Island riders prepare for North West 200 test

Racing beckons across four days at Triangle circuit

Another large contingent of Isle of Man riders is expected to take part in this year's North West 200 which gets underway in Northern Ireland today (7 May).

A major event on the road racing calendar in its own right, the four-day meeting also serves as vital preparation for those taking on the Isle of Man TT Races are few weeks later.

One of those who's become well acquainted with racing on the Triangle circuit in recent years is Santon man Michael Evans.

He's keen to be fighting for a place higher up the standings in 2025 in a new environment after signing for Dafabet Racing:

For some local competitors the challenge of the event is still a relatively new experience.

Douglas rider Marcus Simpson made his debut at the North West 200 in 2024 and says he took some valuable lessons from his maiden appearance.

Elsewhere there is once again expected to be a steady stream of newcomers in 2025 getting a taste of the action for the first time.

Among those is another Island racer in Jamie Cringle - he'll be focusing on the Supersport class with a priority on learning the ropes in his first outing:

The 2025 North West 200 is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, 7 May to Saturday, 10 May.

Practice is currently scheduled to take place during the day today (7 May) and tomorrow (8 May) before the first three races are penned in for tomorrow evening.

Friday is designated as a rest day before the final race day on Saturday, 10 May with six races planned.

In exceptional circumstances, organisers have the ability to move practice or race days one day forwards or backwards.

All schedules remain subject to change depending on prevailing conditions and circumstances.

The initial programme of events is listed below:

Wednesday, 7 May

Practice - Roads closed between 9am and 3pm

Thursday, 8 May

Practice - Roads closed between 9am and 3pm

Evening Racing - Roads closed betewen 4.45pm and 9pm

Friday, 9 May

Rest Day

Saturday, 10 May

Race Day - Roads closed between 9am and 7pm