Pre-season test to remember for Aughnacloy’s Andrew Smyth

ANDREW Smyth enjoyed a two-day pre-season test to remember at Bishopscourt over the weekend.

The Aughnacloy teenager will again compete in the British Junior Superstock Championship onboard his MPW-liveried 600cc Kawasaki, but last week he got the taste for something a little more fiesty!

Andrew’s dad, Kenny, was a stalwart of the Ulster and Irish supermoto scene back in the 1990s and it was through his involvement with that side of motorsport that he got to know a certain Paul Bird.

The Cumbrian now owns the most successful British Superbike Championship team and since the Smyth’s have began frequenting the BSB paddock, that friendship has been rekindled.

So, when PBM were travelling to Bishopscourt to test their Ducati’s ahead of the new season with two of their riders, Michael Dunlop and Josh Brookes, the Smyths were invited to make use of the track day that had been booked, with the bonus that Andrew would get a spin on the full fat superbike for the first time.

And what an experience he had, one he feels will benefit him throughout 2022.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” beamed the former Aughnacloy College pupil after riding a bike that is lighter than his but that is almost twice as powerful.

He continued: “It’ll help me this season because when I got back on my own bike after riding the superbike, it immediately felt so much easier. The thing I noticed most about the superbike wasn’t the initial kick of power, it was the fact it didn’t stop! It kept pulling and pulling!

“And it was good to have the craic with Michael Dunlop and Josh Brookes and get the pick their brains. Especially with Josh and the lines he was taking, which were different to mine, even though I’ve been riding Bishopscourt for years.

“It gave me a different perspective and it’s something I will learn and improve from. I have to give a big thank you to Paul Bird for the opportunity last week, it was fantastic.”

Andrew will continue his preparations ahead of the opening round of the BSB at Silverstone on Easter weekend.