On Yer Bike - with Nancie Armstrong

(Photo: Barry Cregg )

For any of us that follow motorsport be it two wheels or four, there seems to be an uptake of female competitors in the last couple of years here in Ireland.

On four wheels the likes of Nicole Drought, Aimee Woods, Emma Dempsey, Nicci Daly, Kayleigh Cole and Ruth Nugent have taken to the tracks and have gone wheel to wheel with the men and have held their own at the same time. This is great for both the girls and also the sport as it helps to improve grid numbers.

There is also a rise in numbers on two wheels also, but more on the off-road side of the sport as opposed to tarmac. There is Melissa Kennedy and Yvonne Montgomery on the short circuit and pure road race scene but one woman is determined to change that at grass roots level of the sport.

Nancie Armstrong from Cookstown in county Tyrone is currently competing in the increasingly popular sport of pitbike racing or to give its proper title Irish Minibike Championship.

This two wheeled discipline caters for all ages, shapes and sizes and with equipment being affordable and with relatively low maintenance it is attracting a lot of interest in the last couple of years.

Always a lover of bikes and being from an area steeped in motorbike racing it was not long before she wanted one for the road.

“ I got fed up of getting the bus to college and also the cost of it made me more determined to get a ‘wee’ bike. So I saved up and got myself a Honda C90.”

(Photo: Barry Cregg )

While using this cheaper form of transport racing was not on her radar but her need for speed was growing though. While the little Honda did it’s job well it just did it too slow and eventually was replaced by a Honda CBR 125.

This need for speed was becoming a habit and before it got her into to trouble, Nancie came across minibike racing at Nutts Corner. She was immediately hooked and wanted to have a go. One problem was that she had nobody to help her. Her parents and friends are not into bikes and in fact have yet to see her race!

After some enquiries were made a Mini GP bike was bought and with the help of Joe and Gerard Quinn she began racing in 2017. While she enjoyed the GP bike a high-side crash made her turn to the stock 140 class where the bikes have straight handlebars as opposed to the dropped ones the GP bikes.

 (Photo: Barry Cregg )

 

(Photo: Fran Hollywood)

“ I had a crash on the GP bike and I didn’t like the feel from them either so I switched to the stock 140 class where I felt much more comfortable on the bike and found I could ride it to its limits easier.”

(Photo: Fran Hollywood)

(Photo: Fran Hollywood)

Now in her fourth year of racing and having moved up to the Senior Open class on a Honda 150 CRF, she is well able to mix it with the boys having recently finished 9th and 11th out of fourty riders in a race at the Three Sisters circuit in the UK. Nancie being the only girl on the grid is eager to show that this form of motorcyle racing is ideal for women looking to try something new.

(Photo: Barry Cregg )

Photographs: Barry Cregg

Action Photographs: Fran Hollywood