Rafferty smashes Irish junior 10 mile TT record on return from serious injury

*Darren Rafferty has smashed the Irish junior 10 mile TT record, taking 33 seconds off Ben Walsh's time (Photo by Sharon McFarland and homepage file photo by Sean Rowe)*

Darren Rafferty has smashed the Irish junior 10 mile TT record, shaving a staggering 33 seconds off the marker set by Ben Walsh in 2017, subject to ratification.

Rafferty did his time last night as he comes back from the serious injury following a bad race crash earlier this year. He suffered three broken ribs, a broken wrist and bruising on his left lung when he crashed at the Hilltown GP in mid May.

However, he is very much back with a bang and recorded a time of 18:48 last night at the Ernie Magwood TT Series in Ballymena, Co Antrim. Walsh’s time, set in 2017, was 19:21.

Team 31 Jollycycles U19 rider Rafferty had shown fantastic form before his crash as he won the PJ Logan Cup against some of the best elite A1s in the country in early May.

His crash followed two weeks after that win. However, while he was forced onto the sidelines for about the last six weeks, he put in a great ride last night on what was his 18th birthday.

Rafferty - who is also a cyclocross international - wasn’t the only one who did a very fast time last night, with Lindsay Watson (Powerhouse Sport) winning the 120-rider TT in 18:18.

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Marcus Christie (Unattached) was 2nd with 18:26 and Chris
McGlinchey (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus) placed 3rd at 19:09 – all very fast
times.

Irish Masters TT champion Jane Wilkinson (Bann Wheelers)
won the women’s race in 22:39. Junior rider Katie Neill (TC Racing) did a fantastic
time of 22:56 to take 2nd place.

Neill’s time was just 17 seconds short of Lara Gillespie’s
Irish 10 mile TT record. Karen Hull (Phoenix CC) was 3rd in the women’s race
last night in a time of 23:48.

John Madden and Greg Swinand were also in the thick of it last night and the two leading Masters 50 riders were very close in time. Madden shaded it by just one second; recording a 19:55 for the test compared to Swinand’s 19:56.