NW200: Honda Racing trio Dean Harrison, John McGuinness and Nathan Harrison without Superbike or Supersport machinery

Instead, the trio will ride Superstock-spec Fireblades in the Superbike class and Superstock races.

A Honda statement on Tuesday said this was due to ‘the demands of the 2024 calendar and schedule, combined with challenges in the supply chain regarding parts and materials’.

It is a significant blow for the factory Honda riders ahead of the Isle of Man TT, but Bradford man Harrison – who joined the team after riding 1000cc Kawasaki machinery since 2016 – said he remained determined to ‘go out there and give it his all’.

“Look, this is obviously not how we planned to come to the North West 200, but it’s the circumstance that we have and we will keep on going,” said Harrison.

“I am still determined to go out there and give it my all and fight for some great results.

“The North West is always a great event, for me, it’s the first road race of the year and the first time I get to go flat out on a closed road.

“I’ll go out there, get a feel for it and build into things and take it from there.”

Honda team manager Havier Beltran admitted the situation was ‘less than ideal’.

“I am hugely excited to be heading to the North West 200, the event forms such an important part of Honda’s racing calendar and we are thrilled to be participating in the event once more,” he said.

"Unfortunately, due to the nature of the calendar this year and the significant delays in sourcing parts and materials, we are only going to be racing Superstock machines.

"Obviously, this is less than ideal, but we are still hugely excited to see how Dean, John and Nathan can perform on their 2024 Fireblades.”

Lap record holder Peter Hickman is also set to ride a BMW Superstock machine under his own PHR Performance banner in the Superbike class after the FHO Racing team decided to skip the North West this year.