Isle of Man racer Marcus Simpson is set to make his debut at the North West 200. 

The 2024 meeting fires into life with practice tomorrow (Wednesday) before racing between Thursday and Saturday. 

The 25-year-old Douglas man will line up as one of the newcomers, although he is no stranger to Irish racing having contested a full season of the national events during 2022. 

Unfortunately, Simpson’s plans to advance his road racing career stalled at last year’s Cookstown 10 when he high-sided and ruptured his spleen. 

Following his recovery, Simpson made a winning comeback as a newcomer at Scarborough before posting impressive performances at the 2023 Manx Grand Prix where he finished fifth in the Junior and second in the Senior, lapping the Mountain course at more than 120mph. 

Having visited the North West 200 last year as a spectator, Simpson is now set to tackle the event: ‘I watched at different places around the course and thought “I want a bit of this". 

‘I have no expectation other than to stay safe and finish wherever we slot in with a safe ride. 

‘I just want to get settled into the new bikes, a LMR powered by Jon Cuff Electrical Honda Fireblade and a JPS Racing powered by LD Glazing Triumph, which I have done a lot of laps on in Spain but haven’t ridden on the roads yet.’ 

Other locals expected to ride include Conor Cummins, Nathan Harrison and Mikey Evans.