Local riders perform well at Mondello - but Shiels remains dominant force

Dublin’s Derek Sheils is still unbeaten in the Superbike class at the Adelaide Insurance Mondello Masters championship.
Mark Glasgow from Antrim, in the Superbike race at Mondello. Pic: Roy Adams.Mark Glasgow from Antrim, in the Superbike race at Mondello. Pic: Roy Adams.
Mark Glasgow from Antrim, in the Superbike race at Mondello. Pic: Roy Adams.

After six races of the series he kept his unblemished record at the Co. Kildare circuit last weekend when he was totally dominant.

In the first race of the weekend, held on Saturday afternoon, Sheils finished 4.5 seconds ahead of Randalstowns Gerard Kinghan. He, in turn, had moved well away from Crumlin man Ryan Rainey. After overnight rain the circuit dried out quickly on Sunday. Again it was Sheils who moved into the lead right from the lights chased by Rainey and Kinghan. Rainey slipped back to third after intense pressure from Kinghan.

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As the bikes came to the line for the final Superbike race of the weekend, it seemed that there was nobody could match the Dublin man. He shot away from the lights, but was outbraked by Ryan Rainey. Before the end of the opening lap it was back to normal service, with Sheils leading Rainey and Declan Hoey. Hoey slipped back down the order to fourth as Gerard Kinghan climbed back up to second place. He was 3.8 seconds adrift of Sheils, with Rainey back in third place.

Jonny Hanna from Antrim in action in the Supertwins race. Pic: Roy Adams.Jonny Hanna from Antrim in action in the Supertwins race. Pic: Roy Adams.
Jonny Hanna from Antrim in action in the Supertwins race. Pic: Roy Adams.

Robert English was another man who started off the weekend with an unblemished record in the Supersport 600 category.

Saturday’s race was easily the best of the weekend as something like half a dozen riders battled wheel to wheel for the win. With some fantastic late braking moves, Conor Parkhill slipped ahead of Nikki Coates, taking the win by half a second. Coates was hounded all the way to the finish by Dundrod man Robert Kennedy.

Sunday’s opening race for the 600’s went to Kennedy, after an audacious final corner outbraking move paid off for the local man. He dived under Robert English on the brakes, and survived the blast to the finish to win by .007 of a second. Conor Parkhill finished in third place. Robert Kennedy led the final race from the start, chased by Robert English and Coates. English slipped ahead of Kennedy about halfway in the race, moving away to win by 1.2 seconds. Jason Lynn was just half a second back in third place.

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The newly founded Classic Superbike class was something of a revelation. In all three races, former GP winner Jeremy McWilliams and Scotland’s Ian Simpson were the men to answer to.

Luke Johnston from Ahoghill in the Supersport 600 race. Pic: Roy Adams.Luke Johnston from Ahoghill in the Supersport 600 race. Pic: Roy Adams.
Luke Johnston from Ahoghill in the Supersport 600 race. Pic: Roy Adams.

McWilliams took the first one with Simpson right in his tracks. Hilton Hincks finished third on a 250 Honda. Simpson won Sundays opening race, with McWilliams just .6 adrift. Clearly outpaced by the bigger bikes, Hincks was third. The final race of the weekend, and bragging rights, went to McWilliams, who won by 1.4 seconds from Simpson. MCN road tester Michael Neeve was third, well off the pace.

Stephen Tobin won the opening SBK and SS600 Cup race. He led for much of the race, but towards the finish was being reeled in quickly by Kevin Madigan. Madigan just missed out, by .03 of a second, to register the win. Anthony Derrane finished a distant third.

From then on, Madigan was the man, winning both races. The next one he beat John Cahill back to second, after recovering a slow start. Joe Grant took third. John Cahill had a good start in the last race, but was quickly passed by Madigan, who edged away to win by 8.6 seconds. Grant was catching Cahill towards the end of the race, but the Stradbally man managed to hang on to the runner up spot.

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David Ging took the honours in the weekends opening SS400 race. He came from behind early leader Willie Maher, managing to win by just .1 of a second. Philip Harding finished in third place, although he was well behind the leaders. Martin Whearty won the second outing, this time getting the better of David Ging in the closing stages of the race. Lisdoonvarna lad Eoin Collins was third, but was far from outpaced by the leaders.

Willie Maher had a great start in the last race of the weekend. About halfway, David Ging went ahead of the Cashel man, moving away to win by 5.8 seconds. Martin Whearty finished in third position, well behind Maher.

Magherafelt lad Adam McLean was just too fast for Dave Butler in the weekends opening Supertwins race. He took the race win, half a second ahead of Butler, while Derek Wilson, who has returned to racing after a short retirement, finished third.

In his first ever race on a Supertwin, Aaron Clifford surprised many people by finishing at the front of a great scrap. Clifford beat Adam McLean by .3 of a second, while Dave Butler was a further .2 adrift in third place. McLean had a fairly comfortable win in the last race of the weekend. He passed Dave Butler and pulled a 5.6 second gap over Aaron Clifford, who relegated Butler to third in the mid part of the race.

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The first Pre Injection race was won by Ciaran Buckley. The Cork man came from behind to go ahead of early leader Kevin Dempsey and James Cottrell. A faller in practice, Glengormley man Paul McCrea took a win in the next race, beating Dempsey back to second place by 1.1 seconds. Keiran O’Mahoney was third, but never really in touch with the leaders. McCrea again took the win in the final race of the weekend. He was never under any serious threat, as he moved away from James Cottrell to win by 4.3 seconds. Chris O’Mahoney, despite his best efforts, just couldn’t match the top two, and had to be content with third.

There were two races for Classics, both held on Saturday afternoon. Both were won by Herbie Ronan. Herbie, took the first race, almost a full lap ahead of Tony Willis, while Ivan Crowe was over a minute behind. Pat Murray took second in the next race, 33.5 seconds adrift of the big Ashbourne man, while Martin O’Neill finished in third place.

Mick Donovan/Dave Butler took the race win in the opening Sidecar race. Jamie Masterson and Ben McBride, who have been little short of a revelation this year, their first year sidecar racing, finished second. Peter O’Neill and Jack Galligan finished in third place, on an outfit that just wasn’t at its best. After a bit of work, it was O’Neill/Galligan who won the next race, just .5 ahead of Donovan and Butler. Jamie Masterson and Ben McBride were third.

Mick Donovan/Dave Butler looked like they were on for a win in the last race. O’Neill/Galligan reeled them in, and as both outfits lapped Andy Kennedy and Thomas Hogg O’Neill went for the inside, leaving Donovan the longer way round. Some bodywork less, after bumping Kennedy, O’Neill/Galligan took the win by a second, with Donovan/Butler runner up. The leaders had pulled well away from Flash Masterson and Ben McBride, to cap off a briliant weekend’s racing.

THIS WEEKEND

This weekend the action returns north of the border, when the B&D club run an event at Kirkistown.