Nathan Green can finally call himself an Irish Champion after an impressive final round at Mountain Quarter. The Yamaha rider entered the weekend with plenty of pressure on his shoulders, especially after narrowly missing out to Niall Cregan in last year’s championship, but he kept his composure when it mattered most to secure his first national title.
What makes the achievement even more impressive is that Green was far from 100% heading into the final round, having injured his finger at Tandragee a few weeks earlier. Despite the injury, he strapped it up, battled through the pain and delivered when he needed to, capping off a season in which he has also competed regularly in the British Championship.
The final Irish round also saw a number of leading British riders make the trip across to Ireland, providing Green with some additional competition on home soil and creating the kind of atmosphere he believes the Irish Championship needs more of. With his first Irish title now secured, Green has his sights set on stepping things up further in 2027, with a full British Championship campaign and potentially even a Grand Prix appearance at Foxhill among his ambitions.
We caught up with Green after his title-winning day to discuss the achievement, overcoming injury, what he learned from last year’s disappointment, racing the British riders on home soil and his plans for the future.
GateDrop: Nathan Green, Irish Champion, how does that sound?
Green: Unreal, Andy. That’s my first one. Absolutely nerve-wracking week coming into it. I knew it was going to be good anyway with Mark, Joe and the boys putting all this work in. It’s cool to see these British boys over here too. It feels unreal. It feels sort of surreal to be honest, but unreal at the same time.
GateDrop: I seen you a couple of weeks ago at Bells Hill and you probably would have raced that day but you had a bit of an injury. So coming into this, I wasn’t sure even how close you’d be to 100%. But you seemed to be alright out there anyway. You weren’t in any pain or anything like that, were you?
Green: Actually, I’ve snapped a finger to be totally honest. It happened at Tandragee two weeks ago, the previous round of the Irish and it’s been giving me a bit of grief now to be honest. But I’ve just had pain killers, strapped it up and making the most of it.
GateDrop: Well, you dug in deep because it looked like you were riding as good as ever. So you must be pretty proud of yourself that you were able to put that to one side and just focus on your job today, which was to win the championship.
Green: Yes, I am to be honest. I just sort of bit the tongue and got on with it. But yes, it wasn’t easy. I’m over the moon.
GateDrop: Obviously last year you and Niall were in a similar situation. He got the better of you last year. Do you think you learnt anything from last year that you were able to bring this year? Or maybe it was just more determination, more motivation? What would you say?
Green: Well, in fairness, I did work very hard over the winter with Jay McCrum. I was in the gym five times a week and was on the bike a lot. To be honest, I’m happy on that 2026 Yamaha. It just suits me. But yes, I know I did train hard to be fair and it did pay off.
GateDrop: At an Irish championship these days, there’s only a few top riders, yourself and Niall. What was it like with all these British riders coming over? Did that add any pressure? Or maybe that was better for you because it took the limelight off? Just how did you find it with all of them coming over?
Green: I wasn’t even that worried about them coming over because I’ve been racing them all year at the British. But it was more if something happened, you know, bikes break and these things can happen. But no, it was cool to have them over racing on my home soil. Hopefully we’ll get more of that because I think we need it. I think we need a bit more of that here. Like my dad said, today was like racing back in the day. Fair play to Mark and the boys. They put on a brilliant event and hopefully more of that in the future.
GateDrop: I mean, you were battling with some of the British boys there. Were you able to learn things? I mean, you race them in the British anyway. But to race them over here, were you maybe able to see other things that you wouldn’t usually see? Because a lot of the time it’s kind of only two or three top riders here…
Green: It’s just very different. I think sometimes I do struggle a bit going over there. It’s a mental thing too. Over here you sort of have that confidence, like this is the track I know. I think this sport is very mental and I think it’s just getting your head around it. But no, it was definitely cool to follow some boys there. You are always learning in this sport. We’ll just keep at it and hopefully we’re fit for Blaxhall.
GateDrop: So you’re an Irish champion, you can tick that off the list now. What’s your ambition now? Would you like to do a full British championship? Or are you happy just racing at home and trying to chase these Irish titles? Or a bit of both, I suppose?
Green: I’ve tried to do as many British rounds as I could this year. I’ve missed two, I think. But I think I’ll try and do the whole series next year. Another possibility is to maybe race the Grand Prix at Foxhill as well if it’s on just so I can say I’ve done it. I’m still going to race the Irish and Ulster rounds but I want to try and push on.
GateDrop: I mean, when you go over to England, how do you find it all? I mean, everything’s bigger. There’s bigger trucks, bigger awnings, bigger tracks, bigger competition. How do you find it? I think this was your first year properly doing it?
Green: It’s my second or third year. But no, it’s a brilliant weekend… Even just for my Mum and Sister and all, they love it. It’s just a good weekend so it is. The tracks are unbelievable, it’s just mega. Now, it does cost a few quid, but that’s just all part of it. So, no, we’ll keep at it and see how we go.
GateDrop: And you’ve got a bit of a set-up there. You’ve got Plews Tyres and stuff behind you so it must be happy to bring them a title home, they’ve believed in you for a few years now…
Green: They do. From the first day, Stevie (Mills) has been behind me so he has. A massive thanks to him as well as my Mum and Dad and Chris that I work with. They’re a massive help and I couldn’t thank them enough.
