By
Diamond Bar/Mermaid Club Lightweight – Taggart’s Barn Post Classic Twin Shock:
After a highly productive day of qualifying sessions, race action at the 2023 Armoy Road Races edition opened with the concurrently run Diamond Bar/Mermaid Club Lightweight, Taggart’s Barn Post Classic Twin Shock encounters.
‘Tommy Club’ member Darryl Tweed, notorious for his capabilities on 400cc machinery, proved the crème de la crème of the Lightweight Supersport field.
By lap five of this evening’s seven-lap race, he held a nigh-on eight seconds advantage over eventual second place finisher Aidan Cleary.
As the seventh, final lap concluded, Tweed finished 10.832 in front of 73 plate holder Cleary.
Graham McAleese took third in class whilst third on the road Dominic Herbertson, got the better of Black Eagle Racing’s Andy Hornby for Post Classic Twin Shock honours.
Paul Jordan joined Hornby, Herbertson on the Twin Shock podium whilst top 250 exponent was recent Oliver’s Mount newcomer, German ace Chris Meyer.
Race results per class, read as follows:
Lightweight Supersport:
1st – Darryl Tweed
2nd – Aidan Cleary
3rd – Graham McAleese
4th – Tim Walsh
5th – Chris Meyer
6th – Mark Shiels
7th – Sam Johnson
8th – Malcolm Love
9th – Laird Shingleton
Post Classic Twin Shock:
1st – Dominic Herbertson
2nd – Andy Hornby
3rd – Paul Jordan
4th – Barry Davidson
5th – Dave Bell
Hilton Car Sales Supersport:
Michael Dunlop’s faultless start to his first Armoy ‘Race of Legends’ tenure since 2021, continued in abundance within the Hilton Car Sales Supersport race.
Quickest overall from Superbike, Super Twin, Supersport qualifying sessions, ‘Maverick’ was again in stellar form on route to making it 114 Irish road race victories after keeping off the attentions of outright lap record holder, Milenco by Padgetts Davey Todd.
Just 0.009 of a second covered Dunlop and Todd at the end of lap one before the 25 times TT winner upped the ante, twice besting the previous existing record Supersport lap time.
On lap five, Dunlop went sub 1:43 seconds, setting an official new middleweight class lap record of 1:42.956 seconds.
Behind Dunlop, Todd, third place was swept up by Armoy returnee, triple TT winner Dean Harrison.
BE/RK Racing’s Michael Browne placed fourth, Adam McLean was fifth, Post Classic Twin Shock race winner Dominic Herbertson completed the top six.
Positions seventh to tenth were attained respectively by Darryl Tweed, Joey Thompson, Marcus ‘Spartacus’ Simpson and Phil Crowe.
Race result, reads as follows:
1st – Michael Dunlop
2nd – Davey Todd
3rd – Dean Harrison
4th – Michael Browne
5th – Adam McLean
6th – Dominic Herbertson
7th – Darryl Tweed
8th – Joey Thompson
9th – Marcus Simpson
10th – Phil Crowe
11th – Julian Trummer
12th – Mike Norbury
13th – James Chawke
14th – Barry Furber
15th – Graham Kennedy
16th – Neil Kernohan
17th – Darryl Anderson
18th – Ryan Whitehall
19th – Liam Chawke
20th – Keith Pringle
21st – Michael Gahan
22nd – Paul Marley
23rd – Keelim Ryan
24th – Kevin Barsby
25th – Paul Cranston
26th – Michael Gillan
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
Just 0.009 of a second covered Dunlop and Todd at the end of lap one before the 25 times TT winner upped the ante, twice besting the previous existing record Supersport lap time.
On lap five, Dunlop went sub 1:43 seconds, setting an official new middleweight class lap record of 1:42.956 seconds.
Behind Dunlop, Todd, third place was swept up by Armoy returnee, triple TT winner Dean Harrison.
BE/RK Racing’s Michael Browne placed fourth, Adam McLean was fifth, Post Classic Twin Shock race winner Dominic Herbertson completed the top six.
Positions seventh to tenth were attained respectively by Darryl Tweed, Joey Thompson, Marcus ‘Spartacus’ Simpson and Phil Crowe.
Race result, reads as follows:
1st – Michael Dunlop
2nd – Davey Todd
3rd – Dean Harrison
4th – Michael Browne
5th – Adam McLean
6th – Dominic Herbertson
7th – Darryl Tweed
8th – Joey Thompson
9th – Marcus Simpson
10th – Phil Crowe
11th – Julian Trummer
12th – Mike Norbury
13th – James Chawke
14th – Barry Furber
15th – Graham Kennedy
16th – Neil Kernohan
17th – Darryl Anderson
18th – Ryan Whitehall
19th – Liam Chawke
20th – Keith Pringle
21st – Michael Gahan
22nd – Paul Marley
23rd – Keelim Ryan
24th – Kevin Barsby
25th – Paul Cranston
26th – Michael Gillan
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou 
