Michael Sweeney reflects on standout season after finally achieving long-held aim of winning Irish Superbike title

The popular southern Irishman won five races on his MJR BMW S1000RR this year – including a double at the Cookstown 100 in April – to secure the championship by 110 points from Wexford’s Graham Kennedy.

Sweeney also lifted the Ulster Superbike title and won the Ulster and Irish Supertwin Championships during a trophy-laden campaign.

“I’d been after that one for a very long time and it had either been Derek Sheils or Derek McGee in my way before, so it’s been hard work,” said Sweeney of his Superbike success.

“I’m delighted to get that because I won the 250 championship for John Burrows, then we won the Supertwins and 600 championships as well, so the Superbike was the only one I never won.

“It completes the set and keeps the sponsors happy as well.”

Sweeney also shone on the big stage at the North West 200 in May, where he finished fourth in the Saturday Superstock race – a result he was particularly proud of in a race packed with the sport’s foremost riders.

“For a little privateer to finish fourth at the North West 200 on the Superstock bike was pretty special to me,” said Sweeney.

“I had a great result at Armoy and to finish second ahead of Derek Sheils [in the ‘Race of Legends’] was another standout one from the season because I’d been trying for 15 years to beat him, so I eventually got him!

“Another one was being able to hold onto Michael Dunlop at Walderstown and to be so close to him at the finish line in the Superbike race was good.”

Sweeney returned to Oliver’s Mount in Scarborough at the weekend to compete at the Gold Cup meeting for the first time since 2012, where he claimed two runner-up finishes in the Classic Superbike races behind Derek Sheils.

He expects the event to be his final major outing of the season, with the Macau Grand Prix in November likely to require prohibitive quarantine measures.

“I suppose it’s been a real good year all round really and to finish off I decided to go back to Scarborough for the Gold Cup,” said Sweeney.

“I went there in 2012 and I crashed. It was raining and I hated the place. The organisers came on and had asked me to go so I decided I’d go back because of the situation with the Macau Grand Prix this year, which I’m not doing because you need to quarantine for 10 days.

“You can’t expect lads to go all the way over there and spend that amount of time in quarantine.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen because you need time to organise flights, bookings and transport together.

“I’m not sure what the minimum requirement for a grid before they could run the race but everyone I’ve spoken to – including the likes of [John] McGuinness, ‘Hicky’ [Peter Hickman] and [Michael] Rutter, none of them are going to quarantine for ten days,” he added.

“I’d say it’ll be next year for sure but before it gets backs properly.”