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As twenty-two year old, Manxman, Kevin Brown explains...
My only experience of an Irish event was an outstanding trip to Skerries in 1998,
when 15, with regular contributors to this magazine, Dereck Clague, Chris Preston,
and Chris’s son David -now was time to return.
Ulster Grand Prix 2004
The planning was pretty basic. We had heard the circuit was near Belfast, and that there was a campsite at the Start
Finish. So on arrival at Belfast airport on the Friday morning, we hailed a taxi, asking to
be taken to the Dundrod circuit. Silence and a blank look appeared on the face of the
driver. I expanded “the Ulster Grand Prix”, a grunt and inaudible conversation with
his base proceeded. He explained that he didn’t really know where he was going but
apparently it wasn’t far outside Belfast, and we would be “dead on”. After a few wrong
turns, some heavy acceleration, and heated discussions with his base, we arrived at the
Start Finish of the circuit. We were surprised by what we found. A smallish grandstand,
some temporary fencing, and a few stalls, the TT grandstand it wasn’t! We located the
campsite, a small, extremely muddy field next to the paddock, paid our entry fee and
started to pitch up. Of course those who have been will know the UGP takes place
a fair distance above sea level. As a result the wind was howling down from the hills
straight into the unsheltered field where we were attempting to pitch our tents. That was
the cue for the four of us to spend the next two hours chasing round the field, Benny
Hill style, after pieces of our tent, much to the amusement of those in the motorhomes
next to us! After some interesting improvisation, including twigs being used as tent
pegs, we decided to explore the paddock area, under the assumption that on our
return, the tents will probably have been
blown back to the IoM. It was at this point we agreed that we should have made the
effort to find a B+B, especially as I had for gotten to pack a groundsheet and pillow!
In the paddock entrance I found great amusement in watching the two duty
stewards trying to organise stalls, deal with enquiries, charge motorhome owners for
camping, and direct paddock traffic .The chaos that was created was a sight to
behold. We bumped into two fellow Manxies, Ben and Alan Oates from Castletown
whilst sampling the beer tent’s delights. Alan then proceeded to give us a high speed tour
of the course in the hire car (glad I wasn’t the one in the boot), and we then spent an
enjoyable night in one of Belfast’s live music bars. The next morning was grim, hung over
in a wet tent with no pillow isn’t much fun.
On cleaning my teeth, courtesy of an outside tap somewhere in the paddock, I was
literally 3 foot away from Adrian Archibald’s bike as it was being scrutineered- a strange
experience!
The circuit itself was excellent, and the races we witnessed were top draw.
Unfortunately, the event was marred by the tragic loss of Andy Wallace, and, along with
a few other accidents, the inevitable delays meant that races were shortened, and in
the case of the Grand Final, postponed altogether. Watching the 600 race at a spot
just above Jordan’s Cross was the greatest race I have ever witnessed, with 5 bikes
full tilt coming towards us as we lay full
length across a trench - truly awesome stuff. Watching at Tournagrough was another
highlight, as was the Quarries, especially with the reception Ryan Farquhar got as he
won the Superstock Race. I was little disappointed with the organisation of the actual races. It certainly
wasn’t as slick as the Manx events, with nobody seemed to know what was going on
during the long delays. I was also surprised by the poor facilities and lack of events put
on for visitors, especially as it was an international road race. However, I will be back,
probably in a hotel in Belfast with a hire car, rather than a wet tent!
The North West 200 2005
After the success of the Ulster the next step was the NW200. We bussed it from Belfast and camped at the Start-Finish
area. The major thing that struck me about the NW200 was the numbers of people arriving
for race day. With it being Ireland’s biggest single sporting event the atmosphere
was simply incredible. Every vantage point was taken, with crowds 3-4 deep at certain
places. The sheer movement of people between races was an incredible sight, with
literally thousands pouring onto the road. We spent race day, up and down the
coast road, whilst experiencing the strangest weather conditions I have ever seen. In
all but one of the races, it poured down on the warm up lap, and then proceeded to
dry as the races went on. By the final race it was even thundering! Highlights included
the huge crowd on the railway embankment at Metropole, Steve Platter diving up the
inside of Michael Rutter at Primrose, and my companion Ashley Southern falling down
he bank at Primrose, much to the delight of hundreds of spectators!
The racing was fast and close, but in my opinion the course isn’t the greatest,
certainly not for spectators, the sheer amounts of people make getting a good
vantage point very difficult. However, the atmosphere is as good as the TT; due to the
huge volumes of people in every position, you can literally hear the crowd gasp whenever
the bikes come past. Port Stewart and Port Rush were both busy places the night before the races,
with riders mingling with the crowds. However, unlike the TT I found it hard to distinguish
between the bike fans and the people who were there for the atmosphere. Indeed
I was shocked at how quickly the crowds dissipated on the actual race day, with the
local pubs remaining only modestly busy.
The atmosphere along the campsites on the coast road the night before the racing was
unbelievable -not many people got much sleep. Overall, I would say that the North
West is an event to go to for the atmosphere, rather than the actual racing. That’s
not to say the racing wasn’t good, it was extremely hard fought, its just in my opinion
the circuit isn’t spectator friendly. However, it is a unique experience, far different to that
of the TT with the huge volumes of people moving around the circuit.
Kells 2005
After going to the two “big” meetings in Ireland, I decided to visit a few of the
lower key events. A last minute decision to go with Ben Oates paid off, as the Kells road
races turned out to be absolutely brilliant. Ryan Farquhar was the star of the meeting
with 4 victories including a fantastic Grand Final battle with Guy Martin. The event itself,
located about 9km outside Kells at the village of Crossakeeil, has a total of 14 races
on the Sunday, Saturday being used for practice.
The circuit was a standard triangle with three jumpy straights, three tight hairpins, with only a handful of small twists
along the way. However, spectating was good, albeit rather cramped, as an estimated
10,000 people were at the 2.2 mile course. By far the best place is the imposing
“jumps” section where the road rises and falls several times before a final almighty
leap of faith. Like Gillies Leap at the Skerries, it is a spectacular place to watch road
racing, especially when four 250s take the jump in a line, with no quarter being asked
or given! However, spectating was squashed to say the least – we had to lie full length in a
8 ft prickly hedge to get a decent view!
As I found at the Skerries, Kells had a certain charm that the bigger events don’t possess. The paddock consisted of
a muddy field, with bikes wheelspinning to get to their vans. Races came thick and fast,
the circuit was narrow, and the laid back friendly atmosphere of the event created a
lot of fun. As with all Irish events the ability to walk down the road between races, is a
huge benefit that spectators in the IoM do not get. However, in Kells this privilege is
taken to the extreme with people still on the road until the bikes are literally 10 seconds
away. It made for some hilarious scrambling up hedges and over gates, and although
many would be appalled at just how close people were leaving it, it is the donething in
Ireland, and appears to work well. The Saturday practice was cut short due to thick fog, so the pub in Crossakeil
near the paddock was full, the atmosphere brilliant. Kells, a population of about 6,000
has 23 pubs, most of which were visited, taking in a cracking atmosphere. With the
circuit being 9km from Kells, your own transport is best. But as we found, hitching
is easily done, and the people who offered lifts were all real characters.
With all three trips being so enjoyable, I can’t wait to return – visits to the
Dundalk and Ballybunnion road races are already being planned
Kevin Brown
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