Korie McGreevy retains Ulster Supersport title at Sunflower Trophy meeting after fighting back from 'complicated' collabrone break
Korie McGreevy wrapped up the Ulster Supersport title for the second successive season at the Sunflower Trophy meeting on Saturday.
The McAdoo Racing Kawasaki rider went into the final round of the SBT Ireland Ulster Superbike Championship at Bishopscourt in Co Down trailing Mark Conlin by four points.
However, McGreevy twice finished as the runner-up behind British Supersport champion Rhys Irwin to retain the title, marking an impressive turnaround for the Ballynahinch man, who missed two rounds of the championship through injury.
The 2019 British Superstock 600 champion won eight races on his way to the Supersport crown, ending the season 23 points clear of Christian Ekin.
Belfast’s Conlin had qualified in eighth on his Ducati V2 at the Sunflower meeting but was a non-starter in both races. Conlin ended the year in third in the standings.
Irwin won Friday’s race by 15.486s on the Gearlink Bike Performance 15 Suzuki and was over 21 seconds clear in the second race, with McGreevy claiming the points he needed for another championship triumph.
Sunflower Trophy winner Carl Phillips was third in the opening Supersport race on the LionHeart Moto Racing Kawasaki but did not start the second race, when Caolan Irwin finished close behind McGreevy to clinch a podium on the Burrows/RK Racing Yamaha.
It was a rewarding end to the year for McGreevy and Cookstown team McAdoo Racing after a collarbone injury suffered in a crash in qualifying at Kirkistown blew his prospects of challenging for the Superbike title.
McGreevy said: “It was a complicated collarbone injury and I needed to get it pinned, and I had nine screws into it.
“But it was sitting awkwardly and they essentially had to cable tie it to help my humerus, and it was still giving me bother because I had rotor cuff damage, which will be permanent.
“Some people can get away with a collarbone break and be out in two weeks’ time, or you can have a break that is a lot more complicated. There’s two ways of breaking bones and unfortunately mine is a wee bit more complicated than a conventional break, and it put me out of racing for two rounds.
“I was back racing in five weeks and it wasn’t easy, but I still managed to win the Supersport (at Bishopscourt) and I was second to Carl Phillips (in the Superbike races), but it wasn’t comfortable.
“It was only in the race after that when we were back in our stride.”
McGreevy was disappointed to lose the chance to fight for the Superbike championship, but he feels he is riding better than ever and is confident of being in a strong position in 2026.
“I had a good lead until I broke my collarbone and I gave away 150 points in both championships,” he said. “Apart from the rounds that we missed, we’ve never been out of the top two in any class.
“It’s been a good season results-wise, I’m riding well and I’m going quicker around tracks than I ever had.
"It’s unfortunate that we had that bump which has put a dampener on the end result, and we haven’t as many race wins as we did last season, but we still have a pretty good record.
“I’m not too sure what we’re going to do next year, but if it continues next year (with McAdoo Racing) hopefully we’ll have the upper hand when we’ve more time, a bit more development, and when I’m back up to more strength and would have a bit more speed.”
McGreevy finished fifth in the opening Superbike race at the Sunflower meeting and third in the Jim Finlay Memorial race, but retired from the feature race.