| It was a year of
two halves for Saintfield’s Davy Morgan. Starting
the year out riding for the DMRR Honda squad, Davy rose
to the challenge, putting in some excellent performances
in the early part of the year up to, and including,
the Isle of Man TT. He split from Des Moore’s
outfit soon after and his season tailed off somewhat,
including a couple of unusual crashes, before coming
back strong in the final couple of meetings in the year.
Cookstown saw the start of Davy’s tenure with
the DMRR team and he was soon off to winning ways, taking
victory and a new lap record in the 250cc Race. He wasn’t
signed to win 250cc races though and it was his results
on the 1000cc and 600cc machines where the focus of
the team lay but Davy didn’t disappoint with a
solid showing on the day, taking fourth and eighth place
finishes on the Ten Kate tuned Superbike, although he
failed to finish in the 600cc class.
Another win the following weekend in the 250cc class
followed at Tandragee, along with two excellent results
on the Superbike with fourth and fifth places respectively.
He backed those results up with a sixth in the 600cc
Race and went into the North West 200 in confident mood.
Davy’s results at the North West were respectable
with a great eighth in the first Supersport Race the
pick of the bunch but 14th in the Superstock Race riding
an uncompetitive Honda Fireblade, just one position
behind Cameron Donald, was no disgrace. DNF’s
in the first Superbike and second Supersport were disappointing
for rider and team but he did round his day off with
another solid result, finishing 11th in the final Superbike
Race.
The TT was up next and following a disastrous event
twelve months previously, Davy was keen to put things
right, which he did in fine style putting up two of
the best rides of his career to date in the Superbike
and Senior TT’s. Davy finished a great ninth in
the Superbike Race on the DMRR machine with his best
ever lap of 123.786mph, before taking a hard earned
21st in the Superstock Race on the down on power Honda.
A DNF in the Supersport class followed but he got things
right back on track in what would turn out to be his
final ride in the colours of DMRR, finishing seventh
in the Senior Race averaging over 121mph for the six
laps.
Following the TT, Davy left the DMRR stable, taking
over the recently retired Davy Clarke’s 600cc
Kawasaki ride, with former sponsor Kevin Wood of Investasure
bringing in the ex-Martin Finnegan Honda Fireblade Superbike
from the Vitrans team.
Davy’s first outing after the TT was at the new
Bush Road Races, where he performed well, taking second
in the 250cc Race and fifths in the both Superbike and
the 600cc Races. The Skerries 100 was next and Davy
had the first of two crashes in quick succession, tipping
off the 250cc Honda when Andrew Courtney rode into the
side of him at Baldungan. He regained his composure
to finish fifth in both the 600cc and Open Races adding
an eighth in the Grand Final whilst riding the 600cc
Kawasaki.
The Southern 100 was Davy’s next outing, an event
that would see a downturn in his fortunes which would
last for the majority of the summer with mechanical
problems and injury slowing progress. His 250cc machine
‘blew up’ in a big way during qualifying,
putting the machine out of action for some time. A DNF
followed in the opening Superbike Race and a lowly 15th
was the best Davy could manage in the 600cc Race. He
did pull things back after a bad start in the Solo Championship
Race, finishing a solid ninth place at the chequered
flag, also setting a personal best lap of 107.094mph,
which places him 14th on the all time list.
Back in Ireland Davy’s season took a serious
knock when he crashed during practice for the Walderstown
Road Races. He was more seriously hurt than some people
believed and sat out both that meeting and the following
event, the Kells Road Races, although he did attempt
to practice at Kells.
Davy admitted later in the year that his confidence
was at a low ebb by this stage in the season and the
downturn in his fortunes continued at Faugheen with
a DNF and another finish outside of the top ten, although
he did register a great fourth place in the Open Race.
Onto the Mid Antrim and another two DNF’s followed
with just a 12th in the first Superbike Race to show
for his days work. Monaghan was next up where things
didn’t improve for Davy, ninth, 11th and 13th
being his results. This was terrible form to take into
the final major race of the year; the Ulster Grand Prix,
and it was a week to forget for Davy.
Entered for six races, Davy posted DNF’s in two
and failed to start another two. 21st in the opening
600cc Race was a disaster and although 6th in the 250cc
Race doesn’t sound bad, the reality of it was,
he was over a minute and a half behind the race winner.
There was a short break in the road race calendar in
Ireland now, to accommodate the Manx Grand Prix, plus
Dundalk had been cancelled, which allowed Davy to rest
body and mind before the final two races of the year.
This rest did him the world of good and he bounced back
at Killalane with 6th in the 600cc Race and a fourth
and a fifth on the Investasure Honda in the Superbike
Races.
The final race of the year again saw Davy in good form
with a fifth and a fourth in the two Superbike Races
but, more impressively, taking the outright lap record,
ending a difficult year on a high.
It has been a challenging twelve months for Davy Morgan
and, despite his considerable experience, it has been
one where he will have no doubt learnt a lot. Despite
the low points at the mid way stage of the year, Davy
must take some heart from the fact that at the TT and
North West 200, he was able to rise to the challenge
of the higher level of International competition and
make headway into the top ten, something many of his
peers have yet to do. He also won road races throughout
the year and showed, both at the start and the end of
the year, that he has the ability to run at the front
in the main classes on the National scene when things
are right, however he still posts too many DNF’s
over a season.
Davy is now planning ahead with his own team for the
2007 season, with a loyal band of sponsors, and this
could be a set up which suits him well. With the confidence
he must take from his TT performances in particular,
2007 could be the most successful year yet for Davy
Morgan.
|
