Round 5 of the Southern Masters Championship took place at Dundalk Motopark on the Armagh Road outside Dundalk.
The championship followed the usual format, with the youth classes racing on Saturday and the adults competing on Sunday.
Saturday was dry and overcast, even though the forecast wasn’t promising. The groomed track was mostly dry with some lower-lying sections a little damp, creating a precarious balance between a mud bath and a dust bowl.
The Automatics were dominated by Robijs Depers taking three wins. Robbi was on form after competing at Desertmartin at the MCCNI event the previous day, and he was followed home by Kole Nally and Ben Atkinson on the short circuit loop.
In the 65cc class there was quite a bit of anticipation for the battle between Jack Meara and Jake Farrelly. These very competitive young lads were only separated by 0.3 in the timed practice. Unfortunately, the expected action was short-lived, as Jake took a nasty fall on the first lap of moto 1. Luckily, neither man nor machine was badly damaged, as Jake was able to race again in moto 2 and 3. Jack continued in the Meara family tradition of being first to see the chequered flag, taking three wins, with Gabriel Golturenko and Amas Krizka following.
The small and big wheel 85’s were combined with Cian Somers taking the honours on the day in the BW class and Eric Lynch and Tom Garry in second and third. Eric had also raced the previous day in Desertmartin – these youngsters have endless energy it would seem! The finishing order in the SW 85’s was Aaron Potterton, Cian Bissett and Alex Hall.
The youth 125 and 250cc machines were also grouped together proving that a smaller engine wasn’t necessarily a disadvantage to some of the riders who were able to mix it with their 250cc rivals. Aaron Gray headed the points table at the end of the day from Cian Buckley and Janos Podony in the smaller-engined class. Luke Rubotham, Sean Whelan and Gerard Dullaghan made up the first, second and third in the 250cc class.
Overnight rain saved The Dundalk and District Motorcycle Club from watering the track on Sunday morning, leaving the track in perfect condition for those who prefer not to be ankle deep in mud. Even though the sun only made a few brief appearances during the day, the high humidity meant perspiration, not precipitation, was to be expected, even without wrestling a motocross bike.
Not afraid of a challenge, Ricky Watt elected to race in two classes, with the prospect of racing in six motos on the day. He was rewarded by taking the win in the Over 35’s in Grade A, with Jock Ryan taking Grade B and local man Shane McGuinness Grade C. Jason ‘Jayo’ Tiernan came out on top in the Veteran class, showing some style over the jumps on his Husqvarna.
Stephen Coakley continued where he left off at the last round at Derryarkin, where he dominated the Grade C MX1 class with another three wins. Sandis Kaktins was second, with third place going to Juris Varanauskis, also repeating his Derryarkin result.
In Grade C MX2 Richard Cummins was delighted to take his first ever overall win with Enda Black in second place and Daragh Smith third.
James Doyle, David Russell and Dubliner Steve Tracey made up the 1, 2 and 3 in Grade A MX2. Conor Mullan, on his KTM, took maximum points in the Grade B’s. Luke Rubothan failed to match the result he achieved on Saturday, but managed to take second place, with Conor Shaw in third.
A win and two second place finishes saw Mark Cronin take the Grade B MX1 class, followed by Daniel Jarzebinski, who had a slim two-point advantage over Michael McCloskey.
Consistency brings success, so the saying goes; capitalising on the misfortunes of others also helps when you’re aiming to win a championship. Allmoto rider, Stephen Mullally, was in a good position to sew up the championship on his Yamaha in the premier MX1 class, if he continued his consistent run of form following the bad luck experienced by John Meara at the previous round. Being quickest in qualifying was a good start to the day, which he followed up with three race wins, collecting the maximum points available along with the championship tile. Patrick Potterton took second and Sean Kelly, on home territory, third.
Thanks to the flag marshals, club officials and medical staff for their work in hosting the two day championship, without their support we just wouldn’t be able to go racing.
Race report and pics by Fran Hollywood
Fran Hollywood T. (353) 042 938 0268 W. autosportpics.com Twitter. Facebook. Instagram.
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