Form man Scott Swann wins Superbike opener at Sunflower Trophy meeting at Bishopscourt from Charlie Nesbitt

Swann has been in excellent form in the National Superstock 1000 Championship this season, finishing third overall and winning the final race at Brands Hatch last weekend.

Riding the Swann Racing/Hunts Honda, the Magheramorne man took control in the damp and blustery conditions after starting from pole.

He won the 10-lap race by three seconds from British Superbike rider Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda), who overhauled McAdoo Racing Kawasaki’s Korie McGreevy in the closing stages to secure the runner-up spot.

Swindon man Nesbitt – fifth fastest in qualifying in less than ideal conditions – will be aiming to retain the Sunflower Trophy in Saturday’s headline race after winning the famous piece of silverware on his first appearance at the event in 2023.

Behind McGreevy, Richard Cooper finished fourth on the BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha, with the top six completed by National Superstock contender David Allingham (SMS/Nicholl Oils Racing BMW) and Barry Burrell (Halliwell Jones BMW).

Ulster Superbike regulars Ross Irwin (Magic Bullet Honda) and Andy Reid (J McC Roofing Racing Kawasaki) were seventh and eighth respectively.

Richard Kerr, the 2022 Sunflower winner, qualified fourth fastest on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW but was ruled out with a faulty sensor, his team confirmed.

Earlier, Nottingham’s Cooper – the newly crowned inaugural National Sportbike champion – picked up where he left off last year with a win in the first Supersport race.

Cooper, who qualified on pole, led home his BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha team-mate Mike Browne by 4.2s on a drying track, with Belfast’s Mark Conlin taking a fine podium in third on his Moto Market/NRG Ducati.

McGreevy came home in fourth ahead of Ulster Supersport title rival Christian Elkin (DynoCentre NI Yamaha).

The pair were separated by a single point coming into the final round with Elkin holding onto the top spot, but McGreevy has now moved ahead for the McAdoo Racing Kawasaki team with one championship race remaining on Saturday.

Cookstown’s Gary McCoy finished sixth on the Madbros Suzuki ahead of Jeremy McWilliams (J McC Roofing Racing Kawasaki) and Andrew Smyth (Parker Transport Yamaha).

British Supersport GP2 champion Owen Jenner narrowly held off Cooper (Jack Reid Car Sales/KMR Kawasaki) by a tenth of a second to win the first Supertwin race on the Scott Racing Aprilia.

Letterkenny’s Caolan Irwin was third on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Aprilia, only four tenths further behind on the damp track.

McCoy was a close fourth on his Madbros/GSS Ltd Kawasaki.

In the Moto3 class, Alexander Rowan took the win in wet conditions by 0.982s from Jack Burrows.