Steve extended his record of wins and retained his two lap records at the North West 200 races in Northern Ireland when he rode to victory in the Superbike and Supersport races on Saturday, taking his total of wins to eight around the 8.966-mile Triangle Course that runs on public roads between the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine on Saturday.

But he was denied the chance to secure further wins because of the inclement weather that forced officials to cancel the feature race of the day, The North West 200 Superbike race and also the second of the two Supersport 600 races.

It was a disappointing end to the 80th anniversary of the NW200 with a series of red-flag incidents delaying proceedings from the start of the day followed by heavy showers and a strong cross wind around the course making conditions too dangerous to continue.

The Clinton Enterprises Supersport race also fell victim to the red flag as, on the second of four laps, the rain began to fall making the track surface treacherous. At the restart Steve moved into the lead at Metropole and headed a gaggle of six riders all anxious not to let him get away from them. Steve dictated the pace at the front but Anstey took advantage of the slipstream and forged ahead on the final lap. Steve responded and immediately regained his position which he held to the chequered flag for win number eight.

“That was very pleasing and its fair play to the organisers as they did a fantastic job for stopping it when the rain came down as the conditions were getting very dangerous out there. Thanks to the guys in the garage at HM Plant Honda as they have worked hard with both the Superbike and Supersport bikes.”

With more rain and a strong side wind affecting the conditions the organisers had little option but to cancel the final two races of the day and Steve commented:

“They really didn’t have an option other than to cancel because we were running out of time before the roads were due to open and also the conditions have deteriorated. The track was dry in places but soaking wet in others and it just wasn’t safe to try and race at speed in those conditions.”

“I have picked up two good results today and still have a long season ahead of me. I would sooner go home early today in the motor home than be taken off in a vehicle with blue lights flashing!”

The DeWalt Performance Tools Superbike race was delayed for over an hour and reduced to four laps because of problems in the previous event; but once underway Steve who started from a second row grid position, soon made up ground to take the lead at Station corner on the first lap.

But he didn’t have it all his own way as Bruce Anstey exchanged places with him on more than one occasion and he also had the attention of his HM Plant Honda teammate John McGuinness who led the field as they began the second lap.

But Steve was not to be denied and made it back to the front and began to make a break, crossing the line at the end of the lap with a lead of half a second over Anstey.

The pair battled it out over the next lap, with Steve maintaining his lead but the race was halted because of an incident and a result declared from positions on lap two, which gave the ever-smiling Lincolnshire rider his seventh career victory at the NW200.

“It’s not the way you want to win a race and the first thing I want to say is that I hope the riders involved are ok. The wind is unbelievable, even on a Superbike as it’s blowing us around quite a bit. I just got my head down and tried to stay at the front from the word go,” Said Steve. “I am very, very pleased for my team, HM Plant Honda and would like to say a massive thanks to Dunlop for coming back onboard and giving us the right tyres.”

Steve  has qualified well for Saturday’s North West 200 road races in Northern Ireland and will start the two Supersport 600 races from a front row grid position. He will also take in the two Superbike races, including the feature race of the day; The Kennedy International North West 200 event which takes place over six laps of the ultra-fast 8.966-mile Triangle road course starting at approximately 4pm.and he will make a start from row two of the grid in fifth place.

The weather played its part in qualifying with Tuesday evening practice run in dry, sunny conditions and times set in that session determining the grid for Saturdays races. Thursday’s practice started off damp but the rain soon disrupted the evening and times were considerably slower. Eventually because of the wet conditions and fading light the final Supersport session was cancelled, leaving one or two familiar faces without a time, and giving officials the difficult task of slotting them onto the grid for the start of the race.

Tuesday wasn’t all smooth sailing for  Steve as, although securing the second fastest time in the Supersport class, he had to make an unscheduled stop at Trolans Petrol Station in Portstewart during his final lap of the course. He had run out of fuel and had to borrow the cash from the course incident officer John Blair in order to fill up and continue on his way back to the paddock!!

“I missed my pit board and didn’t realise how low I was on fuel,” said the ever-smiling Steve. “Luckily I was able to top up at the filling station in order to get back to the pits!”

 A thumb operated rear brake has been fitted to Steve’s HM Plant Honda machines in order to help with braking and keep the front wheel down when negotiating the high speed straights.

He explained: “We are travelling at speeds in excess of 190 mile an hour at times and the front end can easily lift in those conditions. A lot of riders are doing the same and it does seem to work well for us.”

 Steve holds the lap record in both the Superbike and Supersport classes at the North West 200; the course record of 124.11mph was set in 2006 when he rode in HM Plant Honda colours and secured his first NW200 class win while the Supersport record of 119.197mph was set by  in 2008.

The weather forecast that predicted heavy rain for Saturday has now been withdrawn and the local forecast is hopeful of a dry day on Saturday.

“I hope that is correct,” said Steve. Although the unsettled conditions are the same for everyone it is much better for both the riders and spectators if we have a nice dry day.

Roads close at 10am on Saturday with racing set to commence at 11am. All the racing will be streamed live on the BBC website with the last three races going out live behind the red button on BBC Northern Ireland.

Race 1 – 250cc 4 laps – 11am;

Race two – Superbike – 5 laps – 11.45am;

Race three – Supersport 600 – 5 laps – 12.45pm;

Race four – 125cc – 4 laps – 1.45pm;

Race five - Superstock – 5 laps – 3pm;

Race six – North West 200 Superbike – six laps – 4pm;

Race seven – Supersport 600 – 5 laps – 5.15pm.

All times approximate.

Steve Ready For NW200

Steve  travels to Northern Ireland today (Monday) to start his preparations for the North West 200 races that take place on Saturday. But prior to that he took time out from his busy schedule to take in the annual Thundersprint event at Northwich in Cheshire on Sunday for HM Plant Honda.

Along with HM Plant Honda British Superbike rider Glen Richards,  attended the hugely popular event and entertained the crowds with his skilful riding. He was also on hand to take part in the photograph and autograph sessions and was interviewed by commentator Garry Gardiner.

Steve rode the HM Plant Honda machine in the cavalcade around the town and also the sprint that takes place over a measured course on a section of the closed roads.

“We really only did a demonstration run in the sprint,” said Steve. “With the NW200 being so near we didn’t want to take any risks but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the massive crowd that attended the event were really supportive.”

Steve travelled directly to catch the ferry to Ireland for the North West 200 races where in 2008 he secured the win in three of the four main races. (The two Supersport races plus the main NW200 Superbike event.) This year he will be riding for the Louth based team of HM Plant Honda.

Steve will once again be contesting both Superbike events plus the two Supersport races around the 8.966-mile Triangle Course that runs on public roads between the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine on Saturday and is set to start his preparations with qualifying on Tuesday and Thursday evening ahead of the racing on Saturday. Roads close at 10am with racing set to continue throughout the day between 11am – 6.30pm.

• Steve has produced some outstanding results at the NW200 road races over the past few years including:
• 2008 – NW200 Superbike – Winner
              Superbike race – Fourth
              Supersport race – winner x 2
• 2007 – NW200 Superbike race – Winner
              Superbike race – Third
              Supersport race – second
• 2006 – NW200 Superbike race – Winner
              Superbike race – Winner
• 2005 – Superbike race – Second
• 2003 – Superbike race – Third