Riders relish chance to impress on international track at Bishopscourt

The MCRRCI and the Killinchy clubs again co-operated to run a meeting at Bishopscourt last Saturday.
Dean McMaster, from Cullybackey, dives under Mark Hanna in the Supersport 600 race at Bishopscourt. Picture: Roy Adams.Dean McMaster, from Cullybackey, dives under Mark Hanna in the Supersport 600 race at Bishopscourt. Picture: Roy Adams.
Dean McMaster, from Cullybackey, dives under Mark Hanna in the Supersport 600 race at Bishopscourt. Picture: Roy Adams.

In near perfect conditions we had a great day’s sport on the International circuit, only the second time it has been used for bikes.

The opening Superbike race of the day gave Portadown man Marshal Neill a narrow win. He pipped Athlone man Cody Nally by .4 of a second after both Nico Mawhinney and David Haire had slid out of contention. The leaders had pulled away from the rest of the field, with Ballinderry rider Gareth Keys finishing well back in third.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Right from the lights there was no one in the same league as Cody Nally in the second race. He blasted off the line, eventually finishing 8 seconds clear of Marshal Neill. After hasty repairs to his bike after his first race get off, Nico Mawhinney chased Neill over the line, the third place enough to give him the ISB title.

There was nobody who could match David Haire in the Supersport class. In the first race he won by over 10 seconds. Christian Elkin, the former British champion who now lives near Randalstown, took runner up, chased hard by Nico Mawhinney. There was .3 of a second separating them at the line.

Elkin gave Haire a harder time in race two, but was unable to make any kind of a passing move stick. There was just .4 between them at the finish, while Mark Conlin was third, well behind. Nice to see that Antrim lad Ross Patterson established a new lap record for the Cup class in this race.

Raymond Clarke beat veteran Paul Cranston by .5 of a second in the first Superbike and Superbike Cup race. Raymy rode hard from the lights, establishing a new record for the class in the process. Dean Campbell took third, although he was well behind the top two.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Michael Watt improved on his fourth place in race one to win the restarted second outing. The Banbridge man was nearly 4 seconds ahead of Cathal Berrill at the finish, with Mick Jordan third.

The first Supertwins race was stopped on the eighth lap, with the result being declared at the end of 7 laps. Korie McGreevy and Mark Hanna disputed the lead for most of the race distance, with McGreevy eventually getting the verdict by just .2 of a second. Early leader Drew Jamison slipped back to finish in third place, almost 11 seconds adrift.

In the Production twin class, Dave Butler took his now customary win, leaving Daniel Annett in his wake. Lisnaskea’s Aaron Armstrong finished third, pressed hard in the closing stages by Michael Rea.

Mark Hanna exacted his revenge on Korie McGreevy in the second race. On the Emerald Road Racing ER6 the Antrim rider crossed the finish line .3 ahead of the Ballynahinch lad, who was having his comeback after breaking an ankle. Drew Jamison, a former 125 clubmans champion, again took third, although with a reduced margin over the first race.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Production class was one of the best races of the day. The same top three as in the first one and in the same order, with Dave Butler winning, .7 ahead of Daniel Annett. Annett was pressed hard by Aaron Armstrong, the youngster being just .1 behind at the flag.

Stephen McKeown and Andrew Brady had the closest finish of the day in the first Pre Injection race. After just over 19.2 miles of racing they were separated by .099 of a second. McKeown took the win, with Brady well ahead of third man Johnny McCay.

Establishing a new record for the class, former Manx Grand Prix winner Brady won the second race, finishing 3.8 seconds ahead of McKeown, while Mervyn Griffin finished in third place.

Run concurrently with the Pre Injection race, the 250GP bikes were very badly supported. The first race was won by Ronan Shanahan from Thomas Lawlor. Brian Mateer was third with the only other rider, Keith Millen, fourth. Tommy Lawlor was the winner in the second race, but by .8 of a second, after coming from behind. He crossed the line .8 ahead of Shanahan, with both Mateer and Millen lapped.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Perhaps the best races of the day were in the smallest capacity division. Eglinton youngster Conor Parkhill was in scintillating form, knocking over 2 seconds off Nigel Percy’s 125GP lap record. On an Aprilia, young Parkhill won the first outing by almost 21 seconds, unheard of in small bike racing. On the only Moto3 bike in the country, Christian Elkin was second, well ahead of Kilkeel lad Paul McCartney.

Nigel Percy and Christian Elkin were the main men in the second race. The two were elbow to elbow for the entire race, with the win eventually going to Percy, by only .1 of a second. Elki set a new lap record here for the Moto3 class, breaking the one he had established earlier in the day.

Mick Jordan had a double in the SS400 race. In the first the Dublin man was well ahead of Tom Courtney. Courtney, a faller in practice, recently returned to racing after having retired. Parkgate man Peter Fletcher took third. There was more of the same in the second race, with Mick Jordan recovering from a slow start to move into a lead. He was 14.3 seconds ahead of Tommy Courtney, an old sparring partner of mine from 350 racing days. Again, Peter Fletcher was third, a little over 4 seconds behind Courtney.

The Classic races both went to James Conroy on his 350 Honda. In the first he had a hard time dealing with Robert McCrum, but managed to grab the win with a series of fastest laps. Glarryford man Barry Davidson was third. Bert McCrum gave young Conroy a harder time in the second race. The Comber lad had to come from being after the sheer power of Berts big Weslake out dragged the little Honda off the line. Barry Davidson was third again, this time by a reduced margin.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Run concurrently with the Classics, the Forgotten Era races were both won by Mark McClenaghan. Starting the opening race 16 points in the lead of the championship, all Ross Crymble needed was two third places to give him the overall championship. Sadly for him, his Yamaha shed its chain just over halfway through the race, giving the championship to Mark McClenaghan.

Mark won the first race, beating his brother Stephen by over 9 seconds, with Ken Fleming third. It was a bit closer in the second race, Stephen managing to get back to within half a second of Mark at the line. New chain fitted, Ross Crymble was third.

A very enjoyable day’s racing, in decent weather. It’s a great shame the full circuit isn’t used more often for bikes.

Inow that a few riders don’t like it much, but most do, and it’s a lot harder to ride than the normal track. I understand that the National circuit is to be used for the Sunflower.

By Roy Adams