Michael Dunlop victorious at Mondello Park - Superbike wins for Sheils and Ryan

Making a rare appearance at the Co Kildare circuit, the 19-time Isle of Man TT winner won Sunday’s opening race on his MD Racing Yamaha in a photo finish following a battle with Offaly’s Kevin Keyes.

Dunlop pounced at the final corner to seize a hard-fought victory from runaway championship leader Keyes by two tenths of a second.

Burrows Engineering/RK Racing rider Mike Browne completed the top three on his Yamaha R6, over four seconds back.

Brown had qualified on pole position on Saturday but was ruled out of the first race when he encountered an issue on the warm-up lap, forcing him to pull out.

Dunlop, who qualified second quickest, made a poor start in race one and had to battle his way through the pack as Keyes set a hot pace at the front.

In the end, Keyes closed out victory by 0.78s to wrap up his seventh successive victory this season.

With a victory apiece, Dunlop and Keyes went into the third and final race of the weekend seeking a Supersport double.

In the closest finish of the weekend, Keyes got the nod on the line from Dunlop by just 0.013s, with Andrew Murphy over 16 seconds back in third. Browne slid off in the race as he chased after Keyes and Dunlop.

Ballymoney man Dunlop is gearing up for the Cookstown 100 from September 10-11, where he is set to race for the first time since 2018 at the Co Tyrone event, which is the final Irish national road race of the year.

The 31-year-old will be the big favourite following a stellar performance last month at Armoy, where he won the premier ‘Race of Legends’ for a ninth straight time and shattered his 2013 lap record. Dunlop won five races in all at his home meeting as he grabbed the headlines with victories in the Superbike, Supersport and 250GP classes.

Meanwhile, Derek Sheils and Richie Ryan shared the victories in the Dunlop Masters Superbike races at Mondello.

Sheils, a former champion, won Sunday’s first race on the Roadhouse Macau BMW by 0.2s from Thomas O’Grady, with Kilkenny man Ryan – the reigning champion – third on his Yamaha R1.

In the final race of the weekend, Sheils hit the front only to be reeled in by Ryan, who moved into the lead before opening a gap of one second.

Ryan went on to close out his second victory of the weekend by 1.6s, with O’Grady rounding out the rostrum positions.

Michael Sweeney, who led the series by eight points from Sheils going into the third round at the weekend, finished sixth in Saturday’s opener – won by Ryan – and fifth in Sunday’s two races on his MJR BMW.

The penultimate round of the championship will take place on the National track at Mondello from September 25-26.