By 
LOCAL duo Jack Burrows and Lewis Mullen brought their R&G Talent Cup campaigns to positive ends at Oulton Park.
The teenage starlets have endured somewhat frustrating seasons as set-up struggles and mechanical issues have led to them being unable to turn their undoubted potential into consistent performances and finishes.
However, the corner seemed to be turned during the series’ penultimate round at Assen in the Netherlands, and they continued to make positive progress at the Oulton Park finale where Mullen bid farewell to Moto3 racing, while Burrows will be back in the same championship in 2026.
Burrows, who will be keen to mount at least a serious assault on the top five throughout next season, got close to the leading pack during the last race of the season before finishing eighth to round out a very good weekend in Cheshire where he earned three top 10 finishes – sixth in race one after qualifying 17th and ninth in race two.
Those results left the Carland 15-year-old 12th overall in the final standings and looking forward to another assault on the Talent Cup in 2026 when he will continue to work with Mortimer Racing, who came on board to help him with set-up over the concluding rounds of this season, a move that immediately paid dividends.
“I was happy enough with the end of the year,” said the Cookstown High School pupil after his second season in the Talent Cup. “Three top 10s was a good weekend and definitely a good way to round out the year.
“Joining Mortimer Victoria House Racing has been a massive help with set-up, they have been brilliant, which the results have shown. Since they have come onboard the results have shown we’ve been competitive and that makes me really excited going into next year.”
Newmills lad, Mullen, meanwhile, found the season as a whole, his first in the British Superbike Championship paddock, much tougher than he had hoped as his Wilson Racing team struggled to get the set-up on his Honda correct, leaving him further down the standings than he would have liked.
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel for the Drumglass High School pupil and after a confidence sapping campaign, the smile returned to ‘Lightning Lewis’ face at the final round where he was involved in tussles around the top 10 as he finished with two points scoring finishes in 15th and a 16th place to sign off from the Talent Cup on an upward trajectory ahead of his switch to 400cc machinery in the Junior Sportbike class which should suit his frame more than the tiny Moto 3 machines.
“It was a tough season in the sense that he could never get the feeling on the bike, which he was chasing all the time,” Lewis’s Dad, Adrian, explained.
“They kept playing with the bike to make it longer so he could fit on it and because the bike was in England, the only time we got to test it was at the rounds, which meant we were probably chasing our tail for most of the season.
“But the last two rounds were much better…things improved and thankfully he turned the corner and he was smiling again.
“He has been riding hard, he just hasn’t been getting the results he deserved but he’s moving to the new Junior Sportbike class that’s coming out next year, which makes sense because he’s six foot two, the tallest [in the Talent Cup], and his legs are sore because he’s cramped on the small bike all the time, which means he’s not getting much enjoyment out of it.
“It’s bigger bikes, a new class, so it will be interesting. There’s a lot of good things happening next season, so it’s exciting too! Hopefully it all falls into place for him.”
Meanwhile, Killyman’s Cameron Dawson continued his impressive start to life in the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship where he ended up 17th on the grid after qualifying was cancelled due to Storm Amy, leaving the combined free practice times to make up the grid. Despite that set-back, CD Racing by PHR managed to scythe his way through the grid, crossing the line on his Triumph Daytona 660 in an impressive 10th position.
And Dungannon’s Adam Brown was also in action in the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship, finishing 29th and 21st on his Uggly & Co JDM Racing Yamaha.
Dawson and Brown will bring their season’s to an end at Brands Hatch, where Cookstown’s Jordan McCord and Omagh’s Jamie Lyons will also be in action, this weekend.