Winning return to roads for McGee
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Derek McGee on his Supersport bike; he began the weekend in the session for newcomers, as he hadn't raced the circuit in so long. Photos: Paul LaveryImage 2 of 4
Derek McGee with his partner Manon before the Supertwin race at the Cookstown 100. Photos: Paul LaveryImage 3 of 4
Brian Hull, Franco Baroni, Roddy Hayes (Franco is father of Derek’s partner, Manon). Paul LaveryImage 4 of 4
Derek McGee on the Moto3 during a wet practice on the Friday of the Cookstown weekend; he dominated the race on Saturday and won my almost 19 seconds. Paul LaveryThere was no evidence of a six-year absence when Derek McGee returned to road racing at the Cookstown 100, and took two wins and a further two podium finishes.
Derek’s last regular racing was before the Covid-19 pandemic, and since then he has recovered from injury and raced only a few times.
Asked how he had done it, Derek told the Westmeath Examiner: “Having my full team with me again was a big help, and I had good machinery underneath me.”
It definitely worked and he took victory in the Moto3 class, 18.75 seconds ahead of Manxman Dan Sayle, and Nigel Moore in third. He followed that up with another win in the Supertwins race, ahead of Michael Sweeney from Skerries and Darryl Tweed.
He set a new course record for the class, and said: “Supertwins was a tight affair, and Micko was close behind for the whole race, keeping me honest until the last lap, when I pushed on, and won by 1.3 second, and broke the lap record in the process, nearly a second under the old record.”
Derek was equally impressive when he wasn’t winning at Cookstown. Aboard his ex-Ten Kate World Supersport bike, he pushed Michael Dunlop for most of the Supersport race, and though he finished second, he was pleased with his performance.
“I was very happy with how that race went. I got a bad start and dropped back to sixth, but quickly got back to second, behind Michael, where I was sitting comfortably.
“Unfortunately, on the sixth lap, we encountered back markers – Michael was able to get by straight away and I got caught behind for two corners, so I had to settle for second.
“But I’m very happy to be there battling with Michael again.”
A former Irish Superbike, Supersport and Supertwin champion, Derek is now based in the Netherlands but will return to the Irish roads for several meetings this year.
“I’ve definitely come away with more confidence and I know we can be competitive for the upcoming races.
“We’ll still just do the smaller races to find our feet and hopefully be better prepared to take on some international races in 2026.”