There were mixed emotions this morning in the
Macau GP as Glenn Irwin was forced to retire on the penultimate lap after
looking almost certain to return a podium trophy as he started from 3rd
on the start grid. Dreadfully disappointed he’ll be cursing his misfortune in
the 12 lap race that saw him run with eventual winner Peter Hickman, Martin
Jessopp and seasoned veteran Michael Rutter. Overall though a terrific season for Glenn with 2017 promising to deliver more from the BSB contender on the Paul Bird Motorsport Be Wiser Ducati.
Fellow debutante Derek Sheils on the other hand picked off 4
positions from his starting place of 13th to finish an excellent 9th
and also picked up the “Best Newcomer” award. The Burrows Engineering Cookstown
GSXR never missed a beat over the race distance in typical Macau heat and
finished the better of many regular entrants such as Gary Johnson and Dan Kneen.
A 9th position closes the season for Derek and surely puts him on a
perfect platform to build on for 2017.
2 other Irish riders of note, Dublin’s Michael Sweeney on
the Martin Jones Racing BMW S1000rr and Brian McCormack’s VTL TAG Racing also
made it to the finish in 20th and 21st respectively. Sweeney improved from his 25th on the grid to pick off 5 other riders over the 12 laps on the tricky Macau street circuit. This caps the year off for McCormack who next year turns his attention to the BSB circus on a brand new TAG racing Honda FireBlade.
Full results below:
Words: Andy Quinn
Images: J Price\Macau media
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