RoadHouse | Macau-sponsored rider Sheils scores podium at Irish race

Irish motorcycle road racer Derek Sheils, racing under the title sponsor of Roadhouse Macau, has claimed a podium finish at the National Road Racing Championship. He finished third at the Tandragee 100 road races last week.

Riding a Yamaha R6, Sheils had already started the new season strong with a solid fourth place finish at the Cookstown 100 at the end of April. He built on that result with a strong performance on the challenging 8.5 km Tandragee 100 course in County Armagh in Northern Ireland.

The experienced rider from Dublin had a quiet race at the Tandragee 100, securing third-place behind Adam McLean and race winner Derek McGee.

After the race, the rider said, “It was a great day’s racing at Tandragee and I was delighted to get my first podium of the season on the Roadhouse Macau Yamaha. I’m really happy with the pace of the bike and we are getting it to where we want it to be handling-wise as well, so it’s all coming together.”

The rider also announced that he would skip the North West 200, which will take place from May 12 to 18, instead choosing to properly prepare for the biggest event of the year, the Isle of Man TT.

“We won’t be going to the North West 200 with the bike because we just want to pack it away now for the Isle of Man TT, rather than risk blowing a motor as it wouldn’t leave us with enough time to get a new one prepared to the required specification for the TT. I’m really looking forward to riding the bike on the island and hopefully we’ll have a good run in practice to set us up to challenge for some decent results in the two Supersport races,” Shiels said.

Shiels has also been racing in the Macau Grand Prix motorcycle race since 2016. He achieved his best result with an eighth-place finish last year, after being named the best newcomer of 2016, when he finished in ninth place.

Sheils and the Roadhouse Macau Yamaha will be back on the road for the Isle of Man TT races, which will take place from May 25 to June 7.