Dromara CC well represented at MTB series

It also doubled up as the fourth round of the Ulster XC MTB series.

Banbridge has produced a brilliant course for the riders to tackle with start area in front of the grounds of Castlewellan Castle, where the riders would start before riding into the front entrance of the castle before rolling down a set of steps that would take them up into the forest section to tackle a mixture of hilly fire road, trail centre trails and natural trails that would test the riders’ technical ability, especially with the rain that had fallen on the day and also in the days leading up to the race.

Ben Wilson was first off in the under 14 race and rode to a creditable 5th place after completing 3 laps of the under 14’s circuit.

Gibson Chambers rode in the S4 race and finished in an excellent 6th place after completing two laps of the main circuit.

In the S3 race Davy Broome, Zak Hanna and Robert Davison had to complete three laps of the main circuit with Davy riding to a brilliant second place with Zak coming in 9th and Robert in 28th.

Peter Davison rode in the Junior race and finished in 2nd place along with John Shanks in the S2 race who finished 25th after both riders completed four laps of the main circuit.

With strong performances all round the riders will be looking forward to the Ulster Championships which will be held in the grounds of Colebrooke Estate in County Fermanagh.

Hilly Leisure Tours: Don’t forget that the Hilly Leisure tours are on taking place this Sunday 9th August. With entries limited to 250 riders it is advisable to get entered to ensure you get a place. Pre-entry can be found at www.dromaracc.co.uk along with route maps, start times and location for the day.

Club League Round 18

The 18th round of the 2015 club league saw the Harry Ferguson Cup that was originally planned changed due to the course not being available for use, and so the new plan was to hold a two-up 12.5 mile time trial from the Horseshoe bend outside Castlewellan to Banbridge.

With the weather staying dry and the winds light it turned out to be a fast night as far as times where concerned; Brendan Duff and Graham McConnell recorded the fastest time on the night with 27:15, and in second place was Gavin and Chris Magowan in 27:18. Third place went the visiting pair of Tim Beattie from Team Vision Racing and Mark Short from Phoenix CC.

Many thanks to the marshals and timekeepers who helped on the night and also to Martin Grimley for supplying the tea and biscuits for the riders after the time trial was completed.

Well done to Matthew Armstrong who won the West Down Wheelers club race last Tuesday night.

Madigan GP

Well done to the riders who competed in the Madigan GP on Saturday past. In the A1/A2/A3 race David Dickson, Matt Armstrong, Stephen Irvine and Ronnie Smyth all finished in the bunch after almost 60 miles of racing.

In the A4 race Robert McDonald and Graham Beckett finished comfortably in the bunch.

The next open road race for the riders will be the John Beggs Memorial race in Dromore on the 15th August which doubles up as a round of the Irish Classic League.