Haire produces dominant display of racing in Adelaide Masters meeting

There was a race on Saturday afternoon for each class, as well as two races on Sunday. In the Superbike class Derek Sheils was pushed hard in Saturdays race, and just managed to hold off a race long challenge by Cody Nally. The Athlone rider was just .1 of a second behind at the line, with Davy Haire a further .6 back. Haire topped the results sheet in Sundays first outing. Again Cody Nally was denied by .1 of a second, while Brian MacCormack took third, almost one and a half seconds adrift.

David Haire remained unbeaten in the Supersport 600 class all weekend. In Saturday’s race he finished 1.5 seconds ahead of Richie Ryan, the Triumph rider a similar distance in from of Derek Sheils.

The first race on Sunday was first class, with places changing almost from corner to corner. Haire again took the win, .1 ahead of improved Carl Phillips and Ahoghills Luke Johnston on it must be remembered, a stock bike, finishing in third place little over 1.5 behind.

Haire managed to make a break in the final race, leaving the others to dispute the lower places. It was Derek Sheils, on a CD Racing back bike who took the runner up slot, with Carl Phillips taking third place.

Luke Johnston suffered his first crash of the year when the front end of his R6 slid away on the final bend. He was unhurt, but his bike will need a trip to Farlough Garage for a new paint job!

Andrew Whearty and Tom Gregory provide some great entertainment in the SS400 class. In Saturday’s race Whearty managed to take what I think, but stand to be corrected, is his first race win, making a break in the final few laps. He was 1.4 seconds ahead of Gregory at the line, while Mark O’Byrne, on a 2 stroke Aprilia finished just .6 back. It was the same two riders who made all the running in Sundays first race as well, with the race win going to Gregory by 1.5 seconds. Again O’Byrne was third, although this time he was well behind the leaders. Both Whearty and Gregory passed and repassed each other in the final race of the day. At the end bragging rights went to Whearty, when he won by 1.8 seconds. Mark O’Byrne was third, again well off the pace of the leaders.

Paraic Dooley was unbeaten in the Pre Injection races. Saturday gave him a win, over 250 mounted Ronan Shanahan, by 9.7 seconds, while John Ella, on another GP bike, finished in third place, over 12 seconds adrift. On Sunday the racing was also hard, with Dooley winning, again from Ella. Noah Holmes disputed second place for most of the race with Ella, but the Drogheda man just got the better drive out of the final hairpin, and managed to grab the place by .8 of a second. The podium featured the same three riders in the last race of the weekend, with Dooley taking the race win. Holmes failed, by .6 of a second this time, to finish as runner up, with both he and John Ella nose to tail all race.

Dean Fishbourne was a double winner in the Supersport and Superbike B races. In Saturdays outing he rode really hard from the start, to make a break, managing to maintain that till the flag. He won from John Cahill, from Stradbally, who recovered from a bad start to take second, albeit 7.4 seconds back, while Ronan Walker was third. Fishbourne won the first race on Sunday as well, the Tallaght man finishing 3.9 ahead of Donal Curtin. John Cahill again started slowly, but recovered to take third, right on Curtin’s rear wheel. Cork rider Brian Hartnett broke Dean Fishbournes grip on the class, in the last race of the weekend, just managing to beat him back to second place by .3 of a second. Donal Curtin had another solid race to take third.

The Des Butler monopoly of the Supertwins races continued. He pulled almost s second a lap out of everybody else, winning by 11.8 seconds. Paul Tobin, from Carragline, finished in a distant second position, comfortably ahead of James Chawke. After a trip to the paddock dyno on Sunday morning, Melvyn Hollingsworth was right on Butlers case in the weekend’s final two races.

In the first he was .2 back at the line, with Paul Tobin nearly 13 seconds adrift. It was the same three riders who mounted the podium in the last race as well, and again there was .2 of a second separating winner Butler and Hollingsworth. Paul Tobin was 10 seconds back in third.

Terry O’Reilly/Clive Russell won Saturdays sidecar race. They were 3.7 seconds ahead of Peter O’Neill and Jack Galligan, who only held off Dylan Lynch/Stephen Mullan on the run to the finish. Just .2 separated the two. Pat Giltenane and Aidan Brown were comfortable winners of Sundays first race. They were some 7 seconds in front of the Lynch/Mullan outfit, while Peter O’Neill and Jack Galligan came right through the field to take third.

In the final race of the weekend for the outfits, O’Neill and Galligan were forced to start from pitlane when their outfit developed a clutch fault.

Setting fastest lap after fastest lap, O’Neill/Galligan moved up through, eventually taking the lead. They won by over 10 seconds, with second placed Terry O’Reilly/Aidan brown seemingly having no answer to the Lisburn man. Derek Lynch and Joe Newton were third.

A great weekend’s racing, as we have now come to expect from the Adelaide backed series. The final round, at the start of October, will be on the International circuit at Mondello.

LISBURN CLUB SUMMER TRIAL

Thanks to Roger Singleton I can tell you that Chris Brown won the Lisburn clubs Summer Trial last weekend. He finished on 6 marks, 7 better than Stuart McClurg, while in third place, Robert McCrory went down 14. Matt Millar was the winner of the B Grade, dropping 4 marks. Aaron Smyth took second on 8 with Stephen Pyper and Stanley Callahan tieing for third on 13. The D Grade saw both Laurence Blackwood and Robbie Jennings unable to be separated, even on countback. Both finished the day without putting a foot down while the next 3 riders, Brian Waring, Stephen Cromie and Andy Higgins only lost a single mark. Alistair Galloway won the E Grade, losing a single mark. On 8, Robert Wilkin was second and four back, Zac McKee took third place. Chris Hennan, George Taylor, Scott Callahan and Dylan Smyth were the Youth graded winners.

THIS WEEKEND

There’s another double header this week. On Saturday there’s a short circuit meeting at Kirkistown while on Saturday and Sunday the final season’s road race, Killalane, takes place adjacent to Skerries circuit.