William Dunlop rounded of his Irish Tarmac season at a wind swept Sunflower Trophy Races on the International Circuit at Bishopscourt in Co-Down last Saturday, with the Wilson Craig Honda rider taking top five finishes in the the Schimmel Distribution Supersport 600 race, and the feature race of the day for the JAS Finlay Sunflower Trophy Race. A back row start in the Ironside Trophies 250cc race did not deter Dunlop as he won at ease on brother Michaels MD Honda.
With conditions changing dramatically on the second half of the race meeting, William along with many other competitors called it a day as track conditions worsened as the predicted bad weather for the region began to fall on the Co-Down venue.

William Dunlop:

"Those where very tricky conditions out there...probably the worst I have ridden on at a short circuit event. In the opening race for the AJ Plumbing Superbike Race, I just want to finished the race as I was getting slides everywhere and there appeared to be a lot of crashes. The new section of the circuit at the bottom loop was the worst....It was a case of feeling your way around the place. The race was stopped I think because of Kirk Jamison's accident and I ended up in 12th place which was not ideal, but I was still in one piece which was good enough for me. The Schimmel Distribution Supersport 600 race was a bit better as I managed to take fifth place behind Danny Buchan, but it also was red flagged because of the Kennedy/Seeley accident, but in all honesty I think fifth place was as good as I was going to get. I started from the back of the grid in the 250cc race and took the lead going into turn two. The 250 Honda was working well and I got a good lead in between myself and Nigel Percy, so I was happy enough to round of what could be my last 250cc ride with a race win. I think there was a protest put in against myself in that race as I had not taken part in Friday qualifying on the 250, but the organisers gave me permission to start at the back of the group, and as far as I am concerned, I did as I was told.

The Sunflower Trophy Race ended up a good battle with another fifth place finish, this time behind Michael (Dunlop) who was riding the Parkalgar Honda. Fifth place was pleasing for me and for Wilson Craig and to be honest I did not expect to be that far up. With the weather closing in rapidly, and with the number of crashes taking place, we decided to pack up and settle for what we had achieved. Next up for us now is the Macau Grand Prix which I am really looking forward to. We head out on the 12th of November, so hopefully we can end the season on a positive note with a good clean finish".

Sunflower Race Results:

AJ Plumbing Superbike Race One:
1st = I. Lowry (Relentless Suzuki) 2nd = A. Seeley (Relentless Suzuki) 3rd = C. Nally (Honda) 4th = J. Hamilton (KMR Kawasaki) 5th = D. Haire (Honda) 12th W. Dunlop (Wilson Craig Honda)


Schimmel Distribution Supersport 600 Race One
1st = S. Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) 2nd = G. Irwin (Wilson Craig Honda) 3rd = K. Farmer (D&GW Honda) 4th = D. Buchan (Gearlink Kawasaki) 5th = William Dunlop (Wilson Craig Honda)


Ironside Trophies 250cc Race One
1st = W. Dunlop (MD Honda) 2nd = N. Percy (D&GW Honda) 3rd = R. Glasgow (Honda) 4th = M. Hanna (Honda) 5th = J. Patterson (Honda)

JAS Finlay Sunflower Trophy Race:
1st = I. Lowry (Relentless Suzuki) 2nd = S. Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) 3rd = D. Buchan (Gearlink Kawasaki) 4th = M. Dunlop (Parkalgar Honda) 5th = W. Dunlop (Wilson Craig Honda)


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