The first event of the 2026 road racing season is now done and dusted after last weekend’s North West 200 – and that means we’ve had our first glimpse of what to expect when the riders head to the Isle of Man TT in only two weeks’ time for what is, for most of them, the focal point of their entire seasons.
And while this year’s NW200 might have been somewhat dominated by names such as Glenn Irwin and stunning newcomer Storm Stacey, who won’t be heading to the TT, there was still plenty to read into to get a steer on who’s likely to shine when they set off down Glencrutchery Road in only a few weeks’ time.
North West 200 winners
Supertwin Race 1: Peter Hickman (Yamaha)
Superbike Race 1: Glenn Irwin (Ducati)
Supersport: Michael Dunlop (Ducati)
Superstock: Storm Stacey (BMW)
Supertwin Race 2: Jeremy McWilliams (Yamaha)
Superbike Race 2: Storm Stacey (BMW)
Harrison is a dark horse for Superbike wins
This is perhaps not the biggest surprise given the strength of his performances in 2025, when he won both Superstock TT races, but the NW200 showed that Dean Harrison’s renaissance last year was no flash in the pan – and that after a six-year absence from the top step of the podium in the Superbike class, the Honda rider might well be going into this year’s Isle of Man TT as the favourite.
Benefitting in 2026, as he did last year, from plenty of track time in the British Supersport class, three podiums from three starts at the NW200 is a very solid performance from the Isle of Man resident – and you have to think that only red flags and a shortened end to the day prevented him the chance from going one step better.
Whether that translates into big bike success at the TT is, of course, another question, but it’s definitely the strongest start to a season we’ve seen from Harrison this side of the TT’s two-year Covid-enforced cancellation in 2020 and 2021.
Dunlop doesn’t look up to speed (yet)
Making predictions about Michael Dunlop’s level before the TT is always something of a fool’s errand, given the way that the most successful racer of all time often conducts his preparations; we don’t even, for example, know for sure yet if the BMW and Honda bikes he raced at the NW200 will be the same machines that he’ll line up on at the TT, after a brief flirtation with Ducati.
But, with the Panigale still needing development work, it looks like it’ll be a return to Honda in the Superbike class and BMW in Superstock-spec for Dunlop, with the Honda in particular likely to still need considerable time to dial in considering Dunlop has not raced one at the TT for two years (even if he did nonetheless manage to stick it on the podium last weekend).
One thing is more sure, though: he’s still the absolute master of the Supersport class. And with the smaller Ducati V2 Panigale absolutely singing around the Triangle circuit, it’s going to take something very impressive indeed to halt him in that class at the TT.
Question marks about Hickman’s condition
Now, it’s worth caveating what comes next by pointing out that 14-time TT winner Peter Hickman has never quite been a NW200 specialist, with his height – which makes him so controlled around the Mountain circuit – something of a hindrance when it comes to the slipstream battles between Ballysally roundabout and Mather’s Cross on the Atlantic road.
But, even bearing that in mind, the 8TEN Racing team owner didn’t look himself at this year’s event. Yes, he was able to take victory in the opening Supertwin race of the day against MotoGP veteran Jeremy McWilliams, but Hickman was noticeably absent in the bigger classes, with a pair of fourth-place finishes his best results on 1000cc machines.
There have been some suggestions that one of the key factors for that is the lingering effects of his huge crash last year in practice for the TT, a fall at Kerrowmoar caused by a technical problem that left him with multiple broken ribs and vertebrae as well as his collarbone, shoulder blade, and wrist.
Todd’s absence is a real blow
With the news now confirmed that Davey Todd will also be forced to sit out the TT thanks to Daytona 200 injuries sustained in March, his absence from the NW200 last weekend highlighted how much he’s going to be missed across the 2026 road racing season.
Going toe-to-toe with Dunlop and Hickman at last year’s NW200 was the highlight of the racing action, complete with political drama in the aftermath of their controversial Superbike battle – and it absolutely helped to set the scene for round two at the TT, where Todd was able to emerge victorious over Dunlop and keep the feud alive.
And while you can’t argue with the medical decision to deny his participation in both events in 2026 thanks to his still-not-healed broken femur and tibia, the North West 200 was a reminder that the season is missing a little something extra by not having another round of the Todd versus Dunlop versuss Hickman rivalry.
It’s hard to tell who else to bet on
The NW200 always draws out event specialists who don’t follow the rest of the road-racing circuit across to the Isle of Man, and this year was no different with predominantly circuit racers such as Irwin, Alastair Seeley, and stunning newcomer Stacey taking the fight to the road specialists and largely emerging victorious over them.
But what that tends to mean is that, while we can see who’s at the very sharp end of the fight, it’s perhaps harder to read too much into who else we can expect to shine come the start of TT race action on May 30.
Names who you’d expect to be in podium contention, such as Dom Herbertson and Mike Browne, didn’t get much chance to shine, while other stalwarts including James Hillier, Connor Cummins, and Nathan Harrison elected to instead concentrate on doing their preparations elsewhere, meaning we go into the TT still very uncertain of who we can expect to rise to the occasion.