Alastair Seeley clinched a hat-trick at a rain-lashed Kirkistown in Co Down on Saturday to maintain his stranglehold on the Ulster Superbike Championship.
The Carrick man’s double on the IFS Yamaha R1 ensured he retained the King of Kirkistown crown and £1,000 top prize at the Belfast & District Club’s Big 3 Series finale.
Seeley has been in red-hot form on the 1000cc Yamaha this year and the wet and miserable weather made no difference as he shrugged off the opposition to win both races by a wide margin.
In the opener, Seeley produced a textbook performance to clinch victory by over 15 seconds from Eunan McGlinchey, who continues to impress on the McAdoo Kawasaki.McGlinchey was almost seven seconds ahead of Jason Lynn
(JMcC Roofing Kawasaki), who finalised the top the three ahead of Ryan Gibson (Suzuki), Ross Irwin (Magic Bullet Honda) and Gary McCoy (Madbros Suzuki).
Seeley claimed his second win in the class in the last race of the day, pulling away at the front and winning in the end by 11 seconds from Cookstown rider McCoy, with Gibson taking third ahead of Lynn.
However, the 27-time North West 200 winner didn’t have everything his own way, with Seeley forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the first Supersport race behind McGlinchey.
Only 0.6s separated the pair, while Adam McLean was right in contention as he finished third, only 0.3s further behind on his Yamaha.
In race two, Seeley gained the upper hand over his young rival to secure the Crown Prince of Kirkistown title, crossing the line to win by just half-a-second.
McLean clinched third again, but he was harried all the way to the line by Christian Elkin (Bob Wylie Yamaha), who missed out on a podium by a mere 0.065s.
Aghadowey rider McGlinchey toasted a treble of his own on Saturday, winning both Supertwin races comfortably on the McAdoo Kawasaki.
In the Pre Injection 600/1000 class, Paul Demaine won both races from Donegal’s Derek O’Donnell.
The next round of the Ulster Superbike Championship is the David Wood Memorial meeting at Bishopscourt Racing Circuit from September 17-18.
