Championships
Background
Prior to 2018, there was an Irish Superbike Championship that was run across a number of short circuits on the island of Ireland including Kirkistown, Bishopscourt, Mondello, St Angelo, Ballykelly, Aghadowey and Nutts Corner.
Dunlop Sponsorship
In December 2017, Mondello Park and the MCI Short Circuit Committee announced a new 3 year deal with Dunlop Tyres which saw them become title sponsors and sole suppliers of tyres to the Mondello Masters Superbike and Supersport classes which meant riders had to ride the Dunlop branded tyres.
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After the announcement, the usual Bishopscourt round of the Masters championship had been dropped leaving the championship being exclusively run at the County Kildare Circuit.
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This change meant that the Irish Superbike Championship wasn’t able to be held as the deal was only with Mondello Park and discussions between the joint MCUI (Southern Centre and Ulster Centre) short circuit commission went nowhere.
Ulster Superbike Championship
In February 2018, the MCUI UC announced their response to the ‘Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship’ which was named the ‘Ulster Superbike Championship’ otherwise referred to as ‘USBK’.
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The first year of the USBK Championship featured AJ Plumbing Supplies as the title sponsor.
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The championship featured 10 events throughout the year across Kirkistown, Bishopscourt and St Angelo.
AJ Plumbing Supplies had been sponsoring events over the years with 2007 being the first year that can be found to mention them as a sponsor as seem in the screenshot from the results of the 2007 Sunflower Trophy Races.
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As you can see from the results of below, there's a few familiar names there!
2023 Insurance issues
The news broke in February 2023 that all racing was to be cancelled due to lack of insurance and heightened costs, throwing a spanner in the works to riders and personnel within the sport.
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News article after news article broke the news giving the sport more publicity than its had in quite a while!
Mondello Park made the decision to not host any bike racing events after MotorCycling Ireland were unable to get a viable insurance quote. This left the Dunlop Mondello Masters Superbike Championship unable to run in 2023 and riders with licenses through the MCI unsure of the next step.
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It was announced on March 15th 2023 that MCUI UC Chairman John Dillon and Ulster Centre member Steven Lyons were able to get a quote after a GoFundMe was open to the public. A last minute donation for the North West 200 by Co Tyrone businessman Derek Keys from his company Euro Auctions put the governing body and clubs in a position to afford the now reduced insurance quote.
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This fact meant that the USBK Championship was able to be run. With a total of 9 events running across Bishopscourt and Kirkistown in 2023 leaving Southern Centre competitors with very little track time and opportunity to race.
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The Temple Motorcycle Club were up first just 10 DAYS after the announcement, with a limited time to get sorted it was all systems go and when it came to the event, it was well supported by both riders and spectators!
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2023 enjoyed a strong season for USBK and Road Races in Ulster!
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The season ended with the Sunflower Trophy Races and then all went quiet until 2024...
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2024
On the 9th of January 2024, the MCUI (Ulster Centre) announced a 14 event calendar as well as two assessment days and a training day through the year.
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The assessment days took place on the 24th February and the 2nd of March with both taking place at Kirkistown Race Circuit.
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The calendar features three road races! With the Cookstown 100, North West 200 and Armoy Road Races all taking place throughout the year.
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The USBK Championship returns for 2024 with a total of 10 rounds! They are spread across Bishopscourt Race Circuit and Kirkistown with the training day falling between rounds 5 and 6.
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The season didn't have the best of starts after the opener, hosted by the Temple Motorcycle and Athletic Club, had to be called off due to adverse weather conditions.
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Focus is now on USBK Round 2 on the 30th March...
The return of the Mondello Masters!
2024 had some more awesome news when the Mondello Masters were announced on the 26th January.
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Initially stating that the Dunlop Masters were returning, it was later announced that it was returning to the open tyre rule which meant that the deal with Dunlop was not renewed.
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This left the promotion of the events being just labelled as the Masters Superbike Championship until their new sponsor was announced.
It was announced on the 14th March that Principal Insurance Ireland, a part of Howden, who have been one of the most loyal supporters having started backing the championship with their sponsorship of the Pre-Injection class in 2016 so it's brilliant that they have continued their support by stepping up to take over as title sponsors.
The schedule was announced and can be seen below !
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