Irish championship preview Seaforde
The 2018 Irish Championships come back North of the border again for round five of six at Seaforde Motocross Park for the Mourne Club promoted event.
Premier MX1 Class has Lisburn defending Champion Richard Bird on his FivefiveMotorsport KTM leading Loughbricklands Kawasaki mounted John Meara, by 57 points so the quiet Lisburn man has one hand on the gold medal already, but the fight for third is not over yet as Banbridge man Sean Devlin on the Risk Racing Yamaha chasing his now Honda mounted team mate Robert Hamilton only 19 points ahead, but Robert will be eyeing up the silver medal too. Dubliner Stephen Mulally and Ballymoney man Jordan McCaw round out the top six
MX2 Premier is once again being dominated by Loughbrickland man Jason Meara with a whopping 87 point lead over Glenn McCormick from Glenoe both KTM mounted, however, behind these two is Dylan Stynes only two points ahead of Steven Kelly for third, with David Galvin from Cork fifth, and the injured Cailum Meara sixth, although Donegal man Aaron Gardiner should assume this position in Mearas absence.
Semi Expert MX1 has produced some great racing this year with the sharp end dominated by County Down men, Johnny Presho from Comber 71 points ahead of Ashely Allerton from Newtownards, however, Clifford Wilson from Ballymena is also consistent at the front and is not far off Allerton, and Gary Marmion and Chris Cully from KilKeel round out the top six.
Semi Expert MX2 is led by Southern youngster Lee Coffey from Jack Sheehan with Ruari McKeown the first MRA rider in third, Michael McAlister, Jack Galvin and Dollingstown teen William McBride round out the top six
Clubman MX1 can be a mixed bag with experience and youth combining, so far Downpatrick Kawasaki man Jordan Wade from Downpatrick has a 20 point lead over Calvin McCorkelll, Gary Magee is third tied on points with Thomas Murdoch, while Josh Rea is only a point behind these two, James Rice is sixth a long way behind this battling trio.
Clubman MX2 is where lots of local interest is focussed with Markethill rider Scott Bailey leading Lurgan personal trainer Ruari Grimes on another Yamaha by23 points, Daniel McFerran is third Robert McAuley, Jamie Fleming and Paddy McCann squabbling over the minor placings.
The Veterans and Over 35 Classes run concurrently and the Veterans is led by former Grand Prix star Laurence Spence from Paul Heaney and Tom Gary Sullivan while the Over 35’s is led by Sean Kelly from Richard Watt.
Racing starts at 1100, entry is £5.00 with under 14’s free, and the circuit is signposted from the main Clough to Ballynahinch Rd opposite the Butterfly House.
Words: Malcolm Beattie
