The Mourne Motorcycle Club will host their first motocross race of the year on Monday, May 2^nd, when they hold round three of the Ulster Open Motocross Championship at clubman Norman Green’s Seaforde Motocross Park.

The May Day race is an annual event for the Mourne club and this year it will also be the first motocross race of the year at Seaforde Motocross Park.

The press launch was held in the Stick Restaurant in Brennan’s, Seaforde on the evening of Tuesday 19^th April 2011 and Roy Neill, the voice of Irish motocross, was on-hand to offer a few words.

Along with Mourne clubmen and sponsors, members of the Ballynahinch Lions Club attended, as they will be collecting for charity on the day. And everyone at the launch was looked after by Louise Kearney from The Stick Restaurant at Brennan’s.

This year the Mourne club is running the event with sponsorship from Noel Cochrane’s Car Sales and Spares, Frenchies Mace in Clough, Brennans Ice Cream and McKibbins Car Sales, Brent Dorman Agricultural Engineer and John Deere Specialist, B.L.R.C. Landrover Specialists in Saintfield, Saintfield Livestock Market, Kane Trailers and with help from Gerard O’Neill of Bore ‘a’ Hole.

With this additional support from all the above sponsors the club is able to pay the following substantially greater amount of prize money to riders who may not have previously received as much, or any at all:

Expert Class:

1^st – £120  /  2^nd – £100  /  3^rd – £75  /  4^th – £60  /  5^th – £45  /  6^th – £30

Semi  Expert Class:

1^st – £75  /  2^nd – £60  /  3^rd – £45  /  4^th – £35  /  5^th – £30  /  6^th – £25  /  7^th – £20  /  8^th – £15

Clubman Classes (MX1 & MX2):

1^st – £60  /  2^nd – £45  /  3^rd – £35  /  4^th – £30  /  5^th – £25  /  6^th – £20  /  7^th – £15  /  8^th – £10

There will also be one random non prize winner from the above in the last block on Clubman classes, both MX1 and MX2 who will receive a £50 spot prize from further down the finishers list.

On the day the bikes will be out on the track from 9.30am and all spectators are welcome. Entry to the event will cost £5 for adults, while children go free and car parking is also free.

“Guess who’s 40 today!”

All at Mourne Motorcycle Club would like to wish our current Chairman a very Happy Birthday for today… 11th March 2011.

We hope he’s going to behave on his birthday celebrations!

In the lead up to the 2011 Motocross Season and to celebrate The Mourne Motorcycle Club’s 2010 events we held our annual prize giving in the Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch, on Saturday, February 26^th.

Like so many motocross events the evening was made complete with Roy Neill, the voice of Ulster and Irish motocross, as compere and the Mourne club’s very own Chairman John Bassett helping to present the trophies to the riders who had earned the best results at our events in the 2010 season.

In the Grade C Championship we split the riders into three groups to compare their results for three different club trophies. The first prize to be presented was the Bertie Campbell Memorial Cup which was won by Chris Lynd from Ballygally, Larne, and this was presented by two of Bertie Campbell’s grandchildren Paul and Stuart. Richard Topping was the second Grade C winner and he was presented with the Presidents Cup by John Bassett. The third Grade C winner was Martin Portis Junior, who received the Harry Palmer Memorial Cup from John Bassett.

After all of the Grade C winners had received their awards John Bassett presented the Harry Palmer Perpetual Trophy to Magheralin’s Mark Dynes for his results in the Mourne club’s Grade B races.

The next trophy was also collected by a Grade B rider who had won the 2010 Ulster and Irish Grade B Championships and taken the best results in his class at Seaforde Motopark. Loughbrickland’s John Meara was presented with the Seaforde Motocross Park Perpetual Trophy by Seaforde Motopark owner Norman Green.

The Norman Campbell Memorial Trophy was the last trophy to be presented and this goes to the most active Mourne club member and this year the trophy was won by Annacloy man, Matthew King.

The one award that was not presented on the night was the Mr and Mrs John Herron Cup, as Ballygowan Grade A rider Gary Gibson was not available to collected his prize.

(More photos will be added to the gallery shortly…)

The officers and members of the Mourne Motorcycle Club want to take this opportunity to wish all our members and anyone associated with the club a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.

Forecoming ‘Fancy Dress’ Cross Country at the same venue as before Saintfield Road, Crossgar, Co. Down. This is a fun event and will be limited to 70 entries and will consist of one 2 hour long race for Adult Solos only.
Prize for Best Fancy Dress Costume (Safety gear must still be worn and not obstructed)
*** Check back soon for entry forms ***