Quality racing in sun and rain at Bishopscourt

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Andy Reid leads the opening Superbike race_

 

BISHOPSCOURT was the place to be for motorcycling fans last weekend for the GO Classic bike festival.

Past Grand Prix and TT winners paraded some very exotic racing machinery and the main star of the show was Italian multi world champion Giacomo Agostini who posed for photographs and signed autographs.

Jon Ekrold, Bruce Anstey, Jamie Witham and Michael Rutter also made appearances

The weather on Friday was beautiful and sunny for the opening six races but it was not to last with most of Sunday’s races held in very wet tricky conditions.

 In the first Around a Pound Open Invitation race Korie McGreevey just got the McAdoo Kawasaki home in front of Mike Browne on the BPE by Russell racing Yamaha but only by 0.136 of a second. ,Jonny Campbell took third place, Andy Reid fourth, Ryan Gibson fifth and Gary McCoy sixth, at the end of one of the most exciting Superbike races seen for ages.

Race two in very wet conditions saw Browne take an early lead but Campbell used the power of the magic bullet Yamaha Superbike to move into the lead which he held to the finish. Gibson was third followed by Aaron Spence, James Doy and William Donnelly.

The AJ Plumbing Supersport race one was led by Browne until the last lap when McGreevey managed to squeeze past to take the win. Campbell finished third,,ex racer Marshall Neil came out of retirement to came home in a fantastic fourth place just beating Jeramy McWilliams and Gary McCoy.

Race two saw only eight riders brave the conditions and Browne was the master in the wet, winning from Neil, Donnelly, Doy, James Dickson and Andrew Loughlin.

Michael Rutter won the opening Bayview Hotel Classic Superbike race after early leader Stephen Magill went out on lap five. Rutter won by over 20 seconds from Manxman Gareth Arnold with Scotland’s Howard Selby in third, Ian Pendergast fourth, Michael Pendergast fifth and Graham Heavin sixth.

McWilliams led race two until the halfway stage when Rutter took over in the tricky conditions going on to clinch victory. Arnold finished third, Selby fourth, Heavin fifth and Sean Gilbride sixth.

Barry Davidson won the first SBT Ireland Pre73 classic race from Alex Conroy, Nigel Moore, Mark Johnston, Cahel Graham and Ian Thompson. Davidson won again in the wet Sunday race from Johnston, Malcolm Benson, Moore, RJ Woolsey and Thompson.

 Bobby Varey took his beautiful 250cc Yamaha to victory in the opening J McC Roofing/Phillip McCallen e Bikes combined 125GP/250GP/Lightweight Supersport race.

Christian Elkin took second place, Gary McCoy pipped Barry Davidson to steal third place on the final lap, while Chris McAloran slipped down the field to finish fifth with Darryl Tweed sixth.

Cahal Graham led race two early on in the wet but Varey slipped past to win in very tricky conditions. Nicky Burns got his lightweight supersport machine past Elkin to take third place, Alan Mairs was fifth and GP125 winner Ruben Sherman-Boyd took sixth place.

Double TT winners the Crowe brothers won the first Scobby Cup Sidecar race from Mark Codd and Darren O’Dwyer. The Crowe’s won race two from Declan Brady and O’Dwyer. Race three had to be restarted after a red flag incident with O’Dwyer winning from Derek Lynch and D Mac Reamoinn.