Superbikes
Robert English took the spoils in the Masters Superbike
Championship this year with 1 race left on the IFS Yamaha R1M. Never far behind
was close rival Nikki Coates who consistently pestered English and capitalized
on any slight error made, forced or unforced. Some terrific battles were
squarely fought over the 15 rounds hosted in Mondello Park and Bishopscourt. Mark
Glasgow took the third spot in this thrilling series on his ZX10r. The
technology involved in today’s Irish Superbikes is such that, some wouldn’t
look out of place lining up on a British Superbike or Superstock grid these
days.
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| Robert English (c) Ryan Fegan |
Superbike Cup
The Superbike Cup championship had all the makings of a
family affair with Wayne and Barry Sheehan showing up in an attempt to claim
the series. Charles Stuart took the championship comfortably in the end in a
tremendously entertaining season that competes in the same grid as the main
Superbike series. Cahal Berill and Shane O’Grady took 4th and 5th
respectively in a year that was definitely more exciting than the points table
shows as Stephen “Ham” McCormack brought home 6th.
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| Stephen McCormack (c) James Foley |
Supersport
Supersport lived up to its expectation as a thrilling series
with the Championship going to Luke Johnston after a tumultuous scrap with
Jason Lynn and Richie Ryan. It almost went to the wire but, in the 2nd
last race of the very last round, Luke rode a textbook race knowing a placed
finish would bring home the title. Jason Lynn brought more competition to a
heavily subscribed field of riders, leaving the Supersport B races and
championship equally as cut throat. Richie Ryan was never far from the front
and took wins that included back to back results in round 1 Mondello. In some
ways, the Supersport races eclipsed the Supebikes in terms of drama and
excitement with the nature of the racing and the huge field of entries. In
keeping with the Superbikes, many of these machines could and have ran well in
British races such as the Thundersport series, ever increasing the need for
reliable sponsors within Irish racing at this and many levels.
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| Luke Johnston (c) Andy Quinn |
Supersport Cup
Aaron Clifford was the Meath Master in the Cup championship
and dominated almost every race while claiming Pro podiums along the way in his
first full season aboard the ZX6r. Other regulars on the Supersport Cup podium
were Des MacKessy on his self prepared Triumph 675R and Paul Carroll. The
Supersport cup championship is an excellent level for an aspiring racer to
challenge in. It can give the rider a bigger glimpse of the closeness of
Supersport racing without the full expense of a Pro season while competing in
the same race as a Pro rider.
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| Aaron Clifford (c) Andy Quinn |
Production twins
Harry McConville
wins the Production Twin championship for another year after having an
extremely controlled and consistent season. Will he be back to compete again on
a twin or will we see him in a different class while being mentored by the wise
old man that is RPM owner, Ronan Pentony. Eoin O’Siochru and Jamie O’Keefe kept the battle for 2nd
and 3rd place honest. The series continues to provide an excellent
entry level championship for new riders and provides a key stepping stone to
more challenging competitions.
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| Harry McConville (c) James Foley |
Supertwins
The Supertwins championship was decided in the very last
race of the year in Mondello park as Aaron Armstrong pipped Dave Butler to the
title. Throughout the year, strong performances also come from Joey O'Loughlin
but, Michael Nagle picked up 3rd in this series. Dave Butler also
took his Kawasaki to compete successfully in UK Thundersport and found time to
both passenger and drive an F1 sidecar!
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| Aaron Armstrong |
Principal Insurance Preinjection
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| Kevin Dempsey 44 (c) James Foley |
There were no surprises about the lap times and tight racing
provided by this class. The addition of Principal Insurance brought with it
added attention to the series. James McKenna, Kevin Dempsey and Stephen Doyle
were the championship 1, 2 and 3 here as sub-minute Mondello laps were
essential to be anywhere near Pole Position. The grids for Principal Insurance
Preinjection were always heavily subscribed proving that this championship will
always be popular with both racers and spectators alike.
LWSS
It’s always more difficult to retain a championship than to
win one in my opinion but, Graham Whitmore shrugged his shoulders as he won
back to back Lightweight Supersport titles in 2015 and 2016. All Eoin Collins
and Marty Whearty could do was watch and hope for mistakes and mechanical
failures that never happened. As these “pocket rockets” age and performance
parts become less and less available, the future of this competition may be
uncertain, one factor you can’t ignore is the willingness of its competitors to
share spares and expertise to allow its continuance.
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| Graham Whitmore (c) James Foley |
Sidecars
My first ever opening into the world of Irish racing was
aboard an F2 sidecar and as such I make no apology about being constantly drawn
to these 3 wheeled tarmac terrorists. Dylan Lynch and Brian Butler may have
looked comfortable winners in the end but, didn’t have it all their own way as
gremlins forced a few retirements early on in the season. Once sorted there was
no stopping them in Mondello and indeed Bishopscourt as Derek Lynch and Michael
Keogh looked on and collected 2nd place in the championship. Isle of
Man TT competitor Terry O’Reilly went back to his roots and claimed 3rd
on the Honda powered F2 bike with Aidan Browne in the chair. A couple of extra
outfits appeared during the year with Mick Donovan, Paul May and Peter O’Neill
forming the grid on a regular basis.
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| Dylan Lynch 46 (c) Big Joe |
Production
The 125cc 2 –stroke and 300cc twins is always keeping an eye
on for up and come promise and this year was no different as Rhys Irwin picked
up the title. Maurice Kiely ensured he wouldn’t run away with the series and
finished a very credible 2nd only 14 points adrift. Shane O’Donovan
learned a lot during the year to come home in 3rd again showing what
an important championship this is for future talent to be nurtured. We’ll be
keeping the radar on these guys as their racing careers progress.
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| Rhys Irwin (c) John Burke |
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