Centenary Cookstown 100 returns to traditional April date in 2022 but will be run as a closed event

The Cookstown 100 will mark its centenary year in 2022 as Ireland’s oldest road race returns to its traditional April date.
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The Co Tyrone event normally kick-starts the Irish road racing season each spring, but the last two meetings have taken place in September due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Scheduled to take place from April 22-23 next year, a number of events are bring planned to mark the milestone anniversary.

However, the organisers intend to run the 2022 Cookstown 100 as a closed meeting and will again implement an online booking system, offering fans the chance to purchase a race programme and admission wristband prior to the event.

The Cookstown 100 is set to return to its traditional April date in 2022 when the event will mark its 100th anniversary.The Cookstown 100 is set to return to its traditional April date in 2022 when the event will mark its 100th anniversary.
The Cookstown 100 is set to return to its traditional April date in 2022 when the event will mark its 100th anniversary.

The Orritor event was the only Irish road race held in 2020 as the pandemic brought sport around the globe to a standstill.

It returned again this year, while the Armoy Road Races also took place in Co Antrim in July, where home hero Michael Dunlop stole the show with a five-timer. Dunlop notched his ninth straight victory in the feature ‘Race of Legends’ and set a new outright lap record of 106.945mph.

It is hoped that a fuller road racing calendar will go ahead in 2022 and a number of provisional dates have been set, including a resumption of racing in the Republic of Ireland, where the last Irish road race held was at Killalane in September 2019.

In Northern Ireland, the Tandragee 100 is pencilled in from April 29-30 a few weeks before the North West 200 (May 10-14), while Armoy remains in its usual summer slot from July 29-30. A question mark remains over the Ulster Grand Prix.