 124. 498mph on his final circuit. Stacey became the 27th rider to win a North West race on their debut, and the first since Christian Elkin achieved the feat in 2007.

Australian Josh Brookes was also in the mix for the victory but fell behind in the latter stages and had to settle for third spot on his DAO Racing Honda. Ian Hutchinson, John McGuinness and Mike Browne rounded out the top six, with leading contender Dean Harrison retiring on lap two. The race was restarted over a reduced four-lap distance, rather than the original six, after the first running was red-flagged after an incident at University Corner.