The Meara’s on top at the final Ulster Championship round at Tinkerhill

Coming into the final round of the Ulster Championship at Tinkerhill, only eleven championship points split Luke Smith and Jason Meara despite the latter missing a round of the series due to a clash in the MX National calendar. Despite being selected for the Irish MXoN team which takes place next weekend, Jason Meara was still determined to win another Ulster title so lined up at the final round at a very stony, hard pack and sketchy Tinkerhill circuit.

John Meara also made his return to Ulster Motocross deciding to come back after an early retirement but it’s nice to see him back and he got the holeshot in race one. His younger Brother made a pass around the third corner but John was able to stay on his rear wheel for the rest of the moto. Despite a bad start Luke Smith was able to work his way through to a good third position but Meara knew if he won the next two moto’s the championship would be his because even if Smith was to finish 2-2, Meara had more moto wins during the series.

The second moto of the day was Jason’s most dominating ride as he had everything under control at the front – John was there at the beginning but got some arm pump which saw him drop back a little but he still rode well to come home in second. Luke Smith brought home another third place finish which meant he had a one points championship advantage going into the final moto of the year.

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In the final moto, John Meara took the holeshot but it all went wrong for Luke Smith who had a big crash on the first lap which effectively ended his championship pursuit. Jason set his sights on his old brother before making a mistake and having a seven seconds gap. The Phoenix Tools Apico Kawasaki rider got his head down and showed his real pace as three laps later he was on the back of John but it was incredibly difficult to pass. A back marker got in John’s way which saw Jason take the lead and race win.

It was the perfect day for Jason going 1-1-1 and taking another Ulster title – he heads to Italy on Thursday where he’ll represent Team Ireland at the MXoN where he’ll be looking for another good result against some of the worlds best riders. Jay McCrum had a good consistent day to finish third overall ahead of the ever improving Nathan Green.

It was a day of champions being decided so congratulations to all those who clinched their titles and who took part in a good season of racing. Jack Meara clinched the BW 85cc title and heads to Belgium next weekend to represent Ireland at the Coupe de l’Avenir – good luck to that team as well.

On a final note, it’s been a good years racing but it’s slightly disappointing to not see all the top riders race at home. Seeing the likes of Ben Kennedy and David Robson spectating but not racing and Richard Bird decided to stay at home. The spectators need all the top riders to be competing – perhaps changes are needed to get them more involved and interested? But it would be nice to see everyone race at home as it would be good for the sport.

Overall results:

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