World Super Bikes

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

Jonathan Rea,blue blooded Ulsterman is world champion again for the 5th straight season,unprecedented.

 

[Craigyboy9 416]

Outstanding considering how Bautista started the season. Looked it he was going to do a JR on JR! 🤣

[ninjabear 37]

Congrats to Johnathon well deserved  gets harder every year and the zx10 is due a major upgrade.Can't wait to see him  and Scott Reading go head to head next year.

[TEFTONG 60,091]

The boy deserves more credit than what he gets from the main stream media.

Truly a wonderful bike rider. 

 

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

27 minutes ago, TEFTONG said:

The boy deserves more credit than what he gets from the main stream media.

Truly a wonderful bike rider. 

 

To think he started out as a motocross rider but entered some competition,which he won, to train for road/short circuit racing.

[Zappa6995 3,645]

Congratulations to him, in what is a vastly underrated and exciting sport.

[Falcoholic 1,348]

On 29/09/2019 at 22:44, TEFTONG said:

The boy deserves more credit than what he gets from the main stream media.

Truly a wonderful bike rider. 

 

Really nice bloke he is too. No airs and graces, just a proper humble gentleman.

South African lad i worked with about 15 years ago raced in the Thundersport series or something similar, used to rave about JR and how he was his tip for the future. 'appens he was right.

Better than they Lafferty baw bags.

[TEFTONG 60,091]

28 minutes ago, Falcoholic said:

Really nice bloke he is too. No airs and graces, just a proper humble gentleman.

South African lad i worked with about 15 years ago raced in the Thundersport series or something similar, used to rave about JR and how he was his tip for the future. 'appens he was right.

Better than they Lafferty baw bags.

Cracking article on the BBC northern Ireland website page rightly saying he can be compared to Joey Dunlop.

I'm not surprised he is a nice humble fella. It's in the breeding. My favourite British Touring Car driver is Colin Turkington and he is a great wee bloke as well. Both very fine Ulstermen.

Both at the top of their professions in different motor sports. And both deserve enormous credit.

[Craigyboy9 416]

4 hours ago, TEFTONG said:

Cracking article on the BBC northern Ireland website page rightly saying he can be compared to Joey Dunlop.

I'm not surprised he is a nice humble fella. It's in the breeding. My favourite British Touring Car driver is Colin Turkington and he is a great wee bloke as well. Both very fine Ulstermen.

Both at the top of their professions in different motor sports. And both deserve enormous credit.

I don’t think you can compare JR with Joey mate, it’s apples and oranges for me. Joey won the Formula TT world championship 5 times I think and his real road racing record still stands 17 years after his death, but listen I’m not taking anything away from Rea. He’s head and shoulders above everyone else. As I said earlier he handed Bautista his own arse this year after getting blown away in the first 11 races or whatever it was. Bautista has only won  4 more races. JR stuck to it and turned the tide. It shows just how important those 11 second places were in terms of the championship that Bautista has won 15 races to JR’s 12. 

Easily his most impressive championship so far and hopefully he’s still got a few more in him. They’re both legends of the sport, but JR doesn’t race the roads so for me you can’t compare them directly. 

[TEFTONG 60,091]

1 minute ago, Craigyboy9 said:

I don’t think you can compare JR with Joey mate, it’s apples and oranges for me. Joey won the Formula TT world championship 5 times I think and his real road racing record still stands 17 years after his death, but listen I’m not taking anything away from Rea. He’s head and shoulders above everyone else. As I said earlier he handed Bautista his own arse this year after getting blown away in the first 11 races or whatever it was. Bautista has only won  4 more races. JR stuck to it and turned the tide. It shows just how important those 11 second places were in terms of the championship that Bautista has won 15 races to JR’s 12. 

Easily his most impressive championship so far and hopefully he’s still got a few more in him. They’re both legends of the sport, but JR doesn’t race the roads so for me you can’t compare them directly. 

I should have been more specific. The fact both won 5 titles both with the one team was the general jist of the article.

Joey's a legend. Johnny is making a huge name for himself and of course your right doing it on the roads is probably harder than just going round a self contained track.

[Craigyboy9 416]

1 hour ago, TEFTONG said:

I should have been more specific. The fact both won 5 titles both with the one team was the general jist of the article.

Joey's a legend. Johnny is making a huge name for himself and of course your right doing it on the roads is probably harder than just going round a self contained track.

Lol it’s a debate that’ll rage for years to come mate. 

[Falcoholic 1,348]

20 hours ago, TEFTONG said:

Cracking article on the BBC northern Ireland website page rightly saying he can be compared to Joey Dunlop.

 

Not seen the article yet but it's on my list. BBC NI have great coverage of bikes and bike racing, especially the road racing scene which is huge in NI and not just restricted to the IOM which is the general public's only perception of road racing. I love Road Racing and I know only too well the passion that the good people of Ulster have for it too. I missed the sheep game at the weekend because I was at the Scarborough Gold Cup meet at Oliver's Mount.

For me, the various classes of bike racing are different, so you can't put Joey in the same legendary staus as Valentino, and McGuinness, another TT Legend second only to Joey, in the same status as Shakey Byrne in BSB for instance. They are all legends in their own right but JR and Joey are both Ulstermen and will get their legendary status from the passion of the NI bike racing scene.

They're all heroes to me.  

[siddiqi_drinker 14,635]

On 29/09/2019 at 09:16, Blumhoilann said:

Jonathan Rea,blue blooded Ulsterman is world champion again for the 5th straight season,unprecedented.

 

some going - even Foggy never did that 

[TEFTONG 60,091]

Colin Turkington going from pole to try and win his 4th British Touring Car Championship. 

All the best wee man. 🏁🏆

[TEFTONG 60,091]

Another motor sport title for an Ulsterman. Superb. 

[TEFTONG 60,091]

Hope. Anger. Despair. Relief. Ecstasy.

Those were just a few of the range of emotions experienced by Colin Turkington on a rollercoaster day at Brands Hatch as the Northern Irishman moved level with Andy Rouse on a record four British Touring Car titles.

Going into the weekend with a 16-point lead, Turkington's title chances were boosted after qualifying when he put his BMW on pole position, claiming a crucial bonus point in the process.

Leading a lap in race one secured another additional point, before he eventually slipped to fifth as the rain came down.

Title rival Dan Cammish went on to win race one, reducing Turkington's lead from 17 to eight points.

Turkington's win against the odds by two points was one of the tightest finishes in the series' 61 year history

In race two, Cammish's Honda team-mate Matt Neal tagged Turkington into the third corner, sending the Team BMW man spinning to a 25th place finish and handing the Englishman a 10-point advantage heading into the final race.

Neal was deemed at fault and this was just one difficult moment in a testing season for Turkington and his new BMW 3 Series.

The BTCC prides itself on being the closest racing championship in the world, and the dominant BMWs, which had won nine of the first 15 races, were slowed down by boost reductions ahead of the fourth round at Croft.

A 30-point advantage was reduced to 10 at Knockhill, after Rory Butcher punted the 37-year-old off in race two. Two big blows, and Turkington's early-season hard work had been slowly chipped away.

Needing a miracle

A wet day at Brands Hatch summed up the mood around the Turkington camp after race two, however the sun began to shine around the Kent circuit ahead of race three and the mood of the Portadown driver was soon to follow suit.

A self-confessed outsider after his race two incident, Turkington charged from 25th to sixth with the drive of his life, including a crucial overtake on Cammish. However, he was still well up against it - five points off the top of the standings with two laps to go.

Then in a flash everything changed - the Englishman's Honda hurtling towards the barriers with brake failure and suddenly Turkington had a two-point advantage at the top. A dramatic turn of events, which was duly confirmed when he crossed the finish line two minutes later.

Colin Turkington finished all 30 races in his title-winning campaign

Cammish sat motionless in his stranded car, stunned by his misfortune, his emotions mirrored by his Dynamics team in their garage.

Disbelief was also on display in Turkington's West Surrey Racing garage - but the primary emotions there were very different as Colin's wife Louise, along with kids Adam and Lewis, joined in scenes of ecstatic celebration.

The focus was inevitably on his drama-filled race three drive, but Turkington's pole lap against the odds and overtake on Ash Sutton in the first race to get a second bonus point probably secured the title for him.

Turkington wins fourth BTCC trophy

'I want to keep on winning' - Turkington

Turkington picks his five best BTCC victories

Turkington had to dig deeper than ever and his usual calm and collected demanour vanished at the chequered flag - the champion jumping, waving, yelling and hugging anyone he could.

It was a side of the Portadown native that most people had never seen before - joy and emotion in its rawest form.

This success felt different to his previous titles. 2009 was nail-biting and tense, 2014 and 2018 as 'easy' as BTCC championships come - Turkington wrapping up the title with a race to spare on both occasions.

Jason Plato won his 97th BTCC race at Brands Hatch at the tender age of 52, so if Turkington chooses to do so, he could still compete for another 10 years at the front and who knows what he could go on to achieve?

NI's golden generation

Turkington stars in a golden generation for Northern Irish car racing. He is flanked in the series by compatriot Chris Smiley, who secured three podium finishes for BTC Racing despite a rather luckless season.

The next generation are coming through too, led by 18-year-old rising stars Jack Young and Dan Harper.

Young, who is mentored by Turkington, is one of the most natural talents ever to come from NI's shores and edged the Renault Clio Cup title. Two wins in Formula 1 support races further highlight his promise.

Chris Smiley, Dan Harper and Jack Young have all had success on the BTCC package in 2019

Harper, has attracted admiring glances from Porsche, is destined for the international stage and dominated the Carrera Cup GB championship, becoming the youngest-ever winner in the process.

There are only six championships on the BTCC package, and Northern Irish drivers won three of them. That's an astonishing strike-rate.

Turkington's younger brother, James, leads the Touring Car Trophy standings ahead of the finale at Donington Park this weekend and could make it a stunning double for the family.

Colin Turkington won his 50th BTCC race at Oulton Park in June

In addition, Charlie Eastwood became Northern Ireland's first-ever winner of a World Endurance Championship event at Fuji, and is an official Aston Martin Junior driver alongside fellow 24-year-old Andrew Watson.

Wayne Boyd, Steven Kane and Adam Carroll all continue to impress in the endurance and GT scene, and that is before you even consider NI's rallying and motorcycling exploits in recent years.

Northern Ireland continues to punch above its weight in motorsport in the most remarkable way, and the level of success represents a truly golden era.

Turkington has established himself as the best of his generation and as an all-time great, both in racing circles and in Northern Irish sport.