Mike Browne proud to claim Supersport victory at Armoy Road Races, while Paul Jordan savours Supertwin success
He set the fastest lap of the race at 104.074mph to secure the win comfortably after seven laps of the three-mile course in County Antrim by 6.39 secs from Michael Sweeney (EM Building Yamaha), who had to work hard to fend off Northern Ireland's Paul Jordan on the Jackson Racing Honda by Prosper2 Honda for the runner-up spot.
Sweeney and Jordan were locked in battle throughout the seven-lap race, but Jordan was unable to make a decisive pass as the experienced Skerries man defended his lines.
They were clear of Manx racer Conor Cummins, who finished fourth on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
Browne, who was a Supersport winner at the Southern 100 at the Billown course a few weeks previously, said: 'I wouldn't say I dominated from the start.
'There was a few spits of rain there and we took our time for two laps, and there was a bit of a wet patch down into Church, so I had a look at that.
'I looked back and was surprised I had a little bit of a gap, so I tried to keep that and I wanted to try and keep a bit of room in case we came across some backmarkers towards the end of the race.
'I had a good, clear run, so I'm happy. It's good for the team to get a win.'
Sweeney said he expected Jordan to be a threat in the race based on his lap times in qualifying.
'I could hear him at every turn and my board was saying +0, so I knew I wouldn't get away and I knew from the qualifying times that he had the pace,' he said.
'I was a little bit off it this morning, but I ran a couple of laps with Mike (Browne) at the front and then he just pulled the pin and got away.
'Then I had to defend against Paul (Jordan) at every turn and I knew he would try and get the drive on me up to the line.'
Jamie Coward (KTS Macadam Racing Triumph) and eye-catching newcomer Franco Bourne (Cowton Racing Kawasaki) were the top six.
Jordan won the earlier Supertwin race and established a new lap record for the class at 100.694mph.
The Magherafelt man had to fight his way through from fourth after a sluggish start, but once he overhauled Sweeney (MSR Aprilia), he was able to make a break for it.
Jordan won by 5.58 secs on the Jackson Racing by Prosper2 Aprilia from Sweeney, with the Isle of Man's Joe Yeardsley in third on the Scott Racing Aprilia.
'It was just the usual Paul Jordan start and that was it,' Jordan said.
'To be fair, after the practice we had this morning, I knew I had a bit of pace and I knew not to panic.
'So, I just bided my time and, once I got to the front, I just kept on banging out the laps, and I felt I was going a lot slower than I was this morning.
'The bike is probably the best bike I've rode.'
Coward retired on the KTS Racing Kawasaki, with Barry Furber (DC Autos Yamaha) taking fourth.
Joey Thompson (TH Racing Aprilia) and Marcus Simpson (LMR Kawasaki) completed the top half-dozen.
Roads close on Saturday for practice from 9.00am, with 12 races scheduled.
The prestigious Race of Legends is the headline event and a new winner will be crowned in the absence of Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd.
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Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Mike Browne wins Race of Legends finale to seal Armoy four-timer
The Republic of Ireland rider is only the fourth winner of the blue riband Superbike race along with Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd. Browne also won the Open race for a big bike double and added another win in the Supersport race for a brace in the class on the BPE/Russell Racing Yamaha after opening his account on Friday. The Cork man left himself with work to do in the Race of Legends finale after fluffing his lines at the start on his new Honda. Browne was in fourth place on the opening lap but soon forced his way into contention as he chased after pole man and race leader Paul Jordan on the Jackson Racing Honda. He quickly passed Marcus Simpson and Michael Sweeney to pursue Jordan and was ahead of the Ulsterman by the end of lap three. Jordan had no answer as Browne set the fastest lap of the race at 106.898mph to pull away. He won by 4.313s from Jordan, with Sweeney (MJR BMW) holding off Conor Cummins (Burrows/RK Racing BMW) and Jamie Coward (KTS Racing BMW) to secure the final podium place in the final Irish road race of the year. Browne only rode the Honda for the first time at the Southern 100 earlier this month but has gelled quickly with the machine. 'Alistair (Russell) and the team done an awful lot of work the last two weeks because we just got that bike and we're trying to make it our own,' he said. 'We're still actually missing a few bits to finish it off but they done some job to get us on the grid even and turned the bike inside-out, and it was our second time on the bike so it's confidence going forward – it's a good bike.' Jordan held his hands up for a wrong tyre choice on the front of his Honda, with the Magherafelt rider choosing an intermediate. Some rain showers had left parts of the County Antrim course damp, but these dried out rapidly as the big race began. 'We went for the wrong tyre choice on the front which is my own fault,' Jordan said. 'To be honest, ten minutes before the start we were still on a wet set-up and fair play to the boys, the rear shock was out, and to get them a second is good.' The Open race was delayed after a rain shower but it made little difference to Browne, who never looked back after passing early pacesetter Sweeney. In tricky conditions, he went on to win the reduced six-lap race by almost nine seconds from Sweeney, while Jordan finished third on his 600cc Jackson Racing Honda machine. 'That was just a gamble with what set-up to use, with half dry, half wet (conditions),' said Browne. 'It was bone dry down to the village but then very wet at the last road end. 'It was very hard to work out and it was tough, but it was nice that everyone got around as well there because it was tricky.' Coward, Neil Kernohan (Yamaha) and Cummins were the top six. In the Supersport race, Browne came out on top once again but this time he was kept honest throughout by Jordan. The duo broke away from the rest of the field and although Jordan was able to keep in touch with Browne, the 34-year-old was unable to find a way past. Browne won by 0.523s, with third going to Sweeney on his Yamaha, who only just held off Coward on the KTS Macadam Racing Triumph for third. Cummins (Burrows/RK Racing Ducati) and Manx rider Joe Yeardsley (Yamaha) were fifth and sixth respectively. Jordan wrapped up a double in the Supertwin class on the Jackson Racing Aprilia, beating Barry Furber (DC Autos Yamaha) by 9.7s in a damp race. Sean Brolly, who plies his trade in the Support classes, excelled to take third on his Aprilia on corrected time ahead of Sweeney after starting in the second group. Kevin Lavery from Dungannon won the Junior Support race with Brolly taking victory in the Senior Support race. The Lightweight race was won by Barry Davidson while Chris Meyer held off Nigel Moore for victory in the Moto3/125GP race. Andy Farrell won the Classic Superbike race by 11.9s from Sam West.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Browne clinches four-timer at Armoy road races
Mike Browne secured a fabulous four-timer at this year's Armoy road races as he took victory in the feature 'Race of Legends' event, the Open race and both Supersport Republic of Ireland rider joins Michael Dunlop, Davey Todd and Ryan Farquhar as the only competitors to win four or more races at an individual Armoy races and also as the only riders to have enjoyed success in the main event of the Cork rider takes his overall tally of successes over the three-mile county Antrim circuit to eight with his quartet of wins in began his winning sequence by taking the honours in the opening Supersport race on Friday evening and added another success in the middleweight class on a thrilling battle at the front, the BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha rider edged out Paul Jordan by half a second, with Michael Sweeney a further 16 seconds adrift in had some consolation in setting the fastest lap at start of the Open race was delayed by rain showers but when the action did get under way, Browne mastered the damp conditions best to secure a comprehensive win aboard the Honda Fireblade he only rode for the first time at the Southern 100 in the Isle of Man earlier this the help of a best lap of 101.012mph, Browne had almost nine seconds to spare over Sweeney at the finishing line, with Jordan in third having opted to take out his Supersport machine in preference to his 1000cc Jackson Racing was again ultimately dominant in the 'Race of Legends', overhauling early leader Jordan on lap three and increasing his advantage consistently thereafter, aided by the standout lap of the race at 106.898 on lap winning margin over runner-up Jordan was 4.3 seconds, as Sweeney completed the podium spots and Conor Cummins, Jamie Coward and Phil Crowe rounded out the top added to his Supertwins victory on Friday by making it a double in that category on his Aprilia on two wins made it five overall for the Magherafelt man at Armoy and his consistency across all classes led to him being awarded the man-of-the-meeting never looked like being denied in Saturday's Twins outing and enjoyed a cushion of nearly 10 seconds over second-placed man Barry Furber at the Brolly just got the better of Sweeney in the contest for third, his podium position being confirmed on adjusted time as he was part of the second wave of other race winners were Andy Farrell in the Classic Superbike, Barry Davidson in Lightweight Supersport, Lee Osprey in Supersport 300, Andy Hornby in Senior Classic, Nigel Moore in Junior Classic, Kevin Lavery in Junior Support, Sean Brolly in Senior Support and Chris Meyer in Moto3/125cc. Armoy race results Race of Legends - 1Mike Browne; 2 Paul Jordan; 3 Michael Sweeney; 4 Conor Cummins; 5 Jamie Coward; 6 Phil CroweFastest lap - Browne 106.898mphOpen race - 1 Mike Browne; 2 Michael Sweeney; 3 Paul Jordan; 4 Jamie Coward; 5 Neil Kernohan; 6 Conor CumminsFastest lap - Browne 101.012mphSupersport race two - 1 Mike Browne; 2 Paul Jordan; 3 Michael Sweeney; 4 Jamie Coward; 5 Conor Cummins; 6 Joe YeardsleyFastest lap - Jordan 104.932mphSupertwin race two - 1 Paul Jordan; 2 Barry Furber; 3 Sean Brolly; 4 Michael Sweeney; 5 Dean McMaster; 6 Joey ThompsonFastest lap - Jordan 93.542mph
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Paul Jordan eager to join list of NI winners at Armoy's ‘Race of Legends'
Since the Irish national road race was first run in 2009, only Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd can lay claim to having won the blue riband race. Held each year in memory of the legendary Armoy Armada road racing quartet of Joey Dunlop, Frank Kennedy, Mervyn Robinson and Jim Dunlop — who competed together at Irish road races from the mid to late 1970s — the race has been dominated by Michael Dunlop, whose victory in 2023 was his 10th Legends success. The Isle of Man TT record-breaker is absent this year, as is English rival Todd, who was a winner of the big race in 2022 and 2024. A new name will be added to the trophy today, with Magherafelt racer Paul Jordan putting down a marker yesterday after he claimed pole position in qualifying on the Jackson Racing by Prosper2 Honda. Jordan lapped at 106.324mph, but Republic of Ireland rider Mike Browne was only a few tenths of a second slower on his Honda at 106.087mph. Manxman Conor Cummins is another chief contender on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW along with fourth-fastest Michael Sweeney (MJR BMW) and Yorkshire's Jamie Coward on the KTS Racing BMW, who made his return from injury at the Southern 100 this month following a crash at the North West 200 in May. Phil Crowe, the runner-up last year behind Todd, also can't be ruled out on his BMW. Jordan, though, will be fired up to emulate fellow Ulster winners Dunlop and Farquhar by winning the Superbike showdown. The 34-year-old is having a fine season, winning his first race at the North West 200 in the Supertwin category and securing another rostrum at the TT, again in the Supertwin class. Jordan, who also finished fourth in the second Supersport race at the TT in June, set a new lap record as he won the Supertwin race at Armoy yesterday and finished a close third in the Supersport race. However, he has been eager to prove himself on the 1000cc machines and a win today would be a feather in his cap. 'I was able to do the lap times (in Superbike qualifying) on my own, so that will only help me,' Jordan said. 'It's been good, a win and a third, so it's good for the team and good for me. 'A backmarker just played a bit of a part on the last lap there (in the Supersport race), which sort of ended it (challenge for second place), but I'm happy. We'll get another go at it tomorrow.' Browne will be aiming to double up in the Supersport class on the BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha after his win last night, while Jordan will fancy his chances of a repeat in today's Supertwin race. Dan Sayle sealed pole in the Moto3/125GP class with Ballymena's Barry Davidson quickest in qualifying for the Lightweight Supersport/GP250 race on the Bry Joinery 250 Honda. Former MotoGP star Jeremy McWilliams is competing on a 400 Kawasaki in the Lightweight race and was third fastest in qualifying on his return to the event after a long absence. Andy Farrell starts from pole in the Classic Superbike race with Sam West also on the front row in second place.
