Jason Meara off to strong start in British Motocross Championship at Lyng

The Loughbrickland rider qualified fifth fastest in tricky conditions after heavy rain swept the circuit overnight.

In his opening race the current Ulster MX1 champion put in a superb performance to finish third behind Crendon Tru7 Honda rider and reigning British champion Conrad Mewes and Herlings.

He went on to finish sixth in race two behind Herlings for a memorable fourth overall.

Meara said: “It was a good start to the British Championship. An early lap in qualifying saw me fifth fastest. I was one of the few to do the sighting lap and it paid off because I was fifth away and into Turn two I was able to get past two more riders for third.

“I rode a steady race to bring it home despite pressure from Josh Gilbert on the last lap.”

Race two saw Meara eighth off the gate before moving into seventh.

He added: “When I made seventh Tristan Purdon was holding me up and I couldn’t get past him.

"Then I lost the goggles, had a crash, done a U-turn in the middle of the race but managed to get through in the end for sixth, to finish fourth overall – I’m happy enough.”

Ballyclare’s Martin Barr qualified the Apico Honda fourth fastest before finishing seventh in race one and fifth in race two for sixth overall.

“I got a lap in early during qualifying before the heavens opened,” Barr said. “I was 1.2s off pole and only 0.3 off Herlings, so I was pleased with that.”

A decent start in race one saw Barr inside the top five into Turn 1 before he dropped back, crossing the line in seventh.

“A guy made a mistake at Turn 5 and I lost a lot of time, then my goggles broke and with the track being very one line it was hard to pass anyone, he said. “A little crash near the finish didn’t help and I had to settle for seventh.”

Barr made a good start in race two and by the flag finished fifth.

He continued: “I was trying so hard to get by Brad Todd before another set of goggles broke and I just couldn’t see with all the muck. In the end it’s frustrating but still not a bad start in the conditions.”

Jack Meara was fourth quickest in the 250 class on the Moto-Cycle GasGas. The Loughbrickland teenager finished fourth in race one.

“I had a bit of a tip over but managed to regain the positions by the flag which for the first race of the championship I was happy enough with,” he said.

Race two saw Meara fail to finish after his bike stopped.

“I was running fifth before the clutch stopped working a few laps in,” he explained. “Unfortunately in the end the bike quit. The weather definitely wasn’t on our side and the track was brutal, but we got through it.”

For Omagh’s Lewis Spratt it was a challenging meeting. After qualifying eighth on the Todds Leap McCullagh’s Centra 125 KTM he had a good run in race one finishing sixth before problems in race two saw the teenager take the flag in 20th.

Spratt said: “It was hard work on the 125 in the heavy conditions and I couldn’t get a good run being in with the 250s, but sixth was a decent result.”

In race two an issue with the bike on the warm-up lap meant a call to the holding area for his spare bike.

He started with no transponder and it wasn’t until near the end of the race and another trip to the pits that the problem was resolved.

Spratt added: “It was disappointing as I was running inside the top ten in my class, but that’s racing.”