I was really pleased that all went well at Armoy, with lap records in nearly every class, the racing was like the weather, hot! The countdown is now on for the Metzler Ulster Grand Prix. Hard to believe it is only a matter of weeks away. 16 countries will be represented this year, making the UGP a truly international event. This year, the Supertwin race will be sponsored by Martin Elliott of Townparks in Antrim, our local Vauxhall dealer who is also supplying the official cars. For the very first time at Dundrod, we will have two Chinese manufactured WK’s in the Supertwin class, McKinstry racing having one with John Walsh on board and Gary Johnson on board the other factory supported one. With Ryan Farquhar now retired from racing this will give the Supertwin class a real boost. Although with Jamie Hamilton on his KMR machine, he will still be the man to beat. Lidl Northern Ireland came on board last year as a partner to the UGP, and were so impressed that they increased their involvement this year. Our marshalls will be glad to hear that, as the lunch goodie bags that were so greatly appreciated last year will be provided again this year, courtesy of Lidl. Sometimes we tend to forget the thankless job our road and flag marshalls do, but without them we wouldn’t have any racing. It’s girl power at Dundrod this year; we have four female competitors taking part, Maria Costello MBE, Yvonne Montgomery, Melissa Kennedy and Veronika Hankocy from the Czech republic. Everybody knows safety is paramount in road racing, so I am pleased to say that after negotiations with the landowner, he is very kindly allowing an area of hedging at Quarterlands to be replaced with removable fencing, which is great news.
Keep ‘er Lit Noel Johnston, Clerk of the Course 30.07.13