Former Ulster Supersport champion Mark Conlin ready to fulfil 'childhood dream' at North West 200

Former Ulster Supersport champion Mark Conlin will make his road racing debut at the North West 200 next week.
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The Belfast rider will compete in the Supersport races on the north coast on the NRG Yamaha R6.

Conlin has long harboured a desire to race at the North West and says the cancellation of the event over the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic was the catalyst for his decision to finally take the plunge.

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“I decided to do it off the back of the Covid pandemic because it just made me realise that you never know when you might get the chance to do the things you want,” he said.

Mark Conlin on the NRG Yamaha R6 he will ride at the North West 200 in the Supersport races. Picture: Ryan Crooks/Hi-Cam Images.Mark Conlin on the NRG Yamaha R6 he will ride at the North West 200 in the Supersport races. Picture: Ryan Crooks/Hi-Cam Images.
Mark Conlin on the NRG Yamaha R6 he will ride at the North West 200 in the Supersport races. Picture: Ryan Crooks/Hi-Cam Images.

“I’m going with no expectations and my only aim is to enjoy it because it was an event I was very close to as a child.

“I grew up watching the North West and I’ve been going since I was a baby basically. I was always up at the caravan with my parents and it was just something that I was so excited for as a kid.

“I remember being in the grandstand at the start and finish, and it was the year that Michael Rutter did 201mph through the speed trap. It’s a vivid memory for me and the atmosphere that day was incredible,” he added.

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“I said I would do it someday and that opportunity is there now, so I’ve decided to go for it.”

Conlin has been studying on-board laps of the 8.9-mile ‘Triangle’ course as part of his preparations and also availed of the chance to draw on the experience of four-time Superbike winner Glenn Irwin this week.

“Glenn has taken me around the course and given me a few pointers, and I’ve been studying the on-board footage until I’m blue in the face,” said Conlin.

“Nothing is expected of me and it’s just to go and enjoy myself and come back safe. If someone’s behind me and they’re faster than me I’ll have no bother letting them go on – I won’t be riding out of my skin to try and keep someone behind me like I do at a short circuit race.

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“I’ve no real connection with any other race but the North West just holds that appeal for me. I’m looking forward to it and the plan is to learn this year, stay within my own limits, and then look at coming back next year,” he added.

“Since I was a wee boy I told my dad that I would race at the North West someday and now it’s going to happen.

“It’s a childhood dream of mine and at one point I wasn’t sure it would happen.”

Conlin, who is a 10-time winner in the Ulster Supersport class on the domestic short circuit scene, has made an indifferent start to the 2022 season after encountering a problem with his Yamaha R6.

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However, the 32-year-old says the issue has now been fully resolved as he prepares himself for the opening practice sessions on Tuesday.

“I haven’t had a great start to the season because I had bike problems, but we’ve got to the bottom of that now,” he said.

“The start switch on the handlebar was faulty and the vibration of the bumps out on the track was switching it off, which was making the bike cut out.

“So it was something simple in the end and thankfully now it’s all sorted.”

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Conlin and Cookstown’s Gary McCoy are the only newcomers from Northern Ireland tackling the North West 200 for the first time this year.

McCoy will ride a Madbros Kawasaki Supertwin prepared by Ryan Farquhar and a Yamaha R6 in the Supersport class.

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