Round 2 GH Racing Desertmartin
Race Set 1
Autos: A great opening race to the day with the automatics coming out for fun. An exciting race with Benjamin Neville leading the whole race with Lewis Andrews aggressively chasing him down. When the chequered flag was awarded the large lead had diminished to mere seconds.
65s: The 65s were eager to impress with some top racing. Cole McCullugh pushed ahead early, followed by a challenging opponent in Ben McConville however a mistake by Ben allowed Cole an easy win. Adrian McCreech caught up to make an interesting battle to the line for second place.
SWs and BWs: A tough 85cc group pushed into another great race. A fairly uneventful race but nonetheless entertaining with top ten British youth rider Reece Ross showcasing his great speed and agility and home rider Harrison Andrews pushing Reece for the first half of the race.
Seniors: Finishing off the youth racing with the Seniors with Ben Kennedy having a home ride and local regular rider Bobby Irwin keeping him honest the first handful of laps. Irwin did well to pace himself signing on for the grade A class as well, although a dark horse pulled up in second to upset the the Irwin pit.
Grade A1+2: The last of our three British motocross riders James Mackrel and a special showing of a BSB rider Allister Seeley. James won the race without breaking a sweat – a true sight to behold. All eyes were on the battle for second place as Allister pushed into second place early and held his ground against some strong riders. MCCNI regular Rhys Graham finished in third place.
Grade B: A lot of top racing coming into the Bs. A great set of riders made for some very entertaining racing. A relatively new face to the MCCNI, John Robb, taking the lead charge in the Bs days racing. Sam Beattie a racing vetern controlled the second spot most of the race but an exciting run from Robert Hunt showed experience can be bested by speed.
Grade C: The Cs are truly enjoyable to watch and facilitates a short break from the highly intense speed of all the other classes. The Cs were led by a true motocross man Alfy Johnson. However, a lot of the good battle came throughout the positions with easily the most packed class of the day.
Race Set 2
Autos: There was a lot of the same in this race from the first. The big difference was the start, Lewis Andrews got it right and was ready to fight the whole way to the finish flag. Benjamin Neville prevailed despite the hard pressure of Lewis. There were plenty of eyes on the battle for third as MCCNI’s chairman Jeff Rainey’s very own Checoby Rainey had a good run in fifth with just three seconds separating third to fifth. The three riders put on a show as the race went back and forward between the three. Fun fact – Jeff and Checoby loaned two spare bikes so there were three pink 41s out racing.
65s: The 65s kept a calm and open race. The race was largely uneventful. Congratulations to Cole McCullugh on the race win.
SW + BWs: In this race Reece Ross had pressure coming from Harrison Andrews once again. However, a big mistake and a fall off saw Harrison change his priority of the race to ensure second place. Following this, Reece was smooth sailing until the finish flag.
Seniors: Again the talent was on full show as a recovering Ben Kennedy slowly but surely opened a convincing gap over second place Ross Kearns who has proven himself to be a top rider on his return to the MCCNI as he skillfully navigated the tricky Desertmartain track. A great show from the top three riders Ben, Ross and Bobby.
Grade A1+A2: Some of the best racing all day, the top A2 riders put in a great performance – the spectators were mesmerised. William McBride and Macauley Andrews were wheel to wheel until a collision coming out of the canyon left both riders on the ground, one worse than the other as Macauley was taken to hospital. He is wished a very speedy recovery. A dominate performance again from James Mackrel. Jay McCrum got a better start and controlled the main group of riders.
Grade B: The Bs did not disappoint – a great performance from all riders. Niall Laverty did well to push Sam Beattie out of the second place spot. Sam has performed well in the grade B group since moving from the A2 class. John Robb did well to take another race win.
Grade C: The grade C once again had a tight group of racing. Alfy Johnson controlled the race until just before the last lap flag, but the experience of the leader wasn’t enough as he took the final corner wrong and ended up in the ditch. The race win went to Steven Macauley.
Race Set 3
Autos: An exciting way for the automatics to round up the day, Nathan Austin got a fantastic start and pushed for a win for a most of the race after great riding all day and finally reaping the rewards. Unfortunately for Nathan, Benjamin and Lewis came through and he narrowly missed out on a memorable win.
65s: This was great race for the two McCullough brothers. They dominated the race, taking first and second place.
SW + BWs: The Sws and Bws last race fell into suit with the other two races and were very similar to the rest of the day. Thanks to GH racing and Sam Beattie for their support throughout the championship, offering prize vouchers for the top four in both classes.
Senior: Ben Kennedy dominated the final race once again and Bobby got a good run at second, holding out until the end. Ross did well holding down a positive place on the podium. A great days racing for the podium riders.
Grade A1+A2: James Mackrel was untouchable, taking the win. Stephen Kelly finished in a respectful 3rd showing just how strong he can be.
Grade C: An enjoyable finish to the Cs days racing. Gareth Mulligan
took control and led half the race. A big shoutout to Ronan McAleer who got a wonderful start and pushed, fought and held off the leading pack for around three laps, finishing strong in fifth.
Grade B: A great race to finish the day with with vouchers for the top four. Congratulations to all riders awarded them. Neil finally got his race win after a long days racing. John Robb made sure he did enough to keep Neil honest and pushed him right the way through to the finish.
Conclusion
Thanks to everyone who turned up and shown support today. It was a great days racing with beautiful weather. A few bad crashes with one major injury – our very best regards and wishes to Macauley. Thanks also to Sam and GH Racing for their continued support of the club and for running such a great championship. Finally, thanks to Billy, Marline and the rest of the squad who help run the event at Desertmartin, it would not be possible without you.
Article by: Dylon Potts
Images by: Ian Cairns
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