Cookstown 100: Guy Martin in Superbike double

Tyco BMW star Guy Martin steals show as Irish road racing season blasts off, Michael Dunlop unhurt after crashing Milwaukee Yamaha Superbike
Cookstown 100: Guy Martin in Superbike double

Tyco B💜MW's Guy Martin followed up his Spring Cup triumph at Scarborough with a Superbike double at the Cookstown 100 in Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Martin, who missed the Iri💝sh national roads event last year, warmed up for the onset of☂ the international meetings with a brace in the feature class on his S1000RR Superstock machine as rival Michael Dunlop endured a disappointing day on his first local appearance of the season.

Dunlop had to settle for second best behind M🌜artin in the first Superbike race, albeit by only 0.114 seconds at the finish, but crashed out of the big race of the day on his Milwaukee Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike while leading with three laps remaining.

The 11-time Isle of Man TT winner walked away unhurt, leaving Martin to take full advant🎐age as he completed a brace in front of a huge crowd at the Orritor circuit ahead of runner-up Derek Sheils and Dean Harrison on the Mar-Train Yamaha.

"I could have smoked a Woodbine in that last race, 𓃲the Supersܫtock BMW was so stable and working just mint," said Martin.

"I was never under any pressure and whe๊n Dunlop came past, I thought, 'this will give me a chance to have a look at what he is doing and pla♏n my pass for the last lap'.

"We certainly had an advantage on the 💞back part of the circuit aဣnd definitely the speed on the front straight to make the pass.

"It didn't need to happen, but a good day all round an🐈d𝐆 just what we needed."

William Dunlop on the second of the Tyco BMW machines, Jamie Hamilton (Burrows Suzu🌼ki) and 🍌James Cowton were the top six.

Michael Dunlop was also out of luck in the Supersport class as he made his debut on his MD Racing Yamaha R6, tw🦋ice retiring as older brother William stormed to a double.

In race one, Dunlop was a start-to-finish winner on the Chris Dowd/Ivan Curran Racing Yamaha by almost five-and-a-half seconds from Harrison, wh♍o was making his second visit to the event following his debut in 2013💯, with Hamilton third.

The 29-year-old made a similar fast start from pole in the second Supersport 600 race but soon came under threat from younger brother Michael, who closed in and looked set to throw down a challenge at the halfway point of the ra🌳ce unꦛtil he was forced out with a technical problem.

Dunlop won by 0.7 sec🤡onds in the end from new Wilson Craig recruit Derek 💝McGee with Harrison completing the top three.

On an otherwise low-key day for TT star Dunlop, the Milwaukee Yamaha rider did manage to come out on top in the Supertwin race on the McAdoo Kawasak𝐆i by half-a-second from Michael Sweeney with Hamilton on♋ the podium again in third.

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