THE Cookstown 100 last weekend was the only Irish motorcycle road racing event to survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

2020 has seen a notable shortage of any live sporting events due to the unprecedented lockdown and restrictions, with motorcycle racing no exception.

With Enniskillen Road Race already cancelled, and the cancellation of the annual Enniskillen 100 revival at St Angelo, local riders where glad to finally attend the first and last road race of the year.

With many hurdles to overcome the event organisers had to introduce restrictions to the number of competitors, number of spectators, and officials were at a minimum.

The event was ticketed, with every spectator being recorded for track and trace purposes, and only strictly-controlled designated viewing areas around the 2.1-mile course.

The two-day event was solely practicing and qualifying on Friday, and race day on Saturday.

Local rider, and Enniskillen motorcycle club member Paul Gartland, was set to race in both the Open Superbike Race and the Supertwin race.

However, the latter was in put in last-minute jeopardy due to personal time restrictions.

His ‘Lastminute.com’-sponsored super twin machine was not ready – with a lack of time and lack of parts, Gartland found himself in a position where he had to make brackets from an old gas cooker, which he assembled on Friday morning along with a makeshift race fairing.

With only minutes to spare, his bike was passed as race-ready.

Gartland faced more problems during Friday’s qualifying when he suffered from mechanical issues, qualifying in 13th position.

In the Superbike race, he qualified in eighth position aboard his NW Gas ZX10 1000cc Kawasaki.

On Saturday’s race day, Gartland sat comfortably in sixth position in the Supertwin race, until he dropped into seventh as he crossed the line.

Tightly-contested

The first open race of the day saw a tightly-contested battle between a number of well-known riders, and after two race stoppages Gartland came home with a 12th position.

Enniskillen and District Motorcycle Club has seen several riders progress from short circuit racing to road racing.

One newcomer to road racing in 2020 is Liam Trainor, from Enniskillen, who has completed two years of short circuit racing with the Cookstown venue to be his first road race.

After completing his newcomer sessions, he then found his feet by qualifying in an impressive third position.

Race day on Saturday saw a heated battle between the top four riders, leaving Trainor taking a respectable fifth-place finish in his first road race.

Another Enniskillen club member, Adrian Heraty, who has just completed his first full year of road racing in 2019, was back for the only race of 2020 aboard his Yamaha R6.

He was competing in the Senior Support class, and also with his 400cc machine in the Junior Support Class.

Qualifying on Friday did not go as planned for the Junior Support class, as he was caught out by a rider who braked in front of him, resulting in him crashing out of that qualifying session and ending his chances in that race.

Heraty was one of 28 riders who took to the grid for the Senior Support class, which saw him qualify for the A group, and taking a 20th position finish in Saturday’s race.

The main feature race of the day was cancelled due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Several local riders chose to sit out this year’s event and focus on next year.

It is possible that these or similar restrictions may remain in place in 2021, so organisers are hoping to use this event as an opportunity to prove that motorcycle race meetings can be held within the guidelines set out by the NI Executive, Sport NI, local councils, the PSNI and the NHS.

If you want to find out more about how to get started in racing, the first step is to join your local affiliated club, which will be happy to offer guidance and support.

For further information, you can contact Enniskillen and District Motorcycle club online or by calling 028 6632 5990.