This year's Walderstown roadraces
again saw the scorching hot weather that has became
associated with the county Westmeath circuit over the
past few years. However, with the sunshine came the
problem which plagued last year's meeting – melting
tar. The condition of the circuit after the first race
saw Martin Finnegan and Cameron Donald retire from the
remainder of the meeting, wary of injury only weeks
before the Ulster Grand Prix.
This came after the championship Open race, however,
which once again saw Cameron Donald stamp his authority
on a new circuit, leading from start to finish, although
Raymond Porter, having his first run on the DMRR Honda,
and Martin Finnegan were never far behind, with the
gap between Donald and Porter only 0.4 seconds at the
post. The retirement of John Burrows on lap 2 allowed
John Walsh to move to fourth, while Victor Gilmore rode
a lonely race to finish in fifth.
In the Open B race, James Breslin led from start to
finish, although William Dunlop closed to within 0.2
seconds, setting the fastest lap in the process. Declan
O'Meara took third, with Maurice Hogg fourth, dropping
from second on lap two. Fifth place was taken by Herbie
Ronan.
The Supersport 600 race saw the only red flag of the
day, after a last corner incident involving Tim Maher
and Andrew Courtney. After discussions on the line,
Finnegan and Donald pulled in, leaving the race to the
leader from before the red flag, Darren Lindsay, who
again made a good start on his Honda to eventually win
by 2 seconds from Raymond Porter and local man Roger
Maher, a further 2 seconds adrift, after a race-long
scrap with Victor Gilmore, who took fourth. Barry Davison
made up the top five.
In the 250 race, Andrew Courtney was the victor, after
a battle with Barry Davison, who had led at the beginning.
Third was Darren Lindsay, after starting from the back
of the grid due to an engine failure in qualifying.
However, Lindsay could not make up the gap on Courtney
and Davison after he holed his exhaust on lap five.
Michael Dunlop was fourth, while John Burrows was fifth
on the HM Motorhomes Honda,
A battle between old rivals Robert Dunlop and Marc
Curtin emerged in the 125GP race, with Curtin leading
for three laps before Dunlop passed him on lap four
to win by 1.6 seconds. Darren Lindsay got the better
of Michael Dunlop for third, with Dunlop finishing fourth
ahead of cousin Sam Dunlop in fifth.
The Senior Support class again gave the best racing
of the day, with the battle eventually going to Kevin
Fitzpatrick, after early leader Wayne Kirwan overshot
at Corr's corner, allowing Fitzpatrick and runner-up
Andrew Brady through. Englishman Olly O'Connor was fourth
and Connor O'Neill fifth.
In the second race Kirwan made up for his earlier mistake
with a start to finish lead, although Fitzpatrick closed
to within 0.1 seconds at the line. Brady was this time
third and Skerries man Gareth Costello was fourth. Dave
Irvine was fifth, despite having been in second on lap
two.
In the Junior Support, Leo Fitzgerald again dominated,
although he was pushed hard by Stephen O'Brien, until
a mistake on the last lap gave him a victory margin
of 11 seconds. Gareth Costello was third, ahead of RJ
Woolsey and Elle Forrest.
In the Junior Classic Adrian Elwood took victory in
the 350 class from Ed Manly Jr, passing Manly on lap
two to take victory by four seconds. Third place was
George Stinson, a distant thirty seconds back. In the
250s, Yarno Holland won by four seconds from Herbie
Ronan, with Jeff Robinson over ten seconds behind.
In the Senior Classic 1000 Class, Robert McCrum passed
Mark Morgan on lap five to take the win, with Freddie
Stewart third, last year's winner Phillip Riddal fourth
and John Scott fifth. In the 500 Class Kevin Callan
beat Mark Connolly and Alex McVicker to take the win.
In the Grand Final, Raymond Porter took the most of
the absence of Cameron Donald and Martin Finnegan, passing
early leader John Burrows to win by almost a second.
Roger Maher again took third. Darren Lindsay was fourth,
losing out to the Superbikes on his 600, while John
Walsh finished fifth.
The organising club did a terrific job of putting on
this event in difficult conditions, and no doubt next
year they will be hoping for cooler conditions than
the previous two years!
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