I WILL RETURN
Pearson in full flight over the Kells Jumps.
Ballygowan rider Michael Pearson, on the CF/Boost Drinks R1 Yamaha, vowed to return to the Kells Road Races in 2009, after the current Irish Superbike Champion tasted his first outing at the Co-Meath event on Sunday, and was well pleased to have came away with two top ten finishes.
Pearson, who had forfeited taking in the next round of the Irish Superbike Championships to ride at Kells, said that he was really pleased with the way that he had raced, and by the amount of interest and good will that had been shown to him at the event.
Michael Pearson: "I had a really good time at Kells. This was my real first taste of Irish Road Racing, and although I don't intend making it a regular thing, I had balls of fun.
I struggled a little with my breaking points, and the five laps of free practice for a newcomer I believe was just not enough. I think that I only got one of my breaking points right, and come the two races, I still was unsure where to break. It was a fantastic meeting which was well organised by the Kells Club, and I would love to return to it again next year. I finished seventh overall on the road in one of the two races, but was credited with 9th best on corrected time. I think that if I had been able to get away with the first wave of riders, that I could have kept up the pace a bit longer, but that is all about the learning curve for road racing. I did have one big moment when behind Andrew Brady. We were going over the really fast bit of the circuit where the jumps are and I don't know what happened, but the next thing I knew was that Andrew was on the deck. I still don't know how I managed to avoid hitting him as I rode the grass verge about 130mph, but somehow and thankfully I did. That kinda unsettled me for a couple of laps, but I soon got back into the swing of things again. All in all, it was a great weekend.
Willis Marshall: (Manager) "I was unable to attend Sundays races due to prior commitments, but Michael kept me up to date. I think that two top ten results for a none road racer are very creditable to be honest. He has lapped the circuit at over 105mph which is very impressive, and I am thankful that he had a safe and enjoyable time. We have a bit of a break now before the Ulster Grand Prix, so we can recharge the battery's now for a couple of weeks as we look forward to the Ulster GP at Dundrod, a circuit that Michael calls his favourite".
