Northern Ireland joins 2019 World Superbike Calendar

Manna Developments and World Superbike championship organisers have confirmed the signing of a three-year agreement to host the WorldSBK Races at the new £30m Lake Torrent Circuit which is currently under construction in Coalisland, County Tyrone, just 40 minutes away from Belfast.

Lake Torrent is the brainchild of Manna Developments founder and motor-racing enthusiast David Henderson and is set to regenerate the Mid Ulster area through new jobs in the business, leisure and engineering sectors – as well as boosting tourism in County Tyrone and across Northern Ireland as a whole. The track is currently under construction on a 160-odd plot of land, which was home to clay pits previously.

The project was rumoured to be well underway towards the back end of 2017 and has now been confirmed as being given a round on the world stage, just weeks after reigning triple WSBK champion and Ulsterman, Jonathan Rea, came home in 2nd place in BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Although still under construction, some of the track’s features have been released. The Lake Torrent Circuit will be 3.6km (2.2 miles) in length, with 12 corners with a change of elevation of around 30 metres. It is also thought that it will create 700 jobs in the year and a half construction period, with longer term plans to build a further 90 retail and business units around the circuit, Lake Torrent will bring a huge financial boost to the Mid Ulster area, making it a hub for visitors, both internally and internationally.

“For the past 15 years it has been a dream of mine to build a motor racing circuit that incorporates the feel of the road with the safety of an international standard track – and also to bring the World Superbike Championship  to Northern Ireland,” said Mr David Henderson of Manna Developments.

“This is a historic milestone for the town of Coalisland, the county of Tyrone and indeed for the whole of Northern Ireland as we celebrate the realisation of our vision to create an internationally recognised motorsport arena which will become a venue for regional, national and international competitions for many years to come,” he added.

Jonathan Rea was unsurprisingly looking forward to the addition of the Lake Torrent Circuit, stating, “I’m so excited about this news because motorcycling in Northern Ireland has a huge heritage, right through from Joey Dunlop to myself and Eugene Laverty,” said the Ulsterman.

“I’m very curious to see how the track is going to look but I’m sure it will be very well attended because the fans over there love their bikes. I can’t wait to get the chance to go there in 2019 and it’s an incredible way to nurture young talent. I can’t wait to be involved and to fly the flag for Northern Ireland in this new adventure. It would be nice to create a circuit that many people talk about as the best in the world,” he concluded.

Speaking at a reception in the Mid Ulster Council offices in Dungannon – which is also home to road racing legend, Ryan Farquhar, World Superbike Executive Director Daniel Carrera said: “We are delighted to be adding Northern Ireland as a destination for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The Lake Torrent circuit is a fantastic project that will deliver a high-class facility for competitors and visitors. We are proud that Manna Developments and Mid Ulster representatives have chosen WorldSBK as their top event for the international promotion of the circuit and region.

At which point of the year the round will take place is unknown and whether there is further scope to have motorcycle racing on the circuit is yet to be announced. The British Superbike championship has not been over to the Island of Ireland since 2007 at Mondello Park – although that was on the Republic side.