Mid Antrim 150: Young gun Ross Moore 'has no words' after sensational Irish road racing debut with dream double at Clough

Sensational road racing newcomer Ross Moore was celebrating a dream double on his debut at the Mid Antrim 150 on Saturday after winning both Senior Support races.

Moore also finished on the podium in the Junior Support race behind Michael Clyde on a day to remember for the 20-year-old from Kells.

placeholder image — Ross Moore with his father Bryan at the Mid Antrim 150 at Clough, where he won two races in his first Irish road racing appearance, 20 years after his dad last raced at the event. (Photo by Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press)

He won the non-championship Senior Support race by 2.371s on his 600 Honda from Graeme Smallwoods (GS Racing Honda), setting a new lap record for the class at 101.218mph.

Moore – who had road racing legend Ian Lougher in his corner – doubled up, winning the second Senior Support race by an increased margin of over five seconds from Nicholas Round, with Smallwoods third.

The Clough debutant shattered the lap record again, raising the bar to 102.776mph.

He claimed the runner-up spot in the Junior Support race for good measure on his Aprilia 660, coming home 3.4s behind Clyde (Aprilia), with Smallwoods in third.

Moore, who came up through the ranks in the British Talent Cup in England and the Ulster Superbike Championship, was competing at the Mid Antrim 20 years after being present at the event as a weeks-old baby when his father Bryan was racing.

“I was coming into it with no expectations and we sort of came because of the 20-year thing, and also because the Mid Antrim was coming back, and we’re in the club,” Moore said.

“It just all went well from the get-go and it helped having Ian Lougher in my corner all weekend, and Barry Davidson helping as well. They were really keen to help and point you in the right way, and it all really helped me massively.

“It’s been a great weekend and I’ve no words for it really.

“I didn’t feel nervous coming into the races and I was treating it like a track day, going out for a ride around; I wasn’t going to stick my neck out and didn’t feel I wanted to.

“I felt comfortable all week and got on well with the track.”

Moore made a huge impact on his first appearance at a road race, but he was playing his cards close to his chest over possible further road racing outings in the future.

“It was a one-off and I’m going to keep telling my mum it is!” he added.

“We’ll have a think about it over the winter and we have a bit of a break now and we’ll see what happens.”