THREE RIDER LINE UP CONFIRMED FOR MISTRAL RACING

Mistral Racing will mark a decade of competition around the Mountain Course as they once again return to this year’s Manx Grand Prix, fielding an expanded line up of three riders in the RST Classic Superbike Race.

Paul Jordan, Michael Sweeney and Ryan Cringle will all ride Kawasaki ZXR750 machinery, running in the green, red and white colours made famous by the Kawasaki France World Endurance teams of the 1980s and 1990s.

Previous riders for Ian Harrison’s highly professional and immaculate outfit include Steve Mercer, Jamie Coward and Dan Kneen, with all three taking top six finishes at the Classic TT. It was Mercer who gave them their best result to date with fourth in 2014.

This year’s line-up includes Jordan and Sweeney who are both regulars for the team, with Jordan lining up for the fourth time. Success – and luck – has eluded him so far though, with retirements on each occasion when holding onto top ten positions; indeed, he was running an excellent fourth in 2018 before being forced out on the final lap.

However, with a fastest lap of 122.445mph, he’ll undoubtedly be challenging for a leader board position once more and be hopeful of a strong result this time around.

Sweeney, who hopes to make his return from injuries sustained at May’s North West 200, has fared better than Jordan to date, taking excellent sixth-place finishes in both 2019 and 2022 – just rewards for the team’s continued support to the Mountain Course. With regular 121mph+ laps, the Skerries rider will be hoping for more of the same this year.

Completing the line-up and making his first appearance in the four-lap Classic Superbike Race, is Manxman Ryan Cringle who enjoyed a stellar debut at this year’s Isle of Man TT winning the Newcomer’s Award and lapping in excess of 126mph. That made him the fifth quickest newcomer of all-time and he’ll be aiming to impress further at this year’s Manx GP.