Courtsey of Irishsuperbikes
Johnston Charges to the Top
Coleraine rider Mark Johnston
The 2009 Irish Superbike Championship chase heated up at Kirkistown on Tuesday, in the MCRRCI and Killinchy Clubs highly successful meeting which was incorporating rounds 14&15 of the 22 round series, which saw Coleraine rider Mark Johnston on his PMD Honda Fireblade leap frog to the top, after early championship leader Gerard Kinghan had a day to forget, with the KP Racing Yamaha rider having to settle for a 5th place result in race one, and a DNF in race two.
Johnston on the other had one of his better days at Kirkistown, with the Honda rider taking a brace of third place finishes which now see's Johnston take a 7.5pts lead over fellow Coleraine rider James Dickson on the MAR-Train Suzuki.
But the day belonged to Relentless Suzuki by TAS rider Alastair Seeley, who in his current form is unstoppable.
A regular runner in the British Superstock Championships with seven race wins from seven starts, Seeley brought his winning ways to the ISB with the Carrickfergus rider notching up two wins in a display of sheer class.
In the Irish Racer Superbike Race One, Seeley had a six second winning margin over runner up David Haire from Lisburn, with Johnston filling the top three podium steps.
Race two seen a re-run of race one, with Seeley this time extending his margin to 10 seconds over Haire and Johnston. Such was Seeleys charge in race two that he set a new ISB track record with a lap speed of 97.34mph.
Doubles were the order of the day in the high speed Kirkistown action, with another Carrickfergus rider, this time in the form of Glenn Irwin, taking a superb brace of wins in the Supersport 600 races.
Irwin, son of former racer Alan Irwin, is one of the hottest propertys about at the present time, and he must surely catch the eye of a British Supersport Team very soon.
In race one, Irwin took a 1.6 second win over former World 500 and World 250 Grand Prix runner Jeremy McWilliams, who was riding the IFS Yamaha at Kirkistown.
Relentless Suzuki rider BJ Toal took third in race one, with a carbon copy result in race two.
Former World Grand Prix rider Jeremy McWilliams
Showing that he has lost none of his competitiveness, McWilliams, set a new Supersport 600 track record in race two with the Glengormley rider scorching around at 95.64mph.
Irwin's results were good enough to see the Co-Antrim youngster leap to the top of both the Supersport and Supersport 600 Cup Campionships.
Belfast rider Mark Lunney doubled up in the 250 GP class with the Street Sweep Honda rider now a massive 103pts in front of his nearest championship rival David Craig from Ballynahinch.
In race one, Lunney had just over eight seconds to spare in front of Derek McLaughlin and David Craig, with Lunney taking the race two win with four seconds over Chris McAloran and Craig.
Lunney also tasted success in the first 125GP race in which he had the narrowest of margins, 0.01 seconds, over Ballymoneys Paul Robinson, with Randlestown rider Nigel Percy third.
Percy turned the tables in race two, to take a 0.023 second win over Lunney with Robinson having to settle for third.
In the Issac Agnew Van Centre Supertwins race, Ballyclare rider Lee Hill made the Championship chase all his own when he took two wins from two starts, with Hill notching up his 9th win of the season, and a healthy lead.
Full credit must go to Clerk of the Course Mark Sanlon who kept the wheels in motion during some difficult times, with Tuesdays event a good bench mark for how to run a successful ISB meeting.
