Magilligan MX Park hosted a fantastic day of motocross action at round two of the Irish Youth Winter series, promoted by 555 Promotions, run under the auspices of Nora Motorsport.

There were some excellent performances in all classes, but the standout effort on the day came from Portadown rider Ethan Gawley on the K-tech/Fluid Plumbing and Heating KTM.

The 13-year-old was having his first competitive outing in the B/W85 class, and it was a perfect debut, claiming three holeshots on his way to securing a treble. He was crowned ‘rider of the day’ for his performance.

From second fastest in qualifying, Gawley was the first into Turn One, opening a big gap before the end of the lap.

placeholder image — Ethan Gawley (middle) was ‘rider of the meeting’ at Magilligan and is pictured with BW 85 runner-up Daniel Devine and Zach Rutherford, who finished third overall. (Photo by Irish Youth MX)

He said: “I knew I had a good gap and just focused on my riding to the chequered flag.”

In race two, both Gawley and Daniel Devine had a good scrap in the early laps before the Derry rider went down, leaving Gawley well clear in the lead. Devine remounted to finish second.

Race three was much the same, with Gawley winning by over 16 seconds from Devine, who fought back to second after a first-lap tumble.

“That was a great day's racing and I am over the moon,” said Gawley. “The bike was amazing and I couldn't have asked for any more and I can’t wait for the next round.”

Ballyclare’s Charley Irwin was unsure if he could even ride at the meeting after a massive crash prior to the event at Magilligan.

“I was a bit battered and bruised, but I enjoyed the day's racing,” said Irwin.

Irwin was fastest in qualifying on the Discount Beds 450 Honda and went on to claim three holeshots and three wins over Robbie McCullough and Ross Stewart.

Bobby Burns from Londonderry won all three 125 races, while Jake Sayers took the 65 class from Brendan McAreavy and Jax Knox.

In the S/W85 class, Caleb Duffy claimed the top spot on the podium ahead of Andrew Anderson and Max Jones.

Belfast rider Leo Taylor was the overall Auto winner, finishing ahead of Jay Colgan and Logan Nicholl.

The Higgins brothers from Cookstown, Jack and Noah, finished first and second in the K2 class with Jude Campbell third, while Axel McMullan won the K3 class from Lucas Taylor and Julian Vigors.

With over 120 youth competitors entered, the 27-long race programme started at 9am and was completed by 4pm. The next round is scheduled for December 14, with the final round on January 11.