John Burrows put the frustration of a low-key opening to his 2012 road racing campaign at Cookstown firmly behind him as he secured a trio of rostrum finishes at the Tandragee 100.

The Dungannon rider, an established front-runner at National level, finished third behind Ryan Farquhar and Michael Dunlop in the Open race and again claimed the final spot on the rostrum in the feature Tandragee 100 event on his ex-Bruce Anstey Suzuki GSX-R1000, when Dunlop turned the tables on Farquhar.

Burrows also stood on the rostrum in the Supertwin 650 race, finishing second behind Farquhar to cap a rewarding day at the Co Armagh circuit after a lacklustre display at the Cookstown 100 a week earlier.

It could have been even better for the Cookstown/BE Racing rider, who only lost out on a fourth podium finish in the Supersport race when he was edged out on his Moira MCC Honda by Dubliner Derek Sheils at the final corner on the last lap.

Burrows said: “The Cookstown/BE team and I knew our performance level at Cookstown was not good enough and we realised we had been given a wake-up call. We worked hard during the run-up to Tandragee, arrived there with a positive attitude and I think our hard work and determination was well rewarded.

“In the Open race, Farquhar and Michael Dunlop went off into the distance and left Adrian Archibald and I to fight for third. In the closing stages Adrian dropped back, but I think he’d had enough of being pelted with stones and the surface was definitely not what it should have been.

“In the feature Tandragee 100 race Adrian didn’t go out. I got a good start and hung out with Farquhar and Dunlop for the first third of the race,” added Burrows.

“I couldn’t stay with that pair after that but they had towed me away from Michael Pearson and Derek Sheils so I was able to cruise to another third position and my GSXR-1000 was absolutely flying.”


Burrows had no answer to Farquhar in the Supertwin race but crossed the line in a comfortable second position after catching and passing Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki team-mate, Jamie Hamilton.

“Jamie Hamilton held second for the first part of the race but once I got past him I was able to pull away and take a comfortable second position,” said Burrows.

“We fitted a new engine into the KBM Kawasaki 650 after Cookstown and it made us much more competitive without doubt.

“I thought I had third place in the bag in the Supersport race but Sheils found a way past me at the very last corner and I had to settle for fourth.

“Overall, it was a really good day and it was good to put a smile on the faces of my team and supporters and give Cookstown and the rest of my great sponsors some decent exposure.

“All the bikes were going a lot better than they were a week earlier and we’re now looking forward to the upcoming events, especially the Isle of Man TT.”


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