It was a weekend to remember for the Dobson family from East Belfast as 13-year-old Bailey claimed his first ever race win at the Bishopscourt Ulster Superbike Championship.
The achievement was made all the more special by the fact Bailey was riding the same bike that his brother Rossi won on at the Mondello Masters SuperSport 300 a week previous.
Older brother Rossi , 17, suffered a dislocated shoulder after an incident at race two at the Mondello Masters which opened the door for his younger sibling. Bailey was given an opportunity by his father Sam Dobson, a former multiple Ulster Irish Road race champion.
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“He can’t even reach the ground my dad has to help him on and off the bike!” joked his brother Rossi after Bailey’s success at the event hosted by Enniskillen and District Motorcycle Club on the bike owned by Tower Services/ Trackart photography.
Rossi explained: “Something just clicked and on the spot we thought we would take the chance and let Bailey race it this weekend since it was his final outing of the year and the bike was not that badly damaged from my accident the weekend prior.”
After a late entry on Wednesday, they made a team decision to enter Bailey on the Junior Supersport, riding a R3 Yamaha at Bishopscourt on Saturday.
“Bailey never even sat on my bike before until last Wednesday night but after some minor adjustments to get him comfortable on the bike such as the footrest, height etc we threw him into the deep end to see how he would do,” Rossi continued.
“He qualified second not even a tenth behind the leader, which was fantastic race one. He finished second place a matter of tenths from the winner, feeling confident for race two.
“Race two, Bailey led from lap one and was kept honest for half the race before pulling the plug and breaking away and gained a two-three second lead to take his first ever win at any level.”
Bailey started riding motocross at just eight-years-old but did not take it seriously after committing to minibikes led him to winning a scholarship to ride a bike this season.
“For Bailey to have his first ever win on my bike that I used to win the Championship after him having two months off due to mechanical failures, it was just such an amazing surreal moment for us all as a team,” added Rossi.
“This is his first season in big bike track racing. Even riding my bike today was very much by chance and something that started as an idea just a few days ago.
“I was buzzing for Bailey to win on my bike. It was totally unexpected and for it to be the last race of the year, it ended our year on a massive high, especially with dodgy conditions.
“It was very nervy trackside. The intention was just to let him get a few laps and get a feeling for it. He completely excelled that today.”
Clerk of the Course John McLure also enjoyed the special occasion.
He said: “One of the outstanding moments from the racing was seeing the emotion of young Bailey Dobson and his supportive family and team after he won the second SS300 race.
“Considering it was only Wednesday evening before they decided to enter he is one to keep an eye on in the future.”
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