Heartbreak for O’Grady as Keyes claims double championships

Heartbreak for O’Grady as Keyes claims double championships

Emmet O’Grady’s hopes of securing two titles at the Masters Superbike Championship at Mondello Park were dashed over the weekend. The Kerry rider, who arrived at the final triple-header weekend with a chance of winning both the Supersport and Superbike championships, had to settle for second in both categories.

O’Grady, riding his AKR Racing Honda CBR600RR, led the Supersport championship going into the final weekend. However, three third-place finishes over the weekend, coupled with rival Kevin Keyes winning two races and coming second in the other, meant O’Grady had to settle for second in the title race.

Other Kerry riders in the Supersport class included Alex O’Grady (Suzuki GXR) and Stephen Heelan (Kawasaki ZX6). Alex secured a third-place finish in the Cup section in race two.

In the Superbike championship, Emmet O’Grady was also in contention, riding his TAG Racing Honda CBR1000. Starting the weekend in third place in the championship, he narrowly missed winning the first race, finishing just 0.4 seconds behind former Superbike champion Derek Shiels. While O’Grady won the second race, Keyes’ third-place finish was enough for the Edenderry man to secure the title.

Ballyduff’s Jack O’Grady finished sixth in that Superbike race on his Yamaha R1, while his brother Dean, riding a Kawasaki ZX10, was tenth. Asdee’s John Griffin also raced in the Pro Class after getting promoted from the B races during qualifying.

Andrew Murphy, on his first appearance on home soil since the Manx Grand Prix, took a third-place finish in race one on his Honda VFR NC30/400cc. He failed to finish race two but was back on the podium for the final race of the season.

Duagh’s Michael Sheeran was third in the final Production Twins race on his  Suzuki SV  650cc

Other Kerry riders in action over the weekend included Tom McElligott Sr, Rory Flahive Trevor Kelliher and Matthew O’Donoghue.