Masters Superbike Championship stage set for the showdown

Masters Superbike Championship stage set for the showdown

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Following its longest ever campaign trail the Masters Superbike Championship reaches its 2016 showdown at Mondello Park onOctober 1st & 2nd with rounds thirteen to fifteen on the full International Track. The final event of the season will benefit from the addition of terrestrial TV coverage through the airing of highlights on Channel 4 and this coverage will be sponsored by BMW Motorrad. The Superbike series reaches its climax with two riders still in contention, Robert English and Nikki Coates, neither of who has previously won a Masters Superbike title. English, the current Supersport champ, goes into the final rounds as favourite, in his first season on a Superbike. If he comes out on top he will become the first rider to win Supersport and Superbike titles in consecutive seasons. English has dominated at Mondello Park this season having only been beaten once in Kildare. Coates was the rider who broke English's Mondello stranglehold and has also won at Bishopscourt but he will have to be on top form if he is to deny his rival the crown. Charles Stuart has already wrapped up the Superbike Cup and he will be out to prove himself against the Pro riders as he searches for his first outright Masters victory Supersport has seen a titanic battle for honours between Luke Johnston and Richie Ryan all year but as they have been watching each other Jason Lynn and Nikki Coates have crept back into contention. As the championship winds down there are still five riders with a mathematical chance of the taking the title as Aaron Clifford joins the aforementioned quartet in the hunt. Clifford has already lifted the Cup championship and has made massive strides in the second half of the season. A recent maiden National Championship win will have given him the confidence to go and add a first Masters win to his CV. With the chance to witness the conclusion of such an unpredictable championship battle and to see Ireland's next big star in the making, Aaron Clifford in action, the Supersport battles should be worth the admission fee on their own. Among the other championships yet to be decided is Principal Insurance Pre-Injection. Six riders have a mathematical chance of winning but in reality the race is between the top four, James McKenna, Kevin Dempsey, Stephen Doyle and Paul McCrea. Supertwins will be decided between Dave Butler and Aaron Armstrong while Mark McConville has already secured his second consecutive Production Twin crown. The Lightweight Supersport trophy is almost the property of Graham Whitmore who only needs a handful of points to see off Eoin Collins. The same goes for Rhys Irwin in Production, where Maurice Keily will more than likely be the runner-up. The remaining class, for sidecars, will be decided in a family battle between Dylan and Derek Lynch. The Masters timetable will see qualifying and round thirteen completed on Saturday with rounds fourteen and fifteen to be decided on Sunday afternoon. Admission to either day is just €10 when booked on line at www.masterssuperbike.ie with under 16's admitted free of charge. All admission includes a free event programme. For more information on the Masters Superbike Championship see the series web site or follow us on facebook and twitter.