Derek Sheils showed no signs of any ring rust as he wrapped up a double at the SBT Ireland Ulster Superbike meeting at Kirkistown in Co Down on Saturday.

The Irish rider’s appearances are few and far between after Sheils scaled down his racing activities, but he clearly remains as competitive as ever following a big-bike brace on the Roadhouse Macau BMW at round five of the championship, which was jointly promoted by the Hillsborough and Mid Antrim 150 clubs.

Championship leader Carl Phillips (SBT Ireland Kawasaki) kept Sheils honest in both races, finishing as the runner-up twice to increase his lead at the top of the standings.

McAdoo Racing Kawasaki’s Korie McGreevy was ruled out of the event as he recovers from injury following a crash in qualifying at Kirkistown two weeks ago.

placeholder image — Derek Sheils (Roadhouse Macau BMW) won both SBT Ireland Superbike races at Saturday's Ulster Superbike meeting at Kirkistown. (Photo by Rod Neill/Pacemaker Press)

In the opening Superbike race, pole man Sheils edged a tight battle against Phillips, with the duo separated by only 0.045s at the line after 10 laps on a warm day on the Ards Peninsula.

Phillips took the lead in the early stages with Sheils right behind as the leaders pulled clear of reigning champion Jonny Campbell in third on his 155 Racing BMW.

Sheils forged his way to the front to take the lead from former champion Phillips, who hit back again as they continued to trade blows.

However, it was Sheils – himself a past champion – who got the verdict in a thrilling finish.

Campbell was 9.294s further back as he sealed the final place on the rostrum.

Ryan Gibson finished fourth on the Gibson Motors BMW with Andrew Whearty (Honda) and Karl McGahon (Yamaha) the top six.

In race two, Phillips again took the lead on the first lap as he made the running on his Kawasaki, with Sheils content to keep a watching brief around 0.3s behind.

At half-distance, Sheils made his move and pulled a slight advantage of four tenths of a second, which he held until the end of the nine-lap race.

His winning margin was 0.416s over Phillips, who had more than five seconds in hand over Campbell.

Ross Irwin took fourth on the Magic Bullet Honda ahead of Gibson, while Daniel Matheson (LMLR BMW) rounded out the top six.

Graeme Irwin was a double winner in the Supersport races, stretching his lead in the championship in McGreevy’s absence.

Irwin took the spoils in the opener on the Magic Bullet Ducati by three seconds from Christian Elkin (DynoCentreNI Yamaha), who was over five seconds clear of Mark Conlin in third on the Moto Market/NRG/Bell Bikesport Ducati.

Ajay Carey finished a lonely fourth on the AKR Racing Honda.

Irwin completed a second successive Supersport double at Kirkistown in the restarted second race, which was held over five laps.

However, he had to work hard for the win, with Conlin pushing him all the way to the line and missing out by just 0.145s.

Elkin finished third, two seconds in arrears, with Carey again in fourth.

Elkin sealed a brace in the Supertwin races on the RB Engineering Kawasaki, closing the deficit in the championship to Caolan Irwin, who was not in action on Saturday.

Elkin beat Finnan Wherity (WCS Racing Yamaha) in the first race and Dean McMaster (Air NI Kawasaki) in the second encounter.