Crash course!
By TMX Archives on 12th Apr 05
Ballykelly on Easter Monday and Tuesday saw the start of the Ulster championship but the much-hyped Adam Lyons v Phillip McCullough battle was lost by the fact that the young guns came out blazing and the pace was so hot that the favourites Ballykelly on Easter Monday and Tuesday saw the start of the Ulster championship but the much-hyped Adam Lyons v Phillip McCullough battle was lost by the fact that the young guns came out blazing and the pace was so hot that the favourites didn't shine.The return of Lyons with his new Maverick Racing Suzuki team generated much interest but the glory of winning the second moto was short lived as his shoulder came out later on. In typical Lyons fashion he stopped his bike, pushed the shoulder in and continued the race, only to crash when the offending limb jumped out again.It was sad to see - both myself and Irish MX fans were gearing up to watch Adam do battle with McC this year. Sadly I think that's the last we will see of Adam for a while.TAS Suzuki had a mixed start to the season. Reigning champion Tommy Merton chalked up enough points for third on the day and Wayne Garrett rode steady but younger brother Jason broke his wrist as he crashed out over one of the many jumps. We hope to see Jason back as soon as possible.Richard McKeown took a spectacular crash over the new tabletop at Ballykelly - we're all delighted to learn that Ricky only sustained severe concussion and the newly-wed champ will be back in the saddle before long.The Ballymena charger raced hard but was no match for Shaun Simpson. Now with Roger Magee's Irish-based and SoBe-backed Lizard Racing team, Shaun will be a regular feature of Irish motocross. The other members of the very impressive Lizard Racing set-up are Adam McKee and Gary Magee.Congratulations to Phil McCullough and Darren 'no knickers' Wilson - the all-new Moto-One racing team both looked and performed well at the early season events.Following his recent success at British championship level, Martin Barr was always going to be one to watch and his decision to ride a 250cc Yamaha two-stroke has paid off.A new name worth watching in the adult ranks is Luke Wilde. This youngster made the running in both Premier and MX2 classes on his 125cc Suzuki. The 15-year-old recorded top 10 finishes and attracted unwelcome attention from some of the established riders which for me shows that this kid is here to race - watch this space!Yet again the MX2 class racing was excellent with Simpson, McCullough, GOMX/Russell's rider Robert Hamilton and Merton all mixing it up. With no less than seven teams in the Irish MX paddock I think the sport is ready to consider one national championship race day for next year - let the powers-that-be make the decision for next year's format before the end of this season.And the decision should be made on what's best for the continued growth and popularity of the sport - not on what individual riders want because it's impossible to please everybody!The John Donnelly Memorial Trophy MX is steeped in history so congratulations to all involved in resurrecting this worthy event - Roger Magee, Mr Bartley Murphy (proprietor of Hogan's Bar!) and Open and Direct Insurance all dug deep to make the purse 4000.The track was fast with many old-style challenges such as off-camber turns that have become a novelty in modern MX circuits so the odds were stacked towards the guys that made a good start. And in the end it was TAS Suzuki's Tommy Merton who won overall from Bike it Yamaha rider Martin Barr and Shaun Simpson.Taking a look at the first GP it appears that the pace has gone up another notch and the results have thrown up some names that have never been heard of at world level, guys that have graduated through the European championships.Coming off a season ruined by injury, then being landed on during practice can't be exactly good for your state of health. So recording 12th in the first moto was a good result for Gordy. It's going to be a long hot summer so let's not jump the gun on who's hot and who's not.The Irish championship is just about to kick off and Desertmartin will host round one with MX1 and MX2 classes run on the same day. Reigning champions Ricky McKeown and Robert Hamilton will be joined by a host of possible challengers and British championship regulars Barr, Simpson and Oliver Sandiford Smith will certainly add spice to the mix. I can't wait!Until next month...PS The World Indoor Trials Championship round at Belfast was great - another spectacular by Events 22 - so well done to Matt Bates and his much better looking half.