Lyons gets off to a flying start

‘Flyin Lyons’ off to an impressive start

Saturday saw the flag lifted for the first round of the Ulster Superbike Championship (USBK) which was held at Bishopscourt Race Circuit, the Temple Motorcycle club hosted the one-day event. After what felt like a long winter Enniskillen and District Motorcycle Club members were keen to get back into action, and conditions were good.

Following on from a successful season in the British Talent cup last year, race winner and top-ranking privateer, Jamie Lyons, the youngest competing club member at just 17 has moved up into the USBK Supersport 600 class.

In the USBK, based on his previous record the teenager was placed into the ‘Pro’ Riders class competing against a grid of seasoned riders including past USBK and British Superbike/ Superstock champion Alistair Seeley.

On Saturday morning the family run team had some set up adjustments to make on the machine, this meant qualifying didn’t go quite to plan leaving the young rider feeling frustrated with his starting position at 14th on the grid, however, not to be held back in both races Lyons was quick to find his pace and worked his way effortlessly through the field of riders ahead of him to slot into and maintaining 3rd position, looking comfortable amongst his more experienced peers. Lyons who was riding a stock machine (against fully tuned machines) put on an impressive display crossing the finish line hot on the heels of 2nd place finisher Christian Elkin. Lyons had the second fastest lap in both races, mere tenths of seconds slower than double race winner, Alistair Seeley. Finishing the first round in third place on the championship standings is an encouraging start to the season for the sixth-year student who’s in his 5th year of Tarmac racing and will compete in the BSB Junior Superstock class which starts 15th April at Silverstone Race Circuit.

Supersport Cup

Another Enniskillen club member Keith Richardson who is now into his 4th race season was competing in the ‘Supersport 600 Cup Class’; his qualifying times seen him upgraded to the ‘A’ Race which run alongside the Pro-Riders. Richardson was also on the pace taking a 4th place and 3rd place finish in his two races with the combined result earning him a place on the podium with a trophy for third place. This was Richardson’s best result in the USBK to date and a solid start to his season.

Superbike Cup

2021 Pre-Injection championship winner Derek O’Donnell has made a move over to the Superbike class for his 4th race season. Qualifying went well while he found his feet with his new machine. Despite starting well race one, O’Donnell’s race abruptly cut short in the second lap when his handlebar snapped resulting in sudden retirement. In the same race Lisnaskea man and long-term competitor Alan Armstrong finished in 5th position. Due to various hold ups throughout the day, the second superbike race was cut to just 5 laps with O’Donnell back on track and finishing in a respectable 6th with Armstrong crossing the line just behind him in 7th place.

Other Classes

In the Pre-Injection race, it was Nigel Corrigan who was the only local competitor in this class, who finished with a 9th and 10th place position. In the Production Twin class there was a mixed bag of results with Newtownbutlers Duane Lewis failing to make it to the start line in either race after his bike developed an electrical fault during practice. His fellow teammate Malcolm Benson who was back for another season whose goal was to simply enjoy his track time and not add any pressure to himself set a steady pace finishing his two races in 4th and 5th position. Another Local man competing in this class was Craig Scollan – qualifying in 7th position and after needing to make some last-minute adjustments to his machine was happy to take home two 8th place finishes.

Next fixture

The next fixture on the Tarmac Racing calendar for Enniskillen and District members will be USBK Rounds 2&3 which falls over the Easter weekend (16TH April at Bishopscourt BT30 7EY and 18th April at Kirkistown BT22 1AU). If you have ever thought about starting racing or would like to volunteer at race events, please contact the club at www.enniskillenroadraces.co.uk