Jonny Campbell and Ross Irwin share Ulster Superbike wins as Korie McGreevy seals hat-trick at damp Kirkistown

McGreevy won both Supersport races and the first Supertwin race to secure his second hat-trick of the Bank Holiday weekend after he also won three races at Bishopscourt on Saturday.

However, despite his success, the former British champion revealed he is struggling with injury following a crash during pre-season testing.

“I’m happy enough because I’m carrying two injuries at the moment and more than I’ve let on,” McGreevy said.

“I had a crash in testing and that has hindered me a bit.

“I’ve lost a lot of sensation in the right-hand side of my body, which is why on Saturday I slackened off a lot in the second Supersport race at Bishopscourt [when he finished third behind Michael Dunlop and Jonny Campbell].

“All in all, I’ve probably pushed my body harder than I ever have so I’m quite happy to come away with the results I have; I’ve got the best out of myself that I possibly could.”

McGreevy now intends to use the long break before the fourth round of the Ulster Superbike Championship at Kirkistown at the beginning of June to return to full fitness.

Carrickfergus rider Irwin was a dominant winner in the tricky conditions in the opening King of Kirkistown Superbike race at the first round of the Belfast and District Club’s ‘Big 3 Series’, taking the win by 10.659s on the Magic Bullet Honda from Kyle Cross (Circle K Kawasaki).

Ryan Gibson, who won the prestigious Enkalon Trophy for the first time at Bishopscourt on Saturday, rounded out the top three on the Gibson Motors BMW, 1.8s further back.

Dean McMaster (J McC Roofing Racing Kawasaki), Daniel Matheson (LMLR BMW) and Aaron McBride (BMW) were the top six.

Lisburn’s Campbell was determined to prove a point after missing the first Superbike race when he was late to the start following a tight turnaround after he rode in the previous Supersport event.

He raced into the lead from pole on the Magic Bullet Yamaha R1 and the 19-year-old quickly pulled clear.

Campbell was over four seconds ahead of Irwin, Matheson, Cross and Gibson after four laps.

He increased his lead to around seven seconds as a battle raged behind him for the runner-up spot.

Campbell’s winning margin after the nine-lap finale was four-and-a-half seconds over Gibson, who fought his way into second place.

Irwin was 1.4s back in third, narrowly holding off Cross by a tenth of a second to bag the final rostrum position. Newcastle’s Matheson had to settle for fifth while McMaster finalised the top six.

Gibson now leads the Ulster Superbike Championship after three rounds on 99 points with Campbell only four behind on 95.

Ballynahinch man McGreevy was untouchable in the Crown Prince of Kirkistown Supersport class on the McAdoo Kawasaki.

The 2019 British Junior Superstock champion claimed the spoils in the opener by almost four seconds from Christian Elkin (DynocentreNI Yamaha), with Campbell another 5.2s in arrears on the Magic Bullet Yamaha R6.

Belfast’s Mark Conlin took fourth on the NRG Ducati Panigale V2 ahead of Andrew Smyth (MPW Kawasaki) and Matheson (LMLR Yamaha).

In a wet second Supersport race McGreevy once again had the upper hand, taking control at the front and winning comfortably by 5.8s after nine laps from Elkin to extend his title advantage.

Campbell again secured third place in a repeat result from the first encounter.

The race was red-flagged on the final lap when Josh Corner crashed on the Parker Transport Yamaha, escaping unhurt.

Reigning Ulster Supertwin champion McGreevy followed up his double in the class at Bishopscourt with a narrow win in the first President’s Cup Supertwin race over Elkin (EB Engineering Kawasaki) by one second.

In Race 2, Elkin capitalised on McGreevy’s DNF to take the win, with Robert Waddell a long way back in second on his Kawasaki.

Graham McAleese, Alexander Rowan and Ruben Sherman-Boyd were double winners in the Lightweight Supersport, Moto3 and Supersport 300 races respectively.

The fourth round of the Ulster Superbike Championship and the second instalment of the Belfast club’s ‘Big 3 Series’ takes place back at Kirkistown on June 1.