Christian Iddon edges out Richard Cooper to seal opening Superbike victory in wet at Sunflower Trophy meeting

British Superbike rider Christian Iddon kicked off the Sunflower Trophy weekend with a narrow victory in the opening Superbike race over Richard Cooper at Bishopscourt.

In cold and wet conditions, Iddon and Cooper pulled cleared of the field as they battled it out for victory at the Co. Down venue on Friday.

After ten laps, it was Tyco BMW rider Iddon – the outright lap record holder – who prevailed at the finish, taking victory by 0.8 seconds from Cooper (Buildbase Suzuki), who won all three Superbike races on his debut at the event in 2018.

Aghadowey’s Eunan McGlinchey had a terrific ride to third place as he rode the 600cc McAdoo Racing Kawasaki for the first time.

McGlinchey, last year’s British Junior Supersport champion, crossed the line almost 35 seconds down on Iddon.

He was over seven seconds clear of Emmett O’Grady in fourth, with Ross Irwin and Keelim Ryan completing the top six.

Schoolboy Cameron Dawson won the first Supersport 300/Junior Cup/Young Guns race by 15.7 seconds from Andrew Smyth, with Rossi Dobson taking third.

Qualifying was held on Friday followed by a five-race programme.

The main event takes place on Saturday, with 13 races scheduled after morning warm-up (9.15am).