It’s Porter
at the double at Monaghan
Donegal rider Raymond Porter showed
that he will be a force to be reckoned with at the upcoming
Ulster Grand Prix, with a hard fought double success
at Monaghan, piping Championship leader Martin Finnegan
in both Superbike races… but only just!
Having had to play second fiddle to
Finnegan last weekend, when the Lusk rider was in imperious
form at Mid Antrim, Porter was reunited with the DMRR
Honda Superbike for Monaghan, fresh from an engine re-build
by ace tuners Ten Kate in Holland, and he made up for
his disappointment from two weeks ago, with a stunning
double. He was made to work for it, however, but the
back on form Finnegan couldn’t find a way past
Porter in either encounter. Both riders dipped under
the old lap record, with Finnegan eventually taking
the title of Outright Lap Record Holder with a 1m26.7s
lap in the Grand Final Race.
“That was a good, but hard
days racing” said Porter afterwards. “I
could hear Martin’s bike all the way around the
track so I knew he was right with me. The bike is just
brilliant now to be fair, and I’m really looking
forward to the Ulster. I don’t really know what
to expect but I will be very disappointed if we’re
not competitive. McGuinness, Lougher, Anstey and the
rest of them boys will be hard to beat but I think we
shouldn’t be too far away.”
Finnegan was naturally disappointed
with the outcome. “I came here to win both
of these races and I didn’t, so of course I’m
disappointed. It is a really hard track to pass on and
I made a couple of wrong moves in what were very technical
races but we live and learn. I’ve still got a
good lead in the Championship with only two rounds to
go, so I’m happy enough.”
Adrian Archibald continued his return
to some sort of form from a mid season lull, with a
third and a fifth in the main races. All eyes will be
on him at the Ulster to see if he can find his race
winning form at International level, which could determine
his long term future in the sport. Meanwhile, a rider
making a name for himself of late has been Damien Mulleady
who had another terrific weekend taking the final rostrum
position in the Grand Final having finished fourth in
the first Superbike Race.
Finnegan made up for his Superbike
disappointment with a dominant win in the 600cc Race,
his second in a row in this class. The stand out performance
came from young William Dunlop, however, who finished
a brilliant second, getting the better of pole man and
double Superbike Race winner Ray Porter.
It was a disappointing day for the
returning from injury Ryan Farquhar who admitted that
he struggled with the circuit as he fights to get back
to full fitness, with his only finish being a ninth
place in the 600cc class. Circuit newcomer and TT sensation
Carl Rennie had a much happier time of things however,
finishing a brilliant sixth place in the feature race.
He makes his Dundrod debut this week.
Dunlop’s UGP plans in
jeopardy?
William Dunlop’s Ulster Grand
Prix plans could be in jeopardy after he admitted to
RealRoadRacing.Com
that he may only be able to ride the smaller machines
at Dundrod after crashing his Raymond Lilly backed Superbike
machine heavily in the Grand Final Race at Monaghan.
Dunlop had enjoyed a terrific string
of results up to that point, backing up his runners
up position to Finnegan in the 600cc class with a dominant
win in the 250cc Race and a superb fifth in the first
Superbike Race. After making a bad start in the Grand
Final however, he high sided exiting the notorious Smithy’s
Corner, which had already caught out several riders
throughout the day, landing heavily and causing the
race to be red flagged.
“I just got on the gas a
bit early” said a battered and bruised Dunlop.
“I’d made a bad start and I was trying to
get back to where I should have been a bit early and
just made that wee mistake. I feel really sore now,
especially around my hip and I might just have to stick
to the 250 at Dundrod. I’ll go to see a Doctor
in the morning and take it from there.”
It was a largely good day all round for the Dunlop
clan with William’s father Robert taking yet another
win in the 125cc class, which he has made his own since
returning from a year long absence whilst he had work
carried out to further repair his injuries sustained
back in 1994 at the Isle of Man TT. Reigning champion
Marc Curtin had no answer to his long time advisory
but he also had to admit defeat to the youngest of the
Dunlop’s with Michael beating him to second place.
Michael, who makes his Manx Grand Prix debut next week,
also took a fine second place in the 250cc race behind
brother William and ahead of the experienced Barry Davidson. |
