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Heavy rain showers led to delays on the final day of qualifying at the Vauxhall International North West 200 on Thursday as poor conditions prevented riders from improving their times from Tuesday.

Alastair Seeley held on to pole position for the Superstock class on his MSS Kawasaki but the Northern Ireland rider will start from a low grid position in the Supersport and Superbike classes after machine problems denied him the chance to post a fast lap on Tuesday.

Seeley’s lap from Tuesday at 118.046mph gives him the top spot on the grid for the first Superstock race on Thursday evening by 1.886s from Michael Dunlop.


However, Dunlop had the fastest lap in the wet at 107.995mph.

John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey on the HM Plant/Padgett’s Honda machines will start from third and fourth places respectively on the Superstock grid, followed by Gary Johnson (Kawasaki) and Michael Rutter on the Bathams Honda.

Wilson Craig Racing’s Cameron Donald is seventh, 4.562s down on Seeley, with Dean Harrison from Bradford rounding out the top eight on his RC Express/MSS Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Milwaukee Yamaha’s William Dunlop and Conor Cummins plus Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki managed to qualify for the Superstock class despite the conditions after missing out on Tuesday, but the trio are towards the rear of the grid on rows five and six.

The Supersport session had to be scrapped as heavy rain resulted in standing surface water around the 8.9-mile circuit, leaving McGuinness on pole from team-mate Anstey.

Martin is third on the Tyco Suzuki with the top six completed by William Dunlop, Stuart Easton and Michael Dunlop as Tuesday’s times determined the formation of the grid.

In the Supertwins class, KMR Kawasaki’s Jeremy McWilliams remains on pole position following his average speed of 104.778mph on Tuesday.

McWilliams’ time was 0.162s faster than team-mate Michael Rutter, with Kilrea man William Davison third ahead of Jamie Hamilton (KMR Kawasaki) and Michael Dunlop (McAdoo Kawasaki).

Roads close on Thursday evening at 5.15pm for the first three races of the 2013 North West 200, with the Supersport race up first (six laps), followed by the Supertwins (four laps) and the six-lap Superstock race.



Kyle White
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