A five-race series last run in 1988 will be re-born in Northern Ireland this year with the revival of the Ulster Centre Road Race Championships and includes a new race at Armoy.
The 2009 championships will be held over the five National Road Races in the Ulster Centre:
Cookstown 100 Road Race – 24th/25th April
Tandragee 100 Road Race – 1st/2nd May
Bush Road Race – 19th/20th June
Mid Antrim 150 Road Race – 31st July/1st August
Armoy Road Race – 7th/8th August
Ivan Davidson, Convenor and Press Officer for the Ulster Centre Tarmac Committee of the MCUI, said: “The Ulster championships have been revived in response to feedback from a number of riders who suggested to us that with the current ‘credit crunch’ it is likely that a number of riders will find it difficult to travel to all the rounds of the Irish Championship series in 2009.
"Also with the introduction of the Armoy race in 2009, the Tarmac Committee now consider an Ulster Centre Championship to be viable again with five road race events, one less than when we last held the championship in 1988. The championships will also generate increased interest for the enthusiastic Ulster road race supporters. We hope to attract sponsorship for the championships in future years."
The detailed rules of the championships, including the classes, are currently being developed by the Tarmac Committee and will be published by the end of February. They are expected to be broadly aligned to the rules of the Irish Road Race championship.
The five national road races in the Ulster Centre will also be counting rounds of the MCUI Irish Road Race Championship for 2009.
