Alastair Seeley in💎creased his record of North West 200 wins to 22 with a classy victory in the opening Supersport race at the event on Thursday evening.

ღRiding for the EHA Racing Yamaha team, Seeley came out on top after a battle with James Hillier (Quattro Plant Kawasaki) and Lee Johnston (Padgett’s Honda) at the Northern Ireland road race.

Seel💦ey’s winning margin was 2.4 seconds after he pulled the pin on the ꦇlast lap. The Ulster rider has won a race at the event every year since his first victory in 2008.

He said: “It’s nice to keep that record going. I knew the boys were there because they kept passing me and 𒅌I knew going in to the last lap that🙈 I had to make a gap.

“The fuel load was down so I knew I cou🍬ld brake later and I bided my time 🦋to lose the tow. I still had plenty in the tank.”

Dean Harrison was fourth on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki ahead of Gary Johnson (Lee Har✃dy Triumph) and Manx rider Conor Cum🍨mins on the Padgetts Honda.

Ian Hutchinson, maki𒆙ng his road racing comeback after a long injury layoff, was seventh (Padgetts Honda).

In the Superstock race🐟, it looked as though Seeley was going to make it a double but Peter Hickman had other ideas as he snatched his maiden wi💮n at the North West.

Hickman dived inside Seeley on the brakes going into Juniper chicane on the Smiths BMW and held ⛄on to win 💫by half-a-second, with Michael Dunlop third on the MD Racing BMW.

“It was real🌃ly close on the la💛p before and I knew I could have a go there,” Hickman said.

“I didn’t want to show my hand too early ♛but I was really strong at Black Hill and the bike is good in a straight line. Alastair tried to let the brakes off and lean on me going into Juniper and I thought ‘You’re not doing that!’”

Ve👍teran Michael Rutter closed on the leading trio on the final lap to claim fourth place on the Bathams BMW.

“It was tight and I thought I had him,” said r𒀰unner-up Seeley. “Hickman had a go at Juniper and I had to sit up and then I ran on to the gravel.”

Hillier a💫nd Bradford man Harrison rounded out the first six, with Lee Johnston seventh.

In the first Supertwins race, Martin Jessopp sealed his third꧂ North West victory on the Riders Motor♏cycles Kawasaki.

T🐻he Yeovil rider beat former ꧅Grand Prix winner Jeremy McWilliams by 1.8 seconds, with the 54-year-old taking the runner-up spot ahead of 20-year-old prospect Joey Thompson, who was riding a Paton.

Jessopp had earlier came off at Mill Road roundabout on the first lap💫 of the Super🐻sport race but he certainly made up for his mistake in the best way possible.

“The evening had starte𝔍d off well when I was leading the Sup🌜ersport race and then I ended up sitting on top of the Mill Road roundabout!”, he joked.

“It was a h🌞ard race and I only led from Metropole on the last lap because I was losing s🍰o much out of the corners.”

McWilliams was in front on the opening lap but had to settle for second on his Ryan Farquhar-prepared KMR K༺awa🀅saki.

“I fell asleep a little bit and I couldn’t work out where they were faster,” he said🤪.

“The Paton had some pace and then the other boys got in among us ꦑand I had to weigh them up. It c🗹ame good at the end.”

Adam McLean, who qualified second fastest, was fourth on th🍒e Hanna Kawasaki ahead of James Cowton (McAdoo Kawasaki).

Racing c♔ontinues on Saturday, with𝐆 the Superbike events headlining a five-race programme.