Lintin claims third place at the NW200

He then went on to record a 13th place in the six-lap Superstock event.

Lintin qualified well for the Supertwin race, which he won last year, and began his race from the second row of the first wave of riders around the 8.9-mile triangular public road circuit which links the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush.

He was embroiled in a battle for third position with Dan Cooper, who overtook him on lap two, but he fought back and regained third position after holding off further challenges from Cooper through the final two laps to cross the finish line in third place, with just less than a two-second advantage over his opponent.

He said: “I got an absolutely terrible start and became involved in a race long battle with Dan Cooper.

“Our bikes are virtually identical and on the run towards University we were side by side every time.”

In the Superstock class, Lintin qualified in 23rd place and rode well in the first wave of riders on Thursday to complete the six lap affair in 13th position.

Lintin now turns his attention to the Isle of Man TT races, where practice starts from May 27 to June 2 and racing begins on June 3.