Enkalon Trophy delight for Derek

DEREK Shiels lifted the Enkalon Trophy for the second time at a cold Bishopscourt last Saturday.
Jonny Buckley, from Dunadry, was sixth and fourth in the Superbike races on his new Ducati. Picture: Roy Adams.Jonny Buckley, from Dunadry, was sixth and fourth in the Superbike races on his new Ducati. Picture: Roy Adams.
Jonny Buckley, from Dunadry, was sixth and fourth in the Superbike races on his new Ducati. Picture: Roy Adams.

Run over 2 legs, Shiels was never headed in the first leg, where he fought a Battle Royale with Portadown’s Marshal Neill.

Neill missed out on the win by .036 of a second, with the leading two edging away from Crumlins Stephen Thompson. Thompson was the only man left in any kind of contention with the leaders, but was still 6.4 seconds adrift at the line.

The Dublin man cemented his claim to the silverware by a steady win in the second leg, finishing 3.3 ahead of an improved Stephen Thompson. Marshal Neill was almost 3 seconds back in third place. Worked on aggregate Shiels took the win from local man Thompson and Neill.

Carl Phillips took a comfortable race win in the opening Supersport 600 race after early leader Marshal Neill slid off Wilson Craigs Honda. Phillips finished 3.7 seconds ahead of Mark Conlin who had to get by a fast starting Alan McClean in the middle part of the race.

Alan McClean had a lightning start in the second leg. It wasn’t long before Carl Phillips took over and had pulled a good gap when he was high-sided from his R6. The race was stopped and the result given at the end of 4 laps. The last I heard it’s thought that Carl has a suspected broken pelvis. That moved Alan McClean up to the winners spot, with Gilfords Jonny Harvey recording his best result yet to grab runner up ahead of Marshal Neill. Mark Conlin was 4th, less than a second separating the top 4.

The Superbike and Supersport Cup races ran together. In the Superbike class the first leg went to Aron Hatch. He came from behind Terence Mayne to win by half a second, while Mayne was a similar distance ahead of Philip Crosbie at the finish.

In leg 2 Crosbie took what I understand is his first ever race win, finishing 3.1 ahead of Mayne, while road racer Richard McLoughlin came home in third place. Conor Parkhill registered the first wins for Bob Wylies newly announced team in the Supersport Cup races. In both legs he was well ahead of James Cunningham and Jonny Irwin.

In both legs of the Supertwins race Conor O’Neill and Trevor Elliott diced wheel to wheel for the entire distance. O’Neill took the first one by 3.1 seconds, breaking away in the closing couple of laps. Daryl Duffy finished in third place, well outpaced by the leaders. It was again O’Neill and Elliott who disputed the second race and again O’Neill got the verdict. This time there was .1 of a second in it, while Korie McGreevy had a third place.

Run concurrently, Aaron Armstrong ran out as a double winner in the Stocktwins races. In the first he broke away from Conor O’Neills younger brother Sean, with the Lisniskea rider taking his first win of the day by 9.7 seconds. Daniel Annett was third. Annett improved to take runner up in the second leg, with Michael Rea registering his best ever result on the twin, in third place, right in Annetts wheeltracks.

Antrim’s former championship winner Mark Hanna was a double winner in the 250GP category. In the first he was pressed hard by Thomas Lawlor, until the Co. Kildare man clipped the back of one of the slower Pre Injection riders who moved across his path. Lawlor fell, luckily without injury, but even though he got going again, was a lap down in 5th at the flag.

Hanna took a comfortable win over Nigel Percy from Randalstown. Adam McLean had a run on Bob Pattersons Honda and was about half a second behind Percy, in third place. There was no slip ups in the second outing, as Thomas Lawlor came home right in Mark Hannas slipstream. The official difference was .071 at the line. Young McLean slipped back in this race, still finishing in 3rd place, but he was 11.7 back.

Another double for Team Wylie in the GP125 National races. Conor Parkhill was simply in a class of his own in the first race, streaking away to win by over 12 seconds in Wylies Moto3 bike. Korie McGreevy finished in third place, well behind the leaders. The winning margin almost doubled in race two, with Parkhill, son of ex Classic man Stuarty, almost 24 seconds ahead.

Antrim lads Ross Patterson and Matthew Hazlett had a good race, with Hazlett moving ahead with a couple of laps to go. Hazlett could make no meaningful break, however, and he was only half a second ahead at the finish.

Run along with the GP125’s, the SS400 riders had their races. In the first Alvin Griffin just held station on the run to the line, finishing .09 ahead of Portadowns Stephen Shortt. They were the only two still on full race distance at the finish, Peter Fletcher only completing 7 laps out of 8. First race winner Griffin was listed as a non starter in the next outing, letting Stephen Shortt take an easy win over Gavin Quinn. Fletcher again had a third place, just .1 adrift of Quinn.

The Production 125/GP125 Newcomers events gave Adam Simpson his first race win on a proper sized bike, after the Antrim lad stepped up from minimotos. He took the win in the 125GP class.

In the Production race, Jordan Grier and Killian Quilter had a good race, with Gilford lad Grier coming out on top, by just .2 of a second. Richard Kerr from Donegal took third, although he was well behind the leaders.

There wasn’t any joy in the second race for Adam Simpson, when he ran into the gravel on the opening lap at Fairways 2, dropping the Wylie Honda. He was unhurt. It left Killian Quilter and Jordan Grier to fight it out again for the race win. Grier stepped off on the 3rd lap, leaving young Quilter to take an unhurried win. He was over 8 seconds ahead of Richard Kerr, while Eoin Collins was a distant and lonely 3rd, collecting his first ever race trophy.

Although the day was cold, it was not as bad as Mondello the previous weekend. The reduced admission price seemed to bring a few more spectators through the gates. Maybe this is the way to go for race organisers.

TEAM WYLIE ANNOUNCED

Bob Wylie announced details of his new race team last Friday.

The Antrim man will run a 3 rider squad, with Maria Costello MBE on the new Triumph and Moto3 bike in selected road races, Conor Parkhill riding the Moto3 bike in Irish championship meetings and former minimoto rider, Antrim’s Adam Simpson on the GP125 bike in the Clubmans GP Newcomers races.

The new team had their first meeting at Bishopscourt on Saturday, with Adam Simpson taking a win and 16 year old Parkhill winning 4 races. Maria was at Bishopscourt, but didn’t race as she is to concentrate more on road race events, where the former fastest female round the TT circuit will campaign the Triumph and the little 4 stroke Honda, which has had some work done to it for the 2013 season.

I wish Bob and the rest of the team the best of luck. It’s a serious financial commitment with the country in the state it’s in. It was great to see his 3 bikes and their riders at Junction One last Friday and even better to see them out on track on Saturday. I will, of course, bring you any news from the team as I get it.

MONDELLO MASTERS

The first round of the Adelaide Insurance Services backed Mondello Masters series gets under way at the Co. Kildare venue this weekend. Despite a couple of the top riders from last year being missing this year promises to be healthier than ever, with a number of the younger lads coming through to shake up the established stars.

In the Superbike class, last years winner Brian McCormack will be absent from the grid, but former winner Marshal Neill has teamed up with Wilson Craig and will contest the whole series. Local rider Jonny Buckley, riding a very potent ex-BSB Ducati, will line up and will be capable of shaking up the top men.

Another man who might surprise is, I think, Jordan Bonner, who is shifting his interest from roads for 2013. Nico Mawhinney is another young lad who is riding well at the minute, as are Damien Byrne, Lee Johnston, Derek Shiels and local men Mark Glasgow and Stephen Thompson.

If I was a betting man, I certainly wouldn’t be trying to pick a winner in the 600 class. Marshal Neill, Derek Shiels, Declan Swanton, Richie Ryan, James Kelly, Jason Lynn, Luke Johnston, Timmy Elwood, Mark Conlin and half a dozen others are well capable of winning. It’s looking like both Carl Phillips and David Haire will miss much of the year due to injuries sustained in early season meetings, and that will certainly take away some of the sparkle.

That said, theres plenty of other riders who will be wanting to gain much needed TV coverage. UTV will cover the Superbike and Supersport races, and due to increased air time allowed, will also give some of the support classes a bit of much needed coverage.

Practice is on Saturday, with a set of races on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday there is a short warm up period, and then straight into racing. I will, of course, have coverage in next week’s Times.

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