Drivers from the north-east perform well at Mondello Masters

AFTER a year away from racing over the problem of insurance, it was all systems go in the newly-sponsored Mondello Masters.

It was somewhat ironic that the new sponsor of the iconic championship would be an insurance company, with motorcycle specialist Principal Insurances now the title sponsor of the Masters.

There was a great crowd that were basked in sunshine over the two days, and it was a great weekend for the Whearty family from Bellewstown, with 22-year-old apprentice carpenter Jack taking three wins in the Supersport Cup class, and he was in great form on the Declan Madden Groundworks-sponsored 600 Yamaha. The former grasstrack champion has now adapted his skills to the tarmac, and he was in a different class in all three races, leading from the start to the flag.

In the Superbike class, it was his uncle, Andrew, who was getting to grips on his new Honda Fireblade, and in race one of three, he finished in a fine fourth place behind winner Kevin Keys. He was unlucky in race two when the clutch expired and after replacing the clutch, he went out in the final race and finished in an excellent third place, again behind Keys, who was in top form on the Daracore sponsored R1 Yamaha.

Jack’s father, Ian, was also out in the Superbike Cup class, and he had mixed results, with an eighth place in race one. In race two, he scored his best result of the weekend with a fine sixth place, while in race three he was seventh.

Another of the crew was Declan Madden himself, and while he was delighted with the results of his sponsored rider, Jack, he was out in the Superbike Cup class and he finished on the podium in all three races. A win in race two, with a third in race one, and a second place in race three capped off a great weekend for the crew.

Dundalk rider Damien Horgan was back in action after a serious crash at Bishopscourt in 2023, and he scored two fourth placings in the Supersport 400 class, with a fifth place in race two.

In the Supersport open class, it was Adam McLean who took races one and two, and in race three it was the brilliant Offaly rider Keys who took his fourth win of the weekend.

Cork rider Stephen Tobin won the first two 400 races, with Andrew Murphy, who finished second to Tobin in the first two races, finally taking the win in race three.

Darryl Sharkey took all three pre-injection races, while Ruben Sherman-Boyd took the chequered flag in races one and three of the junior Supersport classes, with Rhys Gates taking the win in race two. Fionn Stephens took races one and two in the Moto 1, with John O’Connell taking race three.

Jeff Quilter was the winner of the Production Supertwin races one and three, with Des Butler taking race two. In the Open Supertwin races, Oisín Maher was the winner of all three races.

There were three exciting sidecar races, with Darren O’Dwyer and Mark Gash taking the win in race one, but they had to settle for runner up to Mark Codd and Eamon Mulholland in races two and three.

Overall, it was exciting start to the southern race season and while road racing is still the only section of the sport not going over insurance, race fans can look forward to a season in Mondello, and with weather like there was at the Co Kildare course over the two days, it would be great to bottle it and keep it for the rest of the year. Fingers crossed.