Motorcycling

June 2020

Keith Farmer: Lockdown helped me recover from broken legs to challenge for British Superbike honours

British Superbike contender Keith Farmer says he will be fully prepared for the proposed start of the championship in August after months in lockdown.

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Jonathan Rea is set for life in €1.5m Kawasaki deal

Reigning five-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea has become one of Northern Ireland's highest-earning sports stars after signing a 'deal for life' with his Kawasaki team.

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Irwin raring to go after organisers reveal reworked BSB schedule

Top Carrick rider Glenn Irwin welcomed the light at the end of the tunnel for motorcycle racing yesterday after the Bennetts British Superbike Championship organiser MSVR announced an updated calendar for the 2020 series with six triple-header events, all of which will be broadcast live on Eurosport.

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The coronavirus pandemic might just have saved the Ulster Grand Prix, says Philip McCallen

Road racing legend Phillip McCallen believes the under-threat Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod can be saved with this year's Covid-19 cancellation proving a rare blessing in disguise of the current pandemic.

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Eight classic races that helped Joey Dunlop and Northern Ireland's top road warriors build a rich TT legacy

All this week, competitors should have been roaring down Bray Hill and off around the 37.75-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Circuit at the 2020 motorcycling festival around the toughest, arguably most dangerous and demanding course on the calendar.

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Eugene Laverty: I long for that winning feeling again when World Superbike series returns

We are asking our sporting personalities how they are dealing with action coming to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected their daily lives.

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North West 200 saved by £60,000 backing from local council

The future of the North West 200 has been safeguarded by funding of over £60,000 from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.

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May 2020

Cookstown 100 plans slammed by motorcycle chief

Cookstown and District Motorcycle Club have had a shot fired across their bows by the president of the governing body in the south of Ireland, Sean Bissett, just two days after announcing their intention to continue preparations for the running of the Cookstown 100 road race on September 11 and 12.

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Cookstown 100 gets a very cautious green light for September date

Cookstown and District Motorcycle Club directors have agreed that, after discussions with various organisations, they will run the Cookstown 100 on September 11 and 12 with various restrictions in place.

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Glenn Irwin: 'I'm cycling up the north coast with a strong headwind and it's as close as I will get to NW200 this year'

We are asking our sporting personalities how they are dealing with action coming to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected their daily lives.

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New £12m blow to economy as North West 200 is forced off road

The hard-pressed Northern Ireland economy has been dealt a further £12m coronavirus blow with the cancellation of the crowd-pulling North West 200 road races for 2020.

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Our Sporting Lives and Times: Roads may be silent, but unforgettable memories of North West 200 will always come roaring back

The north coast roads are eerily quiet this weekend, and rightly so amid the necessary pandemic regulations.

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Early cancellation of Classic TT and Manx GP taken 'to provide clarity'

The Isle of Man government and Manx Motorcycle Club, the organisers of the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix, have taken the joint decision to cancel this year's races which were due to take place between August 22 and September 4.

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April 2020

Ian Hutchinson raring to go after rejoining TAS Racing

Sixteen-time Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson has announced that he is returning to the TAS Racing BMW team.

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Jonathan Rea: I am inspired by my sister Chloe and her brave work on the NHS frontline

We are asking our sporting personalities how they are dealing with action coming to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected their daily lives.

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Peter Hickman: Bike racers value medics so I lit up my garage in NHS blue in a personal tribute

We are asking our sporting personalities how they are dealing with action coming to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected their daily lives. Today, we speak to Peter Hickman, the world's fastest road racer who clocked a lap record of 136.415mph at the Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod last August.

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Armoy club admit defeat in their quest to stage Race of Legends

The Armoy Road Races, including the Bayview Hotel Race of Legends - the final Ulster road race of the 2020 season - have fallen victim to the coronavirus health crisis.

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Armoy Road Races join list of events cancelled due to coronavirus

The Armoy Road Races are the latest in the 2020 calendar to fall to the coronavirus pandemic.

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John Laverty Opinion Ryan Farquhar is well aware of who the real heroes are

I always smile at the euphemisms. A motorbike so outrageously powerful its G-forces threaten to rip your face off is described as "quick".

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Let's hope the Ulster Grand Prix remains on track for more memories

Easter Monday generally signals the start of the motorcycle racing season but while there is great doubt as to whether we will hear an engine note this side of autumn, there is one certainty - the famous old Ulster Grand Prix is fighting for survival. Ironically, its chances of salvation may be found in the present emergency putting all sport on hold.

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What now for Ulster GP as £300k debt spells end of road for organisers?

With outstanding debts in the region of £300,000, and few assets, it would appear that Dundrod and District Motorcycle Club - organisers of the Ulster Grand Prix - seem set to be forced into liquidation, a final nail in the coffin for the famous old event in its present form.

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True cost of TT axe is hitting home for everyone

The prospect of motorsport returning to our screens looks a long way off right now as the UK braces for what is anticipated to be the very worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

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March 2020

Organisers admit defeat over 2020 UGP

The inevitable announcement that the 2020 Ulster Grand Prix has been called off came in a very brief statement yesterday; a real body blow for the sport.

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Crisis-hit Ulster Grand Prix cancelled amidst coronavirus pandemic

The Ulster Grand Prix will not take place in 2020, race organisers have confirmed.

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How Tony Rutter became a motorcycling hero in the '70s and '80s

It was with sadness that motorcycle racing learned of the death of Tony Rutter, one of the stars of the 1970s and '80s, aged 78.

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Motorcycling legend Tony Rutter passes away

Nine-time North West 200 winner Tony Rutter has passed away.

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World Superbike title chase is just not important now, says Jonathan Rea

Five-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea insists winning a sixth title means nothing compared to fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

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Southern 100 bosses decide to axe races

After a meeting of senior race officials on Wednesday evening, it was reluctantly announced that the 65th Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Southern 100 Road Races in association with Greenlight Television have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

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North West 200 has come back stronger in past, says chief Whyte

Motorcycle sport is in lockdown following yesterday's official confirmation that the 2020 fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 has been postponed amid the growing concerns and restrictions around the coronavirus outbreak.

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Coronavirus: North West 200 axe could cost Northern Ireland economy £12m

Businesses who rely on trade from the North West 200 have said the decision to postpone could be just the start of months of great uncertainty.