Mar-Train Racing August 2008 Newsletter
BALLYKELLY ISB tEAM OF THE MEETING
The rain kept coming and going on Saturday morning and eventually cleared for most of the races - and what a day of racing it turned out to be!
front cover photography by Derek Clegg www.irishbikeracing.com
Issue 2
Race report from the Irish Superbike Round at Ballykelly by Alistair Kirk We set up camp at a very blustery Ballykelly on Thursday evening only to be greeted with torrential rain on Friday. And when it rains here - IT RAINS!
The track day on Friday was nearly impossible. The combination of weather and track surface made it heavy going at times. Both guys got a couple of runs out but had mixed feelings about the track. The rain kept coming and going on Saturday morning and eventually cleared for most of the races - and what a day of racing it turned out to be!
Denver #20 Qualifying was very tight and Denver qualified 4th. His first super bike race seen him off to a fairly good start with Johnston leading the majority of the race. Denver by this stage had fell back to 5th and after regrouping, he fought his way back up the field and with some tremendous riding he took first place on the last lap. Denver’s second race got off to a better start but it was Kirk Jamison who had a clear lead. Denver covered a lot of ground on the next few laps and he and Anderton, who had also passed Jamison at this stage, had a fantastic battle on the last lap. I’m sure the whole paddock heard us scream from the roof of the race truck as he pulled off a breathtaking maneuver on Anderton on the last bend to take another win.
Alistair #9 Ali seemed to Gel with Ballykelly right from Friday free practice, at first he wasn’t sure what to think of it, as it was so bumpy and rough, but as the weekend progressed he felt more at ease with the circuit.
Qualifying on Saturday morning went well, with him setting his first pole of the season. It was a tight session with the front row all on a similar pace; Sweeney was right on my tail throughout the session and ended the session in 2nd place, with Jamison and Robinson completing the front row... Alistair was feeling confident for the races and his Suzuki was going really well. They softened the suspension slightly to compensate for the bumps and roughness of the circuit and it seemed to be working.
Ali seemed to Gel with Ballykelly right from Friday free practice
In Race 1 he flogged the start badly, leaving himself a lot of work to do in the first few laps, as practically the front two rows left him. By the third lap he had worked his way up to second behind Sweeney, who has really took all the regulars by storm this past few meetings with his pace on the short circuits. They both pulled away from the rest of the field, creating a six second gap back to the third place man, throughout the whole race it was hard to point out exactly where he had an advantage on Sweeney, but as the race went on, he found that he was consistently later than him on the brakes into turn one, so just going onto the last lap Alistair managed to outbreak him into turn one and held the lead to the flag with Sweeney so tight to his tail that he actually touched the rear wheel at the final corner. It was a brilliant clean race and ended in a long-awaited first Win at national level. Alistair also took a win in the super sport cup, extending his lead in the cup championship. Race Two was just as exciting; although this time he managed a better start, completing the first lap in 2nd behind Enniskillen’s Gary Robinson. Robinson lead for the first three laps, before he managed to outbreak him into turn one. Alistair lead for the majority of the race,
DENVER SUITED AND BOOTED
visit martrainracing.com for up to date information and results before Sweeney squeezed by him on lap eight on the entrance to the chicane. He was determined to keep the lead, so he managed to re-pass him into the next right hander. It was a mentally draining race as he could hear the screaming Yamahas of Jeffers and Sweeney on his back wheel the whole race. It was a hard job trying to keep them at bay, but thankfully Alistair kept the lead to the flag, gaining another win in both the national super sport championship and the Super sport cup.
denver fought his way back up the field and took 1st
Alistair and Denver both rode like champions and took maximum points to place them both in second place in each of their classes. Mar-Train Racing was also awarded the ‘Team of the Meeting’ award i recognition of their 4 wins Well done everyone!!
a long-awaited first Win at national level for Alistair
NOT A BAD DAYS WORK FOR THE MAR-TRAIN BOY’S
editorial | Alistair Kirk
graphics | Stephen Henderson
photography | Mar-Train Racing | Derek Clegg www.irishbikeracing.com