Malachi Mitchell-Thomas, who captured the hearts of road racing fans in a short but exhilarating Irish road racing career, has posthumously won the Ulster Supertwins Championship following the conclusion of the Armoy road races on Saturday.

The 20-year-old, tragically killed following a crash in the Supertwins race at the North West 200 in May, claimed the title by 15 points from Ryan Farquhar in second place, who did not compete at Armoy on Saturday as he continues his recovery from injury following his own crash at the international road race over two months ago.

After joining John Burrows’ Cookstown B.E. Racing team for 2016, Mitchell-Thomas made his Irish roads bow at the Mid Antrim 150 at Clough in April and stunned seasoned road racing fans with a sensational hat-trick, winning both Supersport races and the Open Superbike race and finishing as the runner-up in the Supertwins and Grand Final Superbike events.

He again clinched second place in the Supertwins race behind Ryan Farquhar on his bow at the Tandragee 100 before securing a deserved victory at the Cookstown 100 – the penultimate round of the Ulster Championship and Mitchell-Thomas’s final National road race appearance before the ill-fated North West 200.

His team-mate, Derek Sheils, wrapped up the Ulster Superbike title at Armoy after finishing second in the Open Superbike race.

Sheils also won the Irish Superbike crown this year for Burrows’ Dungannon-based team at Faugheen with one final round remaining at Killalane in September.

William Dunlop was crowned Ulster Supersport champion with a double on the IC Racing Yamaha at Armoy.

Dunlop, who missed the first two championship races at the Mid Antrim 150, won the remaining four races to lift the title by 21 points from Michael Sweeney. The Ballymoney rider has also made sure the Irish title, leading the standings by 30 points with one race remaining.

Tobermore’s Adam McLean won the Moto3/125cc Ulster title by seven points from Paul Jordan, while Neil Kernohan won the 250cc title.

James Chawke and Michael Weldon were the respective winners of the Junior and Senior Support Championships.

Czech Republic competitor Michal Dokoupil has won both the Ulster and Irish Supersport 400 titles after his fourth win of the season at Armoy.

Kyle White