Highlights from the 2025 road races at Cookstown on the 25th-26th April 2025.
05:20 - Moto 3 (125GP)/Supersport 300
05:52 - Supersport
17:15 - Supertwin
25:30 - Open
29:39 - Round Up Of Senior Support, Junior Support, Lightweight Supersport, Classic Superbike, Classic Pre 73 Senior
30:45 - Cookstown 100
05:20 - Moto 3 (125GP)/Supersport 300
05:52 - Supersport
17:15 - Supertwin
25:30 - Open
29:39 - Round Up Of Senior Support, Junior Support, Lightweight Supersport, Classic Superbike, Classic Pre 73 Senior
30:45 - Cookstown 100
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Northern Ireland is a country where the motorcycle road racing spirit runs deeper than anywhere else in the world.
00:22Here is considered by many as the true home of the sport. And across the BBC, we have another season of high-speed action covered from every angle.
00:44Look at the start that Todd's got, Steve. He is off the line like a rocket. Oh, look at that. Oh, and he's made it through.
00:52Extremely brave. Oh, Dean Harris is up on the curb. Side by side. Away we go. How close do you like it?
01:10Another victory for Michael Dunlop.
01:15What a way to spend your week here in Northern Ireland.
01:22Another year of this adrenaline-pumping sport gets underway here in County Tyrone with the Bear Competitions Cookstown 100.
01:35It's Ireland's oldest and longest-running motorcycle road race. It's been going for over 100 years.
01:41And the Cookstown is one of four road races taking place in Northern Ireland this year, along with the Armoy Race of Legends, the Tandergy 100 and the North West 200, which is Northern Ireland's biggest homegrown outdoor sporting event.
01:56But it all starts here, and headlining is the biggest name in the sport.
02:01Michael Dunlop is popular with the fans, hands-on with his own machines and electrifyingly fast.
02:142024 was a record-breaking year for him at the Isle of Man TT. He's just returned from competing in the Le Mans 24-hour race, where he suffered a big crash.
02:25I think I got up straight away. My suit was up straight away. Obviously I'm black and blue just from the impact, but I had no broken bones thankfully, so it was a good job.
02:31Start of the road racing season here in Northern Ireland. Why have you decided to come to Cookstown?
02:36You know, just get some miles in our stuff. We were only home from Moulton last night. We drove the whole way through the night to get back to here.
02:41So home, change wheels and back. So hopefully get a run around today and see what happens.
02:45And how are you feeling about this season? Obviously last year was such an historic time for you.
02:50Yeah, look, you know, last year obviously with the way things went, you know, it took a lot of weight off my shoulders.
02:55TTU obviously was the main objective. I was just a bit disappointed with the North West, obviously picking up an injury here.
03:00Last year before the North West hindered me, but I'm looking forward to getting to the North West and having a real good go at it.
03:07The bikes seem to be looking well. We're a bit of a work to do to the sort of bike.
03:10We've been sort of left high and dry a little bit and we're trying to work hard to get it done.
03:13But hopefully we get out on it very shortly and hopefully the North West will get a show on and then leads us back to TT.
03:22Pushing Dunlop today will be Michael Sweeney, a former National Road Racer of the Year.
03:30After a six year break from the Irish roads, Derek McGee is back. The 38 year old is a former multiple Irish champion.
03:43Daryl Tweed is a former Manx Grand Prix winner who's shown some great form at Cookstown in the past.
03:49Kevin Keyes is a former podium finisher in the B.S.B. Short Circuit Series.
03:58And Joe Yardsley is an impressive newcomer from the Isle of Man.
04:08The Cookstown 100 is the shortest of our road races, just 2.1 miles long.
04:21It's Michael Dunlop who holds the outright lap record set 11 years ago, but it still stands.
04:27The orator circuit always produces some close racing. There's a long start finish straight before the course winds its way into the countryside with plenty of exciting sections.
04:42There's a jump off camper bends before a crossroads to the checkered flag.
04:47Well, it's time to go racing. The course car is about to clear the circuit and the bikes are forming on the grid.
04:56Now qualifying yesterday was pretty much washed out by the weather.
05:00It's also been raining early this morning, but thankfully the sunshine is now poking through and the track is starting to dry.
05:07For our first race, the Supersport Class. Derek McGee is in pole position and he's already had a great start to the day.
05:16McGee was a start to finish winner in the Moto3 125cc. It's a class he's excelled in previously, holding the lap record here since 2018.
05:29It's certainly an impressive comeback by the Mullingar man on the Feraldo racing machine.
05:35Well, pushing Derek McGee will, of course, be Michael Dunlop, who broke his Uncle Joey's record at the Isle of Man TT last year.
05:45On commentary for us is Chris Palmer and Dave Moore.
05:51Just over two miles in distance. Who will get the best start? Here we go.
05:57McGee, good start. Oh, from row two. That's Daryl Tweed on the Honda.
06:01Great stop, but look who's in the lead. They come down to Gorton for the very first time.
06:08So Dunlop leads.
06:10It's tight there into that corner there, yeah, but Dunlop got the drive with the big Ducati off the line there.
06:14Next wave away, Chalk on bike 10. And Paul Cranston, number 93, the evergreen Paul Cranston.
06:24Though out of McAdoo, looking back from Daryl Tweed.
06:27And that was McGee. So not the best of starts for McGee on the Yamaha.
06:33No, McGee was shaking his head on the line, whether the bike was getting slightly too hot or whatever, and it just missed the start.
06:38He sort of got bogged down off the line.
06:40So it's Dunlop from Sweeney as they go around Mackney.
06:45So here we go.
06:47Yep, there he goes, just bogged down off the line there.
06:50Michael Sweeney providing the pitches and then just coming up, Michael Dunlop.
06:54The drive from the Ducati, absolutely fantastic, look at that.
06:57Goes to the inside, sort of blocks the corner slightly.
07:00So, Michael Dunlop with a cracking start, Sweeney managing to stay with him.
07:05They're coming up, it's a really crucial, fast right-hand turn, this.
07:12They come to the crossroads.
07:14Inch perfect from Dunlop, using every bit of the road.
07:17Sweeney's impressive, though, he's staying with him, isn't he?
07:19And Sweeney's a tall lad as well.
07:20He is, he is, and it's interesting that the two R6s are staying with the Ducati on drive out the corners as well.
07:26So the R6s that we're looking at are pretty good bikes, though.
07:29I mean, obviously, the McGee bike's an ex-10 Karti World Championship bike.
07:34So, yeah, really good machinery.
07:38Sweeney not quite close enough to Dunlop.
07:40However, there's a few changes of position going on.
07:43Someone really slow on the brakes into Gorton there as Tweed goes through.
07:49There's Paul Cranston.
07:51It just looked like someone wrong live.
07:53They did, Paul Cranston now on 93, ahead of Chalk on bike 10.
07:56We're with Kevin Keyes.
07:58Looks like he's taken a couple of positions going into Gorton.
08:05Oh, Franco Bourne.
08:06Oh, he's not quite made it.
08:09Easy to do, Chris.
08:10Absolutely, yeah.
08:11On board, then, with Michael Sweeney chasing down.
08:14And there!
08:15Oh, it's McGee.
08:16McGee threw into second place on the run down to McAdoo.
08:19So, McGee now into second, Sweeney back into third.
08:24And a little wheelie out of Mackney.
08:28Bron, Michael Dunlop.
08:30So, McGee, then, has got Dunlop in his sights.
08:34Can he close that gap, or can Michael Dunlop,
08:38who's been racing a very long time, McGee,
08:40just coming back to racing today.
08:41One win already under his belt.
08:44Yeah, Michael Sweeney just had a look over his shoulder there
08:46to make sure there's nobody in close quarters.
08:49So, yeah, he's possibly about to kind of settle
08:51for the podium position in third.
08:55Yeah, you'd maybe argue that the 1,000 cc's are more Michael Sweeney,
08:59although he's shown how good he is on other machinery,
09:02only due to his so tall.
09:06With Michael Sweeney, a regular at Cookstown,
09:09overcome some horrendous injuries as well, hasn't he?
09:12Yes, he has, and he's done well to come back from it, to be fair.
09:15But Derek McGee there, he's absolutely pushing Michael all the way
09:18on his comeback ride after a six-year break.
09:20So, at the end of lap three,
09:22that gap between Dunlop and McGee was half a second.
09:27Fastest lap of the race so far, Derek McGee,
09:29a 1.26.5, just two tenths quicker than Dunlop.
09:37But Dunlop with a decision to make whether he's going to use that Ducati,
09:40as you mentioned at the start of this race, Chris.
09:42Yes, you know, it's funny, the Ducatis are not as powerful as you think,
09:45obviously, because it's the next-generation bike.
09:47They're limited on horsepower and limited on weight and stuff like that,
09:50but they've got a lot of torque, so they punch out of the corners really well.
09:54I think a good R6 is possibly maybe faster top-end, I'm not sure,
09:59but the Ducati seems to be a weapon of choice for a lot of people these days.
10:04And Michael Dunlop, of course, has pretty much been unbeatable
10:07in the Supersport class at the Isle of Man TT in recent years,
10:10though he has got a decision to make.
10:12He's just been testing, of course, he's come here from Alton Park,
10:15he did do a few laps of the circuit in Cheshire in England on that Ducati.
10:19Meanwhile, though, McGee having to think he's not close enough for a move into Gorton.
10:23And that's a fast R6, last year's World Championship bike, yeah, I mean, mega bike.
10:32But Michael Sweeney trying to stay with the two guys ahead,
10:36he's lost a little bit of time, he's now three seconds,
10:38just over three seconds down at the end of that previous lap.
10:41We need to remember that not many of the guys went out in practice yesterday either,
10:45so this run-out today is sort of, you know, the first run-out they've had, really.
10:50That was Michael Garan we saw on treble two, just again, overshooting,
10:54and we won't, not the first time we've seen it at Gordon,
10:57and it won't be the last time we'll see it again today.
11:03Here we go, he's really coming up to this jump, front goes light.
11:07Dunlop versus McGee.
11:09Coming up to lap people now, and it's obviously Derek McGee
11:13will be trying to take an advantage from any situation, to be fair.
11:17Well, they've managed to do it again, then they've got another rider,
11:21it looks like Degnan, I think, that's just ahead of them on the road,
11:24but they'll, they should take these three along this far straight.
11:29A lot of bikes in front, and they're back, they have to weave their way through,
11:33and McGee, my goodness me, that was close.
11:36Here they go, this is crucial, this is crucial coming into Gordon,
11:39and Dunlop has not only got to defend from McGee, he's got to make his way through.
11:43That's Cranston, not Cranston, sorry, it's 92 that he's just gone past.
11:47Noel Carroll, that is, yep.
11:49That is, yeah, Noel Carroll, Cranston's on 93, of course.
11:52But they've managed to get through, but what will that do in shaping the outcome of this race?
11:58I think McGee's still right behind him, so Michael's going to have to watch his back,
12:02certainly on the last lap.
12:04Brian McCormack on travel one, great to see him at Cookstown.
12:10Dunlop with a good advantage.
12:12Well, it was two tenths of a second at the end of lap seven.
12:18Nine laps the distance, of course.
12:22Just on the approach into Macneat, there is Michael Sweeney,
12:24still holding third place, so he has managed to make his way past
12:27the other riders from the third wave.
12:34But it looks as if Michael Dunlop is going to add another victory here at Cookstown 100.
12:43Ryan Farfar and Barry Davidson are the most successful riders around this track.
12:47They've won here more times than anyone else.
12:50But the last lap flag goes out for Michael Dunlop.
12:53That gap is three seconds.
12:58I was just going to say, Michael looked like he was pushing on a little bit harder there to sort of break the toe,
13:02and I think he's just taking the fastest lap actually looking at that.
13:05Yeah.
13:071.25.09.
13:09So on the last lap, Michael Sweeney providing the pictures as we power down to Gorton again.
13:14Michael Dunlop continues to lead that advantage over Derek McGee.
13:19Three seconds at the end of that lap.
13:23There's still a mile or so to go, and here he is into Macneat.
13:27But this will be 12 wins at the Cookstown 100 for Michael Dunlop,
13:32which will mean he has one more than his father, Robert,
13:36and one more than his uncle, Joey,
13:38and just two less than achieved by his brother, William.
13:43It will be 12 victories in all.
13:45Here he comes then.
13:49Just the right left-hand flip.
13:52And it will be victory for Michael Dunlop, his first of the day.
13:56And you can bank that there will be more to come.
13:59This is Michael Dunlop to take the chequered flag at the Cookstown 100.
14:03What a ride on the Ducati.
14:06Superb. 12 wins in total now.
14:08Only his third Supersport victory.
14:10But, yeah, Michael Dunlop is still the man to beat.
14:16So the scores on the doors with Kevin Keyes from the second wave,
14:20finishing fifth overall behind Daryl Tweed.
14:23Michael Sweeney third, Derek McGeehan second,
14:25and Michael Dunlop takes the win.
14:31Michael, how nice to get the first road racing win of the season
14:34under your belt.
14:35Yeah, it was good. Yeah, it was.
14:36A couple of boys have been out in races before,
14:38so they knew the condition of the road,
14:40and to be honest with you, it wasn't great.
14:44The condition was okay, dumping areas,
14:47but I'd made a set-up for the wet,
14:49and we just struck an intermediate,
14:50so we should have had a slick tyre on.
14:52But, no, the bike was really good.
14:53It just sort of stayed in the mood.
14:54I didn't want to do anything stupid,
14:55and then the last couple of laps,
14:57I'd better get stuck in here.
14:58So, just done a couple of laps,
15:00and I wasn't sure who it was,
15:02Michael or Derek behind me.
15:03I wasn't sure, so I just kept pushing on.
15:05It doesn't matter how many races you've won
15:07and how bigger races you've won.
15:09When it comes to the start of the season,
15:11winning is nice.
15:12It's about building confidence, isn't it?
15:14Aye, it's building confidence, you know.
15:15Look, it's just...
15:17It is.
15:18It's all confidence.
15:20That's what it all is.
15:21You know what I mean?
15:22And, you know,
15:24I haven't rid this bike now since three months ago,
15:28so it was just to try and get better into it
15:30and try it on the road to see what it was like.
15:32So, I'm real happy there,
15:33and it's good for the boys.
15:34Yeah, were you happy with the performance?
15:36Yeah.
15:37Looking ahead to bigger races, obviously.
15:38Yeah.
15:39We're limited in Gearn, my fault.
15:41Gearn didn't come on time,
15:42so we're quite limited with the bike.
15:44It seems okay.
15:45A couple of changes now,
15:46I know we have to make to move forward,
15:47so we just have to keep at it.
15:49Congratulations, well done.
15:52Derek, great start to the day, a win and a podium.
16:04Yeah, fantastic.
16:05You know, I couldn't have asked for any more in my return,
16:07so, yeah.
16:08Got some nice bikes under me this year,
16:10so really enjoyed the first Moto3 racing,
16:12the Prattler racing bike,
16:13and, yeah, went out in the 600,
16:15had a good battle there with Mickey,
16:17and just the fortune we got called with back markers at the end,
16:19and was hoping to have something for the last lap for him,
16:21but we'll get a shot again someday.
16:23Yeah, it felt like you were nudging ever closer during the race.
16:26Yeah, I had a spot where I was thinking for the last lap,
16:28which I always know Mickey will come back,
16:30but, yeah, shame.
16:32And how quickly have you eased back into this,
16:34because it seems to have been effortless after so long away?
16:37Yeah, I wouldn't say it's been easy,
16:39but today I'm still, yeah, still getting used to it,
16:41and I haven't done much riding in the last couple of years.
16:44The last four years I've done three races,
16:46so, not much, but we're getting there.
16:48We're getting back to where we were.
16:49Well, well done.
16:50Thanks very much.
16:51So, a victory for Michael Dunlop,
16:56and on to the top step of the podium.
16:59He picks up his first trophy of this new road racing season,
17:02and I have no doubt there will be plenty more to come.
17:06He's not out in this next race, the Super Twins,
17:09and it's Michael Sweeney who's in pole position.
17:12We have a couple of non-starters on the back of the second way,
17:1732 and 97, not going out, but we are about to go, and also,
17:23it's worth remembering the Cookstown 100 is where Super Twins were first introduced,
17:28and what a success story there being as away we go.
17:31And it's certainly a wheel up in the air from Daryl Tweed.
17:36However, McGee keeps his front planted as they go down,
17:39so he goes from third place on the grid into first door, does he?
17:43It's going to be Sweeney.
17:44Yep, Sweeney on the Aprilia, swept across the outside of him there.
17:47Just left the brakes off just a moment longer.
17:49The next wave gets away, 19, is your boy Yardsley, Chris Palmer.
17:53Yeah, they've put him on the second wave, which I know he's not too happy about,
17:56but if he gets a good clear run, he should be able to pull a good result out of this, hopefully.
18:01And that's not just because of qualifying times, is it?
18:04No, no, it wasn't the qualifying.
18:06He actually was second quickest in the wet yesterday,
18:09but it wasn't classed as qualifying, it was just classed as practice.
18:12But I know he was hoping to get on the first wave, I will be honest with you.
18:16Let's watch Sweeney here on the brakes.
18:18So, Tweed getting away superbly.
18:21McGee looked like he had the whole shot as they got into Gorton.
18:25It was Sweeney.
18:26However, now they've settled down on this opening lap of this reduced to seven-lap race.
18:33And is McGee who leads?
18:35Derek McGee has the lead.
18:37I think McGee's really got the bit between his teeth here, hasn't he?
18:40I think he's got a point to prove.
18:41The fact he's had sort of six years off and he's back with a bang, really, to be fair.
18:46Be interesting to see what the Aprilias are like against the Kawasaki down the straight,
18:50the start-finish straight, to be fair.
18:51Well, we're about to find out, Chris, because here they come.
18:54Though the blast down towards Gorton.
18:57Though Sweeney just took him down as tight as he can.
19:02That big, tall frame of his.
19:05Not really answering your question, though, is it?
19:07No, there's not that much in it, to be fair.
19:08I thought the Kawasaki might just have the legs on the Aprilia.
19:11The Aprilias are known for not having as much mid-range push as the Kawasaki, but interesting.
19:18That was Ferber on Bike 80, really flying into the turn at Gorton.
19:23And that is one of the 700 Yamaha's, that is.
19:27Yeah, the R7, which we thought, perhaps, there might be a few more of.
19:31Yes, I did think they'd be more popular, but the Aprilia seems to have sort of taken over from that, yeah.
19:39Yeah, from that manufacturer.
19:40So, yeah, the ER6 Kawasaki dominating twins.
19:44But is it all about to change?
19:46Not as far as Derek McGee is concerned on Ryan Farquhar's bike.
19:50Ryan Farquhar, of course, the most successful man around Cookstown with 26 victories,
19:55only matched by Barry Davidson.
19:56So McGee already with a win, and Sweeney staying with him.
20:05So they're coming down to Orata.
20:07There's not much in it there, is there?
20:09There is not much at all.
20:11So there was just a tenth of a second between these two at the end of lap one.
20:16And I would suggest there's going to be a tenth or two tenths of a second between them at the end of lap two.
20:22I think the handling of the Aprilia has always been famously, you know, famously good for the chassis and the design of the chassis.
20:29So, yeah, it's nice to see that continued.
20:33It's McGee, though, who is continuing.
20:36It's just as if he hasn't been away.
20:39However, oh, gets that, Rob.
20:41Yeah, ran wide there.
20:42Is he going to get, is he going to, no, he's still back in front.
20:45Back.
20:46Managed to get back in time.
20:51But again, you've got your markers coming into a place like Gorton, of course.
20:54They come through.
20:57And out of McAdoo, really tight through here, the run down to Makney.
21:03The angle of the, or the camera certainly looks, makes Sweeney look further back than he actually is.
21:08So, into Makney to go, McGee from Sweeney.
21:14Again, as I've said, Chris, it's overtaking at a minimum here, isn't it?
21:18Yeah, yeah.
21:19I mean, it's obviously really narrow and there's only really one racing line through there.
21:22But it's, yeah, it's interesting to see where they can and can't pass, to be fair.
21:27That's another, just that little rise by the tree there at Blacks.
21:34Oh, that was the, he's close to him there.
21:37Yeah.
21:38So, it was, did McGee just maybe slow down a little bit for the turn and Sweeney carried the speed through?
21:47But here they go anyway, and Sweeney a lot closer this time than he was in the previous lap.
21:50Can he use this slipstreaming?
21:52Well, Michael Sweeney has seven wins to his name in the past.
22:01First came here in 2010.
22:02Oh, back wheel of the horse!
22:04Oh, Sweeney!
22:05Oh, they both went wide!
22:08Again, well, in short circuit, et cetera, you would get a blue flag,
22:13and yeah, on the roads, blue flags waved by Marshalls to let the riders know
22:18the quick guys are coming through, it's still not an option.
22:22Though it's still Derek McGee from Michael Sweeney.
22:26No change in the order.
22:28Kernaghan still in fifth behind Joe Yardsley.
22:33Conditions improving as well.
22:36Sweeney just seems to just take a little chunk out of him just coming into that corner, doesn't he?
22:40Oh, it's a crossroads.
22:45And out and again, deja vu, it's pretty much as you were.
22:50And again, Sweeney, as we go on to the last lap, Sweeney could just be waiting to show his hand,
22:55and he might do that into Gorton now as we look at Tweed coming round.
22:59Oh!
23:01So, Daryl Tweed coming round.
23:04Having a good ride in third place there, again on an Aprilia.
23:08So there is Joe Yardsley, bike 19.
23:12Yeah, Michael Garn there on the 2-2-2 bike.
23:15Kawasaki.
23:17There's seven laps the race distance, they've completed six.
23:20There.
23:26McGee just has found a little gap over Sweeney.
23:31So if Sweeney did have any cards to play, he certainly hasn't got any more to use.
23:37And maybe just a little wide out of Mackney there as well, perhaps.
23:40But here they come.
23:42It looks as if it will be another win for Derek McGee at Cookstown.
23:46It will be the fifth of his career on this circuit.
23:52He came into this meeting with three under his belt.
23:56Really stretched out now.
23:58But there's the man still in third place.
24:01But we're concentrating, and quite rightly so, on Derek McGee.
24:05He comes down towards the chequered flag.
24:07There he is on bike 86.
24:09Takes the win.
24:11Michael Sweeney, a superb effort from Sweeney, has to settle for second place.
24:17Well, this is how it finishes in the end.
24:20Andy Farrell, Barry Furber, Neil Kernaghan, and Joe Yardsley.
24:24Ten seconds down on Daryl Tweed, with Michael Sweeney's second, Derek McGee, the winner.
24:29Yeah, it was a good race, really enjoyed it.
24:31Derek's bike just had the legs a mile.
24:34I was trying to bring it all back on the brakes, and then when we got to the straight again,
24:36he was able to pull another couple of bike lanes on me.
24:39He just had the legs on me, just on the back section.
24:45Well, yeah, great day so far.
24:47Yeah, the KMR Super Twin was flawless in that one.
24:50Thanks very much to Jack Reed and all the sponsors.
24:53I'm very happy with that one.
24:55Great race, really enjoyed it.
24:56Yeah, there wasn't much between the bikes.
24:58Yeah, really enjoyed that one, Michael.
24:59Well, next up, it's the open race for the big bikes.
25:13Michael Dunlop looking for his second win of the day,
25:16but he's still searching for a super bike solution for the bigger races coming up,
25:21the Northwest 200 and Isle of Man TT.
25:24So he's out in this one on his 2025 BMW Super Stock.
25:27Seven laps the race distance, the sun continuing to shine here.
25:34Unfortunately, McGee is not there, so no Derek McGee,
25:38and no Whitehall either.
25:40But it is a cracking start by Sweeney.
25:44Sweeney blasting away, so too McCormack from the second row.
25:48Dunlop with a foot out.
25:50Dunlop into second position as they go into Gorton.
25:53Cracking start by Michael Sweeney.
25:55Dunlop second and McCormack into third, Chris.
25:57Yeah, good start from him for sure.
25:58He'll be pleased with that.
26:00Yeah, Keyes, number five, getting away, no 38.
26:04We're on board with Julian Trummer.
26:10The Austrian into Gorton on the super bike.
26:13Oh!
26:15Wow.
26:16Well, welcome to Cookstown, Julian Trummer.
26:19That was tight.
26:20That was very tight.
26:21A little nudge as well.
26:26Meanwhile, out in front, out at Mackney, it's still Sweeney from Dunlop.
26:31McCormack in third, Kernaghan in fourth place on Bike 109.
26:34We're looking back from the race leader.
26:35Dunlop with the watching eye there.
26:36It's obviously a lot closer than it looks on the camera there, but yeah, he's just keeping an eye on the job, isn't he?
26:46Just settling in nicely.
26:47Into Craig Mount, Tweeney from Dunlop, and maybe for Dunlop, not so much about winning, but what the bike's doing, perhaps.
26:59Yeah, he'll be assessing the situation, he'll be analysing everything that's going on.
27:03Obviously, he's up against another BMW there, so, yeah, he'll be all the time learning, all the time assessing the situation.
27:12Actually, he was getting sort of left down the straight there slightly, but he's on a stock bike.
27:16I don't know what Speck Sweeney's BMW actually is.
27:20So, here they come out of the Orata crossroads down Brayside, down this long straight.
27:31We're back with Julian Trummer again.
27:33This time, looks like he's got a little bit of road to himself as he comes to Gorton.
27:37Obviously, some 600s are mixed up in all this as well.
27:40Yeah, well, it's the open race, so...
27:42Yeah, yeah.
27:43Superbikes, supersport machinery.
27:45And again, you could argue that it's not really a superbike track, is it?
27:51You know, apart from the run down to Gorton.
27:53Yeah, yeah, it's a real tight, it's tight round the back, isn't it?
27:56And here we are, round the back.
27:59Let's listen to those Beamers.
28:02We're back on board with number five, Kevin Keyes, just coming in to Mackney.
28:10Keyes just looking to see, in fact, that is Whitehall.
28:15I thought Whitehall was a non-starter, but obviously I was wrong, so my apologies for that.
28:19Meanwhile, Dunlop making no apologies for sticking behind Sweeney out of Craigmount.
28:25Just having a good look at him here, isn't he?
28:27Mm.
28:28He doesn't look like he's under any pressure, he looks really relaxed on the bike.
28:31Again, just letting Sweeney do the hard work, so to speak.
28:34Letting Sweeney do all the sweating.
28:36Sweeney will be aware that Dunlop's behind him.
28:40And sometimes that can be a big pressure drop, in fact, here he goes.
28:45No, not close enough.
28:46Or is he?
28:47I think he is.
28:48He's going for it, Michael Dunlop is going for it, Sweeney tucks in.
28:52I didn't think he'd be close enough, but I didn't expect it to be that close.
28:56And a red flag.
29:09So, it is a red flag, the race has been stopped.
29:15And the news is, Damien Horan was the rider who crashed.
29:22He has been airlifted, we understand, with a few fractures, but he is fine.
29:27Well, there's been some superb action in all different classes today.
29:33Here's a round-up of some of the winners.
29:36Beginning with the senior support race, a mixture of Suzuki, Ducati and Yamahas.
29:45Honda's triumphs, you name it, they were in there.
29:48But it was Cani who took the checkered flag ahead of Broly and Lavery.
29:53In the junior support, it was Broly who would get the better this time of Cani.
30:01Then, in the classic Superbike, Daryl Tweed would take the win on the YZF 750 against a host of Kawasaki's.
30:15In the senior classic, Andy Hornby on the Triumph 750 took the 1,000cc.
30:21Nigel Moore on the Sealy G5500 in the 500 class.
30:27Well, the last race of the day is the Cookstown 100.
30:33And some of the sport's best known riders have won this prestigious race.
30:38Including five times world champion, Joey Dunlop.
30:41And road racing legends, Philip McCallan and Ryan Farquhar.
30:44Who will add their name to the role of honour today.
30:48Here we go then, away they go.
30:50And again, good start from Sweeney.
30:52Again, just tentative from Dunlop.
30:54Just weaving his way through, but it looks like...
30:56Oh!
30:57Wow!
30:58Incredible.
30:59McGee's there, Kernaghan's there, McCormack back in fifth position.
31:03Chalk is there on bike 10, Whitehall at the back.
31:06But it is Sweeney from Dunlop, from McGee.
31:09Next wave gets away, Keyes on bike number five.
31:12Barry Ferber on bike 80.
31:14And we're on board again with Julian Trummer on the Kawasaki.
31:17Really impressed with Kevin Keyes.
31:19He's riding very well at this meeting.
31:22Yeah, he's had a good day so far.
31:25A better start for Trummer this time.
31:27Michael got blocked in at the start there, but he was very keen to get back into second.
31:32And just get onto the tail of Sweeney, wasn't he?
31:34He was getting, here we go, watch this.
31:36He's getting some heat in these tyres, isn't he?
31:38He weaves his way around.
31:40Just doesn't get away.
31:43There he goes.
31:44And there, powers passed, gets on the front.
31:46Very keen to get into second behind Sweeney there.
31:53So Sweeney leads.
31:54Oh!
31:55My goodness.
31:56Michael Sweeney with seven race wins to his name.
31:59Had those great battles with Dominic Herbertson at Cookstown last year.
32:03And now he's looking forward to another one here with Michael Dunlop.
32:08It was interesting to see Sweeney's bike really unsettled on the landing after the jump there.
32:16So then, can that Dunlop BMW power its way past?
32:21Here they go.
32:23Down towards Gorton.
32:24Oh, here we go.
32:26He's got him.
32:27Absolutely.
32:28Maybe more race craft from Dunlop than actual machinery power.
32:33Michael sliding it in as usual.
32:34He likes to get the bike out of shape.
32:36Coming into corners.
32:37I think he just...
32:38I think he thinks it unsettles the other riders.
32:40And rightly so.
32:42Lebray McCormack.
32:44This goes through.
32:45We've got to wait, of course, for the other guys from the second wave.
32:48The likes of Kevin Keyes to come through.
32:51In fact, Keyes has slotted in time-wise.
32:53He's fourth behind McGee and ahead of Kernaghan.
32:55And McCormack at the end of lap one.
32:58It's Sweeney who leads.
33:00Or Sweeney who led, I should say, until Michael Dunlop made that move.
33:04Here we are on lap two going through Mackney.
33:10McGee on his 600s, hanging on to them, though, at the moment.
33:12He is.
33:13Again, it's only really down the fast bits that you would lose out on that 600.
33:17He can certainly stay with them again.
33:21Sweeney coming up with the spectacular.
33:26Into Craig Mount.
33:27Sweeney staying with Dunlop.
33:30Again, this is where McGee will struggle, won't he, to just stay...
33:35They go down to...
33:37Yeah, sort of three or four seconds a lap, really, to be fair.
33:41A thousand time to a 600 time, really, but...
33:45He is on a really good 600, so he should be able to hang on,
33:48maybe better than some of the others.
33:50Oh, nice little pass there.
33:51That's Kevin Keyes.
33:52And that is Whitehall, who began in the first wave.
33:54Yes.
33:55So he's already in amongst the first wave of riders, Kevin Keyes.
33:58So you were right, Chris.
33:59You said before how impressed you've been with Keyes.
34:02Yeah.
34:03And he's certainly backing that up with another performance
34:05in this, the big race of the day.
34:06Yeah, he's riding very well.
34:11Michael having a look over his shoulder there,
34:13just keeping a close eye.
34:15Michael's bike landed a little bit nicer than Mikko Sweeney's there.
34:19And because of that,
34:20he's just made a little bit more of a gap over Sweeney.
34:23But here's Whitehall with Trummer right behind him.
34:28He's managed to get past Julian Trummer.
34:32I don't know whether Trummer's had an issue somewhere,
34:34but...
34:36was just run on, perhaps, at Gorton.
34:39Meanwhile, we're back at Gorton.
34:41Here is Dunlop from Michael Sweeney, still in second position.
34:45McGee still holding a strong third as well.
34:50But Kevin Keyes, that's who we're riding with now.
34:53The previous lap he was a couple of seconds down on corrected time.
34:57On Derek McGee.
34:59At the end of lap four, it's Dunlop,
35:02who leads Sweeney by six tenths of a second.
35:06McGee is a further nine seconds down in third.
35:10And another four seconds back is Kevin Keyes.
35:15Well, it looks like the Michael Dunlop show.
35:18Perfectly the way he turned it in there.
35:20You're just thinking, oh, he's got to take it out to the kerb.
35:23Visibly using more road than he has been,
35:25so he must be getting a bit more confident on the bike, to be fair.
35:29I can remember, Michael,
35:30a young Michael Dunlop coming out of that turn there
35:32and taking it right out to the air fence,
35:35kicking up the dirt,
35:36and I called him then the raging bull.
35:43Well, Dunlop continues to pull away from Michael Sweeney.
35:48It was a couple of seconds at the end of lap five,
35:51the gap between these two.
35:52Again, he's closer to that kerb than he has been,
35:56so, yeah, he's definitely pushing on now.
35:58You could physically see the difference, couldn't you?
36:01Well, I think Sweeney knows there's no point in pushing.
36:03He's not going to catch Michael Dunlop.
36:05But here comes Dunlop then.
36:07The last lap flag is out.
36:09One more lap to go in this reduced race distance.
36:11So he can have fun now, can't he?
36:15Look at those eyes at the front there.
36:17Yeah.
36:21Right on the fairing.
36:24So, yeah, business as usual for Michael Dunlop.
36:27Of course, you've got Julian Trummet is behind Ryan Whitehall,
36:35but Ryan Whitehall, of course, began in the first wave.
36:37Julian Trummet was in the second wave.
36:42Julian Trummet just inside the top ten.
36:44Ryan Whitehall's down in about 15th place.
36:47But Michael Dunlop looks like job done.
36:51Yeah, taking a look back,
36:52making sure he hasn't got any pressure from behind.
36:55Got some other riders up ahead of him.
36:58And he'll make his way through safely.
37:02So just the right and the left,
37:04then the chequered flag for Michael Dunlop.
37:07And already he's caught up with Trummet.
37:11Weaving his way through, yeah.
37:13Sorry, yeah, there he comes.
37:14So here he is.
37:15The crowd cheering on their hero.
37:19It's another win for Michael Dunlop at Cookstown.
37:23That takes him on to 13 in total.
37:27Sweeney, a great second place.
37:31This is how they finish.
37:32What about that for Kevin Keyes?
37:33Fourth overall.
37:35Ahead are Brian McCormack and Neil Kernaghan.
37:37Derek McGee third on the 600.
37:39Second Michael Sweeney, Michael Dunlop the winner.
37:45And next up, it's the Briggs Equipment Northwest 200.
37:59And you will not miss a thing right across the BBC.
38:02All the qualifying and racing is live on the BBC iPlayer.
38:06And also live globally on the BBC Sport website.
38:09We have live radio commentary of the racing as well on BBC Sounds.
38:13And we'll bring you three television highlights programmes on BBC One on May the 9th, 11th and 12th.
38:21All of those shows are available on demand on the BBC iPlayer as well.
38:25But it's been a cracker at the Cookstown.
38:29I look forward to seeing you on the North Coast.
38:31From all of us here, it's bye bye.
38:55Good times.
38:57Again.
38:58Sure enough to understand,
39:07After all.
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