Carl Phillips dreaming of second Ulster Superbike title after extending points lead at Kirkistown
Carl Phillips isn’t allowing himself to get too carried away but admits he would love to win the SBT Ireland Ulster Superbike title for a second time after extending his advantage on Saturday at Kirkistown in Co Down.
Phillips put another 40 points on the board after two close runner-up finishes behind Derek Sheils, who was making a rare appearance on his Roadhouse Macau BMW.
Phillips previously won the title for the first time in 2019 and is making his return to the series this year after a two-year break.
With McAdoo Racing Kawasaki’s Korie McGreevy missing round five on Saturday through injury following a crash in qualifying at Kirkistown two weeks ago, Phillips seized his chance to put more daylight between himself and his chief rivals at the top of the standings.
The Lisburn man is now 53 points clear of McGreevy after five rounds.
Phillips’ sponsor, Alun Gorman of SBT Ireland, is the overall backer of the Ulster Superbike Championship and has provided an end-of-season prize fund for 2025, with the title winner pocketing £5,000.
“It’s all bang on and I knew I’d be sharp coming back, but definitely I feel really good,” said Phillips.
“There’s five or six rounds left but we’ll just tick away, go out and enjoy it as best we can.
“If we don’t win, we don’t win but obviously we’ll be 100 per cent trying to win.
“It would be nice to win the championship for Alun and SBT, and also for myself after being away, to come back and win it would be very good.
“Obviously there’s £5,000 up for grabs for the championship so if I got that you’ll not see me for a week!”
Reigning champion Jonny Campbell is third in the championship after two third-place finishes on Saturday on his 155 Racing BMW.
Round six takes place at Bishopscourt in Co Down from July 19-20.