Belfast or bust!
By TMX Archives on 16th Nov 05
Words by Stevie Mills Photo by Alex HodgkinsonIf the dark nights are starting to get you down and Saturdays come and go without the turn of a wheel then you're suffering withdrawal symptoms from that addiction we call Motocross. Words by Stevie Mills Photo by Alex HodgkinsonIf the dark nights are starting to get you down and Saturdays come and go without the turn of a wheel then you're suffering withdrawal symptoms from that addiction we call Motocross. And the only known cure is a healthy helping of pure 100 per cent adrenaline - aka international SX.Luckily, help is at hand as the boys are back in town for the Belfast Odyssey SX on November 25/26 and tickets are getting pretty scarce at the time of writing. Flamboyant entrepreneur - and boss of Events 22 - Matt Bates has searched the globe in order to surpass the phenomenal success of Odyssey 2004.Headliners Sebastien Tortelli, Mike Brown and a pack of new American superstars will be faced with no less than two '05 GP winners - Billy Mac and Carl Nunn - and the home fans should have plenty to cheer about too! Returning to form, Gordon Crockard has missed out on the top rung of the Odyssey long enough and what an end to the season that would be for the Newtownards man - and what a great way to mark his intentions for 2006.Never short of confidence, Adam Lyons may have slicks ordered for a supermoto challenge in the future but for now he's intent on climbing the podium in front of his many fans. And Phillip McCullough makes his return to the Odyssey aboard the four-stroke 250 KTM and with new Moto-One team-mate Wayne Garrett alongside there could be fireworks.The new kids on the block have graduated. Martin Barr has broken top five in the British championship, scored GP points and won the Ulster Premier Championship - in short, this kid could upset the form book at the Odyssey. GOMX rider and Ulster MX2 winner Robert Hamilton has signed for a season racing the British series and will make his debut in the MX1 class at the Belfast arena. And this just in - Shaun Simpson will be racing as well.After much speculation, Gordon Crockard has penned a deal for 2005 that will see him head an Irish-based GP team. Formally known as Team Lizard, the Roger Magee-guided outfit will run under Wulfsport Honda livery in 2006 with Crockard in MX1 and Ulster's adopted son, Shaun Simpson, ready to make his mark in MX2. A total of five riders will compete under the Wulfsport banner with Scott Probert, Adam McKee and Gary Magee racing British and Irish championships on 450 and 250cc machinery.The following subject is as important as it gets but it's one that we all seem to avoid, fearfully hiding our heads in the sand in the hope it just might go away - well it won't! If we (and that includes YOU) don't get together with the MRA/MCCNI and just about anyone else with clout then our sport will be reduced to 'back in the day' memories.What I am saying here is we are losing our tracks one by one. Work it out - the less tracks that there are available, the more racing will be on each track and the more complaints will arise until the offending circuit is closed down.If we don't get together and use the skills that we have at our disposal - in the media, legal profession, people who work for councils etc - our sport is facing a serious threat. If you consider the only option is to race supermoto it might just raise your motivation level!See you at the Odyssey...PS Check out www.motocross.ie - well done Pat Dunne and Phillip Harrison for starting this website to help promote our sport in Southern Ireland.