Ulster title double for Cookstown B.E. Racing Celebrations were in order for John Burrows and his Cookstown B.E. Racing team after they secured the 2014 Ulster Road Racing Superbike and 250GP championship titles at the Armoy races in County Antrim. Dan Kneen was crowned Superbike Champion while his team-mate Michael Sweeney captured the 250GP number one plate. Kneen was once again in fine form, fighting for podium positions with international race winners galore in the two Superbike encounters. Riding the Cookstown B.E. Racing Suzuki 1000, the Manxman finished fourth in the wet Superbike Championship race behind Guy Martin, Michael Dunlop and William Dunlop. Kneen, who qualified just 0.7 of a second off pole, finished ahead of former NW200 and UGP winner Keith Amor. The result kept Kneen 31 points clear at the top of the Irish Superbike points table and confirmed him as Ulster Superbike Champion. Later in the day, Kneen beat Tyco Suzukis William Dunlop to finish third behind Michael Dunlop and the eccentric Martin in the big money Race of Legends race. Kneen commented: It was good to split the two factory Suzukis in the feature race and get on the rostrum, but Im actually a little disappointed. We decided not to go for new slicks before the race and I now feel that move slightly backfired. If I had fitted new rubber, I think I could have been mixing it with the top two. Armoy newcomer Kneen finished fifth in the first Supersport 600 race which was held on the Friday night in fine conditions. In Saturdays wet Supersport race he suffered from a lack of grip and settled for a safe eighth place. In the Supertwins race, won by Amor, Kneen was in contention for the win until the halfway point, when, with the roads drying rapidly, he dropped back to fifth as his wet tyres began to disintegrate. It was wet for the 250GP race and Michael Sweeney, who is not a lover of the Armoy circuit, erred on the side of caution, finishing fifth. The eleven points gained were enough to make him Ulster Champion and keep him 37 points clear at the top of the Irish 250GP points table. Team owner Burrows said: Armoy has been good for us by all accounts. We have added two Ulster titles to our honours list and once again proved that a professionally run private team can compete against the factory backed guys. Dan had no prior experience of Armoy, but was on the pace from the word go, his ability to learn new circuits never ceases to amaze us all. Next up is Faugheen where we will attempt to add the Irish Superbike and 250GP titles to our collection. I have no doubt that Dan and Michael will be more than capable of bringing home the Irish bacon, which of course will be produced by Cookstown. Final Ulster Road Racing Championship positions Superbike: 1, Dan Kneen, 83 pts; 2, Michael Sweeney, 49; 3, William Dunlop, 36; 4, Davy Morgan, 35; 5, Shaun Anderson, 29; 6, Derek McGee, 26 250GP: 1, Michael Sweeney, 86 pts; 3, John Ella, 66; 3, Sam Dunlop, 47; 4, Seamus Elliott, 45; 5, Neil Kernohan, 36; 6, Paul Robinson, 22
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 09:47:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015