Tyrone riders impress in the summer sun

TYRONE riders and teams were out in force for the annual Neil and Donny Robinson Memorial race meeting at a sun-splashed Bishopscourt last weekend.

Among them were teenagers, Omagh’s Jamie Lyons and Killyman’s Cameron Dawson, who were warming up for a return to Pirelli National Junior Superstock Championship action at Brands Hatch this coming weekend.

The talented duo have both overcome recent injuries with the former suffering a fractured hand, while the latter sustained three fractures in his left elbow after an off during testing in Scotland at Knockhill.

Both seemed to be back in the groove in the Supersport class at Bishopscourt though and they should be in good shape for this weekend’s British Championship action in England.

While Eunan McGlinchey, riding for Cookstown’s McAdoo Kawasaki Racing, and Alistair Seeley dominated the top two steps of the podium, Lyons and Dawson weren’t too far behind.

In race one, McGlinchey defeated Seeley with Adam McLean third, Christian Elkin fourth, Cookstown’s Gary McCoy fifth and another McAdoo man, Derek Sheils, sixth, with Lyons seventh, while Dungannon’s Leon Duffy was 13th and fourth in the Cup race, and Dawson suffered a DNF. In race two, the top two was the same with Sheils third ahead of McCoy on this occasion. Dawson was sixth and Lyons seventh, while Duffy suffered a DNF.

Race three saw Seeley take the top step of the podium from former McAdoo man, McLean, with McCoy fourth, Dawson fifth and Lyons sixth, while Duffy was 14th.

The fourth and final Supersport race proved the most rewarding for local racers with McLean second behind Seeley, with Dawson taking the final podium step just ahead of Lyons, while Duffy was 11th.

Lyons was also in action on his tiny Moto3 Honda throughout the weekend when he acted as mentor to talented Cookstown High School Year 8 pupil, Jack Burrows. Lyons won race one, with Burrows third, but Alexander Rowan won the next two from Lyons, whose engine expired on the final run, while young Burrows claimed another fourth and an impressive third place to compete a successful outing.

And McGlinchey continued his good form in the Supertwin class, winning the first two races of the weekend.

In the Superbike class, Seeley was again the man to beat, but McCoy and Sheils were also in action at the sharp end, finishing third and fourth respectively in race one, while Blackwatertown’s Kevin Lavery was 19th.

Seeley won race two, with McCoy fourth, McGlinchey fifth and Sheils seventh, while Lavery claimed 21st and Adam Crooks was 22nd. Carrickfergus’s ‘Wee Wizard’ Seeley completed his hat-trick in race three, while McCoy claimed fourth, Lavery 14th and Crooks 19th.

The final Superbike race of the weekend ended with McCoy fourth yet again, Lavery 17th and Crooks 20th.

Meanwhile, Dungannon teenager, Adam Brown had an up and down weekend on his 400cc Kawasaki in the Supersport 300 class, finishing third and a second alongside two DNF’s.

Elsewhere, on the roads, the local Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team enjoyed another successful weekend at the Faugheen 50 where Mike Browne won a thrilling Supersport race from Michael Sweeney, victory in the the Moto 3 class, fourth in the open race after running on, followed by a second in the Grand Final.