Michael Mahon leads MX2
With five rounds of the G&G Ross Irish Motocross championship having passed, the championship moves south to Doon Motoparc near Athlone just along the Offaly border. Round six of the series will now be in the hands of the Fastlane MCC club and after recently offering their long established track a fresh, sandy makeover expect the action to as hot and frantic as the projected weather forecast. So who will be the respected heavy-hitters out for glory this Sunday July 31st?
Unfortunately one thing for certain is that the break-away championship leader of Grade A MX1 will not be in attendance. TSR KTM mounted Wayne Garrett has seen his championship challenge drastically curtailed when he crashed heavily during an Ulster championship round in Seaforde resulting in a badly broken leg. Forced to sit by the sidelines, Wayne can only now watch a sure thing disappear. With Garrett out of the picture, who will step up to take his place? Next in line is the current defending Irish champion in the shape of Tommy Merton on his No Fear/Watt Kawasaki. Merton may have wished for a stronger start to his championship defence but recent wins and a string of consistency sees him now with a healthy 34-point gap over Bodytech’s Richard Bird in third. Knowing now that he’s potentially leading, Doon is his chance to extend that points lead. However with over nine races left to run, Bird’s point deficit is not too great. With a bit of luck it’s a gap he could easily half on Sunday. Nipping at their heels is David Gorman, Robert Hamilton and Michael McCammond. Out front in Grade A MX2 is VMX/No Fear KTM mounted Michael Mahon. He heads the championship chase by 30-points over Jim O’Neil in third and John Meara in third.
Bird now has a shot at his first national title
Grade B MX1 is a hot contested affair between David Dickson and Shaun Turkington with Dickson just in charge. Frazer Young sits behind the duo in third. Ryan Glover is the man that holds control over Grade B MX2. Although still without a race win to his name, Ryan is no stranger to the podium and will be keen to reach the top step on Sunday. Andrew Gill fends off the advances of Mark Carville and David Russell for second.
Lisburn’s Martin Portis is beginning to eek an advantage out over Chris Lappin in Grade C MX1. Portis the man with the most wins in the class, struggled during the horrendous muddy conditions at the previous round in Tandragee and so will hoping reinstate his command of the championship. But at a recent race in Doon, Lappin put in a dominating performance, clearly at home and fond of the rough sandy track, he’ll enter Sunday’s race determined close the points gap. Chris Lynd rounds out the top three. With seven wins to his tally, it’s Hillsborough Andrew McKee that tops the Grade C MX2 standings by a healthy margin. Jordan Wade and Andrew Kidd sit second and third in the points race.
Area 51 Racing's Sean "the weeman" Kelly
With a lot still to play for expect sparks to fly and bars to bang this Sunday…