Davy Morgan got his 2009 season up and running at the Cookstown 100 at the weekend and it was a mixed weekend for the popular Saintfield rider. However it blew away the winter cobwebs and gave him a good feel for his 2009 machinery.

With it being his first outing of the year, new bikes and awful conditions Friday’s practice was really difficult. It was the 600cc CSC Branson Yamaha that was to take to the circuit first, Davy was 14th in his session and 23rd overall, which meant a Pole Position start in the non-championship race. Next up was the brand new CSC Branson R1 and this was the first time Davy had been on the bike as it had only been completed the night before and with the engine characteristics different from anything else Davy has ridden before he took his time getting a feel of the machine and with only four flying laps this made qualifying difficult and he finished 35th overall and again in the non-championship race, although his first impressions of the bike were positive. Conditions were worse and the light starting to fade as the 250 Honda went to the line again not taking any risks he finished with the 13th best time.

Saturday came and the roads were dry and Davy was looking forward to some dry time on the bikes. After a few early red lags the races were cut in laps and eventually the meeting got in to full flow. The 250 Junior Race was first for Davy and he made a positive start from the second group and was soon in among the first group riders. With a lap to go he was up to fourth on corrected time, but traffic on the final lap cost him valuable time and he had to settle for a solid fifth place, but a big improvement from Friday.

The Supersport Non-Championship Race was to see more improvement, but Davy could not match the pace of Michael Pearson’s Honda and had to settle for an uneventful second place and a race time that would have seen him finish 15th in the Championship Race. The Open Non-Championship Race was next and it was another step forward, coming from the middle of the second group on the CSC Branson R1 Yamaha Davy managed his fastest lap of the weekend and despite having to get through traffic on the tight Orriter Circuit notched up another second place finish and another time that would have seen a points scoring finish in the championship race.

Finally it was the Cookstown B Race, but with almost three hours to hang around the edge was gone and it was another fifth place finish and a few more miles on the R1 Superstock Yamaha. A weekend that started slowly, saw a lot of miles and a big step forward, roll on Tandragee.

Speaking afterwards Davy commented: “Friday was a real disappointment, not to qualify for the 600 and Open A Races was a real downer and I felt for everyone in the team who have worked so hard to get me on track. Conditions were awful and I didn’t want my season over before it started and with it being my first outing of the season and first time on the new bikes I was being ultra careful.”

“It was great to get a dry run on Saturday as it really let me get going and I was able to get good laps on all three bikes. The 250 was going well and the only disappointment was getting knocked back to fifth on the final lap when I got caught up in traffic. The Supersport bike was going well and only needs a few minor adjustments, I just couldn’t match the straight line speed of Michaels (Pearson) machine. The 09 R1 is a delight to ride, again there are a few minor adjustments required, but I really enjoyed riding it and I can’t wait to get it to Tandragee next week. I would like to thank Steve and the CSC Branson Team for providing me with the machine and I am really looking forward to getting to know it better”.

pic : Martin Coard

pic : Hammy McClements