Seven "incredible" wins for Metzeler at 2022 North West 200
While Dunlop suffered faults, Metzeler powered to seven victories in the North West 200 last week, including wins in all classes.
ONE of the major stories to come out of the North West 200 last week was the withdrawal of the entries using Dunlop tyres in the final Superbike race (the actual North West 200 race) of the week.
The withdrawals came after failures for several riders earlier on Saturday, including a spectacular and frightening failure for Michael Dunlop.
Resulting from the withdrawal of Dunlop on safety grounds (Dunlop must be applauded for their honesty and transparency about what was a dangerous and embarrassing situation) was that Metzeler were free to dominate the final race.
Glenn Irwin won, ahead of Richard Cooper and Josh Brookes, who completed the all-Metzeler podium in the North West 200.
This came after a successful week at the North West for Metzeler, who won seven races in total. Even after the disqualification of Richard Cooper from the two Supertwins races, Metzeler was on top, with Pierre Yves Bian and Joe Loughlin in the first and second races, respectively. Glenn Irwin took Metzeler to victory with Honda in both Superbike races, Alistair Seeley with Yamaha in the Superstock races, and the #34 was victorious in the first Supersport race on Thursday, too.
In the end, Dunlop was only able to break the Metzeler domination of the 2022 NW200 in the second Supersport race, where Lee Johnston came out on top in a race-long battle with Davey Todd, and Michael Dunlop completed the podium.
While Dunlop’s North West 200 debacle leaves them just two weeks to correct the issues that led to the failures seen at the famous Triangle before the TT begins at the end of May, Metzeler’s preparation for the Snaefell circuit could not have gone much better.
“Our thanks to the Metzeler riders for their fantastic performances,” said Metzeler UK Racing Manager, Jason Griffiths.
Griffiths continued, “The conditions encountered across the practice sessions and the races meant the full Metzeler racing range was in action this week. Taking all the pole positions in itself was an achievement and the race results are, of course, incredible. The quality work carried out by the R&D team and of course the Metzeler manufacturing facility cannot be overlooked. A real team effort.”
