Alastair Seeley came back from a first lap incident to take victory in a thrilling opening race of the 2014 International North West 200.
Seeley had been incredibly strong throughout qualifying and went in to the Supersport race as one of the clear favourites, but an opening lap incident at York corner with Lee Johnston saw Seeley drop to the very back of the pack and appeared to have thrown all hopes of victory out the window.
It was Josh Brookes who took an early advantage, charging away while the Triumph team-mates of Gary Johnson and Michael Rutter competed for second and third positions. The pair soon caught up to Brookes, with Johnson moving up to the head of the field on the second lap of the six-lap race.
As the three continued to battle, including an incredibly impressive move around the outside from Brookes on Rutter, Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki joined the fray, creating a hugely entertaining four bike scrap for the lead.
However, the second half of the race saw Brookes drop back down the order, while Michael Rutter suddenly pulled up with what appeared to be a technical gremlin, leaving Johnson and Martin to battle before Alastair Seeley, who had worked his way back through the field, latched on to the back of the group.
Martin took the lead going in to University corner in a three-a-breast manoeuvre, before Seeley pulled off a mammoth move in to the final chicane to push Martin down to second and lead the field home for the final lap.
