Twin Trophies for Michael Gillan at Mondello Masters Superbike series
The latest rounds of Masters Superbike Championship held at Mondello Park on 6&7 May saw Michael Gillian secure a brace of podium finishes, an impressive result for the Claremorris based racer as he continues to progress on his return to the sport.
The weekends action had the biggest ever entry in all categories with over 200 riders from Ireland and the UK pitting their racing talents and courage against each other.
In Race 1 on the Saturday, which surprisingly was a cold and windy day, qualifying didn’t go too well for Michael as the Sheffield native was getting held up with traffic around the International circuit. He ended up contesting in the B race and was 5th on the grid but with determination managed to get up to second place from the start, and eventually finished in 3rd place.
Conditions were much better for Race 2 on the Sunday, with clear skies and warm sunshine. Micheal on his 170bhp Suzuki GSXR-1000 K6 moved up into the main Superbike Cup race as his lap times were much better from the previous race.
The race pace was fast and furious and his lap time was coming down on each trip around the circuit. The few changes made to the bike’s settings paid off, resulting in another podium finish.
Aiming to step on the podium once more before heading home West, Michael, a mechanical engineer by profession, got off to a good start and managed to get behind the Superbike Pro riders but was struggling with rear tyre grip as the track was very dry. In second place for the first three laps, he was in a tussle with another rider to maintain that elusive position but fell behind. “On the last lap, I pushed hard and managed to catch up, we got to the last corner where I tried to get a good drive out of Dunlop corner, but nearly high-sided, still managed to get third place again, which was very pleasing,” commented Michael, who add that he managed a personal best lap time of 1 minute 49 seconds around Mondello’s International Circuit.
“I would like to thank Alan Neary and Kevin Leonard at Gillan Racing for their help at the races, and all my family and friends for their ongoing great support, and to my sponsors, Fleet.ie, Irishmotorsportsnews.com, and Murphy Sandblasting Services (Ballina), a big thank you.”
Michael heads back to the County Kildare track on 24/25 June for the next rounds of the Masters Supersport Championship.
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