The Burrows Engineering Racing Team decided against competing at the Skerries 100 Irish National road races in County Dublin on Sunday after the tragic death of William Dunlop.

Team principal John Burrows and riders Derek Sheils and Davey Todd made a collective decision to withdraw from the event after discussing the matter on Saturday night following William’s death as a result of a crash in practice.

 The race organisers decided to run the race as a non-championship meeting and the overall prize fund will go to William Dunlop’s family after consultation with his fellow competitors.

The team’s plans to compete at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man with newcomer Davey Todd remain unchanged. Davey will ride the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Honda CBR600RR machines at the 4.25-mile Billown course near Castletown. 

Team Principal – John Burrows:

“The team is saddened by the death of William Dunlop. He is such a big name in the sport and his death has had a big impact on a lot of people. It’s a dangerous sport as I myself know only too well. I was a racer myself and now I run a team, so I can’t turn around and knock the sport, but it doesn’t make things any easier when a tragedy like this happens. We sat down on Saturday night and decided that we should just pack up and head on to the Southern 100.

“I guess you could say we are a rare breed, but what can you do? You just have to get on with things. Unfortunately I never got a chat with William on Saturday, but I will remember him as a lovely lad. As a team, we understand what it is like to lose a rider after Malachi Mitchell-Thomas was killed at the North West 200 in 2016. The Dunlops are big supporters of road racing and I know that Gary, who was there on Saturday, and Michael are just devastated. We send our condolences to them and also to William’s partner Janine and little daughter Ella, and the wider Dunlop family.”

Practice for the Southern 100 gets underway on Monday, July 9. The four-day meeting concludes on Thursday, July 12.

Pictures: Pacemaker Press.