Supersport Race 2 at the Northwest 200 was probably the pick of this week’s race in the 2025 edition of the Causeway Coast Road Race. Dean Harrison said he was squeezing the front brakes harder than he was entering Juniper Chicaine on the final lap.
Harrison, who never won a race at the Northwest 200, fought Cooper and Dunlop for the last few laps of the rebooted Supersport Race 2.
The fight was summed up by Juniper Shikane on the final rap, with Harrison inside Cooper and Dunlop attacking the outside.
Harrison and Cooper contacted them and ran through Shikane, and Cooper beat Harrison ahead of them, with Dunlop in third place.
“To be honest, I knew it was difficult from the start of the race,” Harrison told BBC SportsNI in an interview on the podium after the race.
“As soon as someone passed me, I came straight back. I was always on the slipstream. They don’t have the advantage of massive speed, but there’s a bit.
“Then Michael (Dunlop) tried to do it on the Metropole on his final lap, and I chopped the inside.
“After that, Richard (Cooper) and I had a bit of fairing hanging at the last chicane, so it was good for everyone to see.”
Expanding the ultimate battle of Sicoon with Cooper and Dunlop, Harrison said:
“The front tires were rolling in protest. If I squeezed harder, I wouldn’t want that because I had folded the front and all three of us were down.
“I’m glad we all crossed the line. Unfortunately, it’s not a victory, but for now we have a second victory.”
He added:
Cooper: “Rap One was like, ‘I have this'”
For Cooper, the victory was red that he felt was a victory that escaped him in Race 1 on Thursday when he was beaten by Dunlop.
“I was like, ‘I have this,'” Cooper said.
“Michael (Dunlop) beat me fair and square in Race 1. He had it, and there was no way.
“After seeing him there, I stripped off the brakes. Anyone who passed through that chikane in one piece, in my eyes, victory was for take.”
Cooper added, running through the final Chicane battle and the grass inside Juniper. “There’s no luck, there’s no judgment.
“I managed to get out on the other side and the gears were too high and I was on my bike. The bike shaking. I took control of myself, got my gear back before I left the Sikne and drove to the last corner.
“It takes a brave guy to pass someone in the final corner.
“It was a great relief. I enjoy winning the Super Win Race, but winning the Super Sports Race in front of these fans on Saturday is something special.”
Cooper added that there is extra satisfaction to win at the Yamaha R6. Currently, Yamaha’s official Supersport class machines have not been replaced by a large-capacity 3-cylinder R9 at the World Championships.
“Russell Racing Yamaha (team), we came here to win the race, and we did it against the best with an R6, an outdated bike,” he said.
“I’m just a part-time racer (but) when I show up, I’ll do my best.”
