Smyth and Lyons looking forward to Knockhill

LOCAL duo, Andrew Smyth and Jamie Lyons will return to Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship action at Knockhill this coming weekend, but Cameron Dawson will be absent.

Killyman teenager, Dawson, suffered three fractures to his left elbow following a crash during testing at the Scottish track two weeks ago and despite his best efforts to be fit, his MSS Performance Ltd team have decided to sit this round out.

That leaves Aughnacloy’s Smyth and Omagh’s Lyons as the only local protagonists travelling to Knockhill this coming weekend and both are looking forward to returning to action after frustrating starts to the season.

And for the elder statesmen of the pair, 18-year-old Smyth, he knows the time is now for a steady improvement in results after a confidence-boosting 24th place finish at Donington last time out.

“We haven’t had much luck this season with getting took out and other issues out of our control but we’ve started to get things sorted and I was happy enough with Donington,” said Smyth.

“Hopefully we can carry that momentum into Knockhill although it’s a track we’ve never been to before on the 600 but I’m really looking forward to it.

“We haven’t had a brilliant start to the season but if we can carry the momentum from Donington into Knockhill and until the end of the season then I’m sure we won’t be too far away.

“It was nice to be where I should be at Donington, but I feel I’ve got more pace than where I am but it’s a matter of showing that now.”

While Smyth hasn’t raced in a couple of weeks since Donington, Lyons has been out of action for six weeks after breaking his hand at Oulton Park.

But a successful return with three wins in three races on his trusty wee Moto3 machine two weeks ago at an Ulster Superbike Championship meeting and a painful but positive test on the Yamaha R6 last week means the 17-year-old is raring to go once more.

“It was good to get back out on the 600 again, it was a good test, learning things and it was just good to get back on the bike after six weeks off, which is a long time at this stage of the season,” Jamie said.

“I’ve no real target for Knockhill because I haven’t gelled with the bike yet, I’ve been finding it difficult to overcome the change in chasis and tyres. I simply need bike time and I’m going to Knockhill for that without any real targets.”