Motorbikes

Image source, Pacemaker

The Armoy road races will be taken "to another level" by coverage on BBC Sport NI, says organising committee member Bill Kennedy.

The races will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and worldwide on the BBC Sport website.

"We are very excited about this. This is a step up for Armoy," said Kennedy, who is also one of the directors of the Armoy Road Racing club.

"People who are not able to attend the race but are interested in it will now be able to tune into BBC Sport NI and watch it live as it happens and feel part of it.

"It's such an opportunity for the club. For the event to be livestreamed, something of that magnitude is something that we never thought would happen when we started the road race in 2009."

Kennedy's late brother Frank was one of the original 'Armoy Armada' who made the area famous with their racing pedigree back in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The meeting has thrived since its introduction to the road racing calendar 16 years ago and Kennedy says this new initiative comes as a major boost.

"It's great for the club, for the riders, for our sponsors, terrific for the event itself. Hopefully it will attract even more international stars to come to Armoy in the future.

"One of the things that livestreaming worldwide does is that people will look not just at the racing, but they'll have heard all the stories about the scenery in this part of the country too and think 'we might go there and make it our holiday and take in the Armoy road racing'."

The former clerk of the course at the County Antrim meeting is happy with the line-up which will take to the grid this year.

"We have a super entry, with Mike Browne and Jamie Coward, Michael Sweeney, Phil Crowe and Sam West and Brian McCormack, Erno Kostamo from Finland, our own Paul Jordan.

"The list goes on, some terrific riders, past winners and newcomers. I think we are in for some great racing in Armoy this weekend."

Image source, BBC Sport

Joey Dunlop's son Gary said his father had an "inner drive" to succeed in whatever he did as he paid tribute to him 25 years on from his father's death.

The "King of the Mountain", died on 2 July 2000 aged 48 while competing in Estonia.

Dunlop was widely considered to be one of the greatest riders in the sport's history. His long list of honours included 26 Isle of Man TT wins, five Formula One World Championships, 24 Ulster Grands Prix victories and 13 North West 200 successes.

He was also honoured with an MBE in 1986 and an OBE in 1996 for his humanitarian work with children in Eastern Europe.

"There are times when it feels like it was six weeks ago and others where it feels like a full lifetime ago," Gary told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"He was very odd, I don't mean it in a bad way, he was different to anyone I ever met. He had his own way of doing things and everything was calculated with deep thought.

"He was hard to get to know, most of his rivals probably thought he didn't like them, but that wasn't the case, that was how he went about his life, he did it quietly and thoughtfully."

Whilst Gary said the last 25 years have been "so tough" for him and his family, he takes comfort for the regard in which is father is still held.

"I was only 17 when he passed away, but in a cocky way we thought that wouldn't happen, if you didn't think that wouldn't happen you wouldn't want anyone doing it," he added.

"I think it's the same for the riders, if they thought this was going to happen, they wouldn't jump on a bike.

"I find it astonishing now that people who weren't even born when he was riding are knocking about with his shirts on and they're pretty fanatical. We find it really comforting that he is still regarded in a high way."

Image source, Pacemaker

Glenn Irwin suffered fractures to his hip socket and pelvis after crashing during a free practice session at the third round of the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton on Saturday.

The Northern Ireland rider came off his Hager PBM Ducati at Turn Nine during FP3 and the session was subsequently red-flagged.

After initially being taken to the circuit medical centre for x-rays on his hip and right leg, the 35-year-old was then transported to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for further scans and assessment.

A statement issued by BSB race organisers later on Saturday explained the extent of his injuries.

"Following a CT scan at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Glenn Irwin has been found to have fractures to his hip socket and pelvis. He is in stable condition," they revealed.

"Glenn will be reviewed tomorrow by the specialist team to decide an ongoing management plan."

Irwin was ruled out of Saturday's opening BSB race of the weekend, which was won by series leader, Yamaha rider Bradley Ray.

Ray took his fifth win of the season, with defending champion Kyle Ryde second, Honda Racing's Tommy Bridewell completing the podium positions and Leon Haslam fourth.

Ray now leads the championship standings with 104 points, followed by Ryde on 82, Haslam on 77 and Irwin on 74.

Irwin's brother Andrew crashed out on lap four of the weekend opener while challenging for a top-12 spot.

Two further races are scheduled for Sunday.

Glenn Irwin had secured four podium finishes from the first five races of the season at Oulton Park and Donington to occupy second in the series ahead of this weekend's action.

From Carrickfergus in county Antrim, Irwin is an 11-time Superbike race winner at the North West 200 international road races, but called it quits on that branch of the sport before this year's event.

Meanwhile, Dubliner Jack Kennedy won the 10-lap Supersport sprint race for Honda Racing on Saturday, from Donegal's Rhys Irwin, with Fermanagh native Lee Johnston fifth.

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland's Jonathan Rea finished 12th as Toprak Razgatlioglu won the opening race of the weekend in round six of the World Superbike Championship at Misano in Italy.

Turkish rider Razgatlioglu battled it out at the front throughout with series leader and early pacesetter Nicolo Bulega, with the two-time champion prevailing on his BMW by just over a second at the chequered flag.

It was a seventh individual race win of the season for Razgatlioglu, who reduced his Ducati rival's lead from 31 points to 26 in the championship standings.

It was revealed earlier this week the 28-year-old will transfer to the MotoGP series in 2026, having signed a deal to ride a Yamaha for Prima Pramac Racing.

Danilo Petrucci overcame England's Alex Lowes in a hotly contested battle for third, with the Italian claiming that place for the fourth consecutive race.

Petrucci was 16.68 seconds adrift of Bulega and sits third in the series going into Sunday's Superpole race and Race Two.

Six-time world champion Rea, who missed the opening three rounds with injury, was 33 seconds behind the winner and now has 13 points to lie 18th in the standings.