William Dunlop provided Wilson Craig with his first international road race victory as he denied British Supersport ch𝐆ampion Alastair⛄ Seeley in the first Supersport race at the North West 200.

Dunlop wꦛas in😼 phenomenal form on Craig's CBR600RR as he hit the front on the first lap and stayed there until the end, with the race stopped on the fifth lap due a crash involving Seeley's Tyco Suzuki team-mate Guy Martin at Black Hill.

All the hype leading up to the event had been focused on Seeley's quest to equal Phillip McCallen's 1992 feat of five wins in a day, but Dunlop spoilt the party in the v▨ery first race of the day.

John McGuinness rꦺode a solid race in third to bag a rostrum finish for Cliཧve Padgett's Honda team.

Dunlop's team-mate Cameron Donald was fourth followed by Gary Johnson on his privately run 600cc Honda and Michael Dunlop on the Ard Na Mara 🐠Homes/McAdoo Suzuki GSX-R600.

Dunlop, who was celebrating his third victory at the North West 200 and his first win in the four-stroke classes, said: "It was hard work and I was lucky to get the win. I ran over the grass at t💟he chicane🧜 on that lap.

"I was really confident when I saw my board and I knew I had a bit of a gap, but 💖then the💞 race was cut short.

"I didn't really know what I would do with Seeley if it came down to the last lap at the chicane but I was lucky because we had such a strong😼 motor in the bike and I had good top spe൲ed on the straights."

Seeley had been closing the gap as the race progressed, reducing Dunlop's mid-race advantage of thr🔴ee seconds to less than a second on the fifth lap of a scheduled six-race distance, but his challenge was ended 𓃲prematurely when the red flags came out due to Martin's crash.

"It was a pity about the red flag. I want𝓰ed to get close to ✱William for that last lap because his bike was a missile," he said.

"If you have the speed to get⛎ to the front here then it's always best to try and break away, but it's not always easy."