Ireland’s premier motorcycle racing series, the Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship, finally saw the return of the audience it deserves at Mondello Park last weekend, July 24 and 25, and the lucky fans who were able to get hold of the limited number of tickets were treated to two days of excellent racing.

The headline Superbike Championship was thrown wide open as two non-finishes for points leader Richie Ryan and one for Derek Sheils, allowed Michael Sweeney to move ahead of both of them into an unexpected championship lead. Sweeney started the season without a single Masters Superbike podium to his name, despite having won numerous races in other classes, but he has been in top form since round one and a string of five podiums, including three runner-up spots in a row, have put him at the head of the field for the first time.

Following an easy win for Ryan in race one, it looked like being another dominant weekend for the triple champion from Kilkenny. Race two, however, was a different story as he crashed out of the lead on lap 2 leaving race one non-finisher Derek Sheils on his BMW to take his second win of the season, ahead of the similar machine of Sweeney.

With Ryan absent from the grid, the final race went to former champion Sheils, with the Wicklow rider chased home by a battling trio made up of north County Dublin rivals Sweeney and Thomas O’Grady, and Honda-mounted Kerryman Emmet O’Grady. In his efforts to grab third, Emmet dropped his bike at the start of the last lap leaving the unrelated Thomas to take his second top-three finish of the weekend. Emmet had the consolation of having taken the new Honda’s first ever Masters podium in race one.

The Superbike Cup class for less experienced riders was won by Cavan’s Shane Connolly. BMW-mounted Connolly was one of the fastest riders in pre-season testing and at the season opener in June. However, he had failed to finish any of the opening three rounds, leaving himself with a mountain to climb if he is to fulfil his promise and lift the Cup award.

The relative newcomer went some way to making up the lost ground, with three dominant victories as he ran comfortably in the top ten overall. Evan O'Grady from Tralee left Mondello Park as the Cup Championship leader, with fellow Kerryman Dean O’Grady second and Ulster rider Daniel Matheson, who took his first podium of the year in race three, third. Connolly’s efforts have moved him back into contention and he now sits fourth just two points behind Matheson.

The main support class, Supersport, was a Kevin Keyes benefit with the former British Championship racer taking a trio of wins, ahead of Corkman Mike Browne, to extend his championship lead. Browne pushed the Offaly rider hard all weekend but had to settle for three runner-up spots to move to second in the standings. The third-place trophies were shared between Limerick’s Andrew Murphy and Tyrone’s Michael Owens, with the Munster rider taking two and Owens taking one.

Highly impressive Tipperary teenager Oisin Maher took the fight to the leaders in all three races but failed to finish each time due to mechanical issues and is one rider who really deserves a break after a tough start to his season. The Supersport Cup class had two different winners as Cork’s Jamie Collins took races one and three, with fellow Corkman Stephen Tobin taking a maiden class win in race two.

Also on the Mondello Park programme was the opening round of the new FIM MiniGP Ireland Series, which is part of the MiniGP World Series initiative introduced this season by the FIM, the governing body of World Motorcycle Racing and MotoGP promoters Dorna. The championship for 10- to 14-year-olds ran alongside the main Masters event using a shortened version of the Mondello Park National track and produced some fine racing with some future stars already making their mark.

The battle at the head of the field in all three encounters included up to five riders, all of whom looked capable of winning, but the undoubted stars of the opening event were two 14-year-olds, race one winner Brian Hamilton and Josh O’Brien, who took the other two victories. Others to shine were the youngest rider to make the podium, 10-year-old Fionn Stephens, Finnan Wherity and Mark Carey who also took podium finishes, and Fionn O’Connell who just missed out with three fourth places.

The British Superbike Championship was back in action as well last weekend, on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Dubliner Jack Kennedy took his second Supersport win of the year along with a second place to move well clear at the head of the championship. Also in the Supersport class Donegal’s Rhys Irwin had his best weekend of the season so far, taking fifth place as he continues to adapt to Supersport machinery in his first year in the class. Rhys’s brother Caolan made a return to the Superstock 600 class having split from the team with which he began the season in Superstock 1000. The older Irwin was instantly back on the pace but unfortunately crashed out while lying third in the only Stock 600 race of the weekend.