Star of the future
By TMX Archives on 11th Mar 09
HE may be a champion in his own right, but budding trials star, Jonny Lunney (pictured right), is too young to compete in next month's World Championship Trial, the Adelaide Grand Prix of Ireland, at Newcastle. Instead, 15-year-old Lunney will concentrate in adding more strings to his bow before making his world debut this time next year, writes Dermot James. According to his dad, David: Jonny was approached by Billy Rodgers from the Lightweight Club regarding the Newcastle event, but he needs to be over 16 to take part. Hopefully, that opportunity will arise in 2010, assuming that Ireland is again allocated a world round.
Young Lunney will of course be at the Newcastle event to cheer on two of his heroes, the defending world champion Toni Bou and fellow Spaniard Albert Cabestany.
In the meantime, this talented Banbridge boy has already won the Ulster Youth A title and he's just a few points away from doing the double, by adding the corresponding Irish Championship. To date he has scored 80 wins.
His first event was five years ago when he rode a 25-year-old Yamaha into third place at a Banbridge trial.
By 2005, he was a champion and every year since then he has picked-up a variety of championships.
His first English success was at Matlock where he was a Youth Novice winner in 2007 and that was followed by a win of the YMSA Michelin Three-Day Trial in the same year. During his formative years, Lunney was helped by mentor Philip Hanlon, a former multi-Ulster champion, who first spotted Johnny at Youth C level.
His performances have also come to the attention of the UK Sherco importers, Malcolm and Rhoda Rathmell.
Thanks to achieving his recent goals, Lunney will graduate to the full MRS Team for 2010, when he will concentrate on the Adult B grade in both the Ulster and Irish Championships along with selected British Youth Championship rounds. A couple of European International Championships in Italy and the Czech Republic are also on the cards for this summer.
In the meantime, the Lunney family business has to be applauded for its interest in local trials. Originally, there was the Lunney's Electrical for Sanyo Ulster Championship while this year the Grade A class within the Irish Championship has support from David Lunney.