March 23rd, 2017.



The countdown has begun to the opening round of the 2017 Cromwell Trucks British Quad Championship at Desertmartin in NortherN Ireland on the 1st of April, where local lad and reigning champion Mark McLernon heads a big Irish entry.

Fellow Irish stars alongside McLernon include Justin Reid, the reigning Under 21 Champion Leon Rogers, Kyle Murphy, David Cowan and youngster Blake McCormick, who impressed on his Wildcard debut at last year's round at Desertmartin.

The championship organisers still have room for some local wildcards this year to compete alongside the 34 riders contracted for the whole series. Riders interested in a Wildcard can find details on the NORA-MX website at www.nora-mx.co.uk under the British tab.

McLernon, who won last year's round with 1-1-2 finishes, switches to Yamaha power this year, after clinching the title last year on a Walsh Honda. The only one to beat him at Desertmartin in 2016 was former European Champion, Paul Holmes, who took victory in the third race and comes into this season looking fitter than ever after a winter training and riding abroad.

Fans will be hoping the pair resume their epic battle from last year, which saw them win three rounds apiece and win a total between them of 14 of the 18 heats.

This year's event, which will also include the opening round of the British Sidecar Championship and a quad support class, will be hosted by the North Armagh Club, which is determined to make a big success of the fixture and pull in a large crowd.

To ensure it runs smoothly, the club recently invited British Quad Championship Series Manager, Stuart Walker, to the former Grand Prix venue to dot and cross the details. He reports that the club is ready to put on a very professional show.

Riders will compete over three 20 minute plus two laps races, with a big prize fund up for grabs thanks to local sponsor, Datum Monitoring, plus a £25 holeshot award for each race from Angry GFX. Desertmartin is near Magherafelt (BT45 5QW).

The full rider line up, not including local wildcards, is: Mark McLernon (Yamaha), Paul Holmes (Yamaha), Oli Sansom (Yamaha), Harry Miller (Yamaha), Gary Atkinson (Suzuki), Harry Walker (Yamaha), Callum Bates (Honda), Jamie Clarke (Honda/KTM), Justin Reid (Cam-Am), Mark Hadden (Honda), Kieran Power (Honda), Michael Robinson (Suzuki), Paul Broomhead (Suzuki), Bradley Frost (Honda), Mark Wilson (Honda), Davino Bruneel (Yamaha), Stef Murphy (Yamaha), George Callaway (Yamaha) Adam Robinson (Yamaha), Murray Graham (Honda), Alex Bethell (Yamaha), Lorne Sinclair ((Can-Am), David Cowan (Yamaha), Jake Smith (Honda), Leon Rogers (Kawasaki), Lindsey Duke (KTM), Jack Holmes (Can-Am), James Murphy (Honda), James Bevan (Yamaha), Carl Bunce (Suzuki), Blake McCormick (Yamaha) Dafydd Davies – KTM450, Thomas Chell – KTM450, Kyle Murphy – YFZ450R