Carrick Club motorcross meet attracts 180 riders

No fewer than 180 competitors turned out on each day for the first motocross event held by the Carrick Club.

The Brian Hogg Heating and Plumbing Pro Clubman class was incredibly close on day one, with YMSA riders Chris Gibson and Jason Martin topping the leader board on 76 points after three races, while Stephen Mulholland sat just a single point back in third.

The overall for the day went to Chris Gibson, after securing the better finish with a race win in the final race. Day two was a different story, with Michael Fay (KLF Contracts Yamaha) improving greatly from two non-points-scoring rides on day one to climb to the top step for day two with 80 points.

Young Karl Thompson (WrightsAutos.co.uk KTM), from Carrickfergus, took second.

Micky Henry won the Carrickfergus Council-backed Pro Am Clubman Class by 11 points on day one over new boy Scott Leaney. Mark Elliot was unlucky not to break the top two after three consistent performances gave him the bronze medal on day one.

Just three points separated the top four overall on day two in this CBC Pro Am Clubman class. Eighty points sufficed for KTM rider Richard French to clinch the overall.

The old boys of the sport took off up the straight for the LJ’s Catering Veterans’ Class. Roy Kennedy (Bannside Pallets Suzuki) managed to wrap up the first day of racing at the top with 84 points, four better than Ian Carson in second. Despite an excellent run through the pack in race one, John Orr failed to do enough to make the top two and had to settle for third.

Day two saw Clifford Bailey enter the fray with the advantage of not having competed on the Friday. Bailey’s freshness showed as he took the overall with 87 points.

Ian Carson didn’t manage to improve on second and finished five points from the helm. Day one champ Roy Kennedy finished a safe third, with a 14-point cushion over fourth.

The JB Homes Quad class provided spectators with their feed of four-wheeled action. The 2009 Ulster champion, Michael McAneney, was in unstoppable form, taking two race wins and a second on Friday to finish with 87 points from a maximum of 90.

Day two was a closer affair, but yet again McAneney just beat Toye to the finish line to stand tall on the top step, just one point separating first and second. Martin Bole rode an impressive second day to round off the top three places with 77 points.

Phil Harris 21, did enough to tie up the overall in the TAS Performance semi-expert class on day one. Teenager Mark Patterson took second place in the third race of the day to move him up to second overall, just one point ahead of Darren Grills on his BGR KTM in third.

Steven Kelly showed that an Achilles injury that ruled him out of most of the season hasn’t slowed him up too much as he cruised to the overall victory on day two. Patterson couldn’t improve on his Friday results and brought his KTM home for second overall, while Craig Darley squeezed onto the podium for third, despite scoring no points in the final race of the day.

The highly anticipated No Fear-sponsored expert race was dominated by GOMX/Watt rider Richard Bird. If anyone was to be ‘King of the Desert’ it was without a shadow of doubt, Bird, who managed three race wins on Friday and a repeat performance on Saturday.

Steven McCaughey held second at the end of day one despite being level on points with Ian Marshal on the G&G Ross 250 two stroke Suzuki - the third race result proving vital in securing second for McCaughey.

Day two saw the introduction of Tommy Merton and Gary Gibson to attempt to mount a challenge against Bird, but neither could manage to stop his 100 per cent record.

Larne man Merton posted the fastest lap times in races one and two, but could only manage two second places and one third-place finish to seal second overall for his efforts. Ian Marshal picked himself up from a nasty crash (see race recap video on www.carrickfergusmcc.co.uk) during racing to deservedly round of the podium positions in third.