North West 200

The International North West 200 is a motorcycle road race first held in 1929 on a 8.970 mi (14.436 km) street circuit known as "the Triangle" between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast and Glens. It is the largest annual sporting event in Northern Ireland, with the race weekend attracting over 150,000 visitors from all over the world. The course is one of the fastest in the world, with average speeds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and top speeds in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h). Originally intended to be held somewhere in the north west of Ireland and organised by the City of Derry & District Motor Club, the initial meeting was moved to the north coast but the name was never changed. Since 1964 the event has been organised by the Coleraine and District Motor Club. In 2010, the meeting featured daytime practice on the Thursday for the first time. During the 2011 on Saturday 21 May there were significant delays due to a hoax bomb alert. An extensive oil spill on the track then caused racing to be cancelled after the completion of only one race. In 2022 the event returned as the fonaCab & Nicholl Oils North West 200 after having been cancelled for the two previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9 February 2023, an announcement was made by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland about the 2023 event. This followed a significant increase in the insurance premium required to cover the event and consequently placed the race schedule under threat of being cancelled. However, on 15 March 2023, the event organisers issued a statement that, following a sizeable donation by a prominent businessman and a revised insurance premium quote, the event would take place.