Two Kerry racers made a surprise end-of-season visit to the
final motorcycle race of the year in Wales.
Irish Supersport Pro runner-up Emmet O’Grady and SuperTwins runner-up Darragh Crean contested the final round of the Wirral 100 Motor Club’s championship at Anglesey last weekend.
With the class structure different to Irish racing they were able to enter their bikes in different classes, making their trip across the Irish Sea both worthwhile and fruitful.
It was Crean’s first visit to the North Wales track while O’Grady has not competed there since 2009.
Riding the same Yamaha R6 that he used in the Dunlop Irish Masters this year O’Grady was the top 600cc rider of the weekend.
He took second and fourth overall in both his Anglesey Grand races and when the results were added up, he was second overall on aggregate. He was only beaten by Marcus Simpson who was riding a 1000cc Suzuki making the Tralee man the top 600cc racer in the overall event.
He also finished fifth overall and third in the 600cc in the Anglesey Vans Senior Open race on Saturday.
“You get some serious track time here,” he said. “The biggest challenge is the wind, the track is right beside the sea and you can get gusts of up to 40mph here.
Crean finished second to Irish Road Racing Champion Michael ‘Miko’ Sweeney in his opening Anglesey Vans Junior Open race on Saturday riding his usual Aprilia RS660.
He also finished second SuperTwin in two of his combined Golden Era Supersport and 700cc Twins races over the weekend.
“It took a while to learn the track,” said Crean. “It was raining on Friday so I did not get out. My first sighting was Saturday morning for qualifying. It was a great weekend – we just decided to go – we just landed on for the weekend for the craic.”
Both riders will contest the Sunflower Trophy Races in Bishopscourt on October 21 and 22. The County Down event is the traditional season closer in Northern Ireland and always attracts entries from Ulster Championship, Dunlop Masters and British Superbike Championship frontrunners.
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Kerry Motorsport News 