sweeney eyesorritor glory

The Skerries man had qualified in pole position on his MJR BMW S1000RR but Sweeney was left the worse for wear when he came off in the Supersport race at Braeside, bringing out the red flags.

He still ventured out in the Superbike race but had to settle for a safe third place behind race winner Mike Browne and Adam McLean.

“I had to get straight back out in the Superbike race to try and clear my head,” said Sweeney, who was a guest at the official launch of the Cookstown 100 last night at the Royal Hotel in the mid-ulster town.

“I was expecting a good run from myself in the Superbike race but I was so sore and stiff from the crash, and I didn’t have it in me to try and go with the two boys.

“I was just holding on and the bike was taking me around basically, but sure these things happen and you just have to get on with it,” he added.

“But it didn’t put me off at all and I’m looking forward to going back for the start of the road racing season again.

“I’ve an unchanged line-up of machines from last year and the only thing we’ve done really is upgrade the Kawasaki Supertwin to 700cc.

“The rules allow us to do that this year but we’ll have to switch back to a 650cc engine for the TT.”

With coronavirus restrictions now lifted, a full Irish road racing season will go ahead this year for the first time since 2019.

To their credit, the organising Cookstown Club managed to run their race in Co Tyrone in 2020 and again last year, when every other event – except Armoy in 2021 – was cancelled because of the Covid-19 impact.

The Orritor meeting took place in September on each occasion, but this year the Cookstown 100 is back in its traditional April date on the calendar as the event lifts the curtain on the 2022 season.

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