All set for Sunflower Trophy

The 13 race programme, with practice on Friday, will commence at 9am on Saturday, with no warm-up sessions on the day.I have been unable to get any information direct from the Hillsborough club, but thanks to www.irishbikeracing.com I have a short list of entries.

It seems, from the Hillsborough club own site, the 125 and 250 races will be combined. In the 125 class, the English Brothers, Robert and Christopher, will face Nigel Percy, from Randalstown. Paul Jordan and William Dunlop have also entered, while in the 250 class, new Irish champion Mark Hanna, from Antrim, will face David Craig, Thomas Lawlor, Ronan Shanaghan and Ballymena man Denver Robb.

In the SS400 class, which also includes the Supertwins, Clubmans lap record holder Stephen McAdoo will be hoping to shake his injury problems, and will come up against 2010 Irish title winner Joseph Loughlin, Johnny McCay, TV comic PJ Gallagher, and local rider Mark Glasgow.

The 600 class, which, with over 50 entries, is well oversubscribed, an entry from 2010 British champion Sam Lowes, will see him ride for the Parklagar team, on the bike raced this year by Eugene Laverty. Lowes has joined the Parklagar team for 2011, and will step into Laverty's berth, now that the Toome rider has decided to make the move to WSB.

Also down to race is James Ellison, who will partner Lowes, double Irish title holder Glenn Irwin, Jack Kennedy, James Westmoreland, William Dunlop, Kirk Jamison, Niki Coates, Jonny Buckley, Marshal Neill and Brian McCormack.

Speaking to Mark Hanna on Sunday, he tells me that he is to have a one off race on Randalstown man Declan Murray's Honda 600, as raced by Billy Byrne on the roads this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing Glenn Irwin face Sam Lowes. I honestly feel that the local lad will have the measure of the new British title holder. Put my neck on the line there, didn't I?

The Superbike class are probably the most anticipated races of the weekend. Ian Lowry, the current holder of the Sunflower Trophy is, in my eyes, just about favourite to win it again, but five times winner Michael Laverty, brother John, David Craig, Denver Robb, Gerard Kinghan, Kirk Jamison, Alistair Seeley, David Haire, Adam Jenkinson and Brian McCormack, Marshal Neill and arguably the most successful proper road racer ever, Ryan Farquhar, will all have ideas about getting their names on the silverware.

Ballyclare teenager Jamie Hamilton will have another run out on Wilson Lynn's Farlough Suzuki at Bishopscourt. Jamie raced the bike in the Evo class at BSB last weekend over at Oulton Park, finishing with two 8th places and a 6th in the Evo category.

The feature race of the weekend is the 33rd running of the Sunflower Trophy. Michael Laverty has been pretty much dominant over recent years in this race, but last year Ian Lowry wrestled the main prize from the Toome man.

The race has a number of seeded riders plus the fastest on the day, up till 36, the number of riders allowed on the grid. Lowry, the Laverty brothers, Glenn Irwin, Sam Lowes, Jack Kennedy, William Dunlop, Kirk Jamison, Marshal Neill, Brian McCormack, Alistair Seeley, Gerard Kinghan, Denver Robb David Haire, Adam Jenkinson, Billy McConnell, Ryan Farquhar and Ben Wilson are seeded, while the rest of the grid will be made up of the men who go quickest on the day.

The sidecar class is always one that is very popular at the Bishopscourt meeting. This year there are to be appearances by Ben/Tom Birchall, former World title holders Tim Reeves, with Gregory Cluze, Scott Lawrie/James Leavy, Dylan and Derek Lynch, Alex Johnston and Paul Carvill and European title chasers John Clark and Stuart Graham.

Admission will be 15 per day, but Fridays admission will also cover Saturday. Under 16s will also be admitted free. Owners of camper vans will only have to pay 15 for anyone who is staying in the vehicle overnight. Just how they will police that beats me.

Speaking to many race fans, I am just one who doesn’t agree with the Sunflower being a counting round of the ISB series. Our home riders commit tens of thousands of pounds to the domestic series each year, and then for the Hillsborough club to fill the Irish Superbike grid with BSB riders is, in my view, totally wrong. Don’t get me wrong, the meeting is fantastic, and one I look forward to each year. But to my mind, it should be a stand-alone meeting, and not one for ISB points. Just my personal opinion.

Things I’m looking forward to. Seeing Glenn Irwin facing Sam Lowes. The British Supersport champion will, I feel, have a hard time dealing with the Carrickfergus youngster. Young Glenn stepped off at Oulton on Sunday while holding a top half dozen place. He was ahead of Lowes at the time. I read on the website that Glenn is to ride a Kawasaki, but hopefully he will adapt to it quickly enough to put Lowes in his place!

There is a track day planned on Thursday, for Supersport 600 and SBK riders only. It will be just a couple of sessions for each class, starting at 1pm. On Friday the practice is due to get underway at 9am.

Looking at the websites, there are no warm up sessions planned for Saturday morning. It’s straight into racing, with the first Superbike race, at 9am. I’m not sure about the race distances, but with just 13 races planned, I would imagine that they will all be about 10 or 15 laps.

As usual, I will have a full round up of the day’s sport in next weeks Times.

LOANENDS PRIZEGIVING

The locally based Loanends Motorcycle Road Racing Supporters Club held their prizegiving at Allen Park on Saturday night.

The evening got under way with a short silence in respect of the five riders who lost their lives in competition this year.

Banbridge man Shaun Anderson took the overall championship, with Ballymoney's Rueben McPhee in second place. Having retired in 2002, and made a comeback in 08, Castlederg man Gary Millar carried on a family tradition of road racers, finishing in third place overall.

There were also a few special awards presented, with the main one, the Harold Johnston Memorial Trophy, going to Shaun Anderson, in respect of his performances in the Manx GP. The trophy was presented by Lyla, Harold’s wife.

Thanks to the Loanends club for the evening.

ARMOY FILM SHOW

Dubbed 'The Race of Legends' the Armoy road race has very quickly established itself as one of the best organised races on the calendar.

Race fans will have the chance to see (and buy) a copy of a DVD of the races, all 10 of them, when there is a special showing of the new film in Ballymoney later this month. You can re live the excitement of the day, with a screening of the DVD, produced by Colin James and Anna Masefield.

There were 5 cameras positioned round the course, and the show, which lasts about 1 hour and 17 minutes, is the finished product of their days filming. There is also some footage of practice evening, which was curtailed by unrelenting rain.

Everyone will be made welcome, and the DVD will be available to buy, at 10. Admission to the film show will be 5, which will include supper. The show will be in the Royal British Legion Hall, Ballymoney, on Thursday, 21st October starting at 8pm.

SUPERMOTO

It’s normally about now that I tell you about the P&O Winter Supermoto series.

I was led to believe that it wasnt going ahead, due to lack of entries. I understand now that it will be run.

As normal it will be a 4 round championship, with the first race on the 23rd October. That will be at Bishopscourt. Round 2 will be at Kirkistown, on the 30th, while then there will be a week’s break. The final two rounds will be on the 13th and 20th November, at Nutts Corner and Kirkistown.

As I have promised to send my Yamaha to David Pattison's Bike Show in the Seven Towers Leisure Centre the same weekend as the first supermoto, it will take a bit of planning to get that sorted, but I will definitely be at the final three races. They are a great day out.