High speed of Seaforde looms for Quads and Sidecars

By Malcolm Beattie
The 2017 Ulster Quadcross & Sidecarcross Championship moves to another part of County Down this Saturday for Round 5 just down the road at Seaforde Motocross Park for the Mourne Club promoted penultimate round of the most competitive motorsport in Ireland.
 
The Sidecarcross Class is led by Neil Campbell & Craig Parmenter, the Lisburn based crew once on their WSP Zabel from Gary Moulds and Steve Kirwin on their VMC KTM by 26 points, the rest between their last outing in England will have given Neil’s thumb a chance to heal, but after the last race at Laurel Bank where then two crews fought out three Titanic battles, they will be hard at it once again at Seafordes fast hardpack.
 
Emma Moulds and Niki Adair are third on their VMC KTM 40 points adrift of wee brother Gary, but they have stretched their advantage over Dean Faulkner & Gordon Ringland on their WSP Zabel to over 40 points.

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The Premier Quad Class has been dominated this year so far by Limavady man Michael McAneney who has a huge lead of 83 points over , Mayobridge’s Sean Goss is on his immaculate Yamaha, with Justin Reid from Comber 6 points adrift and Banbridge man David Cowan is in hot pursuit inn fourth, 8 points adrift.
 
Clubman Quads is led by Connor Canning who is having a real battle this year with Hillsborough British Junior Champion Dean Dillon, only a single point separate them, Tommy O’Donnell is 33 points behind Dean in third, with Stephen Mulholland, Sean McNicholl &  Ben Colhoun rounding out the top six..

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In the Youth Classes, the biggest capacity class for up to 250cc machines Jack Young leads on 216 points while second is newcomer and Loughbrickland native Josh McKnight on 204, while another quad riders son, Jordan Toye is third on 136, all sons of racing fathers in this top three, while Stuart McMullan is on 192 after two wins at Laurel Bank Jordan Toye is now up to fourth on 180 with, Alicia Green on 160 and Adam Blakely on 151 rounding out the top six.
 
In the 100cc Class, Andrew Black leads on 227 points followed closely by  Ross Dillon is on 213 chased by Charlie Williamson on 187 each, and after his no show at Laurel Bank, Mark Mulholland has dropped behind Williamson on 157 points this highly competitive class produces some great racing from these surprisingly fast machines.
 
In the 50cc Automatic Class, Travis Toye continues his domination on 297 points while Dollingstown youngster Jacob Glenn is third 213 only 12 behind runner up Freddie Williamson third, its all to play for the podium positions.

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Racing starts at 11.00, entry is £5 with Under 14’s free, and the track is signposted off the main Ballynahinch to Newcastle Rd near the Butterfly House.

Ulster Championship returns to Seaforde 13th July

The 2017 Ulster Motocross Championships resume with the traditional Mourne Club event at Seaforde Motocross park on 13th July

The Nutt Travel Premier MX1 Class is led by Lisburn’s Richard Bird on his Five5Motorsport KTM on 211 points from Wicklow man Jim O’Neill on his similar machine on 176 with Greyabbey Smoke Vent KTM rider Craig Brown a distant third on 138, while Banbridge’s Ryan Adair is 11 points adrift on his Adair Building Services KTM, the last round was enlivened by a visit from Neville Bradshaw who put on a great show at Tandragee on the Suitor Brothers Kawasaki, if he makes a n appearance expect some great racing round a circuit which will suit the South African

In the Precise Protect Premier MX2 Class, Jason Meara from Loughbrickland the Championship favourite is out for the year following a serious crash which injured his back, so get well soon Jason, meanwhile, Dundonald youngster James Mackrel leads the Championship by 1 point on his KTM from Dubliner Jordan Keogh on his Kawasaki, these two had a ding dong battle at Tandragee while Luke Smith & Glenn McCormick were absent. Behind Meara and Smith, Donegal lad Aaron Gardiner will be hoping to leap frog them into third, and local man David Martin will be screaming his little Husqvarna two stroke hoping to catch Gardiner.

The Nutt Travel Semi Expert MX1 Class Josh McCorkell on his KTM leads Lurgan Man Mark Dynes on his Maralin Car Wash TWDynes Honda by 32 points with Kevin Donnelly 28 points behind in third, while fourth is Frazer Young a huge 39 points behind.

In the Precise Protect Insurance Semi Expert MX2 Class, Paul Lavert holds onto an 8 point advantage over Kawasaki mounted Loughbrickland rider Cailum Devlin, recovered from a nasty knee injury that destroyed his 2016 season, third is Magherafelt teen Jake Hall on his Husqvarna with Sean Lavert and Ruari McKeown in hot pursuit.

The Towergate Insurance Clubman MX1 Johnny Haywood seems to have the Championship all but one with a huge 74 point lead over Lurgan’s Barry Dummigan is second with a 33 point advantage over Joshua Rea with Peter Jones fourth, Darren Wilkinson fifth and Ryan Canning sixth.

The Laverty Motocross Clubman MX2 class is led by 15 points from Johnny Presho on his Honda, second is Chris Walsh, third is Darren McMullan, Kealin McLoughlin is fourth and Matthew David & Conor Nicholson sixth.

 

On the day, the bikes will be out on the track from 9.30am, with the first race to start at 11am. Entry to the event will cost £5 for adults, while children go free and car parking is also free.

Charity Grasstrack 2017 results writeup with photos

The club held their eleventh annual charity motocross event at the Millbridge, Ballynahinch, on Wednesday night.
The first racing of the night came from the Grade C Red class with Trevor Calderwood, from Kells, taking two firsts and a second to win overall. In the first race Crossgar’s Darren Martin finished in eighth after fighting back from fifteenth position, before a second and first place finish in the other races helped him to take second overall. Ardglass man Ciaran O’Connor earned third overall with a second, fourth and fifth placed finishes.
In the Grade C Blue class Hillsborough’s Richard Greer took the overall honours, after two firsts and a fourth placed finish, as Lisburn man Nathan Lockhart finished in fourth, third and won the final race to finish second overall. Josh Douglas, from Spa, came home in third after taking seventh, sixth and second placed finish on the night.
County Down men led the way in the Grade C Green class as Downpatrick’s Darren McMullan won overall with a second and two wins. Saintfield man Dean Colhoun earned second overall with a first, fifth and third place finish and Holywood’s John Allen came home in third, after fourth, third and tenth placed finishes.
In the sidecars class the top honours were shared between three Lisburn outfits. Two firsts and a second earned Dean Faulkner and Gordon Ringland overall victory, as Gary Moulds and Alan Gardner took second overall with two seconds and a win. Third overall went to Ricky Mairs and Ben Alexander after two thirds and a fourth placed finish.
In the Evo class, for older bikes, Temple man Richard Watt all three races to take the overall, followed home by Annalong’s Lindsay Newell in second after a fourth and two second place finishes. Despite second and third placed finishes in the first two races Kilmore man Andrew Simpson missed out on a trophy after a mistake on the last lap of his final race dropped him from fourth to eighth position. Simpson’s bad luck left Portadown man Scott Hamilton to take third overall, with two thirds and a sixth placed finish.
The quads class was a one woman show as Newry’s Emma McQuoid led from start to finish in all three races, taking three wins and the overall victory. She was followed home by Lisburn’s Dean Dillon in second, after fourth, second and seventh place finishes and Diane Hillis from Bainbridge taking third overall with eight, fifth and 13th placed finishes.
The final group on the line was the combined Grade A & B class with Stephen Kelly, from Spa, earning two firsts and a second place finish for the overall victory. Kelly was followed home by Banbridge’s Ryan Adair, with a first, second and third placed finish and Lisburn man Darren Bradford in third overall with a second, fifth and third place finishes. Kilkeel’s Christopher Cully was the top Grade B rider overall, ahead of Crossgar man Christopher Bell and Saintfield’s Jack Smyth in third position.
Grade A: Second placed Ryan Adair, from Banbridge, Grade A winner Stephen Kelly, from Spa, and third placed Darren Bradford, from Lisburn.
Grade B: Second placed Chris Bell and the winner, Kilkeel man Christopher Cully, who won the class.
Grade C blue: Runner-up Nathan Lockhart, from Lisburn, Grade C blue class winner Richard Greer, from Hillsborough and third placed Josh Douglas from Spa.
Grade C green: Grade C green class runner-up Dean Colhoun, from Saintfield, Downpatrick’s Darren McMullan, who won overall, and third placed John Allen, from Holywood.
Quads: Quad class runner-up Dean Dillon with Newry’s Emma McQuaid who won every race and the class overall.
Sidecar: Second placed Gary Moulds and Alan Gardner, sidecar winners Dean Faulkner and Gordon Ringland and third placed Ricky Mairs and Ben Alexander.
Evo: Annalong’s Lindsay Newell, who finished runner-up, Evo winner Richard Watt, from Temple and third placed Scott Hamilton.

Grasstrack 2017 Press Launch

By Stuart Campbell
Charitable motocross will return to Ballynahinch on Wednesday, June 21, when the Mourne Motorcycle Club hold their annual event for local charitable causes.
The event will be held at Mill Bridge outside the town and this year the money raised from the event will be shared between the Air Ambulance Service and injured motocross rider Wayne Garrett, from Comber.
This year will be the eleventh year in a row that the Mourne club has held the event, which has seen them raise more than £65,000 for twenty different charitable causes since 2007.
Speaking at the launch Rodney Connor, who is one of five trustees for the Air Ambulance Service, explained that there were the 36 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) in the UK, but none in Northern Ireland, and they had been trying to get one here for five years.
Mr Connor said, “the quicker you can get a person to that trauma centre, then the better their chances.
“Clinicians believe that 15-30 people will be saved a year and it will benefit 300 people, who can be helped a lot better from it each year,” he said.
The aim was to have a service that is not Belfast based, as it was felt that people in rural areas are most in need of the service. There will be two helicopters, one based at the Maze at the main HEMS base, and a second based in Enniskillen.
Paramedics have already been taken on to work on the new service, so once work on the two sites and training is complete it is hoped that the new service will be available from the end of July.
After the plans for a new Air Ambulance Service had been outlined, Wayne Garrett spoke about how he had had benefited from the service after his accident, when he was airlifted from a motocross track to hospital at Dublin in eight minutes.
Wayne said, “an ambulance wouldn’t have gotten me there that quickly and who knows, I may not have been here for the injuries that I had.”
After spending seven weeks in hospital in Dublin, Wayne was moved back to a spinal ward in Belfast and now that he has been discharged, he is staying optimistic and doing everything that he can to try to walk again.
Wayne said, “I have one chance to do all that I can to help myself and I wouldn’t just sit at home feeling sorry for myself.
“When the accident happened, people said that’s you done. But I have taken my drive and motivation from the idea of walking back into the Musgrave and people not recognising me and asking who are you,” he said.
The evening of racing will start at 6pm on June 21, with solo motorbikes, sidecars, classic bikes and quads all competing in different classes. Before the racing begins Uncle Hugo will be at The Square, Ballynahinch, entertaining the town with his road show and drumming up support for the event.
The Mourne club will also be helped by The Ballynahinch Lions, Herrons Country Fried Chicken and Cafe Rossi on the day.
Speaking at the launch Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman Billy McLarnin said, “Every year we always arrive at the right charitable causes to benefit from the event and after listening to Rodney and Wayne, we can see that we have done it again.
“We don’t want the money that we raise to go into a big pot, but to be used locally.
“The Air Ambulance is for everyone and while we hope that we don’t need it, we know that it will be there. I have known Wayne since he was a boy and he started racing and we are happy to do anything that we can to help him,” he said.

Charity event history

The idea for a charity event started when Mourne club member Andrew Shields, from Kilkeel, suggested raising funds for the ambulance services that help at the club’s races.
Plans for a fundraising event had begun, but tragic circumstances changed who the club raised money for the first year.
Following the passing of Andrew and Alison Shields youngest son, Kyle, from Sanfilippo Syndrome on October 13, 2006, (five days before his 14th birthday on October 18) the club decided to raise money for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in Belfast, which had provided so much care for Kyle during his short life.
Away from the Mourne club, Alison Shields wrote ‘Kyle – A mother’s love in action’, from a diary she had kept during the years of Kyle’s illness, with the proceeds going to Horizon House, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.
The Mourne club’s first charity event was held on May 22, 2007, and they have been helped every year by Ballynahinch Lions and Keith Cullen of Country Fried Chicken, Ballynahinch, who has supplied trophies for the race winners.
The charities and causes that have benefitted from the Mourne club’s charity events so far have been:
* 2007 – Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, Belfast.
* 2008 – Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
* 2009 – Tiny Life and Autism Northern Ireland.
* 2010 – Montalto Medical Centre and Friends of Cancer Centre.
* 2011 – The British Red Cross and St. Johns Ambulance.
* 2012 – Cash for kids and The Reece Burrows Cerebral Palsy Fund.
* 2013 – The Lucy Parke Appeal and Grove House, Ballynahinch.
* 2014 – The Ballynahinch Branch of Cancer Research and the Mitre Trust Spinal Injuries Unit, Musgrave Park Hospital.
* 2015 – Macmillan Nurses and Help for Emma.
* 2016 – Camphill Community Mourne Grange and the Newcastle Station of the RNLI.
Picture caption: L to R – Rodney Connor; Air Ambulance NI, Jim Boyd, Billy McLarnin; Mourne MCC Chairman, Jimmy Green, Tommy Sloan, Richard Portis, Andrew Shields, Wayne Garrett, Junior Burrows; Mourne MCC President.

Ulster Youth MX rolls into Seaforde for Round 4

Round 4 of the Ulster Youth Motocross Championship rolls into Seaforde Moto Park, County Down and a new venue for youth racing.

Saturday 3rd June will be the date for the next round in the Youth Championship series promoted by the Mourne Club on the hillside track at Seaforde. We hope to attract a good turnout of youth riders as the club has not promoted youth racing in County Down for many years.

The club will also be running an Adult Clubman support race on the day, open to the first 45 riders to enter (first come, first served)

Entries are now available to online (paper or online system) We prefer if pre-entry via our online system could be used by everyone, it’s very simple and will massively speed things up on race day. Click here to be directed to the entries page.

Official Press Release… Mayday 2017

By Stuart Campbell

The Mourne Motorcycle Club will host the second round of the 2017 Ulster Open Motocross Championship at clubman Norman Green’s Seaforde MotoPark, on Mayday.

The championship season started at Desertmartin, on Easter Monday, before coming to County Down for the Mourne club’s annual motocross event.

In the MX1 Experts class a shoulder injury has already ended the 2016 Ulster and Irish Champion John Meara’s season before it started. With the Loughbrickland man unable to challenge to retain his Ulster title, Carrickfergus rider Graeme Irwin, who normally races in the British Motocross Championships, set the pace by taking three race wins on the opening day of the season.

The Meara family had better luck in the MX2 class with John’s brother, Jason Meara, starting his season with two firsts and a second-place finish to lead the championship ahead of Mayday.

This year the Mourne club will be holding the event with support from Brennan’s Ice Cream & Service Station, McKibbin Motors, The Stick Restaurant @ Brennan’s, Watsons Flowershop and Cochrane’s Car Spares. The Mourne club will also be helped on the day by the Ballynahinch Lions Club, who are always on hand to help at the Mourne club’s events.

Bikes will be out on the track from 9.30am, with the first race to start at 11am. Entry to the event will cost £5 for adults, while children go free and car parking is also free.

Picture caption: L to R (back row) – Jim Boyd, Norman Green, Francie Casement, Billy McLarnin; Mourne MCC Chairman, Alan Simms; Ballynahinch Lions Club President, Terry McCann & Junior Burrows.
(front row) – Representing Brennans; Sinead O’Toole & Rebekah Grant.

Entries are available by clicking here

Mayday Motocross 2017 here already

Mayday Monday is only just around the corner once again. The wheels are well and truly already in motion for this popular bank holiday event.

We are aware most people event online these days and have our online system up and running. We are keeping the entry fee at £30 for both online and postal entries and would encourage everyone possible to enter online. Paper entry forms will be available in most motocross shops and can also to downloaded from our club website.

Please click here for a link to online and paper download entry forms

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Riders wishing to enter two classes, will be required to pay an additional £10.
  • Entries for inclusion in the programme close on Wednesday 26th April 2017 at 6.00pm.
  • Entries online close Saturday 29th April 2016 at 6.00pm.
  • NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED ON THE DAY!
  • No overnight parking will be permitted

Prize Giving 2017… Another year wrapped up

By Stuart Campbell

The club held their annual prize giving night at the Temple Golf Club on Saturday 18th February 2017.

Nine trophies were presented on the night and eight were presented to the top finishers at two of the club’s events in 2016 – the second round of the Ulster Championship at Seaforde Moto Park on May Day and the club’s annual charity race at the Millbridge in Ballynahinch.

The first prize winner from May Day was Killinchy man Stephen Gabbey, who won the Seaforde Cup for three race wins in the Clubman MX1 class at Seaforde Moto Park.

The Bertie Campbell Cup was presented to Clubman MX2 rider Nathan Hamilton, from Banbridge. Nathan had a successful day at Seaforde taking two wins and a seventh placed finish, on his way to winning the Ulster and Irish Grade C MX2 classes in 2016.

Loughbrickland brothers John and Jason Meara won the final two awards from May Day. John, who went on to win the Ulster and Irish MX1 Championships, was presented with the John Heron Cup for two firsts and third place finish in the Grade A MX1 class, while Jason received the Harry Palmer Memorial Cup for the overall win in the Grade A MX2 class.

The awards from the club’s charity event, which had been held to raise monies for Camphill Grange House in Kilkeel and the RNLI Lifeboats Newcastle Station, were shared between motocross, quad and sidecar competitors.

The Harry Palmer Perpetual Trophy was awarded to Lisburn sidecar duo Gary Moulds and his passenger Roy Beattie, who won all three sidecar races at the charity event.

There were two quad classes on the day and Newry’s Diane Hillis received the President’s Cup for her top finishes in the Quad Grade B class and Mayobridge man Sean Goss, who won the overall in the Quad Grade A class, received the Mourne Motorclub Cup.

The only motorbike prize winner from the charity event was Ballynahinch man Stephen Kelly, who received the Jim Boyd Cup for winning the combined Grade A and B class overall.

The final trophy presented on the night was Norman Campbell Cup, with the winner being chosen by the Mourne club Chairman and announced on the night. This year it was presented to Ballynahinch man George Porter, who is a long-serving club stalwart and the current Treasurer of the Mourne Motorcycle Club.

Stephen Gabbey receiving Seaforde Cup from Norman Green

 

Nathan Hamilton receiving Bertie Campbell Cup from Robin Campbell

 

John Meara receiving Herron Cup from John Herron

Roy Beattie receiving Harry Palmer Perpetual Trophy from Billy McLarnin

George Porter receiving Norman Campbell Cup from Billy McLarnin

 Prize Winner 2017 L to R: Roy Beattie, with his son RJ in front, George Porter, John Meara, Stephen Gabbey, Nathan Hamilton and Club Chairman; Billy McLarnin

Dunmore Mountain XC Writeup

By Stuart Campbell

The Mourne Motorcycle Club kick-started the 2017 off-road racing season on Saturday, by hosting a cross-country racing event at Dunmore Mountain, Spa. The club held the first round of the Foyle/HTM Offroad Cross-Country Championship, which was the first round of the championship ever held in County Down.

There were two races on the day, both lasting for two hours, and the first class to the line was the Clubman class. Eighty riders were taking part in the first race of the day and at the end of the first lap Carrickfergus rider Jonathan Robb led Moira man Gareth Hoare at the front of the pack. Robb held the lead until they approached the halfway stage, when Hoare recorded faster lap times and moved into first position. The front two riders lap times were between nine and ten minutes during the early stages of the race, but on lap twelve Hoare lost three minutes to Robb, which helped Robb to take the win after he had completed thirteen laps. The final rider to complete thirteen laps was Armagh rider Simon Todd, who came home in third position.

The combined Experts and Seniors (for Grade B riders) class was second to the line, with the 2017 Champion Harold Crawford, from Moneyreagh, ready to defend his Experts title. Thirty riders left the line, with the Moneyreagh man in second place behind Omagh rider Barry Donaghy and the two men led the pack throughout the two-hour race. In the first hour-and-a-half of the race the two men changed places as they tried to find faster lines to gain an advantage. At the half-way mark in the race Crawford had moved in the lead, before Donaghy repassed him and pulled away in the final half an hour. Donaghy was the last man to pass the finishing line before the two-hour mark which ended the race, leaving him to complete a fifteenth lap as Crawford earned a second-place finish when he completed his fourteenth lap. The front men were followed home by Comber man David Russel in third position and Crossgar’s Joel Brown who came home in fourth. In the Seniors class Kilkeel man Christopher Cully finished in second place behind Tandragee’s Red Odgers, with Carrickfergus man Josh Caldwell coming home in third position. The front three riders had completed thirteen laps at the end of the race, as Killyleagh man Stephen Simpson finished in 13th position when his race ended after eight laps and Crossgar’s George McMillen came home in 15th position despite his race ending after six laps.

Picture caption – L to R: Ballynahinch man Jim Boyd, Clerk of the Course at Dunmore, David Russell, Omagh man Barry Donaghy who won the Expert’s class, Moneyreagh’s Harold Crawford and Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman Billy McLarnin.

Picture caption – L to R: Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman Billy McLarnin with Clubman winner Jonathan Robb.