North West 200: 'Frustrated... but excited' - Lee Johnston column (2024)

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4 hours ago

Five-time North West 200 winner Lee Johnston has been ruled out of this year's event through injury, but here in his BBC Sport column he outlines his thoughts on the prospects for this year's event.

It's frustrating to miss the North West 200 again this year after all that happened last year and how long I have been injured for now.

The crash while testing in Spain in February was another setback and although I'm not in agony any more and my leg injuries are healing really well, they aren't at the point yet where I can get the cage off.

It's hard to say exactly what stage of my rehabilitation I am at - we were trying to rush things to get it off so that I could race, but unfortunately the North West has just come too soon.

I'm going to be part of the BBC team at the event though and I am really excited about that.

I'm under no illusions about how hard that is going to be but they've kindly asked me to do it and I'm looking forward to going.

I'm still aware, though, that I want to be a motorbike racer. Usually people get asked to do these things when they are retired, so from that point of view it feels a bit weird.

The biggest thing about the North West for me is getting home.

I've now lived more of my adult life in England than I have in Northern Ireland so I love coming home and the reception I get off the fans is amazing.

They seem to have taken to me and they always will me on and wish the best for me.

When you watch back some of the videos of when you win a race or take the lead and you hear the crowd it's amazing that people decide to cheer for you.

The fans and the setting and the atmosphere make the event and obviously the track as well.

I've been going to watch there since I was a kid so it's an event that means a lot to me.

Hopefully the weather is good and we get some good, fast, exciting racing.

Pretty much everyone who is at the front in a road race rides a short circuit in some form these days so all the leading contenders should be dialled in.

Glenn Irwin is going to be hard to beat in the Superbikes. He's on one of the best bikes and is in really good form.

It would take a brave man to bet against him, although the likes of Davey Todd is young and hungry and has been going really well in British championships.

British Superbikes is Glenn's bread and butter but the North West is the only road race that he does so he's going there to win. He's not going there to get ready for the TT.

Six or eight riders are in with a good chance of winning and while the North West is a great event for the likes of Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop, to them the TT is the main race of the year and the big pay day.

What they would lay out to win the North West wouldn't be what they would lay out to win the TT in my opinion.

That's not belittling the North West, that's just the fact of it.

The big thing at the North West is racecraft strategy because the slipstream is so important.

If you can get away from the pack then that is great obviously but if you can't you need to be good on the coast road section. That provides the last two passing opportunities.

If you're good on the brakes and good on the coast road you've got a good chance of getting the win.

Among the big bikes the different machines are pretty similar in terms of top speed along the long straights.

As regards the Supersports, Triumph and Ducati are well in the mix now with Yamaha and Honda.

At the end of the day you're not going to beat cc's and whereas you were tuning the Yamaha to get the power, these other bikes are all 'undertuned' so you get more reliability, it's cheaper, everything is more in your favour.

It might not be a better bike but it's as good and cheaper to run.

Lee Johnston was speaking to BBC Sport NI's Richard Petrie

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