Adam McLean to ride ex-Robert Dunlop Honda in reinstated Moto3/125GP race at Armoy

McLean has entered the class on longstanding sponsor Roy Hanna’s 125cc Honda, which Irish road racing legend Dunlop rode to his final victory in 2008 at the Cookstown 100 before he tragically lost his life in a crash during practice at the North West 200 a few weeks later.

The Armoy club intended to axe the Moto3/125 class from its race programme this year as support for the category continues to dwindle.

However, after receiving a letter from competitors pledging their support this year, the organisers reinstated the race, which is set to have approximately 13 competitors on Moto3 and 125cc machines.

The grid will be completed by Supersport 300 and Moto450 machines in a concurrently run race, which is sponsored by racer Raymond Hodges and Lisa Ross of TT Racing and BDS Motorcycles.

With time running out for the ‘tiddlers’ class at Irish road races, McLean and Hanna decided the home of the Armoy Armada would be a fitting venue to dust down the little 125cc Honda for what could be its final outing between the hedges this weekend.

The machine also evokes fond memories for Tobermore man McLean, who clinched his first road racing victory on the bike in 2015.

“We saw that the race wouldn’t go ahead if the numbers weren’t there so we thought this is kind of the last opportunity to get that bike out again,” McLean said.

“Robert Dunlop won his last ever race on it in 2008 and I won my first road race on it in 2015.

“The bike has been restored to the same as it was whenever Robert last rode it, so it’s the last chance to get out on it and I’m looking forward to it.”

McLean will also compete in the Supersport class on the J McC Roofing Racing Yamaha R6 and in the Supertwin race on a Kawasaki.

He said: “I feel good on the Yamaha R6 and we had two podiums on the Supertwin at the North West 200, so I’m enjoying riding motorbikes again.

“I feel back to my old self like how I was before my accident [at the Tandragee 100] in 2019.”

Cork’s Mike Browne won the Moto3 race last year and should be the rider to beat again on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Honda.