All systems go for Sunflower Celebrations.
Words Baylon McCaughey.
The 2017 Sunflower Trophy Races take place next Friday/Saturday 20th/21st October at the Bishopscourt race circuit. For both the organizing club and Main Race Sponsor, Jim Finlay, it will be a Double celebration, For J.A.S.Finlay, this will be the 40th year since the first sponsorship of this prestigious race, and for the organizing club, the Hillsborough & District MCC, This year sees the club celebrate their 70th year in existence!
Topping the entry list for this years meeting will be last years winner, Glenn Irwin on board the PBM Ducati, Irwin, who earlier in the season won the Superbike race at the North West 200,and also won a Superbike race at BSB, Now almost fully fit following a crash at Knockhill, Irwin is back, and aiming to retain the Sunflower Trophy.
Another past winner, Danny Buchan MSS Kawasaki, will also be in action, The winner of the British 1000 Superstock championship, Alaistair Seeley, still aiming to get his name on this prestigious trophy, Seeley will be on board the IFS Yamaha, the same machine on which he scored five wins from his six starts on this machine in recent months.and surprize entrant,Michael laverty on the TYCO BMW
Carl Philips has been putting in some tremendous rides on board the MD Racing Suzuki in the British Superstock championships, and recently finished second overall at the Anglelsey Grand.
The exciting young Scottish rider, Lewis Rollo will make his debut on board the MSS Kawasaki.
The local lads will be keen to get into the mix of things, triple 600 Supersport Champion Jason Lynn could well come to the fore in this class, and in the Superbike class, ISB champion Charles Stuart has the ability to run up front.
On the sidecar front, former world champion and current British Champion Tim Reeves will return to the Sunflower on board his 600 Klaffi Honda , and TT winner John Holden will be in action on his 600 LCR.
Scott Swann and Richard Kerr return from their British Championship campaigns to head the Moto 3 line up, and the other supporting classes have full grids.
The JAS Finlay Sunflower Trophy Race meeting, has been for almost 40 years now, it has become the Biggest national short circuit meeting in Northern Ireland, Over the years, many of the Top British riders , along with competitors from further afield have competed in this event.
Reflecting back over the years, the JAS Finlay Sunflower Trophy Races, which was first held in 1977 at Aghadowey , and it was the young Mastero Joey Dunlop, who became the First ever winner of the SUNFLOWER Trophy! Over the years, this race has become the event of the year, Most of the top British Supercup, and BSB stars have graced this meeting, which has taken place at Maghaberry,St Angeleo, Aghadowey, Kirkistown and now, Bishopscourt.
We have been blessed to witness such stars as; Ron Haslam(Pepsi Suzuki),Brian Morrison ( Drambuie Honda) Carl Fogarty (Honda Britain) Jamie Whitham (Honda Britain/Suzuki), John Reynolds (Team Green Kawasaki), Rob McElnea, Paul Brown ( Loctite Yamahas), Jeremy McWilliams, Eddie Laycock (Millar Hondas/Yamahas)Jurgen & Patrick Van De Goorbergh (DocShopYamaha) Gary Cowan (DocShop Yamaha) Jonathon Rea ( Honda) Michael Laverty ( Honda/Suzuki) Chris Walker (PBM Honda) The List is ENDLESS!
An added bonus for race fans at this years meeting,will be a Massed start parade lap, with former Past Winners such as Brian Morrisson, Noel, Hudson, Danny Buchan,and The only Father and son to win this Feature race, Alan and Glenn Irwin, each on board some very exotic race machinery!
Brian Morrison will ride ex Ron Haslam 500 cagiva
Glenn irwin to ride RC181 Honda
Alan irwin to ride ex freddie Spencer 500 RS Honda
Noel Hudson to ride ex Roger Burnett RS Honda
There will also be parade laps,where there will be some very exoctic machinery, including an ex Mike Hailwood 125 DOHC MV Agusta!
In this parade, will be the aforementioned along with; Former British 125 champion,Garry Dickinson,who will ride an ex japanese Championship winning TSR Honda 250,Dean Simpkins ( 500 MV Agusta) and Baylon McCaughey, will also be on board a 500 MV Agusta!,
Breif History of the Hillsborough MCC
Hillsborough & District Motor Cycle Club began life in the Pigeon Hall Ballynahinch Street, Hillsborough in 1947 when six local business men and the school teacher decided to re-start the sport a certain Mr Hitler had intervened in for a few years.
Northern Ireland has a long list of great names in the history in Motor Cycle Sport, quite a few of them coming from the Hillsborough area, so it seemed the only reasonable thing for these men to do. The first men were Bob McLorn, Bob Maxwell, Sidney McCready the first Secretary, John White, Jim Thompson, Jack Greer and Joe Gibson.
The membership grew as the sport grew after the war, and many Hillsborough Club members were to become famous in those early days.
Billy Jeffers a local baker was to win 2 Irish Grass track Championships riding 500 cc Gold Star BSA’s.
A few years later wee Jim Moffett won consecutive Irish Grass track Championships on Royal Enfield Bullets with JAP engines. JAP engines running on “dope” – earlier bikers know what that is.
There were many more over the years, like Cecil McCullough and Josh Toombs who were all front runners They raced on Grass Tracks, rode in Trials and when the Road Racing season started the tyres were changed to road tyres. Cecil McCullough broke the lap record at the last ever Bangor Short Circuit when he beat Artie Bell and he was no slow coach
It was a bit different then their transport was Jack Greer’s coal lorry with a couple of screw cap 2 gallon drums of petrol and a drum of water to wash in. Not quite the massive transporters and awnings of today and no sponsors so every penny went into the bikes
Over the years the Club grew in numbers and popularity within the motor bike fraternity. Naturally the riders changed men like Adrian Craig, Graham Young, Adrian Coates and sidecar men like Wallace Coates, Scobie Killough, and Lowry Burton to name just a few were all Club members, and as this is being written six young solo riders are making their way on the short circuit scene. The names have changed but the scene hasn’t. Adrian Craig has just now moved to the position of Clerk of the Course for The Sunflower Trophy. There’s no escape!
As the Club grew so did our venture into more events. We held on to the Grass Tracks. The Irish Championship Iveagh Cup Trial was run at the Dromara Hills. The first sponsored and first ever Live Televised Motor Cycle event in Ireland was the W.D & H.O Wills Trophy Scramble or Moto Cross run at Crossan just outside Lisburn. Davy wood was second in charge (at W.D. Wills then) remember him? The Club was improving all the time from that early beginning until 1970’s when we took the plunge into Short Circuits at the old Maghaberry Airfield. Harris Healey helped with good advice as we were a bit raw to short circuit racing. Maghaberry was no longer available to us so we headed off to St Angelo on another first. The members took caravans up there stayed from Friday until Sunday night, We begged and borrowed posts and a low loader lorry from the company across the road. The perimeter circuit was in holes in places so we mixed quick drying cement and did our own re surfacing. Another first I suppose? St Angelo was a fair bit away and the roads were not like they are to-day so after a couple of years there we managed to get to Aghadowey where we stayed for a number of years and took in the Irish Short Circuit Championship the Club growing in stature all the time
On a lighter note, and yet as it turned out, one of the Club’s greatest achievements was to make friends with Jim Finlay. Organising top class events like the Irish and Ulster Championship short circuits had a cost that seemed to increase year by year. There was always the question of sponsorship. We got lucky, one of the great characters in the Club at that time was Billy McReynolds. Billy worked for Jim Finlay (Sunflower Foods) and convinced, or maybe blackmailed Jim, into sponsoring our event so in 1977 the Sunflower Trophy was born at Aghadowey and has continued and flourished from Aghadowey to Kirkistown and now the wonderfully prepared Bishopscourt Circuit.
Jim’s financial support and sound advice has enabled us to bring the best short circuit racers in the U.K . (maybe in the World) to the Sunflower Trophy. They are legion and set out proudly on the front of the programme. A true stalwart of Hillsborough Club helping us through thick and thin for 40 years.
But it doesn’t end there. Many fans will know that Jim was involved with some of the great riders like Tom Herron, Jackie Hughes, Graham Young and of his long friendship with Hector Neill.
2017 Sunflower Qualifying and Race Programme
Friday 20th/Saturday 21st October
Bishopscourt race Circuit
Qualifying (Friday 9.15am) All sessions are timed.
- Pre Injection
- Superbike Pro 1
- Young Guns Challenge / Junior
- Supersport Pro
- Lightweight Supersport
- Moto 3 / 250GP / Forgotten Era
- Supertwins
- Production Twins
- Supersport Pro 2
- Supersport Cup
- Superbike Cup & F1
- Superbike Pro2
- Sidecars
- Parade Laps
Lunch
Race Timetable – Friday
- Pre Injection & Cup Non-Qualifiers 8 Laps
- Young Guns Challenge / Junior Cup 7 Laps 2.15pm 2.30pm
- Superbike Cup / Supersport Cup & F1 8 Laps
- Sidecars 8 Laps
- Lightweight Supersport (SS400/450) 8 Laps
- Moto 3 / 250GP / F. Era & Twins Non Qualifiers 8 Laps
Race Timetable – Saturday
Warm Up – 9.15am
- Superbike
- Supertwins / Production Twins
- Supersport
Stewards Formalities
Saturday Race Programme
- Superbike Cup / Supersport Cup & F1 8 Laps
- Supersport 8 Laps
- Supertwins / Production Twins 8 Laps
- Superbikes 8 Laps
- Sidecars 8 Laps
- Lightweight Supersport (SS400/450) 8 Laps
Parade Laps 1
Lunch
- The Sunflower Trophy Race 12 Laps
- Supertwins / Production Twins 8 Laps
- Moto 3 / 250GP / F. Era & Twins Non Qualifiers 8 Laps
- Superbike 8 Laps
- Young Guns Challenge / Junior Cup 7 Laps
- Supersport 8 Laps
- Pre Injection & Cup Non-Qualifiers 8 Laps
The Hillsborough club would like to extend their heart felt sympathies to the family of Eric Lyons who recently passed away. A long standing member of the club Eric was a formidable driving force behind the Sunflower Trophy races for many years – his memory will live on for many years to come.
BMW Team, Former team rider, Michael Laverty will ride the teams BMW Superbike at next weeks Sunflower races.
This will no doubt add spice to the challenge for the Sunflower Trophy.
Laverty is a past winner of the Trophy, in fact has won it on less than three occasions!
Laverty who this season campaigned the McAms R1 Yamaha has been released from his contract, and will return to ride the BMW in next weekends Sunflower Trophy race meeting.
Michael Laverty rode for the TAS by TYCO team last year, winning the opening round of the British championships at Silverstone.
Admission Charges for Sunflower Trophy Race Meeting ; £10 on Friday £15 on Sat or £20 for the weekend. Includes free program and parking. Also no extra charge for campers or tents
Note for Sunflower race Competitors
Bishopscourt Racing Circuit
Gates Will Open On Thursday 19th Oct
at 2pm For Competitor Setup, Closing at Midnight.
Friday 20th Gates Will Open At 6am Closing Again …
At Midnight Re opening Saturday 21st At 6am.
The Circuit To Be Vacated 7pm Saturday Evening
