Ryan wins BRC road racing league series

Monday, October 26, 2015
Ryan Bankhead from Fenaghy Park in Galgorm has won the Ballymena Road Club – Chain Reaction Cycles – William Smyth cup - road racing league competition for the 2015 season, thus retaining the title he won in 2014.

Bankhead dominated the contest having amassed a total of 66 points over the eight rounds. Scores from seven of the eight rounds count in the overall series and Ryan, who won four times and scored in three other races, only missed one round, which was the at Clough on the mid Antrim motor cycle circuit.

Matthew Brennan produced spirited resistance throughout the series and finished just five points behind in second place.

Brennan, however, will take huge consolation from the fact that he won the club’s road racing championship on the hilly Lisnamurrican circuit at Broughshane on 8th July. This was a "stand alone” event and didn’t count for the overall road racing league. Brennan won twice in the league with his successes coming in the Star Trophy GP of the glens road race at Broughshane and also in the Sammy Gaston cup event at Glarryford

The series kicked off on 29th April when Ryan Bankhead won the opening round’s H and M Wilson cup event at Slaght on the Caddy circuit. Brothers Gary and Richard Reid were second and third.
Next it was the Rex Bonar cup event at Lisnamurrican, Broughshane on 20th May where veteran Tommy Wilson took the honours. Brennan was second and Bankhead third.

Round three’s Sammy Connor cup 33 miles scratch road race on the Broughshane Buckna Sheddings circuit on 3rd June, saw Bankhead extend his league lead when he was first home ahead of Brennan and Wilson.

The halfway point was reached with the Star Trophy GP of the glens road race, held over the Broughshane, Carnlough, Waterfoot, Glenariffe circuit on 24th June. That night Matthew Brennan scored maximum points but Bankhead was close behind in second place with Connor Young picking up the points for third placed BRC. At this halfway stage Ryan Bankhead had amassed 37 points to Brennan’s 28 with Richard Reid third on 19.

Round five was the Clough Rangers trophy even on the Mid-Antrim motor cycle circuit on 28th July. 
Gary Reid was the winner here and his name will go on the Clough Rangers shield for the first time. Dale Bonnar was second and Adam Torrie third. Bankhead didn’t take part that night but retained his lead although Brennan’s six points for fifth place moved him on to 34 points – just 3 behind, while Gary Reid moved up to third overall with 27 points.

Perhaps the pivotal race of the series came on 3rd August at Randalstown.

Going into the last lap that night Connor Young and Matthew Brennan led Ryan Bankhead by 25 seconds. However a final lap by the leading pair, which was 60 seconds slower that they had been achieving up to that point allowed Bankhead to close the gap and beat them both in the sprint finish. Young was second and Brennan third.

The final two rounds were held on the Glarryford, Millar’s corner, Dunminning circuit. Brennan took his second win of the series in the Sammy Gaston cup race on 5th August. He made no mistake this time, winning by 2 minutes 26 seconds over second placed Bankhead with Jason Burns third.
Going into the final round’s Will Henry cup event on 26th August Bankhead led Brennan by 4 points so it was all still to race for. 

This time the honours went to Ryan Bankhead who rounded off the series by winning with nearest rival Brennan in second and junior rider Breandan McCavana third. 

LEAGUE RESULTS
(1) Ryan Bankhead 66 points 
(2) Matthew Brennan 61 points 
(3) Connor Young 38 
(4) Gary Reid 27 
(5) Jason Burns 22 
(6) and (7) Breandan McCavana and Richard Reid 19 points each 
(8) Tommy Wilson 18 
(9) Dale Bonnar 17 
(10) Adam Torrie 13 
(11) (12) and (13) Philip Morrison, Neil Millar and Stephen Little 12 points each. 
(14) Alan Blair 11 points 
(15) Mark Wright 10 points.

Bankhead wins Tommy Smyth cup for road race series.

Ryan Bankhead’s decisive sprinting prowess also carried him to one victory a second, a fourth place and overall honours in the Road Club’s three event "scratch” road racing series for the Tommy Smyth cup.

Bankhead, who won this series in 2014, won in the opening round at Broughshane, with Connor Young second.

Round two on the Caddy circuit was a reversal with the win this time going to Young with Bankhead second.

The final round saw Tommy Wilson win ahead of Nigel Kernohan and Matthew Brennan with Bankhead next to finish just clinching the series by a one point margin over Connor Young.

Scratch road racing League 
(1) Ryan Bankhead 26 points 
(2) Connor Young 25 
(3) Stephen Little 17 
(4) Richard Reid 13 
(5) Gary Reid 11 
(6) Tommy Wilson 10 points.