Nathan Harrison returns to correct the record at this year’s North West 200

MANX rider Nathan Harrison will be looking to eliminate the sour memory of last year at this year’s North West 200 as he hopes to live up to his team-mate’s reputation.

What should have been a dream debut for Nathan Harrison with the Honda Racing squad at last year’s North West 200 turned into a nightmare for the young Manxman when he crashed out of the opening Superstock race.

The broken wrist and collarbone he sustained in the fall at Portrush forced the 25-year-old to spend the rest of the event watching on from a wheelchair as his new Honda team could only manage a fifth-place finish through seasoned veteran John McGuinness.

“Everything started off so good last year and all the dreams were coming true before someone came along with a bulldozer and knocked them all down,” Harrison reflects.

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Harrison’s injuries also confined him to the sidelines at the Isle of Man TT and following that, he lost his mother following her long battle with illness.

But the rising star of road racing is refusing to let those setbacks deter his determination to race and Honda have kept faith with the 2019 Junior and Senior Manx Grand Prix race winner, ensuring his return to this year’s North West 200 with the Lincolnshire-based squad alongside team-mates, John McGuinness and Dean Harrison.

“Life comes to test you and it makes you a better person and a better rider,” the 25-year-old says.

Harrison is no stranger to adversity having previously battled his way back from a host of serious injuries sustained in a huge crash at the Jurby circuit on the Isle of Man when he was just 16.

He endured over 40 hours of surgery in the operating theatre and two years in rehab before returning to competition.

The Manxman has displayed similar resilience in bouncing back from last year’s setbacks.

“I want to make 2024 what 2023 should have been with Honda,” he declares.

With his injuries healed, Harrison ended last season in a determined mood on the track, finishing in the top seven in the British Superstock competition.

He also set a new lap record on his way to victory in the Carole Nash Classic Senior Manx Grand Prix race in August 2023, averaging 111.395mph, the fastest lap ever by a 500cc single-cylinder classic bike at the Manx Grand Prix.

Now, he hopes to benefit from time spent rubbing shoulders with Honda’s new road racing recruit, Dean Harrison and veteran John McGuinness as he settles into a team that has enjoyed a long history of between-the-hedges success.

“Dean will be pushing for wins this year and John is a 23 times TT winner,” Harrison says.

“Then there is me with little experience but that is where the other two can help me progress. I don’t know much about Dean yet but I have been asking John a lot of questions and I couldn’t have better experience around me.”

McGuinness knows all too well what Harrison is going through having been through, with his 2017 crash in the North West 200 nearly ending his road racing career as a whole.

The crash, caused by an electronics fault in the special race-kit broke his vertebrae, ribs and caused compound fractures to his right lower leg bones, requiring surgeons to remove 50 mm, or two inches, and needing an external fixator cage to ‘grow’ new bone.

Set to compete in the Supersport, Superstock and Superbike classes on the 8.9-mile North West 200 course during May 6-11 race week, Nathan Harrison doesn’t shy away from sharing what he wants to get out of his partnership with Honda.

“I want to have a long journey with Honda and I want to win with Honda,” he says.

“John and Joey Dunlop were the two riders I always looked up to when I was growing up. I watched the old Joey videos and John racing at the TT.

“If I can achieve just some of what they achieved then it will be a dream come true.”