Dunmore XC kicks off 2020

By Stuart Campbell

THE off-road racing calendar will start in County Down on Saturday, February 8, with a cross-country event at Dunmore Mountain.

The Mourne Motorcycle Club will be hosting the second round of the HTM Off-Road Cross Country championship, on the demanding terrain at Spa.

This will be the fourth year that the Mourne club has hosted a round of the cross country championship on behalf of the Foyle District Motorcycle Club.

There will be a single two hour race, or two races depending on the number of entries on the day. Bikes will be on the track for a sighting lap from 9.30am before the race starts at 10am. Entry for spectators is free on the day.

Bank Holiday Racing fast approaching at Seaforde

By Stuart Campbell

THE Mourne Motorcycle Club will bring the Ulster Motocross Championship back to South Down on the July public holiday weekend.

The fifth round of the 2019 Ulster Adult Motocross Championship will be held at Seaforde Moto Parc on Saturday, July 13. The Mourne club has already held a championship round at the Seaforde track this so year, so this time the riders will tackle the circuit in the reverse direction.

In the Premier MX1 class Loughbrickland brothers Jason and John Meara are trying to catch Belfast man James Mackrel for the championship lead.

Ballyclare rider Martin Barr leads the premier MX2 class, with Glenoe rider Glenn McCormick chasing for honours.

The Semi-Expert MX1 class is led by Australian rider Aaron Ashton, while Conor Mullan, from Bells Hill, leads Seaforde man Nathan Green in the Semi-Expert MX2 class.

The Clubman MX1 class is being led by Lee McGrath, while Scott Fisher leads the ClubmanMX2 class, with Ardglass man Eoin Duffy sitting in third position in the championship.

The Veteran’s class is a fight between three south Down riders, with Comber man Jonathan McBride leading the championship, Downpatrick man Brian Presho in second and Temple rider Ricky Watt in third position.

Once again, the Mourne club will hold the event with support from Brennan’s Ice Cream & Service Station, 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.

Mayday 2016 Roundup

MOTOCROSS returned to County Down on May Day when the Mourne Motorcycle Club held the second round of the Ulster Open Championship.
The Clubman MX2 class was first on the line and Crossgar man Steven Gill won their first race, with Ballygowan’s Johnny Presho taking third and Crossgar’s Nathan Hamilton coming home in seventh position. Gill led the pack off the line in race two, but by the end of lap one Hamilton had moved to the front, which he held to take the chequered flag, as Gill came home in fourth and Presho finished in fifth position. In their final race Gill was fastest off the line again, before Hamilton moved to the front once again at the start of the second lap to take another win ahead of Gill in second and Presho in eighth position.
In the combined Expert and Semi Expert MX2 class Loughbrickland brothers Jason and John Meara challenged at the front with Banbridge man Ryan Adair. In the first race Adair led off the line, but after one lap Lisburn man Richard Bird had taken the lead ahead of John Meara, Adair and Jason Meara. The four men fought throughout the eleven lap race, before Bird and Jason Meara moved the front to challenge for the flag and on the final lap the two men came together as they went up the hill, leaving John Meara to take the victory ahead of Adair in second, Bird in third and Jason Meara came home in fifth position. Jason Meara led the pack off the line in race two, with Bird hot on his heels and the two men swapping positions during the final two laps. Eventually Jason Meara took the win ahead of Bird, John Meara in third and Adair in fifth position. In the final race Jason Meara led off the line again, taking his second victory of the day, ahead of Bird, John Meara in third and Adair in sixth position. Moira man Mark Dynes and Loughbrickland’s Caolan Devlin were amongst the top Semi Expert finishers in the race, with Dynes taking a third and two fourth position finishes, as Devlin won one race, along with fifth and sixth position finishes.
The clubman MX1 class was next on the line and Killinchy man Stephen Gabbey moving to the front of the pack at the halfway point of race one and never looking back. Gabbey went on to win race one and then lead his next two races from the start to take three victories on the day.
The racing ended with the combined Expert and Semi Expert MX1 class, as Portavogie man Robert Hamilton led their first race from the start to take the chequered flag ahead of Comber man Wayne Garrett in second and John Meara, who had also raced in the MX2 class, coming home in third position. In the second race Hamilton and Garrett went into the first corner side-by-side, but as Garrett came out in the lead, a fall led to Hamilton pulling out of the race. On the second lap John Meara took the lead, which he held to take the chequered flag ahead of Garrett in second and Adair in fourth position. In the final race Hamilton led Garrett off the line, but John Meara was quick to catch the front two men, taking the lead towards the end of the hard fought eleven lap race and the win ahead of Hamilton in second and Garret in third position. Saintfield’s David Martin took a fifth and two second placed finishes amongst the Semi Expert riders, as Downpatrick man Christopher Orr came home in fourth, third and fourth positions.

By Stuart Campbell ©

Again a big thank you to all the competitors, spectators, personnel and anyone else who helped mark the day a huge success.

 

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Official Press Release… Mayday 2016

The Ulster Motocross Championship will return to County Down on Monday, May 2, when the Mourne Motorcycle Club will host their annual May Day motocross event.

The May Day event, held at clubman Norman Green’s Seaforde MotoPark, will be the second round of the 2016 Ulster Motocross Championship.

The first round of the Ulster Championship was held at Desertmartin on Easter Monday, with County Down men leading the way in the Premier MX1 class. Portavogie man Robert Hamilton started his title defence with two wins and second place finish, with Ballygowan’s Gary Gibson taking second and Comber man Wayne Garrett taking third overall. In the Premier MX2 class Loughbrickland man Jason Meara had a second and two third placed finishes, taking second overall behind Scottish rider Brad Todd, who won all three races on the day.

Saintfield man David Martin, who won the Clubman’s class in 2015, comes into the second round in third place in the Semi Expert MX1 class. In the Semi Expert MX2 class 15 year-old Loughbrickland rider Cailum Meara finished third overall at Desertmartin after two second placed finishes and a 13th, when mechanical failure left him to push his bike over the finishing line.

This year the Mourne club is holding the event with support from Brennan’s Service Station and Stick Restaurant, Watson Flowers in Ballynahinch, Chips A’hoy, Ballynahinch, and Noel Cochrane Car Sales and Spares, along with help from the Ballynahinch Lions on the day.

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.

 

Mayday 2016 Press Photo

Picture caption: L to R – Stephen Watson of Watson Flowers, Ballynahinch, Billy McLarnin, Mourne Motorcycle Club Chairman, Seaforde Moto Park track owner Norman Green, Loughbrickland Premier MX1 class rider John Meara (sitting in fifth in the Ulster Championship and third in the Irish Championship after the first rounds) and Ballynahinch Lions Club President Colin McCordick.

Entries are available by clicking here

Mayday Round 2 Ulster MX Champ at Seaforde approaching fast…

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With Mayday Monday 2nd May approaching fast, we are getting geared towards 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 are now available in all motocross shops and also to download 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 27th April 2016 at 6.00pm.
  • If entries are accepted after this date, they will be subject to a late entry fee of an additional £10.
  • Entries online close Saturday 30th April 2016 at 6.00pm.
  • NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED ON THE DAY!
  • No overnight parking will be permitted

Prize Giving 2016… Motocross season rewarded

CELEBRATING the 2015 motocross season, the Mourne Motorcycle Club held their annual prize giving night at Temple Golf and Country Club, on Saturday 20th February.

On the night, which was compered by Roy Neil, eight trophies were presented recognising the top finishers at four of the Mourne club’s races in 2015, along with recognising the work of one club official.

Two prize winners, unable to make it on the night, were Newtownard’s man Jordan Scott who received the Harry Palmer Perpetual Trophy for winning the Mourne club’s 2015 cross-country race and 2015 Irish Grade A champion Richard Bird won the Seaforde Cup for being the top finisher at the Mourne club’s May Day race at Seaforde Moto Park.

The next two prize winners both received their awards after finishing top of the Grade C classes at the Mourne club’s race at Leitrim in 2015. Saintfield man David Martin, who went on to win the 2015 Grade C Ulster MX1 Championship, received the Bertie Campbell Cup and Crossgar’s Stephen Gill was presented with the President’s Cup.

Dromara man Colin McGregor, who won the 2015 Ulster Semi Expert Championship, received the Harry Palmer Cup, as the top Grade B finisher at Leitrim and the John Herron Cup was awarded to top Grade A finisher at Leitrim, Ryan Adair from Banbridge.

The Boyd Cup was awarded to Saintfield’s Dean Colhoun who competed in three classes at the Mourne club’s 2015 charity race, where he won his races in the motocross and quad classes, alongside competing in the sidecar class on the night.

The awards ended with the Norman Campbell Memorial Trophy, for the most active club member, being presented to Ballynahinch man Jim Boyd, who officiates at the Mourne club’s events and car events.

by Stuart Campbell

2016 Prize WinnerGroup prize winners L to R: Jim Boyd, Colin McGregor, Melvyn Adair (on behalf of Ryan Adair) and Dean Colhoun

Prize Giving & Dinner for 2015 Season… New Venue

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The club is holding are now annual club prize giving and dinner at the Temple Golf & Country Club, on Saturday 20th February 2016… 7.30pm ’til late. This event is always a great nights craic and an opportunity to catch up with everyone before the start of another season of racing.

Cups will be presented to the prize winners from events run in the 2015 season. (All prize winners will be notified by post)

There will be a full 3 course dinner and an evenings entertainment. There will also be a raffle on the night and all at a very reasonable £17.50 per adult.
Anyone is made more than welcome old and new faces alike.

In order to facilitate the Golf Club we need to send in a pre-order, therefore we would be grateful if you could complete our menu choices sheet (available to download here) and return to address with full money, or by contacting Billy McLarnin on 07860 608 418 or Matthew King on 07834 071 524.

 

Merry MX-mas from Mourne MCC

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The officers and members of the Mourne Motorcycle Club Ltd would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members and everyone associated with the club, a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and safe New Year.

Best Wishes for 2016!

 

Our first event of 2016 will be a Cross Country at Slieve Croob on Saturday 9th January 2016. Online entries are now open for this event… Please click here

To view our 2016 dates click here

Charity GT Cheque Presentation 2015

The club has continued its successful charity work, raising £6,500 at its ninth annual charity motocross event… by Stuart Campbell

Each year the club picks two charities that have touched the lives of club members, their families, or the community and this has led to it presenting more than £60,000 to 17 different charities and charitable causes since 2007.

Mourne club Chairman Billy McLarnin said, “Once again this is an amazing amount of money for any sports club to raise, especially for what might be considered a smaller sport like motocross.”

“I would like to thank everybody who helped to organise the event, the riders who took part, the spectators and everyone who donated to make it another successful year.”

“Each year we try to choose local charities or causes that are close to the club. We were delighted to help Macmillan Nurses who do so much to help people at their time of need and Emma Hamilton, whose father Nigel is a well-known club member.”

“I know that everyone in the club is proud of what we have achieved in the last nine years and we hope to continue fundraising and giving something back to the community every year,” he said.

This year monies raised have been shared between Macmillan Nurses, which helps people and families throughout the country, and Help for Emma.

On March 4, 2014, twin girls Emma and Katie Hamilton, from Kilmore, were born in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital.

Katie weighed just 2Ibs 12ozs at birth and spent her first two months in hospital, but Emma was not discharged for nine months as she was born with a rare condition known as Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS).

CCHS is a rare genetic condition where the brain does not tell the lungs to breathe during sleep, although it can also occur with some individuals when they are awake.

Now Emma depends on a ventilator for her breathing and she is continuously monitored to ensure her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are maintained at a safe level.

Approximately 1,000 people are known to have condition worldwide; with less than 100 people in the UK and Emma is one of two children affected by the rare condition in Northern Ireland.

 

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.

Members of the Hamilton family accept a cheque for £3,250 from Mourne Motorcycle Club at a presentation held at the Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch, on Thursday evening. The money was presented to the Help Emma Appeal. Included with Emma (third right), who suffers from CCHS, is mum Patricia Hamilton and dad Nigel, with Emma’s twin Katie and brother Ryan alongside club president Junior Burrows (left), motocross rider Andrew Simpson and club chairman Billy McLarnin (right).

Photo © Raphael Mason

MacMillan Cancer Care representatives Joanne Young (second left) and Gemma Ross receive a cheque for £3,250 from members of Mourne Motorcycle Club. Included is club treasurer George Porter (left) alongside chairman Billy McLarnin, president Junior Burrows (right) and Jimmy Anderson (third right) of Ballynahinch Lions Club.

Photo © Raphael Mason

 

Again a big Thank-You to all who made these amounts possible!

 

9th Year Charity Grasstrack back again bigger and better than ever!

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Admission £4 minimum donation (typo on signage)

The Mourne Motorcycle Club will continue its impressive charitable work, with our  9th annual charity event on Wednesday 17th June 2015 at the Mill Bridge, Ballynahinch, County Down.

So far the club has raised more than £55,000 for a variety of charities and charitable causes and they hope this year will be no different.

This year all money raised will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support and one-year-old Emma Hamilton from Kilmore, County Down who is a daughter of one of our club members.

While the good work of the Macmillan Nurses does not need much explanation, young Emma’s story should be told especially.

Emma and her twin sister Katie were born in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital, Belfast, on 4th March 2014. Katie spent her first two months in hospital as she weighed just 2Ibs 12ozs at birth, but Emma, born with a rare condition known as Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), was to spend 9 months in hospital before being discharged to her home in Kilmore. CCHS is a rare genetic condition where the brain does not tell the lungs to breathe during sleep, although it can also occur with some individuals when they are awake. Now Emma depends on a ventilator for her breathing and she is continuously monitored to ensure her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are maintained at a safe level. Less than 100 UK families live with CCHS and Emma is one of two children affected by the rare condition in Northern Ireland. There are approximately 1,000 people known to have the condition worldwide. With this condition in mind, the club are donating half the proceeds to Help for Emma, this will be used whatever way Emma’s parents see fit and helpful to assist her with equipment or support for her condition.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides much needed care and support to individuals and their families facing cancer. No one should face cancer alone. So when they need someone to turn to, Macmillan is always there. Right from the moment of diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, there’re a constant source of support, giving the energy and inspiration to help take back control of their life. Some of the club members families have seen first hand the excellent support and work that Macmillan provide when needed. For this reason we feel the other half the proceeds from this years grass track is to be donated to this worthy cause.

 

This years event will be held again at the new Mill Bridge venue in Ballynahinch on Wednesday 17th June. Racing starts at 5pm and entry to the event will cost £4 minimum donation per person.

Every year since the event began the Mourne club has been helped by the Ballynahinch Lions and Keith Cullen of Country Fried Chicken, Ballynahinch, who has supplied trophies for the races every year. This year Mr Cullen and the Ballynahinch Lions will continue to support and help the charity event.

The fifteen charities that have benefitted from the club’s charity event so far have been:

* 2007 – Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in 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.

Entry forms are now available for this event to download online, and also in most local motocross shops. We are taking entries online as usual, and would urge as many as possible to enter by this method. Click here for all the entry information. Get your entries in quickly, as we always have a big demand for this event and can only cater for limited numbers in each class.
We will be having Grade A, Grade B and Grade C solo classes (entries will be limited to 60 Grade C competitors, first come first served basis) There will also be classes on the night for Quads, Sidecars and Evo bikes in our racing programme.

We are hoping to attract the usual array of top grade competitors, with UK motocross star Ashley Greedy already confirmed riding on a Suitor Brother’s machinery. It is with our thanks to Rowly Suitor for organising to get Ashley over here to race our event. Also confirmed is Ireland’s quickest man in the 4 wheeled quad division… Dean Colhoun. We hope many more will enter and come to produce some excellent racing on the night for the spectators.

Press launch for this years event took place on Thursday evening past (4th June) at the Millbrook Lodge Hotel… photo below:

Press Launch GT 2015

Back Row; Left to Right:

Richard Portis (Sidecar Competitor), Nigel & Emma Hamilton, Noel Burrows (Sidecar Competitor), Billy McLarnin (Mourne MCC Chairman), Patricia & Katie Hamilton, Richard Scott & Jimmy Brewster (Ballynahinch Lions Club)

Front Row; Left to Right:

Adam McMullan, Joanne Young (Macmillian Cancer Support), Ryan Hamilton (on bike), Justin Kirk and Dean Colhoun (Quad competitors)