Ballymoney's William Dunlop doubled up at Saturday's Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod on Saturday, when the 24-year-old North Antrim rider, gave both his Sponsors, PJ Flynn and Chris Dowd, wins apiece by taking two International Race wins.
For Dunlop, it was an emotional day for the shy and quietly-spoken rider, as he came to grips with just what he had achieved, against all the odds, with a text book style win in the 250cc race, followed up with a record breaking win in the Aer Lingus Supersport 600 race.
A personal best lap of 129.185mph in the Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race, rounded of the perfect day for William, with the Ballymoney rider now having chalked up four International race wins in 2009.
"I don't know where to start really. When I got up in the morning and saw the rain and I thought, 'not again, will we even get any racing at all?' but all of a sudden the weather improved, and fair play to the Dundrod Club, they held off for as long as they could to try and get a dry race off at the start," said the youngster.
"I decided to give the Superstock race a miss as the circuit was wet here and there and thought that by the time that race was over, there should be almost 90% dry lines around the track. I went out in the first Supersport 600 race and got a bad start and think I was way down in eighth place at the end of lap one, so I just put the head down and went for it.
"I managed to claw my way up to second place behind Ryan and in front of Keith Amor, but the lead was changing all the time. There was a bit of elbow bashing going out onto the last lap which made me a bit uneasy and I decided to settle for a safe third place rather than loose out all together. I noticed Keith Amor going out at Tornagrough and next thing I knew Ian Hutchinson had came past so I stuck with him to the line to take third place with just half a second splitting the three of us.
"Next up was the Rea Estates 250cc race and I knew that this was not going to be easy against Michael (Dunlop) and Ian Lougher. Lougher never got going so it was a two way scrap between myself and Michael for the race duration. I knew I could have gone quicker had I need to so I just sat with Michael for a few laps to see where he was slow and I was fast, so I made my move over him on the last lap, and in the end had an easy enough win at the line with almost two seconds to spare. That was a great win for PJ Flynn and the Ballygowan RRSC who have stood by me all year and this was for them.
"In the Stoneyford Concrete Ulster Grand Prix Superbike Race, I decided to try and go out and get some good lap times in. I managed to put in a 129.185mph lap on lap four but with two laps to go, I got a bit fed up and decided just to ride round for the finish, which I did in 10th place. The pace in that race was really red hot, and fair play to Conor for doing the business again on Winston McAdoo's bike.
"I had decided after that not to take in the final Superbike race, but to go out in the Aer Lingus Supersport 600 race and give it all I had. I got a good start and was in third place behind Lougher and Ryan Farquhar at the end of lap one and decided to give it a go. I took the lead on lap two and that was it really as it was my intention to put some space between myself and Ryan.
"I ride better knowing that I am on my own and I never looked back until I saw the chequered flag. I was over the moon with that win, especially as Jimmy Murray had loaned us the engine for the bike after or own 600 engine dropped a valve on Thursday practice. I worked very hard to get that win and think I deserved it. I broke the lap record in that race which now stands to me at 127.588mph.
"Its been a great Ulster Grand Prix for myself, the teams and the back room staff who have all played their part, but if the truth be told, I am still reeling from losing that 125cc Race on Thursday. That was the race I wanted to win more than the rest."
