Michael Sweeney in title driving seat at Dunlop Masters

Irish road racing frontrunner Sweeney admits he is ‘surprised’ to be leading the series from former champions Richie Ryan and Derek Sheils, but the Skerries man’s consistency has paid off at the first two rounds.

A maiden podium at the first round of the season on the Martin Jones Racing BMW was followed by a run of three consecutive runner-up finishes, giving Sweeney a lead of eight points over fellow top road racer Sheils going into the weekend.

“It’s a bit of a surprise to be sitting there at the top and it mightn’t last for long, but I’ll take it while I’m there,” Sweeney told the News Letter.

“Consistency has been the key and if I can just keep that going, then who knows where we’ll be at the end of the year. Hopefully we won’t be too far away but Derek and Ryan are the boys to beat at Mondello.

“Luke Johnston is also back this weekend so it’s going to be tough going, but it’s nice to be top to be honest because I never expected to be there, but I’d rather be sitting on top of a road racing championship let me tell you!”

Sweeney also leads the Supertwins class by 30 points after winning all six races held so far on his Kawasaki.

The Republic of Ireland rider, who celebrates his 40th birthday next month, will be among the favourites at the Cookstown 100 from September 10-11, where Sweeney will also be back in action on his Yamaha Supersport machine after missing the class at Armoy due to an engine problem.

The latest Masters round takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Mondello, when the full international track will be used for the second time this year.

Both Sheils and reigning champion Ryan will be keen to put points on the board in all three Superbike races over the weekend, with each rider’s progress hindered by DNFs in the series.

In the Supersport class, Michael Dunlop is among the entries on his Yamaha as he bids to ruffle the feathers of Kevin Keyes and Cork’s Mike Browne, who are first and second in the championship respectively after dominating the class in 2021.

Dunlop has been busier than ever on the short circuit scene this year with a lack of road races to get stuck into, and Mondello will offer another chance for some track time ahead of September’s Cookstown 100.

The Ballymoney man was in razor-sharp form at Armoy last month – the first of only two Irish national road races in 2021 – where Dunlop broke his eight year-old lap record around the three-mile course and won the feature ‘Race of Legends’ for a record ninth successive time as part of a commanding five-timer.

A busy timetable this weekend includes the Superbike and Supersport Cup races, Supertwins and Production Twins, Classic Superbikes, Moto 400, Sidecars, the Pre-Injection class, Junior Championship for up and coming young riders and the FIM MiniGP Ireland races, which will be held on a specially designed shorter track layout.

Qualifying takes place on Saturday followed by the first races for each class, with the main race programme concluding on Sunday.