Hi everyone.
It’s hard to believe that I am writing my last road race report for 2009, I must admit it’s good to have the season all over . At killalane , I felt that I was riding , rather than actually racing! Its been a long hard season for various reasons , coupled with the fact, that I haven’t had a weekend off since the TT.
So let’s fill you in on how we got on at Killalane, the first race up on Sunday morning was the Supertwins and once again,I had Baylon’s Suzuki out for another run , I have enjoyed riding this wee bike all year, second to Ryan again was as much as we expected, realistically, we know we are down on speed and no match to Ryan’s , but hopefully we can sort that for next year, I am not saying I could beat him ,but it would be nice to make a race of it for a couple of laps.
We then had a break before I had three races in a row ,starting with the superbike race, my main aim here, was to finish up third in the Irish championship all I had to do was follow William Dunlop home as I had a sixteen point cushion on him going into the race, well it all worked out fine and that’s the way the championship has ended up, so I am well satisfied with that result ,as it’s the whole year that counts ,not just a one race, To be honest its has ended up a bit of a surprise for me ,as we had two non finishes, Cookstown and Faugheen!
(So Pat , all being well, I will be at the Daingean awards night this year, but Thankfully, i will be on the receiving end, and Not presenting the awards!, seriously, it was an honour to do this for , what is a great club, so enthuasatic and supportive of the sport).
The next outing was the 1000 classic event and I was on board Gerry O’Sullivan big Triumph, I wasn’t sure how this would fare out as I only got the warm up lap in practice before she stopped with an electrical problem, this meant I had to start from the back of the grid, but Thanks to a good start, I had got into third at the first corner, before going onto win , A Big Thanks to Gerry for lending me the bike again, two starts and two wins on it, Yep, I think the Big man was well pleased.
I have to admit I was beginning to tire a bit at this stage before lining up for the 600 race, I knew before I started that this was only going to be a run round as I was starting from the second wave of riders and there was no body to pull me on, but Davy Morgan and myself was along side each other on the grid,so I guessed we would be pretty well matched, in the end Davy was 11th and myself 12th maybe not a great result for either of us but it’s the first 600 race in a long time that I have really enjoyed, I know I have said this before, I need to spend more time on a 600 at the start of a season and get my head back into riding one properly.
Then there was a break for an hour or so before the Grand Final but I was out of luck on the second lap with machine problems, so I was a spectator at the last corner, and what a race this ended up, but fair play to Micheal Pearson, he was there when it mattered most, so full congratulations to you Michael, on your first road race win.
So that’s it for me this year, its turned out to be a fair season for myself in all the championships I have contested, with top three in each of them, apart from the 600 which I have said earlier I need to get dialled back into again, and of course winning my first Irish and Ulster road race Championships.
I also had a great TT with two top ten placings on my superbike and 124.5 mph lap which was close to what I wanted ( 125mph!) but hopefully we can manage that next year. However, while, it has been a great season for me, I must add the icing on the cake for 2009 was getting married to Rachel in July, so on reflection, it certainly has been a busy year at BE racing.
As everyone knows, The seasons racing does not just happen on it’s own, behind every rider there are a lot of people and sponsors that make it all happen, so I would like to take this opportunity to say a Big THANKS to the following, whose support and energy made the season possible;
Burrows Engineering, H2 Engineering (Sean, Brian, Cathal and Eamon) ,Kronos Audio Visual (David Campbell ) , Workspace Rentals (George Davidson), Joni B Supporters Club, Wayne Acheson, Daingean MSC, Gerry O’Sullivan, Steve Caffyn, TAS Racing, Baylon McCaughey( irishracephotography.com), Ian Burrows, GMC Graphics (Billy Purdy), Bob Patterson, then we have all the boy’s that give up their free time at the weekends to travel the length and breadth of Ireland, so special Thanks to Simon, Mattie, Raymond, Stephen, Keith, Ian, and Robert also to David Carmichael who keeps Burrows Engineering afloat while I am on a four day week in the summer!!!
Not forgetting ALL my trade support, it is also very much appreciated, The race officials, The Press and Photographers, And to YOU, the General Public ,who have supported ,not only me but Each and Every rider sitting on the grid at the various events.
So that’s it for now but all being well, I will keep you posted as to what’s happening along the way, no doubt the motorcrosser and trial bike will get dusted down in the next couple of week, plus I will have to get back to pedal power again, linking up again with the East Tyrone Cycling Club, In fact, if you are on the road between Dungannon and Portrush this Saturday you may well see me trying to hang onto the back of a couple of them boys along the way.!
Thanks Again to everyone, for your valued and continued support
John Burrows #16John
