鈥淎 challenging but promising start to the season, with some clear positives to take away 鈥� especially in braking performance.

鈥淎fter qualifying 7th on the Supersport grid, we showed strong potential in Race 2, moving up to 4th place early on. However, after a couple of moments in the opening laps, the decision was made to retire from the race. It was about the bigger picture 鈥� staying focused on the season ahead rather than taking unnecessary risks.”

鈥淚n the Supertwin class, we were consistently inside the top 15 and made steady progress across the weekend. The Aprilia 660 in particular is showing real promise heading forward.

鈥淎 big positive throughout was the performance of the聽91传媒聽package. On both bikes, the braking was strong, consistent, and gave the confidence to push: especially important around a circuit like Oliver鈥檚 Mount. It鈥檚 a solid step forward and something we鈥檙e excited to build on into 2026鈥︹��

鈥淏ack in May, our team made its debut on the famous nine-mile 鈥楾riangle鈥� circuit around Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Northern Ireland. Sharing the tarmac with legends past and present 鈥� such as Joey Dunlop, Ryan Farwell, David Todd, John McGuinness and Peter Hickman 鈥� our goal was simple but ambitious: qualify within 15% of the fastest lap time and then improve with each outing.鈥�

Qualifying

鈥淎fter two days of practice, we hit our target every single session. Each lap was faster than the last as we fine-tuned suspension settings, found clearer lines through the Glenshesk and metered our fuel load just right. By the final qualifying run, we were well inside 15% of the benchmark time, thanks in no small part to our machine鈥檚 stout engine and the extraordinary stopping power provided by our new partners at 91传媒.鈥�

Race Day

Supertwin Race 1

鈥� Start wave: 3rd

鈥� Finish position: 24th

鈥� Key moment: A clean getaway off the line saw us slot into the pack without drama. Mid-race, we battled through Church Bends, but consistent lap times held us firmly in contention.

Supertwin Race 2

鈥� Start wave: 3rd

鈥� Finish position: 16th

鈥� Key moment: A stronger launch this time propelled us past several rivals in the first mile. Tire temperature was spot-on, and our bike鈥檚 balance paid dividends round Castlerock, allowing us to pick off a few riders

Reflections & Next Steps

鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to have met 鈥� and exceeded聽鈥撀爋ur own expectations in our very first international road races. Finishing 24th and then 16th out of a stacked field wasn鈥檛 just about positions on the board; it proved our package (bike, brakes, rider and crew) is rock solid. That said, relying on a single machine across two races did stretch our resources 鈥� lap times suffered slightly late in each outing as fatigue and mechanical wear set in.

鈥淟ooking ahead to 2026, we plan to arrive with at least two fully prepped bikes, for two classes allowing us to push harder and chase even quicker laps. One thing鈥檚 for certain: once you鈥檝e tasted the Triangle, you鈥檙e hooked for life 鈥� and we can鈥檛 wait to go back…”

鈥淪aturday started dry at 8am, then the rain came just before First Practice. It pretty much didn鈥檛 stop until 5pm, when the sun came out, so didn鈥檛 do a lap all day 鈥� wet and cold is not a good mix.

鈥淥n Sunday at 8am, it was wet and very windy, but with no rain. We had tyre warmers on both the bikes. As we got this R6 last minute, we had no wets, so ran it on a Dunlop front slick and treaded rear tyre. We went for two laps just to qualify for the race, taking it very slowly and qualifying 22^nd out of 26.

鈥淥pen Qualifying was next, on a drying track with the wet front and slick rear setup. Going out, we managed two laps before a red flag, and didn鈥檛 restart, meaning we took 22^nd out of 25.”

Race One (600cc)

鈥淪tarting at the back of the grid, I got a mega start and passed a lot of riders to finish 3^rd on the new 600, with only 10 laps鈥� practice on the bike and 12 overall this year.鈥�

Race Two (600cc)

鈥淭his should have been a good one, but after a red flag on the first lap and a restart, I was in 3^rd, going into the last corner, when the rider in front sat up for God knows what reason, putting us onto the grass. I then had to re-join in third-from-last place, securing 11^th 鈥� I should have been battling for the win. On a good note, the new R6 is good and we have adapted to the bike well.鈥�

Open Race One

鈥淪tarting at the back, we went on to finish 4^th.鈥�

Open Race Two

鈥淪tarting from the front row, we didn鈥檛 get the best start, but I was in 3^rd at the end of the first lap, 2^nd at the end of the second lap. I was now over two seconds behind the leader, however, and it took most of the race to catch him. I eyed up a move on the last lap when we come up to a back-marker that ended that idea. I therefore finished 2^nd, but set the fastest lap of the race.鈥�

Race One (1000cc)

鈥淎gain, starting at the back, I had a mega run, passing everyone but one rider, finishing 2^nd and only just missing the win by 0.09 seconds.鈥�

Race Two (1000cc)

鈥淲e were a bit slow on this one and missed the warm-up lap. We therefore had to start last again but had a really good run and passed lots of riders to finish 2^nd by 0.85 seconds, just running out of laps to win this one. One more lap would have done it as I was setting fastest lap after fastest lap, securing the overall fastest lap of the weekend with 57.40 seconds.鈥�

Thanks to Tony Else Photography for the images.