2013 Irish BMX National Series – Round 2

 

Round 2 of the National Series saw 113 riders take to the track out at DCBMX, slightly down from the last time but them someone did schedule it for Mother’s Day!

 

 

The previous week had seen some track upgrades which most riders eventually came to like. It was the new step up double and the skill of David Dorney that lead to arguably the best moment of the day when David went from 4th after a bad gate in one of his moto’s to first when the rest of the field decided it was best to pump the doubles while David sailed by them all in the air. Class! David’s 14 year old group was one of the most entertaining to watch as per usual, the top 4 or 5 in this class all have serious ability but it was Principal Stay Strong’s Sam Murphy taking his first National win, so smooth over jumps, if the others don’t step it up they may be seeing a lot more of his back wheel! Super fast Eoin Corrigan had to settle for second this time but watch out for him in Ratoath.

 

The Under 8 girls class is full of future stars, Shauna Byrne took first this time but Alannah Carolan was hot on her heals along with one of the Steacy clan, Chloe. Ava Quinn and Skyla Nally were also in the mix.

 

Abby Steacy was out doing it again for CAAM Racing, she was unbeatable on Sunday in the 8-10 girls. The battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th was a hot one though with Jade Gaffney, Jodie Hayes and Shauna Rowe all swapping places in the moto’s.

 

 

 

The 11-14 Girls was won by Robyn Bolger followed by Caragh Graham and Victoria Cotter. These girls need more competition, go forth and convince more to come to National number 3! Traditionally Ireland’s best international BMX riders have been girls …

 

KT O’Neill raced in both the 14 year old boys and the Ladies class. She won the ladies class again but it’s just more interesting watching her chase down the boys in the 14’s. She had some good results in the moto’s including an impressive win but then had a bad fall on the first straight, she’ll be back next time. Area 57 – Profile Racing’s Alison Murphy took the second followed by Alex Malone and Kate Larkin, both riding up.

 

 

 

The race to first in the 6 and under boys could not have been closer. James Wood just about edged out Noah Masterson with Dylan Hahne-Moore from the Track Pirates in third.

 

In the 7 year olds Route 55 / CAAM Racing’s Corey Waller was on it again, beating Jake Nally into first. Charlie Jackson from Kings & Leon took third.

 

Niall Davis has thrown a spanner in the works in the 9 year old boys. He’s come out of nowhere this year with another second. Ryan Quinn took the win with Lee O’Sullivan of the Congress Racing team in third. It will be interesting how these three riders develop over the season.

 

Morgan Kearney predicably took first in the 10 year old boys group, is anyone going to be able to stop him this year? Cian O’Sullivan was second all day followed by Zach Costello in third.

 

 

 

The 11 year olds boys is an interesting one, Ross Callaghan has made huge improvements this year and is the one to try catch even beating the 12 year olds who were moved down for the day. Alan Coleman and Jack Larkin (BMX Bandits) took second and third.

 

Adam Davis is the one to beat in the 13’s, even a borrowed bike couldn’t hold him back. He took first followed by two other talented riders, Leon Curley and the Moto Maniacs Aaron McNally who’s looking pretty flash down the second straight.

 

Aaron Edwards from Unit 8 Haro was first again in the 15’s followed by Jake Lynch, Mark Gaffney of D10 and Jake Campbell from Temper Tantrumz. Some of these 15 year olds are silky smooth around the track but more riders are needed to flesh out this group. Drag your friends to the next one boys!

 

There have been a few surprises in the 16-29 shredders. Conor Lynch has come out of nowhere it seems, he took an impressive second behind Patrick Bradley with Chris Madden in third. Roumer has it that Conor with be on board a brand new SE Elite frame for the next one, will it be the difference?  He’s pushing around a heavy street bike at the moment.

 

The Adult 30+ group was the biggest this time out, the only group that went to Semi’s. Ian Callaghan from Callaghan Racing was unbeatable all day, he has the step up doubles dialled in with manuals, impressive. Stephen Bagnall took second with Rod ‘I will jump anything’  Hughes in third. Rod is getting quicker and quicker every time he shows up on a track. Mr. Tsar Sheane the dirtyhabits.ie team leader is also getting quicker, don’t believe him when he tells you he won’t be able to keep up … he finished 4th for this round. The Adult 30+ group is building up to being one of the best groups to follow.

 

 

Eamonn Wyer was back on top in the Superclass with a third and two firsts in the 3 heat finals, Lar Massey finished second again (which puts him first overall … till the next one anyway). Ilmars Virsis was up there again with a third but how he finished the day after some of his crashes is a mystery, pretty sure if you look at the white panel along the finish line you’ll see his helmet imbedded in it! Kevin McShane was back on his bike too, always one to look out for, spectacular riding and crashes! Today he was doing both. Jamie McCullough, the first National winner was trying to outdo Kevin by making doubles into triples but coming up short! Aaron Steacy was in the mix as always with a 4th and Cian Deegan is sneaking up the table too. The other thing of note in the Superclass is that Jeremy O’Brien has decided it’s OK to take out the photographers now, is anybody safe?

 

 

As with Round 1 of the series, all the Superclass riders donated their winnings to the Lucan Track Fund. Thanks Guys!

 

Get ready for Round 3 in the Series on Sunday the 7th April when we will be heading to the great outdoors. Ratoath BMX here we come …

 

We’ve had some great photos from this round from both Stephen Kane & Anthony Connor. You can see all Stephen’s photos HERE (facebook) and Anthony’s over on the DCBMX facebook page. Thanks a million guys!

 

Simon Murphy is the man behind the videos which are slowly becoming the Kevin McShane interview series, very entertaining!

 

League table HERE

Team table HERE