Lawless planning for island races

Dunshaughlin motorcycle racer Caoith Lawless is heading to the Isle of Man later this month to compete in the Manx Grand Prix, his first time to take part in the event. "I'm excited, but nervous," said Lawless, who won his first race at the recent Kells Road Races, said at the weekend as he competed in the Mid-Antrim 150 races. This is just his second year competing in road races, and he is the club rider for Dunshaughlin District Road Racing Supporters Club, which hosted a fundraising barbecue for the Isle of Man event at the Arch Bar, Dunshaughlin, at the weekend. The 25 year-old son of the famous publican family in the village has been bike racing for about five years, initially on the track, at venues like Mondello. He is riding the club's Suzuki GSX-R750, while his own bike is a Suzuki SV650. "You have to reach a certain level on the track, before you can take part in the road racing," Lawless said. There are two levels, a club level, and a national level. He finished fifth in the club championship, and the top 15 in that level are upgraded to national level. Last year, he competed in the Senior Support Class on a Yamaha 600, and regularly finished around the top 10 mark, with his best a fourth place. "The highlight was getting the Newcomers Road Racing Award last year," he said. At the weekend, he was second in the Irish Championship and was leading the Southern Championship. Lawless was over the moon with his recent win at the Kells Road Races, as it was his first success. "The Sunday was sunny with heavy showers," he said. "With seconds to spare before the race we made the decision to run full dry tyres as the track was drying fast between the showers. I got a good enough start and was third into the first corner. "Coming towards the end of lap one the leaders ran wide at the village corner, I saw my chance and passed on the inside to gain the lead. I got my head down and pulled a gap on the others, but Gerry Daniels who started from another group was not far behind on corrected time. I finished first with Gerry 1.5 seconds behind in second." Lawless' entry to this year's Manx event was accepted. "There'll be a week of practice first. Then, two races the following week." He admits to be slightly daunted by the four laps of 38 miles each. "It'll be an hour and a half of a race." He pays tribute to the club and its sponsors for giving him the opportunity. The Dunshaughlin club was formed on 13th January 1998 as a result of a chat over a couple of pints. That first meeting was attended by 14 people, the majority of whom still form the core of the club. The main aim of the club was to provide support for a local rider where possible. The first rider was now club president Philip Benson in 1998. Events were held to raise funds to help Benson compete in the Manx Grand Prix in both the Newcomers Race and the Manx Senior Grand Prix. To fund the bike, DDRRSC advertised for sponsors to put their names on it and took the local GAA colours of black and amber as their colours, plus the symbol of the Lagore Broach on their paper work. That first year saw six sponsors of the bike, a number that was to swell to 14 and which has remained to the present time, albeit with a few falling by the wayside but with others joining. The Dunshaughlin club has had a number of riders since its inception, Philip Benson, Fergus Guerin, Conor O'Neill, Des Darby, the late Richard Britton and Alan Connor. Riding road and short circuit this year for the club are Lawless; Emmet Bannon on a Yamaha R1; Joey Moore on a Suzuki GSX-R750; John Mooney on a Yamaha R6; Benny Daly, a Yamaha R6, and Philip Benson rides a Suzuki SV 650. The club's third annual golf classic at Sillogue Park took place recently, with 16 teams in the fourball scramble. The clear winners by four strokes were 'Elvis' Babies' - Seán Delaney, Gerry McDonnell, Mark Devaney and Eamon Dalton. They were presented with The DDRRSC John Tugwell Perpetual Trophy at the post-competition function in the Arch Bar by Anne Tugwell, mother of the late John. Present club officers are President - Philip Benson; chairman and membership secretary - John Summerville; secretary - George Tugwell and treasurer - Brian Carey.