Masters Grids grow as Ticket Prices Reduce |
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Masters Superbike
Championship action is back on the menu at Mondello Park with entries on the
increase and pre-booked admission prices decreasing as tickets are made
available on-line for the first time. Spectators booking their tickets in
advance will now pay just €10 for admission to Ireland's highest quality
short circuit series.
After a long
mid-season break, the highly competitive championship returns to the Mondello
Park National Circuit on July 16th and 17th having raced on three different
circuits at the first three events of the season. Rounds eight, nine and ten
will see a return to the shorter Mondello Park circuit for the first time
since March. Qualifying and Round eight will run on Saturday with rounds nine
and ten to be decided on Sunday. The Masters timetable will as usual
concentrate on the feature Superbike and Supersport classes which will each
run twice on Sunday Afternoon supported by a full day's racing for all of the
support classes.
The last time the
series visited this track Robert English was the star as he took the first
Superbike wins of his career from Gerard Kinghan and Ryan Rainey. English
slumped slightly at Bishopscourt's next event but was back at the top to
dominate proceedings on the Kildare Circuit's International layout in May.
Nikki Coates
currently lies second in the championship to English, but his form in recent
Irish Championship events suggest he is ready to challenge his younger rival
for the title. English will also have to watch out for team mate Ryan Rainey
who is back after injury, Brian McCormack who has overcome his early season
engine problems to move back into contention, Cody Nally, Gerard Kinghan,
Mark Glasgow and outside bet, Superbike 'Cup' points leader Charles Stuart,
who continues to knock on the door of his first podium.
The Supersport
Championship is much harder to call than Superbike, with championship leader
Richie Ryan just a handful of points ahead of Luke Johnston, who took his
first Masters Supersport win at round seven. Two of the fastest riders in the
series, Nikki Coates and Jason Lynn have both suffered non-finishes to leave
them in the wake of the top two, but with their speed and experience they can
never be discounted.
Gradually bridging
the gap to the top Supersport front-runners is the very impressive Aaron
Clifford who has won the 'Cup' class at every race. Last time out the
teenager was just one place away from his first overall podium and he
currently lies fifth in the points.
Close competition is
not confined to the feature races as the Principal Insurance Pre-Injection
class demonstrates. With four different winners from the six rounds completed
and seven different riders having made it onto the podium, the healthy lead
held by Kevin Dempsey and Stephen Doyle over their main rivals does not tell
the full story of this highly competitive class.
The close racing
continues into the Twins classes where Dave Butler and Aaron Armstrong are
the main Supertwins contenders and Mark McConville, Cathal Phelan and
impressive newcomer Jamie O'Keefe are the top three in Production Twins.
Sidecars, a combined grid of Lightweight Supersport and Classic Superbike
machines and the youngsters of the Production 125cc – 300cc class make up the
remainder of the timetable.
Admission to either
day of the Masters at Mondello Park is €12.50 for adults or €10.00 booked in
advance, with under sixteen's admitted free. All admission includes a
complimentary event programme.
All of the
championship information including the event timetable and championship standings
is available at www.masterssuperbike.ie as well as on facebook/MastersSuperbike and twitter/MastersSBK.
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