Dan Sayle (NSF250r Moto3/Falcon Electrical) at Bedstead during qualifying for the IMGold Manx Grand Prix.
DAVE KNEEN/PACEMAKER PRESS, BELFAST: 22/08/2016

Top Isle of Man TT Sidecar passenger Dan Sayle will make his debut at the KDM Hire Cookstown 100 next weekend.

Sayle has tasted victory at the TT eight times in the class but also enjoys selected outings as a solo rider, proving himself as no slouch with a trio of wins at the Manx Grand Prix.

The Manxman will compete in the Moto3/125GP race around the Orritor course on his NSF 250 Honda.

Also entered for the race are McAdoo Racing’s Adam McLean from Tobermore, who will make his Moto3 debut on the JSR Honda, plus Ballymoney’s Paul Robinson, who clinched a double in the class at the Ulster Grand Prix last August. Mullingar’s Derek McGee will rely on traditional two-stroke power on the 125cc Joey’s Bar Honda with stalwart Nigel Moore and Austrian newcomer Chris Eder also lining up on 125cc machinery.

The County Tyrone meeting will lift the curtain on the new 2018 Irish road racing season, when Michael Dunlop is set to make his eagerly anticipated debut on the Tyco BMW Superbike. Dunlop, who will also ride his MD Racing Honda in the Supersport races, is making his return to the event for the first time since 2015, when he made his bow on the Milwaukee Yamaha R1.

He tops a quality entry along with Dublin’s Derek Sheils, who has won the past four races in the Superbike class at Cookstown for John Burrows’ team. William Dunlop is another of the leading contenders on the Temple Golf Club Yamaha machines along with Derek McGee, who was last year’s ‘man of the meeting’.

English newcomer Davey Todd made a big impression on his road racing debut in 2017 and kick-starts a full campaign at Cookstown after joining ex-racer Burrows’ team.

New McAdoo Racing recruit Adam McLean and team-mate James Cowton will also be targeting the podium, while New Zealand’s Daniel Mettam and Manx Grand Prix Supertwin winner Darren Cooper are intriguing newcomers this year.