Masters action at Bishopscourt as riders prepare for Ulster Grand Prix

It was a day blighted by red flags and the threat of bad weather, which was due to move in during the afternoon. In effect the weather was near perfect all day, and we even got to see some of the planes that were taking part in the air show over Newcastle.

In the Superbike class Portadowns Marshal Neill was the man in form. David Haire led the first race, from Neill and Cody Nally. Neill took the lead about 5 laps into the race, as the leaders moved away from Nally and Brian McCormack. McCormack grabbed third place, and almost immediately the red flags came out. The result was given at the end of 5 laps, with Neill being declared the winner. He was under half a second ahead of Haire. Just under 4 seconds adrift, McCormack was third.

Race two was pretty much a repeat. Haire had a great start, followed by Neill and Nally. The Portadown man hit the front early on and pulled away from Cody Nally. The Athlone man never gave up, and at the line was only half a second behind. Haire finished third, with Randalstown man Gerard Kinghan relegating Brian McCormack to fifth in the closing few laps.

The feature race of the day was the Norman Brown Memorial Trophy. Again, there was no one in the same league as Marshal Neill. He held off a late challenge from David Haire to win by .4 of a second. Gerard Kinghan was third, but over 9 seconds back of the leaders.

The Supersport 600 races were some of the best we had all day. In the first one, which was restarted twice due to red flag incidents, Nikki Coates, Jamie Patterson and Robert Kennedy were wheel to wheel for most of the race. There was no quarter asked for nor given by any of the riders, as they passed and repassed on almost every corner. At the line Coates, who does most of his racing across the water, took the win, just .2 in front of Kennedy while Patterson was only .1 back. The top three separated by .3 of a second.

In the second race, it was another near heart stopper. This time, added to the mix, was Lisburn’s Carl Phillips, a retiree after a single lap, in the first outing. The win this time, by .1 of a second, went to Dundrod’s Robert Kennedy. He held off Carl Phillips and Nikki Coates on the final drag to the line. Jamie Patterson from Antrim finished in fourth place, while his younger brother Ross clipped.1 off the Supersport Cup lap record.

Drew Jamison took a double in the Supertwin class. In the first race he was pushed hard by Philip McNally. On the last lap McNally went under the Bangor rider at the hairpin, but Jamison hit back, taking the win by .5 of a second. The top two had moved well away from Daryl Duffy. It was Duffys first race outing since May Day.

The second race was a near carbon copy of the first. Jamison took the race win, .8 ahead of McNally while Duffy finished a distant third. In the Production twins category Aaron Armstrong, James Chawke and Mark McConville were the top three in both races.

The Pre Injection races gave Mervyn Griffin and Johnny Aiken a win apiece. Aiken, a former 350 Clubmans champion, took the flag in the opening race, over 7 seconds ahead of Mervyn Griffin. Gareth George and Alan Graham were having their own dice for the lower places. George came out on top finishing .3 ahead of the Omagh man.

Griffin exacted revenge in the second race. He relegated Aiken to second, while again third went to Gareth George.

Run concurrently with the Pre Injection races, the GP250’s both went to Ronan Shanahan. Michael McKerr finished in second place in the first one, while in the second race it was Ballymena man Trevor Reid who was the runner up, ahead of McKerr.

Peter Alexander had his first ever race victory when he won the opening Superbike Cup race. He never had any real time for a rest as Daryl Heverin and Declan Madden were both well in touch. Madden dropped back slightly towards the end of the race, taking third place.

Heverin had a fairly simple victory in the next race. He finished nearly 18 seconds ahead of Paul Demaine, who had Brian Hartnett for close company.

Run along with the Superbike Cup races, Alvin Griffin took a double in the Avon Tyres F1 Forgotten Era class. In the first race he was pressed hard by current champion Stephen McKeown. McKeown, who broke his own lap record, was just over a second back at the line, while Chris Campbell was third.

The margin of victory was slightly more emphatic in the second race, Griffin winning by over 11 seconds from McKeown. Campbell was third. Stephen McKeowns lap record didn’t last long, as Alvin Griffin clipped a further .7 off it in race two, leaving it 1.6 seconds lower than it had been that morning.

The first of the Supersport Cup races gave Korie McGreevey a win. The now not so diminutive Ballynahinch lad finished just under 10 seconds ahead of Paul Gaffney, while Eoghan Delaney was a lonely third. The second race was much more interesting. It went to Paul Gaffney. Delaney improved to finish in second place, comfortably ahead of Des Mackessy.

The combined 125/400 races were also good entertainment.

The two GP outings gave wins to Kyle Cross, the first double of his career. He had to catch and pass Richard Kerr in the first one. The tiny Donegal lad, on local man Bob Wylies Honda, had a great start, but was soon overtaken by Cross, who moved away to win by 5.5 seconds. Caolin Irwin, still in his newcomers vest, finished in third place. Cross, a nephew of multiple Irish road racing champion Darren Burns, grabbed a hard earned win in the second race. He again had to catch and pass Richard Kerr, winning by .1 of a second. Again, Letterkenny lad Caolin Irwin was third.

Run with the 125’s, Portadown’s Stephen Shortt was unstoppable in the SS400 class. He led the first race more or less from the start, holding off a hard challenge by Andrew Whearty. Andy McAllister finished in third place. Shortt had things a bit harder in the second outing. He was chased hard for most of the race by Whearty, while he, in turn, was hounded across the line by Jason Floody. Just 1.6 seconds separated the top three.

Another great day’s racing from the Adelaide Masters series. The only negative point was that there was no decent amount of practice for riders. They were sent straight out to set qualifying times, with some never even having seen the track before. Other than that, brilliant. And it rained going home.

METZELER ULSTER GRAND PRIX

The long awaited, much anticipated Ulster Grand Prix will be this Saturday, the final event in the UGP Bike Week.

Due to the amount of space that I am allotted each week, it’s simply not possible to give a full preview of the meeting, but with National road races on the Thursday and practice on Wednesday and Thursday as well, riders are in for a busy week.

Conspicuous by their absence, the Honda team of Conor Cummins and John McGuinness. Cummins was injured by a nasty crash at the Southern 100 and won’t make the grid, and McGuinness, never happy at an elbow bashing race as opposed to the TT, won’t start either.

That said, men like Bruce Anstey, Guy Martin, the Dunlop brothers, Gary Johnston, Ian Hutchinson, newly crowned Irish Superbike road race champion Dan Kneen, Keith Amor, returning Jamie Hamilton, Lee Johnston and Dean Harrison are all due to compete. Just watching Harrison over the last year, it’s obvious to me that he will be well in the running. He had a great Southern 100 in July and wasn’t too far away at the North West either. Definitely one to look at for a podium.

Today, Tuesday, there will be a Pub Quiz, in the marquee beside the grandstand, starting at 8pm. There will be both general knowledge and bike related rounds.

On Wednesday the on track action will get under way. Both the Dundrod 150 National meeting and the Ulster Grand Prix will practice, with the roads closing at 12noon. In the marquee afterwards the entertainment will be provided by Tommy’s Juke Box.

On Thursday there’s both practice and racing. The final sessions for the UGP proper take place, as well as the races for the Dundrod 150. Roads close at the earlier time of 9.30am. As far as I know, the Dundrod 150 races will start at about 2.30pm.

Friday will be a free day, with a Meet the Riders session at the Topaz Filling Station on the Tully Road, close to Nutts Corner roundabout. Thats at 11am.

There will also be free admission into the paddock when you can get autographs etc from riders and just wander about and take in the atmosphere. Theres also a junior trial, a grass track and a chat show during the day. Check out the Ulster Grand Prix website for times etc.

I will, as normal, have a full roundup and photos of the whole weeks racing in next weeks Times.

CLADY RUN

One of my own favourite bits of UGP week is the Clady Vintage Motorcycle Club road run, held on the Friday evening prior to the Prix.

Getting under way at about 6.30pm, the run has always raised money for worthy charities. This year is no different, with the chosen charity being the MUCI (UC) Medical Team. Something very close to my own heart.

The team covers both road races and short circuit events throughout Northern Ireland, and look after both riders and spectators. More than once they have treated people who have taken ill at a race meeting.

The run will start at Killead Church and will follow its usual route to the Seven Mile Straight, Clady Corner then back to Killead, via the Nutts corner roundabout. Refreshments will be served in the church hall after the run ends. Organisers stress that this is not a race, and it is expected the police will have speed cameras on the route.

It costs £10 to do the run, and all participants will get a starters award.