Cork motorbike team in gear to compete at the World Championship in Spain

CORK-BASED motorcycle outfit Team 109 will compete in this weekend’s Supersport 300 FIM World Championship, the feeder series to World Superbike Championship at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto in southern Spain.

The team was set up in honour of former motorcycle rider Ballinhassig’s Sean Hurley, a Mondello Park Supersport champion, who was tragically killed in a 4x4 vehicle accident close to his home on November 30, 2011.

Just two nights before the tragedy, Sean – brother of RTÉ sports presenter Jacqui, had written his bucket list. It included competing at the top echelons of motorcycle sport.

His family, father Dave, mum Mairead and sisters Catriona and Jacqui, along with his friends set about fulfilling his bucket list. Schemes like the “Young Rider Development Fund” and “109 Award” quickly followed. 

It was further fast tracked in 2018 when Team 109 won the British Junior Supersport Championship at the first attempt with rising starlet Aughadowey’s Eunan McGlinchey onboard. Last year the Derry ace moved up to a more powerful bike finishing fourth in the British Superstock 600 Championship with Team 109 benefitting from the full support from Kawasaki.

Having looked at options for this season, including another attack on the British series, it was decided to contest the WSB feeder series that begins with its revised calendar on Saturday.

Team manager Paul Tobin said, “It is great to have manufacturer support, the Kawasaki Ninja 400 has proved to be the front runner in the class over the last number of years, it’s proven to be the bike to be on. Fingers crossed, we can give it a good go.” 

In motorcycling racing McGlinchey is proving to be hot property and is being tipped as a star of the future.

Commenting before he travelled to Spain, the 22 year old Derry rider summed up the championship attempt, “You can have one good round and then a bad round, but you have to be at the front the whole time and be at the sharp end. The team have put in a one hundred per cent effort and I have put in one hundred per cent, hopefully we won’t be far away.” 

The Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto is 4.432 kilometres long with eight right hand corners and five left hand corners. There is one race on Saturday and another on Sunday.