Burrows Engineering Racing’s Davey Todd was disappointed to miss out on the chance to compete at the Armoy Road Races in County Antrim after the event was abandoned due to wet weather on Saturday.

One Supersport 600 race was held on Friday evening following the completion of practice, with Davey finishing in fourth place on the Honda CBR600RR after narrowly missing the rostrum when he was overtaken by Michael Sweeney on the last lap.

The 22-year-old was looking forward to riding the Burrows Engineering Suzuki GSX-R1000 in particular after a fine performance in qualifying.

Davey, who was making his second appearance at Armoy, was second fastest overall after leading most of the session before he was outdone by Derek McGee, who claimed pole by one second.

Derek Sheils decided not to race at Armoy and is expected to make a decision on whether or not he will race at the Ulster Grand Prix in the coming week. Derek is confirmed as the Ulster Superbike champion after racing was called off at Armoy, taking the title by 17 points from Derek McGee following wins on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Cookstown and Tandragee.

Team Principal – John Burrows:

“I feel really sorry for everyone involved with the Armoy Club because they put such a massive effort into the event. We missed the race last year but we were warmly welcomed back and it is very disappointing for all concerned. The entry was not as strong as it had been in recent years with some riders missing, but I think Friday’s Supersport race showed that we were set for some excellent racing on Saturday.

“Davey was at a point where I think he would have been really competitive on Saturday on the Suzuki GSX-R1000. He led the session until the end when Derek McGee beat him to pole by just one second, so I think that was really impressive by Davey. Our focus now is the Ulster Grand Prix and the team will be pulling out all the stops as usual to prepare as best we can for Dundrod.

“On Friday, Davey finished fourth in the Supersport race. The bike had been down on power a bit and we resolved that problem, but I think the Ulster Grand Prix will really suit the bike better compared to the smaller races, where the Yamahas drive so well out of the slower corners.

“The team’s thoughts are with race paramedic Allister MacSorley and his family, who was injured in an incident on Saturday. Allister and all the MCUI Medical Team provide an invaluable service and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

“On another note, I was kept busy at the weekend with my son Jack at round six of the BKC (Bambino Kart Club) Championship at Nutts Corner. Jack got two wins and a fifth in the final, so I’m a proud dad as you can imagine!”

Davey Todd:

“Every week I’m feeling better and better on the big bike and we’ve been making a lot of progress. I held pole for a while and then Derek McGee managed to better me just at the end of the session. I sort of towed him around in qualifying and I knew I had more pace in me. I’ve never been up so close at the start of a meeting, usually I’m closing the gap at the end of a weekend, so I felt we were on for a good run on Saturday. 

“It was such a shame that we didn’t get any races underway due to the weather, although at least we got out on the 600 on the Friday night after practice. I finished fourth but we were all doing some really strong lap times and anybody could have won it. I felt really strong over the jumps but that’s not ideal because you’ve still got to make a pass and it’s all about being in the right place at the right time: I wasn’t I guess, but that’s racing and it was good to be in the battle for the win.

“We had been told the weather forecast wasn’t looking good for Saturday and the rain did come in hard overnight. The rain kept on coming, so it was something that was out of everyone’s control. The weather was expected to get worse in the afternoon so I couldn’t argue with the decision to call it off.”

The team’s next event will be the Ulster Grand Prix, which takes place from August 8-11.

Report courtesy of Burrows Engineering Racing  

Pictures courtesy of Pacemaker Press