Category: Club News

By Stuart Campbell

THE second round of the HTM Off-Road Cross Country Championship was held at Dunmore Mountain, Spa, on Saturday, February 8.

The championship event was held by the Mourne Motorcycle Club, on behalf of the Foyle District Motorcycle Club for the fourth year in a row.

There were 86 riders taking part on the day, with Expert, Senior and Clubman class riders all out on the track together in a single two hour race.

The riders were led off the line by Expert class rider Jordan Scott, from Newtownards, who held the lead for the duration of the race to take the win after he had completed 12 laps. Scott was the fastest man on the day, finishing one lap ahead of his closest competitors, with Beragh man Barry Donaghy taking second in the Expert’s class and Moneyreagh man Harry Crawford, who won the race in 2019, the third Expert rider home this year.

In the Senior’s class the top finishers all completed ten laps of the course in during the two hours, with David McMahon taking the win. McMahon was followed home by Portadown man Adam Thompson in second position, N Devlin in third, Ryan Thompson was in fourth place and Newry man John O’Neill came home in fifth position.

The clubman class made up the majority of the riders in the race, with 61 men amongst the starting line-up. At the end of the race M Conlon took the honours ahead of I McMahon, with both riders having finished ten laps, with Jude Crawford, from Coleraine, coming home in third position after he had completed nine laps of the track.

MEMBERS of the Mourne Motorcycle Club went for their annual MAD (Mourne Away Day) excursion recently.

The away day is one of the main social events held by the club when their racing calendar has ended, giving members the chance to socialise when they are not running off-road events.

After the latest MAD, Mourne club vice-Chairman Matthew King, from Saintfield, said: “Our Chairman, Billy McLarnin, has to take the credit for coming up with the idea for MAD.

“As a club we already had our Christmas dinner and annual prize giving, but then Billy came up with a plan for an annual day out.

“As a club we have always had a good number of members attending meetings and other events, so this has been a good way to let everyone relax in good company,” he said.

This year was ninth MAD held since Billy McLarnin came up with the idea in 2011.

At first the club held an annual day out, but this year they enjoyed a weekend away from September 6-8, travelling to watch the British Super Bikes at Oulton Park, Cheshire, and the JCB factory, Uttoxeter.

Speaking about the continued success of MAD Billy McLarnin, from Annahilt, said: “The original plan for the MAD was to take a few club members out for the day, with a few surprise stops along the way.

“The idea was to offer people the chance to offer the chance for a day’s craic amongst friends.

“I would organise the day and tell everyone what it would cost. Everything else would be a surprise, as we stopped off at places of interest that we take for granted at home.

“Through the years we have visited places such as Crumlin Road Jail, the Ulster Aviation Society, the Bushmills Distillery, we have enjoyed bowling, archery and we have met Uncle Hugo.

“Last year I came up with the idea of a weekend away and I had to tell everyone some of my plans in advance so they could get time off work if necessary.

“Once again it was another fantastic trip for the Mourne club and guests, showing how well the members of the motocross fraternity get along,” he said.

By Stuart Campbell

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club held the fifth round of the 2019 Adult Ulster Motocross Championship at Seaforde Moto Parc on Saturday, July 13.

This was the second round of the championship to be held at Norman Green’s Seaforde track this year and the track was run the opposite way from normal, to offer the riders something different on their latest visit.

The combined Expert MX1 and MX2 class was first to the line, with championship leader James Mackrell, from Dundonald, missing through injury and Loughbrickland rider Jason Meara racing in the British Championship for the rest of the 2019 season. In the first race Loughbrickland man John Meara took the honours after 11 laps, leading second placed Glenn McCormick, from Glenoe, by almost ten seconds at the chequered flag. John Meara was the top MX1 rider, with Jordan McCaw in second, Ryan Adair in third and Annalong rider Lindsey Newell in fourth position. McCormick was the top MX2 rider, with Jake Sheridan in second and Aaron Gardiner in third position. In race two Meara took the chequered flag again, with McCaw second, Adair third and Newell in fourth in the MX1 class. In the MX2 class, McCormick took the honours for the second time, with Sheridan and Gardiner rounding out the top three.

The Clubman’s MX2 class was next on the line with Ardglass man Eoin Duffy taking two wins on the day, Scott Fisher in second and Conor Devlin in third position after seven laps in race one. In race two Duffy was followed home by Devlin, Robert McCauley and Fisher in fourth position.

In the Clubman MX1 class championship leader Lee McGrath won race one ahead of Terence McGlone in second and Roy McGarvey in third position. In the second race McGlone took the honours ahead of Richard Greer, Ryan Canning in third position and Lee McGrath came home in 15^th position. A collision between two riders in the second race meant that both ambulances had taken the men to hospital and racing couldn’t continue on the day without medical cover.

In the only combined Semi-Expert MX1 and MX2 class race Nathan Green took the chequered flag on his home track, ahead of MX2 championship leader Connor Mullan, from Crossgar. Green and Mullan were the first two men in the MX2 class, with Ivan Kerr coming home in third position. Australian man and MX1 championship leader Aaron Ashton took first in the MX1 class, with Anthony Brown in second and Russell Tanahill coming home in third position.

In the one Veteran’s class race Temple rider Richard Watt took the honours, with championship rival Jonathan McBride from Comber taking second and Ballynahinch man Chris Bell coming home in third position.

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club have been forced to cancel their 2019 chartable motocross event.

The event was due to be held at Millbridge, Ballynahinch, on Wednesday, June 19, to raise monies for the Jenny Foundation and the Ballynahinch Lions.

This would have been the Mourne club’s thirteenth annual charitable event. The club’s fundraising started in 2007 and at this time they have raised more than £80,000 for 24 different charitable causes.

The planned event was going to feature solo bikes, quads and sidecars racing on the night. But the recent weather led to club members taking the decision to cancel the event this year.

After the decision to cancel the event had been taken, Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman, Billy McLarnin said: “Our annual charity event has been one of the highlights of our calendar since 2007, when we raised money for the Children’s Hospice.

“Every year we try to choose local charities which have touched the lives of club members, or people close to the club.

“It was not an easy decision to make to cancel the event, but unfortunately the weather has beaten us this year.

“When we arrived to set up the track on Saturday, June 15, we found the ground was completely sodden.

“We knew that the event had to be cancelled, as the ground is so wet it could be badly cut-up with bikes on the track and cars in the paddock.

“Hopefully we’ll be back fundraising again next year with the Jenny Foundation and the Ballynahinch Lions at the top of our list,” he said.

All entries already received will be refunded over the next few days.

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club will hold their thirteenth annual off-road charity event in Ballynahinch on Wednesday, June 19th.

The event started in 2007 and at this time the Mourne club has raised more than £80,000 for 24 different charitable causes. This year the event is being held to raise monies for The Jenny Foundation and The Ballynahinch Lions.

Speaking at the launch, Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman, Billy McLarnin said: “The Mourne club’s charity work started in 2006 and we held our first event for the Children’s Hospice in 2007, which raised £7,500.

“We always try to support something local and when we received Alana’s letter, we knew that then Jenny Foundation was the right choice.

“We also chose the Ballynahinch Lions as they have helped us every year and it is nice for us to help them in return,” he said.

The Jenny Foundation was chosen as one of two recipients this year, due to its close connection to the motocross fraternity, but more importantly, the fantastic work that it has been created to carry out.

The Jenny Foundation was set up in memory of the late Jennifer Newell, by her family, to support children from Northern Ireland who are living with cancer. The foundation’s work will predominantly be carried out through the Cancer Fund for Children, but when a child needs specialised treatment outside of the NHS, the foundation aims to focus support towards them.

Explaining the aim of the Jenny Foundation, Alana Newell said: “All of the money that we raise is to help people in the Province, specifically with the Daisy Lodge.

“Our first event was a charity walk in Annalong on April 13, which raised £1,620, in memory of my mum Jennifer Newell.

“Since then a group of friends raised more money running in relay at the Belfast Marathon,” she said.

The Ballynahinch Lions will receive half of the money raised from this year’s event to help their ongoing charitable work.

Ballynahinch Lions club President Jimmy Green said: “I am a lifelong Mourne club member and it’s great that the club has chosen the Lions this year. Hopefully we will have a great night.”

The event will be held at Millbridge, Ballynahinch, with bikes on the track from 6pm, when there will be solo, quads and sidecars all taking part on the night. Once again, the Mourne club will be helped by The Ballynahinch Lions, Cafe Rossi, Keith Cullen from Herrons Country Fried Chicken and Watsons Flowers on the night.

Admission to the event will cost £5 for adults, while children go free and car parking is also free.

Rider entries for this event are open online and via post… click here

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Picture caption: Front row (L-R) – Cecil Newell, Billy McLarnin (Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman), Alana Newell & Lindsay Newell.

Back row (L-R) – Junior Burrows (Mourne Motorcycle Club), Robert Hamilton (Ballynahinch Lions), Wayne Gibson, John Murphy (Ballynahinch Lions), Mike Richer (Ballynahinch Lions), Francie Casement (Ballynahinch Lions) & Nathan Green (Mourne Motorcycle Club).

By Stuart Campbell

THE Mourne Motorcycle club hosted the third round of the 2019 Adult Ulster Motocross Championship at Seaforde Motocross Parc on May day.
The Clubman MX1 class was first to the line with Dromore man Richard Greer and Saintfield’s Jamie Freil. In the first race Greer took the holeshot and Freil started close to the front before a fall on lap one left him in 41st position. Greer held the lead for two laps before he was passed by the race winner Lee McGrath, finally finishing in fourth, as Freil came home in 18th position. McGrath won again in race two, as Freil battled for a top three position before dropping back to finish in eighth position and Greer came from seventh on lap one to finish in third place. McGrath took a hattrick of wins in race three, with Greer taking fourth and Freil coming home in seventh position.
In the Clubman MX2 class Ardglass man Eoin Duffy had a day of mixed fortunes. In race one Duffy was in third position before a fall on lap two ended his race, as Robert McCauley won the race. In the second race Duffy moved into first position on lap one and took the chequered flag after seven laps. In the final race Duffy came from seventh to second position on lap one and then moved into first position on the final corner of lap two, which he held to take the chequered flag.
Next out was the combined Semi Expert MX1 and MX2 class with Seaforde’s Nathan Green and Bells Hill rider Connor Mullan in the MX2 class, while Downpatrick’s Jordon Wade was challenging Australian brothers Aaron and Jordon Ashton in the MX1 class. In the first race Mullan came from seventh position on lap one to take the chequered flag, ahead of Green in second, Aaron Ashton in third and Wade in fifth position, as Jordon Ashton’s race ended on lap one. In the race two Mullan took his second victory of the day, with Green coming from eight on lap one to finish second, with Aaron and Jordon Ashton finishing in third and fourth places, as Wade came 22nd to finish in 12th position. In the final race Green led from lap two to take the honours ahead of Jordon Ashton in second, Mullan fought back from 16th position to take third and Aaron Ashton came home in seventh, as Wade didn’t start the race.
In the Veterans class Temple rider Richard Watt and Comber man Jonathan McBride led the way all day. In the first race McBride led until the final lap when Watt passed to take the chequered flag. Watt led race two from start to finish, taking his second victory ahead of McBride. In race three Watt led off the line, before falling back to seventh position. McBride fought at the front of the pack, taking the lead on lap six, before taking the win, as Watt finished in second position.
The final racing came from the combined Expert MX1 and MX2 class. The first race was won by Loughbrickland rider John Meara, with his brother Jason in third and championship leader James Mackrell, from Dundonald, sixth in the MX1 class after a first lap fall left him in 28th position. Ballyclare man Martin Barr was the top MX2 finisher ahead of Glenn McCormick, from Glenoe, in second. In race two John Meara took the chequered flag ahead of Mackrell and Jason Meara in third, as McCormick won the honours in the MX2 class ahead of Barr. In the final race Mackrell won the race, less than one second ahead of Jason Meara and John Meara taking third in the class. The first MX2 rider home was Jake Sheridan, ahead of Barr and McCormick in third place.

By Stuart Campell

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club will host the third round of the 2019 Ulster Adult Motocross Championship at Seaforde MotoParc on May Day.

The first round of the Championship was held at Claudy in March, followed by round two at Desertmartin on Easter Monday.

Although it is early in the season, Belfast man James Mackeral is currently leading the Premier MX1 class ahead of Loughbrickland brothers Jason and John Meara, along with 2018 champion Richard Bird from Lisburn, challenging for the championship lead.

In the Premier MX2 class Ballyclare man Martin Barr is leading ahead of Glenoe rider Glenn McCormick.

The Semi-Expert/MX1 class is wide open at the minute, while in the MX2 class two Seaforde men are aiming for the top with Conor Mullan leading the class and Nathan Green in a top five overall position.

Competition for top places is close in the Clubman MX1 and MX2 classes, while four County Down men are fighting for the lead in the Veteran’s class. Ballynahinch man Jonathan McBride is leading the Veteran’s class, with Moneyreagh man Laurance Spence, Temple rider Richard Watt and Stephen Kelly from Spa all close behind.

Speaking at the launch, Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman Billy McLarnin said: “This year the Premier riders are riding really hard and they were putting up a good show for spectators at Desertmartin.

“It’s also great to see two young men, Nathan Green and Conor Mullan, at the front in the Semi-Experts class. We should never forget the Clubmen either as there is always great competition in that class.

“I would also like to thank the Ballynahinch Lions and all of our sponsors for their continued support for the Mourne club,” he said.

This year the Mourne club is holding the event with support from Brennan’s Ice Cream & Service Station, The Stick Restaurant @ Brennan’s, Watson’s Flowers (Ballynahinch), Cochranes Car Dismantlers and Rowly Suitor. 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.

By Stuart Campbell

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club held their first off-road racing event of the year at Dunmore Mountain on Saturday, February 2.

Cross country racing has grown in popularity in the last decade and the Mourne club was hosting the second round of the HTM Off-Road Cross Country Championship, on behalf of the Foyle District Motorcycle Club.

This was the third year in a row that the Mourne club has been offered the chance to hold an early championship round and while the 2018 race was cancelled due to a waterlogged track, this year the event was held in near freezing weather.

The 87 competitors were all out together in a single two hour race with the 20 Experts and Seniors riders setting off 30 seconds before the 67 Clubmen.

Moneyreagh man Harold Crawford and Belfast rider John Robb, from the Experts class, were the pace setters from the start and after ten laps Crawford took the win ahead of Robb and Kevin Donnelly, who was the only other rider to complete ten laps.

The Seniors class was won by BJ Toal, from Seskimore County Tyrone, ahead of Ryan McGoldrick, Nathan Devlin and Donegal man Chris Blain, with all four riders completing nine laps.

Larne man Gary Binnie won the Clubmen class ahead of Sligo man Andrew Lohan, Donegal’s Stephen Gilfillan, Lisburn rider Neil Campbell, Pearse McKenna, from Magherafelt, and Jude Crawford, with all six riders completing eight laps.

Following the leaders home Dunmore man Sam Simpson completed six laps to finish in 19^th position, ahead of his son Luke, who finished four laps to come home in 29^thth position and Hillsborough man Andrew Boyd, who completed three laps to come home in 31^st position.

Full results from the event can be found by clicking here