Cookstown 100: Derek McGee scoops treble at Orritor circuit
- Published
Derek McGee leads Adam McLean in the Supertwins class on his way to his second victory of the day
Derek McGee secured a hat-trick of wins at the Cookstown 100 road races on Saturday, with Derek Sheils and Adam McLean also taking victories.
Mullingar rider McGee bagged successes in a twice red-flagged feature event, the Moto3/125cc class and the Supertwins race at the Orritor circuit.
Sheils was the victor in the Open race while McLean edged out McGee by 0.3 seconds in the Supersport outing.
The Irish road race season continues with the Tandragee 100 next Saturday.
Conditions were particularly difficult over the 3.2-mile course early in the day because of the wet and windy weather but McGee romped home by 9.5 seconds to take the chequered flag in the opening Moto3/125cc race.
Riding an ex-Grand Prix Moto3 Honda, last season's triple Irish roads champion ran out a comfortable winner from Dungannon's Nigel Moore.
KMR Kawasaki-mounted McGee's winning margin in the Supertwins was just 0.55 seconds, ahead of Tobermore pilot McLean, who was a further 1.2 seconds in front of third-placed finisher Michael Sweeney.
Derek Sheils was a convincing winner of the Open race
Dubliner Sheils extended his winning run in Superbike races at the County Tyrone course to six when he came home with 3.3 seconds to spare over McLean in the Open outing, McGee completing the podium positions.
Sheils was on board a Burrows Engineering/Richardson Kelly 1000cc Suzuki.
The result of the Supersport race was taken after four laps because of a red flag incident and it was McLean who came out on top from McGee and Magherafelt's Paul Jordan.
The feature Cookstown 100 race was red-flagged twice because of non-serious incidents and the result taken after the event was halted for a second time.
McGee was declared the winner, from Sheils, thereby ending his fellow Republic of Ireland rider's domination of the big bike class in recent years.
McLean and Sweeney made up the rostrum places.