Emmet O’Grady set his fastest-ever lap time around Mondello Park on a Superbike on Sunday to cap an outstanding Masters National Motorcycle Racing weekend for the Tralee-based rider.
Riding his TAG Honda CBR 1000, he qualified on pole in the Superbike class before finishing second in the wet opening race on Saturday.
On Sunday morning he finished fourth in race two but finished the meeting on a high.
He took another second-place finish in Sunday evening’s Grand Finale, lapping the 1.84 km national circuit in 54 seconds and at an average speed of 122.73 km/h – the fastest he has ever travelled around Mondello.
Earlier in the meeting, he took two second-place finishes in the opening Supersport races before scoring his first 600cc class win of the season in race three.
Jack O’Grady – no relation as the late, great Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh might have said, gradually improved over the weekend. A non-finish in race one for the Yamaha R1 rider became a ninth-place and seventh-place finish in his other two races.
His younger brother Alex crashed out of the opening Supersport race after panicking when he realised, he was the surprise overall leader going into turn one.
“I did not know what to do,” said the Ballyduff youngster who has constated less than ten Supersport races. “ I ended up in the gravel in turn two!”
The Suzuki GXR rider finished 11th and eighth in his other two Supersport Cup races.
Robert O’Connell’s best performance of the weekend was in race one when the Honda CBR 600 rider finished fourth in the first Supersport Race.
Killarney’s Stephen Heelan was sixth in the Supersport Cup element of the same race on his Kawasaki.
Duagh’s Mike Sheeran took two fourth-place finishes in the Production Twin class while Abbeyfeale’s Davy Broderick’s best result came in race one when he finished sixth in the same class.
It was a weekend to forget for Darragh Crean. The Yamaha R6 rider was involved in a nasty crash in the opening Supersport race on Saturday which was run in very wet conditions and sustained minor injuries.
He finished fifth in the second race but opted not to start the third race as he was in too much pain.
He fared only slightly better in the SuperTwins class. Leading the wet opening race on Saturday he was forced to pull off the track on safety grounds after his visor became fogged up and he could not see where he was going.
He did bring his Aprilia home in second place in the second SuperTwin race of the meeting but sat out the third race due to his early injuries.
Andrew Murphy is proving to be the Moto 400 GP pace setter this season and added two more dominant wins and a second place over the space of his three contests.
His attention will now turn to the Manx Grand Prix. The Honda 400 rider will make his Isle of Man debut in August and the final training and assessment session will take place this weekend.
John Griffin enjoyed two top-ten finishes in the Superbike B class on his Suzuki GXR. His is Asdee neighbour Rory Flahive finished 13th and 14th overall, albeit on a 600cc Yamaha, in the same two races on Sunday. Both riders sat out the wet Saturday event.
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Kerry Motorsport News 