Gillian faces uphill battle to regain Masters Superbike Pro Cup series lead
The ups and downs of motor-racing, whatever category are part and parcel of the sport, from the highest level right down to clubman classes. Claremorris bike racer Michael Gillan, having scaled the heights of leading the Masters Superbike Pro Cup Championship for the past number of months, has seen his lofty position come crumbling down after poor showings at recent races. A series of crashes led to his downfall, litterly.
Michael now knows that an all-out challenge is required at his next outing at the end of September in order to regain the two places lost in the series points table. He also needs to restore confidence in racing the 170hp Suzuki GSXR-1000 K6 to peak potential, even after giving it a mid-season respray, courtesy of Team Gillan Racing sponsor Murphy Sand Blasting, Ballina.
His last event at Bishopscourt, near Downpatrick in Northern Ireland was a fraught experience all-round as outlined by Michael: “Although the track conditions were excellent, thanks to a nice sunny day, qualifying didn’t go too well, as I crashed out on lap two. With not being at the track since 2007, and my bike with handing issues, I really struggled with the Bishopscourt track. From the only decent timed lap I got, had to settle to qualify 9th for the ‘B’ race.”
“In Race 1, right from the start I got up to second place behind one of nearest rivals Ray O’Neill, but was struggling to get the bike around the track. Still, I managed to finish in 8th place.”
“On Race 2 with grid positions changed from the previous race, I was moved to 6th on the starting line. On the lights, I immediately got up to second again, but after two laps the rain began pouring down hard. I didn’t want to take any chances as I needed all the points I could get, so, I finished in 9th place.”
A philosophical Michael has now come to terms with the challenge ahead. “With that bad weekend behind me, I’m now third in the Championship two points behind Ray O’Neill, with Andrew Murphy leading the Championship. Hopefully, I can get back up the leaderboard at the next rounds in Mondello Park over the weekend of the 30th September and 1st October. I would like to thank my family and friends, new sponsor Duffy Tyres (Mayo), www.irishmotorsportsnews.com and Fleet Transport (fleet.ie) for their ongoing support.
