Cookstown 100: Michael Dunlop makes winning start on new Ducati with Supersport success at Orritor for 120th Irish road racing win
Michael Dunlop made a winning debut on his new Ducati Panigale V2 machine in the Supersport race at the Bear Competitions Cookstown 100 on Saturday.
It was the Ulster star’s 120th Irish road racing victory, which moves him into fourth in the all-time winners’ list behind Ryan Farquhar (211), his uncle Joey (156) and father Robert (135).
On drier roads after rain showers in the morning, Dunlop took the lead off the front row on the opening lap at the Orritor course in Co Tyrone chased by Michael Sweeney (EM Building Yamaha) and the returning Derek McGee (Yamaha).
Mullingar man McGee, back at Cookstown for the first time since 2019, moved through to second place past Sweeney and was half-a-second down on Dunlop at the end of the second lap.
The leading duo began to edge away from Sweeney and McGee slashed the deficit to Dunlop to only two tenths of a second on the third lap.
They set a hot pace at the front with little between them heading into the final stages.
McGee was only 0.096s down on Dunlop’s Ducati as they flashed over the line to complete six laps.
However, 29-time Isle of Man TT winner Dunlop pulled an advantage as he cut through some slower riders and McGee never recovered.
Dunlop upped the pace to set the fastest lap of the race at 88.847mph, eventually winning the nine-lap race by four seconds from McGee.
Skerries man Sweeney completed the top three, 19.5s down on Dunlop, with Ballymoney’s Darryl Tweed further back in fourth on his Honda.
Irishmen Kevin Keyes (Daracore Racing Yamaha) and James Chawke (Kawasaki) rounded out the top six, with Tramore’s Brian McCormack – racing at the event for the first time since 2017 – in seventh on his Roadhouse Macau Triumph.
McGee was a runaway winner in the Moto3 race on the Faraldo Racing KTM by 18.754s from Manxman Dan Sayle (Honda 250), with road racing stalwart Nigel Moore third (Honda 250).
Tweed won the Lightweight Supersport race on his 400 Kawasaki by 14 seconds from Chris Meyer (Honda 250).
Caomhan Canny (Suzuki 750) took the honours in the Senior Support race on damp roads in the morning by 7.6s from Sean Brolly (Ducati 955), with Kevin Lavery third on his 600 Yamaha.
On Friday, only free practice sessions were run at the event because of wet weather, with the grids for Saturday’s races decided by the race timekeepers.