Derek Sheils added the Irish Superbike title to his Ulster crown after doubling up on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Suzuki at the Munster 100 Road Races in Co. Cork on Sunday.

Sheils won the Open and Grand Final Superbike races at the Glanmire course, with the event returning to the Irish National calendar for the first time since 2013.

Michael Sweeney led the way in the early stages on the MJR BMW in the Grand Final Superbike event. Once Derek hit the front, he managed to open a slight gap but Sweeney was always poised to pounce on any mistakes by his fellow southern Irish rider. Derek, though, held firm and completed his double on the GSX-R1000, crossing the line 1.7 seconds ahead of Sweeney, with Ray Casey rounding out the top three on his 600.

Earlier, Derek had a straightforward run to victory in the Open race, hitting the front from the off and gradually pulling away from Sweeney. He won with 4.1 seconds in hand from Sweeney, with Thomas Maxwell a long way behind in third.

Team Principal – John Burrows:
“It was another unplanned meeting for us but Derek wanted to go and race at Cork to support a friend who is involved in the organisation of the event. It was a successful weekend with two wins on the GSX-R1000 Superbike and Derek also wrapped up the Irish title. “We are more than delighted with this as a team and it comes after Derek won the Ulster Superbike title at Armoy. We forged a relationship with Charlotte Richardson this year of RK Racing who came onboard as our new title sponsor, so to deliver the Ulster and Irish Superbike titles is very pleasing for all of us and also very satisfying as well.

“It’s a big week now with the Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod and I’m hoping that both Derek and Tom Weeden can have a good run as we come towards the end of the season. If the weather was a bit iffy it would probably benefit Derek, but I’m going there hoping for dry roads and I believe Derek will give a good account of himself whatever the conditions. He’s a talented rider and has good form at Dundrod, where he qualified on the front row for the Superstock race a few years back.

“Tom had some strong results at Dundrod last year and carries a bit of form into this week from Armoy. I think he can do himself justice and he is now beginning to get used to the structure of the team and the bikes he is riding.”

Derek Sheils:
“We only needed a few points to get the Irish Superbike title in Cork and a finish would have done it, but it was nice to get the wins. The weather came in heavy around midday but Sean Bissett managed to get the races run. The rain stopped the Grand Final after about three laps but we managed to get it in later when it was dry. ‘Micko’ Sweeney led for a while but once I got past I just watched my board and took it from there.

“The Ulster Grand Prix is next and I enjoy racing at Dundrod. We’ve had good pace there in the past, so we’ll set out and try and get back up to speed. The pace is really quick in the dry but the weather isn’t looking all that great. I’m not dreading the rain coming in to be honest because it evens things out a bit and offers an opportunity to get a good result. It’s about getting a good feeling with the bike when it’s wet and then you just have to see what the race brings. It’s one of my favourite places to race and it’d be nice to try and get into that top five.”

Picture courtesy of Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press