It’s been a turbulent start to 2023 for all involved in the Enniskillen and District Motorcycle Club and the motorcycle racing scene, with the governing body of the sport making an announcement in early February that all motorcycle racing in Northern Ireland been cancelled due to an unaffordable rise in insurance costs.

Shockwaves were felt as it became apparent that all Road Races, such as the Northwest 200, and national events such as the Cookstown 100 and all short circuit racing events including the round promoted by the Enniskillen based club would be cancelled.

Northern Ireland is steeped in racing history with road races running for more than 100 years throughout the region, creating heroes and legends.

The first local road race was run in Fermanagh in 1929, and as recently as 2019.

Many young stars are born on our short circuits, including six times superbike world champion, the super Jonathan Rea.

Racing fans were in dismay at the news and took to social media to express their disappointment.

Faced with this crisis; the body in charge of racing, the Motorcycle Union of Ireland-Ulster Centre (MCUI-UC), in a last-ditch attempt, created a public crowd funding page in the hope that vital funds could be raised to ease the financial burden.

Community generosity

The generosity of the racing community paid off, as almost a quarter of the insurance bill was raised by donations, and combined with clubs committing to paying higher premiums and other generous sponsors approaching various clubs this enabled the body to approach the insurance company and agree a package for 2023.

The deal was finalised with only 10 days to go to the first round of the Ulster Superbike Championship (USBK) which took place on Saturday at Bishopscourt Racing circuit.

Leaving very little time to prepare, one of the Enniskillen club’s previous championship winners, Derek O’Donnell was back on grid this season in the Superbike Cup class, who despite the damp and cold conditions for qualifying managed to find himself take an impressive first position in both races and opening the championship on top of the leaderboard.

In the Superbike Cup ‘B’ group it was Lisnaskea man Alan Armstrong who took the win, Armstrong a long-time competitor was setting the pace as club newcomer Nicky Burns took a fourth position in the only race of the day as race two was called off due to poor conditions.

In the Supersport Pro class, club member Andrew Smyth who again had to take it easy during damp qualifying was happy with his fourth and fifth place finishes.

In the Supersport Cup class another newcomer to the club and racing was Caomhan Canny who found himself on the top step with first place finishes in both races.

Canny was also competing in the Lightweight Supersport class, which due to the nature of the short notice give for racing had a small turnout of just three competitors. The races though went ahead, and Canny was able to tuck another two wins under his belt.

Future races

Pleased with his result he hopes to aim for high results in future races and is looking forward to competing against fuller grids.

The Pre-injection 600cc Class was another tight tussle as the competitors found their rhythm after a long winter.

Local man Steven Love had an impressive start to the season with a first-place finish in race one, however his luck was to soon run out when, during race two, he developed a problem with his machine which left him stuck in third gear. He managed to limp over the line in eighth place.

Michael Carr who also felt the pressures of the last-minute schedule managed a steady fourth and fifth place finish.

A good result for all Club members who made it on track.

The next short circuit racing will be this Saturday, April 8 at Bishopscourt racing circuit followed by another round on Easter Monday at Kirkistown race circuit.

The Road Racing scene kicks off with the Cookstown 100 which takes place on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22.

With the increase in insurance spectators are asked to show their support and attend your local road races. The clubs rely on spectators purchasing programmes/wristbands packs to ensure the sport will be sustainable in these difficult times.

The Cookstown 100 is a closed event and spectators will need a wristband to access the viewing areas.

These are available to purchase locally at Enniskillen Motorcycles up until April 17, 2023.