Guy Martin among Cookstown 100 polesitters as Browne and McLean also shine

Mike Browne was prominent on the leaderboards of three classes during practice over the Orritor circuit

Guy Martin is among the polesitters for Saturday's races at the Cookstown 100, with Mike Browne and Adam McLean also excelling in qualifying for the event.

Martin was only confirmed as a late entry on Friday and set the fastest time for the senior 1000 classics race.

Cork rider Browne was quickest in the Open class practices with an average lap speed just one second outside Michael Dunlop's outright lap record.

McLean recorded the fastest speed of the Supersports and Supertwins.

The Tobermore rider was a double winner on his McAdoo Racing Kawasaki machines in the Supersport and Supertwin races over the 2.1-mile Orritor circuit in 2020 and 2021 so is on course to continue that sequence.

Adam McLean was fastest of the Supersports on his McAdoo Kawasaki

In Friday's qualifying session, McLean unofficially broke his existing lap record in the Supertwins category in which Michael Sweeney was second fastest.

McLean warmed up for the first Irish road racing meeting of the season by competing in the Ulster Superbike Championship over Easter at Bishopscourt and Kirkistown.

McLean was followed by Browne, Magherafelt's Paul Jordan, Graham Kennedy, Sweeney and Darryl Tweed in the Supersports.

Browne set the pace in the 'big bikes' on his Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Suzuki, with Sweeney, McLean, Thomas Maxwell, Jordan and Richard Charlton making up the top six leaderboard.

Browne was also quickest in the Moto3/125cc/Supersport 300 session, 2.7 seconds faster than Eoin O Siochru, with Nigel Moore and Tweed next.

The Cookstown 100 is celebrating its centenary this year and returns to its traditional April date after being staged in September in both of the last two years because of issues surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.