Day two action from Cookstown, is coming your way, now.
Day two begins with Super Twin, and the racing will conlude with Superbikes. Ryan Farquhar knows this track better than anybody. He's won 26 races at Cookstown. He retired from racing at the end of last year, but is now a team manager. Farquhar doesn't regret retiring and becoming a team manager, after his long racing career. The first race of the day is the A feature for the Hayes Fuels Super Twin bikes.
At the start, it's the #10 Kawasaki of Nigel Moore moving up. There will be a new winner in Super Twin at Cookstown in 2013. Michael Sweeney and Jamie Hamilton are second and third at the moment. Hamilton is on the outside, looking to go around the long way. Hamilton and Sweeney are side by side, as #44 Jamie Hamilton looks for a way by. Have to check and see who is leading this contest. The bikes stream through Gorton, coming to McAdoo. Craig Shirlaw is second. Watch for that bump at the top of the hill.
Sweeney makes the pass on Shirlaw. Shirlaw will have no easy task staying ahead of Jamie Hamilton. Now, it's the hilly section running up to Black's Farm. Hamilton has indeed passed Shirlaw. Craig Shirlaw is being challenged by fourth place rider, William Davison. Nigel Moore is further down the order, in seventh spot. Sweeney swerves his bike, but stays on. On corrected time, Andy Farrell and Ian Morrell run third and fourth on corrected time, coming from the second wave.
Hamilton closes in on Sweeney. Can Sweeney pull away coming to Black's Farm and that epic hill again? Paul Gartland on bike #28 is off the track. He's got a mechanical problem with the motorcycle, and so, it's game over. William Davison is third, and Hamilton and Davison are REALLY close. Hamilton makes the pass on Sweeney into the braking zone. Hamilton has taken over the race lead. Davison, Farrell, and Morrell complete the top five. Craig Shirlaw has fallen to sixth spot.
Jamie Hamilton is definitely opening up a gap now. Nigel Moore is now ninth after Paul Gartland's exit from the race. Hamilton is gapping the field with one lap left in this Super Twin race. Nigel Moore is also on his last lap. Hamilton gets trapped behind a slower rider, but makes his way past bike #47. Sweeney and Davison still follow in lock step, in second and third. Hamilton wins Super Twins at Cookstown!
#44 Jamie Hamilton Kawasaki
Results:
1. #44 Jamie Hamilton Kawasaki
2. #65 Michael Sweeney Kawasaki
3. #150 William Davison Kawasaki
4. #96 Andy Farrell Kawasaki
5. #57 Ian Morrell Suzuki
Next, it's the Hayes Fuels 400cc Supersport class.
At the start, #17 Alistair Bayley shoots into the lead from pole. He is challenged by Andy Farrell on bike #196. The second wave takes off as the bikes fly towards Gorton corner. Two riders to watch from the second wave are #22 Ricky McGovern and #42 Ryan Locklin. Gavin Lupton on bike #9 is third. Colin Martin on bike #45 leads the second wave into Gorton corner. Alistair Haworth and Alistair Bailey run 1-2 with Gavin Lupton third. Andy Farrell and Derek Wilkie follow. Martin and McGovern continue their battle.
Here's that tricky Blacks Farm section again. Alistair Haworth almost runs wide. Gavin Lupton is up to third. Farrell passes Lupton. Colin Martin is now fourth. Alistair Howard increases his lead to four seconds at least. Farrell holds down second spot. Farrell is distancing himself from Bailey. Ricky McGovern is now being chased by Ben Cole. Andy Farrell is about to put bike #142 of Stuart Rayner, a lap down.
Derek Wilkie and Colin Martin battle. Colin Martin holds the spot as #27 continues to lead. Bike #33 of David Howard is moving up. Andy Farrell is second, with Alistair Bailey, third. Another notable rider is Yvonne Montgomery, and she's running well on bike #57. For the rest of the race, Alistair Haworth has things all his own way, and he wins the 400cc class.
#27 Alastair Haworth Yamaha
The top five is:
1. #27 Alastair Haworth Yamaha
2. #196 Andy Farrell Kawasaki
3. #17 Alastair Bayley Honda
4. #45 Colin Martin Kawasaki
5. #9 Gavin Lupton Honda
All the preliminaries are over. Now, it's time for the main event. The A Main of the big show, the Cookstown 100.
Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop have both won already. We're ready for a start. Davey Morgan creeps forward. But, no worries. We're underway! Michael Dunlop is immediately on top of Guy Martin with Michael Pearson also moving up, fast. Davey Morgan and Derek Sheils are also in this fight, right through the top five at the very start of the race. Pearson has had a monster start this time. Here comes the second wave. Dean Harrison and Michael Sweeney are two contenders in this group. Sweeney can't keep the front wheel of his motorcycle planted.
Martin and Pearson are fighting hammer and tongs into McAdoo. Sheils chases Morgan for fourth place. Through Mackney, it's still close at the front. Uh oh. Rider down. Michael Dekuvel. Lap one of ten complete. Dunlop tries mightily to get around Pearson. Where's the second wave? Yellow flags are out. No overtaking, after Michael Dekupel ditched his bike. Sheils closes on Dunlop. Martin, Pearson, and Dunlop are the top three. Derek Sheils passes Davey Morgan. Jamie Hamilton is closing on Morgan. Once the second wave catches up, we'll know what the true race pace is.
The top four or five are glued together in a chain between Gorton and McAdoo. There are local yellow flags. No passing allowed. The uphill is a lot steeper than TV cameras make it look. Dean Harrison runs fourth at the moment. Michael Dunlop is laying back, waiting to make his move. Michael Pearson now leads as somehow, some way, Guy Martin leaves the door open. This scrum is between three Super Stock bikes, and one Superbike. Martin holds down second behind Pearson. Michael Pearson makes the jump, but lands with the front wheel of his BMW.
Three laps down. Seven remain. Dunlop pulls out of the slipstream, trying to pass Martin. He can't quite make it. Pearson backs his bike into the corner like a speedway Grand Prix racer. He's really motoring, and holding off Guy Martin's challenge at every turn. Martin tries Pearson into McAdoo again, and Pearson pushes back. Martin goes back into the lead. Dunlop leads out of Craig Mount, into the Orator Crossroads. Jamie Hamilton has fastest lap of the race as Dunlop moves past Pearson for second place. Michael Pearson now has to fend off a challenge from Derek Sheils. Bryan McCormack passes Dean Harrison, too.
Dunlop sets a new lap record! Sheils closes up on Pearson, wanting to take away the third spot. It's still these two battling at the front. It's Suzuki vs. Honda. Dunlop is going for the lead! Martin outbrakes Dunlop. No, wait. Dunlop squeezes back by, just by mere inches! The new lap record set by Dunlop is 1:22.64. We are coming to the last lap of the Cookstown 100. Ryan Farquhar (now retired), has won this race five consecutive times. Now, it appears as though Michael Dunlop will pick up the dominance mantle. The next race is the North West 200, and a fleet of top riders from the British Superbike Championship are expected to contest that one.
Dunlop will have a different bike at the Northwest 200. But, he does it at Cookstown!
#3 Michael Dunlop Honda
The results
1. #3 Michael Dunlop Honda
2. #7 Guy Martin Suzuki
3. #82 Derek Sheils Honda
4. #36 Michael Pearson BMW
5. #44 Jamie Hamilton Kawasaki
One more race to go. It's the Super Twin B race. There was a big crash at the initial start. Michael Dunlop has pole for the race. Go! Derek Costello is second, behind Dunlop, going into Gorton for the first time. Maria Costello is also in this fight early on bike #84. Anthony Ambler is also in this battle riding bike #59. Bike #53 is ridden by Veronica Hengocchi from the Czech Republic. The bikes race uphill out of McAdoo. Dunlop races his way through Mackney. He's opened up a huge gap already. Dunlop is checking out on everyone else and the second wave hasn't even taken off yet.
Well, actually they have. Darren Gilpin is now second on bike #38. Brian Allan and Anthony Ambler follow. One lap left. Michael Dunlop is going to dominate the B race for the Super Twins. Can Darren Gilpin get on the podium? Brian Allen rides bike #27. Derek and Maria Costello also are catching up. Michael Dunlop comes up to Black's Farm, over the hilly section of the track, still leading. Out of Craig Mount and into Orator, he looks to have this race signed, sealed, and delivered, folks. Dunlop wins his third race of the day.
#44 Michael Dunlop Kawasaki
There is a battle for position coming to the line. Darren Gilpin and Brian Allen. Derek Costello gets second. Maria Costello is third. So, the results are:
1. #44 Michael Dunlop Kawasaki
2. #65 Derek Costello Kawasaki
3. #84 Maria Costello Kawasaki
4. #27 Bryan Allan Kawasaki
5. #38 Darren Gilpin Kawasaki
The final race of the day will be the B feature for the Superbikes. Craig Sherlaw and Callum Laidlaw get away 1-2. Dave Newsen is also running well on bike #119. The riders stream into Gorton for the first time. Alan Kenny on bike #114 runs wide under braking. Here comes the second wave. #28 Paul Gartland and #104 Denny Matthison lead. The riders climb out of McAdoo and go towards Mackney. Then it's the wild ride towards Black's Farm. Mark Goodings and Nuno Katano settle into their positions.
Shirlaw leads Laidlaw. Wow. Much better luck for Allan Kenny as he passes Scott Campbell, cleanly. Paul Gartland continues to lead over Denny Mathison. The sun is beginning to set. This is going to be a battle between Shirlaw, Laidlaw, and possibly, Gartland, as well. Alan Kenny cannot pass Dave Hewson at the moment. Shirlaw and Laidlaw continue battling it out for second and third place. Anthony McColgan on bike #8 and James Niessen on bike #191 run together. Race leader Paul Gartland is actually working his way through lapped traffic.
Alan Kenny continues to amaze on the brakes. Allan Kenny is going for it. Allan Kenny passes in Mackney. But, he only unlaps himself. Kenny, Shirlaw, Laidlaw, and Hewson, are the top four, but not on corrected time. It's Paul Gartland who wins on corrected time, even though Allan Kenny crossed the line first.
#28 Paul Gartland Honda
So, the results are:
1. #28 Paul Gartland Honda
2. #114 Alan Kenny Honda
3. #24 Craig Shirlaw Kawasaki
4. #11 Callum Laidlaw Honda
5. #119 Dave Hewson Aprilia
That's all from Cookstown. The North West 200 is the next race. Will have highlights coming up soon. Stay tuned, fans.
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