By Simon Hunter
Noel Johnston, the clerk of the course at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix, has spoken of his desire to see racing stars Glenn Irwin and Alastair Seeley at Dundrod this year.
Bike week runs from 6-12 August.
At the recent Vauxhall International North West 200, Alastair Seeley moved his record tally to 21 wins at the triangle circuit.
Glenn Irwin meanwhile got his first international road race win, and Johnston is hopeful of a duel between the two-
“It’s no secret that I’d love to have them both at the Ulster come August; they both expressed an interest last year so I’m hopeful we can make it happen.
“I’ll be working on it over the next few weeks and if we can pull it off, they will certainly add an extra level of excitement to an already-strong Superbike line-up.”
It's hard to believe, but we're now just 100 days away from Saturday race day at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix! The countdown is on! #MCEUGP pic.twitter.com/19GUbMTUjY
— Ulster Grand Prix (@UlsterGrandPrix) May 4, 2017
Hey @PCiabatti Thanks Boss. #ducati #forzaDucati https://t.co/V72OhTUkmF
— Glenn Irwin (@GIrwinRacing) May 15, 2017
Speaking about the possibility of racing at the UGP, Irwin said,
“It felt amazing to get my first international road race win earlier this month at the North West.
“It was incredible to experience so much home support and it’d be really cool to bring the Ducati to the world’s fastest road race in August.
“I’ll be very happy if we can make it happen but ultimately it depends on how things are going at the MCE BSB as I fully expect to be in showdown which is around the time of the Ulster, so all things need to be considered,” he added.
Couple @ForStreetRacing boys on podium on sat. Thanks vaclav 👍 & @GearlinkKawasak @METZELERMOTO @ShoeiHelmetsUK @SidiSportsUK @northwest200 pic.twitter.com/ECl0zLzjbj
— Alastair Seeley (@weewizard34) May 16, 2017
Like Irwin, Seeley continues to ply his trade in the British championship.
The 37-year old has already shown good form on the new bike this season. It's not eligible for points under series regulations, but if he's back to Dundrod in August, Johnston expects to see him back in more familiar leathers.
“Alastair obviously has a very strong relationship with the Tyco BMW squad.
He knows the bikes so well and then when it comes to Supersport, the Gearlink Kawasaki boys he’s had so much success with in the past are no strangers in the Dundrod paddock either. It would be really interesting to have him in the mix in both classes.”