First British podium for McCormick

A seventh-place finish, follwed by a runners-up spot in race two on the Watt Motorcycles/Agnew Recovery KTM was enough for the the talented teenager to take his place among the top three overall.

“I couldn’t be happier,” he told the Larne Times. “It would have been nice to have won race two, but to take my first ever British championship podium is still something special. A big thanks to all my sponsors and my team for giving me a great bike for the race.”

In qualifying the teenager was 12th fastest. “I couldn’t get a clear lap and had to settle for 12th,” he said.

In his first race he made a reasonable start, and it took him a few laps to get going, but when he did he fought his way into seventh. Unfortunately, he crashed and by the time he got going again he had dropped to 12th. He recovered to claim seventh at the flag.

His second race was a different story and with a good start this time around, he was inside the top six.

After the opening lap he had pushed his way into third where he stayed before making his move for second and then the lead. A slight mistake on the final lap saw Robert Davidson slip through to take the win, with the local rider close in second. The result was enough to give him an overall podium on the day. McCormick now lies eighth in the championship.

At the same meeting Carrick’s Graeme Irwin finished sixth overall in the MX2 British championship class, with a third in his opening race on the Heads and all Threads Suzuki followed by two seventh place finishes. He now lies fourth in the championship.

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for former Larne Grammar School pupil Jonathan Rea who endured a difficult fourth-round event in MotoGP in Italy on Sunday, with only a handful of points to show for his efforts.

In race one at the historic Monza circuit just north of Milan, Rea enjoyed a superb start from the second row of the grid but, on the second lap, a missed gear on the exit of the first chicane, dropping him down the order.

In a bid to get back on terms, the 26-year-old East Antrim rider ran on at the same corner eight laps later and clipped a safety bale, for which he was awarded a penalty and ordered to drop two places. Rea made those two places back over the last three laps to finish eighth at the flag.

In race two, clutch problems forced his retirement early in the race.

Rea explained: “It’s been a tough day and I don’t feel like we got what we deserved. It was clear I had pace all weekend but, unfortunately, in a race situation, while I had pace by myself, when I tried to capitalise on my strengths in the race, I couldn’t run the same corner speed.”

He added: “But, we move on to Donington – I’ll try and keep my head up and remain positive like the rest of the guys and hopefully come back stronger.”