Isle of Man finishes third at Celtic Match Races 

The event was held on Saturday and Sunday (20-21 September) alongside the final round of the Scottish Championships. The races had not been staged since 2010 when the Isle of Man secured victory at Jurby on home soil.

A huge amount of work and effort and gone into resurrecting the races over the past 18 months, led by Andreas Racing Association (ARA) Chairman, Linda Alton-Heath, Eamon Medler and ARA Deputy Chairman, Jason Walker.

The East Fortune race circuit has many similarities to Jurby Race Circuit. It is 1.65 miles long, a former airfield and RAF base, and motorsport use of the site began back in the 1970s. 

The Celtic Match Races had previously been held at East Fortune in 1984 and 1992, with Ireland victorious on both occasions. 

This year’s meeting attracted 182 entries, including 32 sidecars, and featured 39 sessions on Saturday, 19 of which were races. Sunday saw 22 sessions scheduled, including another 19 races, a testament to the slick organisation of the Melville Motor Cycle Club who run racing at the circuit.

The Celtic races were split into three classes each day: Celtic Wee Bikes, which included the Lightweights (Supertwins) and CB500s, Celtic Sidecars, and Celtic Big Bikes, which included Superbikes, Supersport, and PI600s. Almost all Isle of Man riders also entered the Scottish Championship races to gain additional, valuable track time.

Practice sessions began shortly after 9am on day one, and it soon became apparent that the Isle of Man team would need time to adapt to the fast, technical, and twisty circuit, whereas the Scottish team were immediately on the pace. 

Rory Parker had a heavy crash as he flicked right through Hannah’s. The rear of his Fireblade lost grip, high-siding him over the bars and sending him into an awkward landing. It took him several minutes to recover, but thankfully he was uninjured. 

In sidecar qualifying, Stu Bainborough and recently crowned ARA Novice & Clubman ACU Centre Champion Liam Wood ran wide on the approach to Railway. The drop at the circuit edge flipped them upside down at 80mph. Stu was unhurt, but Liam was unable to continue, and the reserve team of Mike Jackson and TT podium finisher Jake Roberts were drafted into the Isle of Man squad.

The Manx team chipped away and secured some solid grid positions for the races, although Kyle Casement suffered an engine issue which ruled him out of the Big Bike race on his Supersport machine. 

Ryan and Callum Crowe were third quickest in the Celtic Sidecars behind Lee Crawford and Stephen Kershaw. 

2025 ARA Open Solo Centre Champion Jamie Cringle qualified fifth in the Superbikes, while triple 2025 ARA Champion Francesco Faraldo qualified fifth in the Lightweights.

The first Celtic Wee Bikes race delivered strong results, with Faraldo finishing fifth and Sam Bowers taking fourth in the CB500 class. 

The Celtic Sidecars produced an epic battle between Crawford, Kershaw, and the Crowes until a heavy rain shower on lap six forced a red flag - the race was declared at that point.

The first Big Bike race also suffered a red flag due to an incident. In the restart, Jamie Cringle slid off after touching a wet white line coming onto the start/finish straight, though he escaped unscathed. Rory Parker took fifth in the Superbike class, and Grant Thomson finished second in Supersport.

At the end of day one, the Isle of Man sat third in the standings on 60 points, behind Ireland with 69.5 and leaders Scotland with 93.5, while Wales trailed with 48.5.

Day two began in much brighter conditions - the opening Celtic race of the day was again the Wee Bikes, with Faraldo repeating his fifth place. 

Aron Redmond took seventh in the Lightweights, while in the CB500s Bowers finished fifth and Juan Hunter seventh. 

The second Celtic Sidecar race was red-flagged after one lap following an incident involving Hope and Bumfrey. On the restart, another battle raged between Crowe, Kershaw, and Crawford. Lee Crawford and Scott Hardie eventually took victory by just over three seconds from Ryan and Callum Crowe. The race was stopped again after six laps, this time due to an engine failure for Stephen Kershaw. Jackson and Roberts finished fourth.

The final Celtic race of the weekend was the Big Bikes. Scotland already held a commanding overall lead, but the Manx riders showed big improvements. 

Cringle took third place with Parker fourth, both lapping in under one minute. Former British Superbike competitor Carl Phillips claimed victory for Ireland in both Celtic Superbike races. 

Grant Thomson finished second in Supersport, with Casement, who had repaired his engine, taking fourth. 

Lex Geval and Paul Moorby also secured good results in the PI600s.

At the close of day two, Scotland secured overall victory with 185 points, Ireland were second with 143, the Isle of Man third with 126, and Wales fourth with 102.

The Isle of Man riders continued to improve in the Scottish Championship races too. 

Parker took a third place behind Phillips and Derek Sheils, followed by a superb second place behind Lewis Paterson in the final Superbike race of the day. 

Thomson took two fourth places in the Scottish Championship Supersport races; Paul Cassidy claimed second in the Junior Post Classic; 16-year-old George Cowie finished fourth, and 15-year-old Euan Bainborough impressed with fifth in his first ever race meeting outside the Isle of Man, competing in the Junior Twins. 

There were some outstanding performances across the team, especially on a circuit that most had never seen before the weekend. It is hard to overstate the advantage of racing on home soil.