Enniskillen

The Enniskillen 100 is a name from the history books. It was at its zenith in the late 1930s, back when Gordon Burnett and Artie Bell were household names, and was last run in 1952. There was a palpable air of anticipation surrounding the first rerun of this meeting in 66 years. As for the circuit, the new Enniskillen track is three miles long and has it all: tight, bumpy corners, super-fast narrow bits under dark over-hanging leafy canopies, blind uphill charges with invisible apexes and a challenging selection of jumps, it is certainly not one for the faint-hearted. And so, on Saturday, June 30, just before 2pm, in bright sunshine, the Junior Classic grid assembled, intent on making history. The flag went up and the first group roared away. At the end of lap one Barry Davidson had established a clear lead. Second on the road was Brian Mateer on the Suzuki 250, followed by Nigel Moore and Richard Ford, then an inseparable gaggle of four riders: Ian Thompson, Linton Irwin, Ken Parkes and Phillip Shaw who provided the sort of tightproximity racing that childhood dreams are made of. Lap after lap these four battled alongside and around each other, constantly changing places, each one intent on securing the final podium spot. At the flag it was Ken Parkes who took third behind Moore and Davidson. Brian Mateer comfortably took the 250cc win ahead of Phillip Shaw and Alex Mcvicker. The Senior Classic race was equally thrilling with Honda 500-mounted Davidson once again snatching the hole-shot and leading the field at the end of the first lap with Richard Ford almost stuck to his back wheel and the Manx Nortons of Wattie Brown and Mark Parrett a further bike-length behind. The superior power of Ford’s 920cc Bob Jackson Norton then took over the lead, gradually allowing Ford to pull away from the field and cross the line in top spot, setting the fastest lap of 83.522mph in the process. Brown and Parrett had a superb duel for several laps until Parrett retired, handing the runner-up spot to Wattie Brown and the final podium position to Freddie Stewart. A separate moment of drama occurred on lap four of the Senior Classic race when Roger Chen slid off while exiting Arney corner. The Taiwanese rider, who has been jetting in each April to compete on the Irish roads, immediately jumped to his feet and ran over to the crowd of spectators gathered outside The Regal and waved enthusiastically, much to the delight of the onlookers, one of whom handed him a pint which he held aloft and then poured over his head – the crowd erupted.