Cahoon continues meteoric rise on milestone weekend
16-year-old Carlow rider, Ciara Cahoon recently reached another milestone in her young career, with a hard-earned podium finish in the Ulster Superbike Championship.
Just weeks after her historic victory in Aintree, England, 16-year-old Carlow rider, Ciara Cahoon reached another milestone in her young career, with a hard-earned podium finish here in Ireland.
Team Cahoon travelled to Kirkistown, County Down, for Round 5 of the Ulster Superbike (USBK) Championship, where the Carlow teenager put in another outstanding performance across two classes, delivering a third-place finish before stepping up a level to make her debut in the highly competitive Supersport Pro category.
The team were greeted by favourable weather conditions in Kirkistown, with dry track conditions and sunny intervals providing the perfect backdrop for a busy day's racing.
In the opening Moto3 race, Cahoon made a superb start and quickly settled into third position in Race 1. A thrilling battle with the highly fancied Alfie Flynn for second place provided one of the highlights of the race, with the pair crossing the finish line separated by only a fraction of a second.
Cahoon broke into the 1:04 lap bracket for the first time, underlining her continued progress, but not enough to capture second place.
Race 2 brought another strong performance, with Cahoon maintaining third position throughout the ten-lap encounter, consistently recording 1:05 lap times to secure an overall third-place finish in the Moto3 and another valuable championship podium.
Cahoon continued her recent run of strong form aboard the Honda CBR600RR, setting an excellent lap time of 1:01.899 to secure tenth position in the Supersport Cup qualifying session.
Her performance earned promotion to the Supersport Pro class for the very first time in her career, lining up on the grid amongst some of the championship's most experienced competitors.
The Carlow rider rose to the occasion with maturity and determination in Race 1, steadily improving throughout the ten laps while and eventually crossing the line in 17th place and recording consistent 1:01 lap times.
Race 2 saw another assured performance. After a clean start, Cahoon maintained a strong pace throughout the race to finish 16th, once again demonstrating impressive consistency with a series of low 1:01 laps.
“One of the most remarkable aspects of the day was Ciara's ability to compete in back-to-back races on two very different motorcycles," Cahoon’s coach, John Wilkinson said.
"The demanding schedule required Team Cahoon to prepare and present both machines simultaneously for consecutive races, a challenge handled expertly by the entire crew.
“The physical and mental demands of completing four ten-lap races across two classes cannot be underestimated, and special recognition goes to Ciara's personal fitness coach, Paul Ward, whose training programme has played a key role in developing the endurance and conditioning required to perform at such a high level throughout the day.”
Wilkinson, on behalf of Team Cahoon, also thanked “its valued sponsors and supporters for their continued backing throughout the 2026 season,” Haus Of Moto, Prolift Handling, RW Web Design, Farra Marine, Autoradz, Art on a Tin, Bobhead, Paul Ward Fitness, S&J Irvine.
