Poor turnout for track test day

It has to be said that it was very poorly supported as opposed to last year’s similar event. Quite a few riders stayed away, for one reason or another. There were, however, some reasonable times posted, in unseasonably good weather.

Cullybackey lad Dean McMaster was quickly on the pace on his Triumph, after giving his bike an engine refresh over the winter. Being a test, no official times were posted for the day, but against other riders he seemed to be fairly well on the pace.

It was good to see a couple of the young lady riders out as well. Melissa Kennedy was soon getting round well on her RS125, while Annalee Simpson, who endured a terrible season last year, had the smile well and truly back on her face when her Aprilia stayed running for a whole day. Almost every time Annalee raced last year she was brought to a premature halt by something or other.

The Hazlett brothers, Luke and Matthew, from Antrim are running this year with backing from Redz Piano Bar and Grill at Junction One. Matthew, in his first outing of the year on his newly refurbished GP125, was quickly back on his pace from last year, and even hounded elder brother Luke in the 
last session.

Luke has taken delivery of an ER6 that was raced in the USA. He has been able to make the jump from 2 stroke to 4 stroke power and told me that he finds the ER6 easier to ride as it drives away from zero power instead of being the way he was last year, and having to fight to keep the little 125 Production Aprilia on the power band.

It was good to see Stephen Morrison and a couple of the other lads who are still attending the MCUI race school taking part at Bishopscourt. One of the lads even suggested to me that it might be an idea to run a round of the school at Bishopscourt, to allow the newcomers a chance to see another circuit other than Kirkistown. Now there’s food for thought.

FINAL RACE SCHOOL

The final race school was at Kirkistown last Sunday. The day was noticeably colder than Saturday, which certainly contributed to one accident, when Shane Wogan lost the front end of his ER6 engined special. Shane was unhurt, but very upset about the incident that saw Carrickfergus man Stevie Shanks sustain shoulder injury.

Local man Keith McQuillan was well on the pace but unfortunately slid off the ER6 at the chicane. Keith was unhurt and was more annoyed about his new leathers being ‘run in.’ His bike didn’t seem to be too badly damaged.

Angela Kernaghan, who took part in last years race school, had her first outing of the year. Despite snapping a gear lever, she was happy enough with how the day went for her, on her little Team Zebra 400 Honda.

Neil Kernaghan from Galgorm continued to impress on the R6, and speaking to a few of the riders most are looking forward to Nutts Corner in a couple of weeks.

NUTTS CORNER

The first race of the year, at Nutts Corner on the 16th March, will be organised by the Mid Antrim club.

Entries are still open, but will close this weekend. Speaking to one of the club members at the weekend he tells me that all classes are catered for and that anyone needing a late entry get in contact with either Seamus Dobbin on 07841 130438 or Davy McCartney on 07740 586438. Due to the fact that the programme etc needs to be finalised there will be no entries taken on the day of the event.

The Mid Antrim club are indebted to Ballymena Borough Council; RT&E Bikesport and Emerald Road Racing magazine for their help in running the meeting.

FUND-RAISER

The night of the Mid Antrim short circuit, 16th March, S&D Racing along with RT&E Bikesport will have a fundraising evening in Ballymena 
Rugby Club.

The evening will take the form of a Disco and Karaoke. It is to help the two teams raise money to support Gavin Lupton and Veronika Hankocyova as they prepare to tackle their first seasons road racing in Ulster. Tickets are £5 or pay at the door, and music is by Supertwins racer Davy Black.