Alex O’Grady’s first win – Ulster Superbike report

Last weekend’s Ulster Superbike Championship meeting at Bishopscourt attracted the biggest contingent of Kerry-based motorcycle racers for any event so far this year.

With the current insurance issue continuing to cripple the sport in the Republic of Ireland, local racers are being forced to look further afield to get their race fixes.

Nine Kerry-based riders ventured north over the weekend.

“It was a like a town in Kerry up there,” joked Ardfert-based classic racer Stephen Walsh who took a fourth, fifth and sixth in three of his races.

“I was running in third for the third race” he added. “But it started to rain very heavily and decided to back off and roll to finish. The last thing I needed was to be coming off the bike and damaging it ahead of the Manx Grand Prix.”

Ballyduff youngster Alex O’Grady took his first podium finish of his career, taking third place in the second Production Twins Race. He was fourth in the race.

His weekend got even better when he won his final race of the weekend.

Darragh Crean’s best performance of the weekend came in race two when he finished fifth in the second SuperTwin race.

Emmet O’Grady was sixth in the opening Supersport Race while Jack O’Grady, brother of Alex did not finish the same contest.

Emmet repeated that result in race two as Jack managed to finish 11th.

The former sat out the third race while the latter was 16th

Emmet was seventh in the opening Superbike race while his brother Evan was 18th. Emmet repeated the results in race-two and three as Even went two places better in race two and placed 13th in the final dice of the weekend.

Robert O’Connell recorded a fourth and a seventh-place finish in the two Supersport Cup races he tackled.Andrew Murphy had a difficult weekend and failed to finish two of his races and did not even make the start line of the first one.

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