Emmet O’Grady one of five riders chasing Dunlop Masters title

The Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship makes its second visit of 2021 to the Mondello Park National Track this weekend, with the Kildare venue set to host rounds ten, eleven and twelve of the hotly contested championship.

The September 25 and 26 event will be the penultimate event of the year with the finale set for just two weeks later on October 9 and 10.

As the series prepares for two events in quick succession, to round out its shorter than normal season, there are five riders still in contention for the Superbike crown.

Wicklow based Derek Sheils leads Kilkenny native Richie Ryan as he attempts to break Ryan’s run of championship victories which stretches back to 2017.

Sheils and Ryan have captured most of the wins this season but when not winning both have dropped points, allowing Dubliner’s Michael Sweeney and Thomas O’Grady along with Tralee’s Emmet O’Grady to stay in touch.

The previous event in August produced the closest Superbike races see for many years as the unrelated Thomas and Emmet O’Grady got themselves into the mix at the front of the field.

Thomas was particularly impressive as he moved his HVAC Solutions Yamaha into victory contention for the first time since returning to the Masters series.

The Dubliner finished second to Ryan’s Mobil 1 Yamaha in race one and did the same behind the Road House Macau BMW of Sheils in race two.

Emmet continues to develop his TAG Racing Honda and picked up his best results of the season, including just missing out on the podium twice and taking his first front row start.