Conor in the fast lane

Conor in the fast lane

23 January 2013

A YOUNG Kilmore rider is certainly making a name for himself in the rough and tumble world of motocross.

Conor Mullan finished second in front of 6,000 spectators in the 65cc class at the British Super-Cross Championships at The Odyssey in Belfast on Sunday.

Ten year-old Conor is a son of garage owner James Mullan, who also rode bikes at a young age and starred as a standard saloon car driver with the BF Super Sunday and Sideways Racing Series.

Conor first started to ride when he was only three and took part in practice sessions at Brian Steele’s track at Dundrum, his machine was a Honda QR 50 and he rode it for a year.

He was almost five when he received his first geared bike, another bike he rode for a year, before changing to another machine.

His next bike was a KTM 65 and this was the first one that he rode in competitions.

Travelling to Donegal, as there were little racing opportunities locally for junior riders, Conor won two trophies on his first day of competitive racing when he took fourth place overall and second place in the handicap race.

He then entered Conor an extremely competitive eight-round championship in Donegal and was delighted to finish fourth at the end of the series.

Conor returned the following season and this time took third place in the championship.

Following on from this success, he took part in a few meetings, mostly in the South of Ireland.

Things changed in January 2010 when Conor suffered a broken wrist when he was messing about on a trials bike at home. This mishap put a dampener on proceedings, but a visit to a meeting at Delamont Country Park that May for the Northern Ireland Classic Scrambles Club changed things for the better.

Conor showed no ill effects of his wrist problem and won no less than three races.

Delighted to be back in action, James loaded up the van the following day and headed for Limerick for the opening round of the Southern Grass Track Championships.

Conor had been bitten by the racing bug again and travelled to Cork for another two rounds of the competition and also to Wexford, Dundalk and Dublin.

The venture paid off as Conor emerged the winner to take his first ever title in the sport. He has never looked back after that initial success and competed in the Super-Cross event at the Odyssey in Belfast during the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.

It was onwards and upwards for Conor and he enhanced his growing reputation with a fourth placed finish the 2011 Motocross Championships.

Last year he moved into a higher class and completed in the Ulster and Irish Motocross Championships.

A good start in the opening round saw him placed ninth overall and as the year progressed a series of wins and places saw him finish just outside the top three in both championships.

Conor also took part in the Southern Grass Track Championships during the summer and again excelled by retaining his title with another great effort.

He also headed back to Cork for a three-day winter championship and another fine series of performances saw him take runner-up spot.

Recent weeks have saw Conor improve even more, thanks to the assistance of Ulster and former Irish Champion Wayne Garrett from Comber, who has taken the rising start under his wing.

As well as the support of his father, Conor has a great supporter in his older sister Karen, who is a highly successful dancer. Off course, Conor’s mother, Catherine, like all mothers, worries about her son getting injured, but she supports him fully in his chosen sport.

The trophy room at Mullan’s is packed with Conor’s and Karen’s silverware, but the way this pair are going mum and dad will have to get a bigger room soon.