A BUMPER crowd of spectators rolled into Bishopscourt Race Circuit last weekend for the GO Classic Bike Festival Ireland.
Those in attendance at the Revival Racing Motorcycle Club meeting were treated to parades of famous racing machinery and also got the chance to meet and greet famous riders from past and present days.
The headline guests were reigning British Superbike champion Kyle Ryde – who shattered the 15-year-old lap record in the GP250 class – and fellow BSB contenders Storm Stacey and Danny Kent.
The opening Superbike race saw Wiltshire’s Kent take his Yamaha to victory after a slow start. He hit the front at the halfway stage, demoting early leader Jonny Campbell as Storm Stacey just beat Richard Cooper to snatch third place. Derek Sheils was fifth and Ryan Gibson sixth.
Kent also triumphed in the second Superbike outing, this time leading from start to finish. Campbell was second, Stacey third and Mike Browne fourth while Gibson improved from race one to finish fifth and Jack Whearty took sixth.
Richard Cooper claimed Saturday’s Supersport race after a fantastic battle for the lead involving Ballynahinch rider Korie McGreevey on the McAdoo Kawasaki and Stacey, who Cooper bettered by just over 1.4 seconds at the flag. Mike Browne took fourth place and was followed home by Taylor Moreton and Rab McAuley.
In race two, Cooper and Stacey went head-to-head with the former winning by only 0.186 of a second. Moreton had a race-long duel with Browne for third place which he eventually took, and McAuley and Don Gilbert were fifth and sixth.
Stacey got revenge by winning race three from Cooper, Browne just beat Moreton to snatch third place while McAuley and Gilbert finished fifth and sixth.
BSB champion Kyle Ryde won all three combined GP250/Classic Superbike races on his Yamaha, and in doing so broke the GP250 lap record for the course with a speed of 92.503 mph. Scottish visitor Howard Selby won the opening two Superbike races and Jorge Halliday won the third.
The Combined Lightweight Supersport, Supersport 300 and GP125 classes gave Darryl Tweed three wins in the Lightweight Supersport class. Owen Everard took all three Supersport 300 races and honours were shared in the GP125 class with wins for Hayden Clinton, Lee Hara and Buster Sherman Boyd.
Newtownards rider Andy Kildea reigned supreme in the Classic Pre 73 races, winning all three in the 1000cc class on the Signature Tiles Honda. R J Woolsey and Andrew McCrum were 500cc class winners, Kyle Parkes and Mark Johnstone triumphed in the 350cc class and Gavin Duffy won a 250cc class race with Adam McKee the winner of the other two races.
William Young won two of the Supersport Cup races and the other was won by Brett McCallen. Paul Clarke was unbeatable in the Scooby Cup Sidecar races with a hat-trick of wins.
