TANDRAGEE 100: Derek Sheils reflects on breathtaking Superbike race

Derek Sheils has reflected on a red-hot feature Superbike race at the Tandragee 100 on Saturday, when the Cookstown/Burrows Engineering rider finished on the podium in third.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th May 2018, 16:41 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 17:37 BST
Derek Sheils leads Derek McGee and Dan Kneen in the Open Superbike race at the Tandragee 100.Derek Sheils leads Derek McGee and Dan Kneen in the Open Superbike race at the Tandragee 100.
Derek Sheils leads Derek McGee and Dan Kneen in the Open Superbike race at the Tandragee 100.

Manx rider Dan Kneen won a thrilling showdown on the Tyco BMW from Derek McGee and Sheils, with less than half-a-second covering the trio.

Sheils had earlier won the Open Superbike race on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and although he was disappointed to miss out on a big-bike double in County Armagh, the Irish ace said he was left feeling satisfied overall.

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“It was a good day and the first race was great. We managed to pick up another win and it would’ve been nice to win the big Superbike race later, but you can’t win them all,” said Sheils.

“I made a good start and led for a few laps and then Derek McGee came past me on the fourth lap. I took a couple of lunges at him and I was up alongside him a few times, but I just wasn’t able to quite go for it.

“Dan Kneen then got past me and then everyone was really defending their lines. There was no real way to try and make a safe pass without doing a crazy manoeuvre, so we finished third but we were right there at the end,” he added.

“I went about a second quicker than I ever lapped Tandragee so it was a satisfying race and I’m happy enough. We also qualified on pole for the Supersport race and fifth place wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but it wasn’t the worst result either on the Yamaha.”

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Team boss John Burrows said Sheils is currently riding at the top of his game.

“As a team, we were pleased that Derek won the first Superbike race and had a strong podium in the feature Tandragee 100 race, when he set his personal best time.

“It shows that the old Suzuki GSX-R1000 is still capable of doing a good job and Derek is on top of his game. There was nothing in it in the big race of the day when Derek finished third behind Dan Kneen and Derek McGee so it was another positive day for him and the team.”

Sheils will sit out the North West 200 but will link up with the Penz13.com BMW team for the Isle of Man TT. The 35-year-old will continue to ride the Cookstown/B.E. Racing Suzuki after the TT festival.

Related topics:BMW