Cookstown 100: Lift-off for Irish road racing at Orritor as new season blasts off

Practice gets under way on Friday morning, with three races for Supersport B, Senior Support B and Open B competitors planned later in the evening.

Michael Sweeney from Skerries claimed the ‘Man of the Meeting’ award in 2022 following a hat-trick, winning both Superbike races and the Supertwin event at the 2.1-mile Orritor course.

Sweeney went on to seal the Irish Superbike crown for the first time on his MJR BMW and is back to challenge for more national roads success this weekend, when he will also compete in the Supersport class on a Yamaha R6.

He holds obvious claims, but while Adam McLean – last year’s dominant Supersport winner – and fellow Ulsterman Paul Jordan are notable absentees, Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop was a late entry for the event.

The 34-year-old last competed at Orritor in 2018, winning a Supersport race, and the outright lap record holder sets the benchmark for his rivals.

Dunlop has signed with the Hawk Racing team to ride a Honda Fireblade Superbike in 2023.

He is also entered on his MD Racing Yamaha and a Supertwin Kawasaki for the locally based McAdoo Racing team.

Along with Sweeney, his opposition includes the in-form Mike Browne, who already feels right at home on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW M1000RR.

Browne won the Enkalon Trophy for the first time over the Easter weekend at Bishopscourt and will have his maiden roads outing on the German machine at team owner John Burrows’ home race.

He will want to put the disappointment of last year behind him, when Browne broke both ankles in a terrifying crash in the first Superbike race after making contact with Sweeney on the exit of Gortin corner.

The accident forced him to put his debut at the North West 200 on hold for another year and although he made his comeback at the Isle of Man TT, Browne was nowhere near full fitness.

“We had a bit of a disaster last year but sometimes if you try and mind yourself too much then that’s when something happens, so you have to kind of drive on and we’ll take it as it comes,” he said.

“I’m more or less fully fit again and I’ve been back cycling and training away again, so I think I’m about 95 per cent.

“We’ve got Cookstown before the North West and we all talk about minding ourselves and looking at the bigger picture, but the minute the flag goes up or the lights go out, it’s into full race mode!”

One man who could outgun them all is Derek Sheils, who may be a surprise addition to the Superbike grid.

Sheils has won eight times in the class at the Cookstown 100 and could take all the beating on his Roadhouse Macau BMW S1000RR.

Darryl Tweed from Ballymoney will ride the Parker Transport Yamaha R6 and new signing Matthew Rees lines up for the Wilson Craig Honda team.

Roads close to the public on Friday from 7am to 9.30pm and on Saturday from 7am to 7.30pm for the main 11-race bill.