Ben Finnerty leads the way in race for Minibike Championship title

YOUNG Ben Finnerty from Kildare Town has certainly taken the inside track in the race for this season’s Irish Minibike BamBam Championship title.

Victories in this month’s double header in Watergrasshill, Cork saw the nine-year-old competitor increase his points tally for the season so far to 140, leaving him 43 points ahead of closest rival, Cody Brennan from Dublin and 46 the better of Cork’s Cody Morris in third.

The championship, which sees children aged 6-10 years competing on 90cc bikes, provides these young riders with the opportunity to hone their skills and progress from an early age.

Ben, himself, made his debut in the series at the age of seven and recorded a top-ten finish in his first full season in 2023.

Following the opening two rounds in Kirkistown and Athboy, he found himself sitting second behind Brennan, but from Round Three at Nutts Corner, he has taken a firm grip on the series.

Indeed, since his opening win of the championship there, he has continued on to card victories in Bishopscourt and the first double header of the year in Cork.

“He’s absolutely delighted with how it’s gone so far” said Ben’s mother, Rose.

“It’s really helping his confidence, because down in Cork last weekend the weather was very mixed, so he had two races that were really wet, full-on heavy rain.

“It was his second time to win in the rain, but it was the first time where he was able to really build that confidence, not falling off, and leading the race from the start in such wet conditions.

“All this is just really building the confidence for, hopefully, moving up to the next class next year, where he’ll be among the faster bikes” she said.

Next up for the young Kildare lad will be another double-header back in Nutts Corner on July 27/28.

Certainly, Ben would love to sign off on his final season in the BamBam Championship with a title win that would leave him on a sound footing heading into next season’s Junior Gearbox Series, which sees competitors compete on 125cc machines.

“It’s a really family-orientated environment” said Rose of the Irish Minibike Championship. “Ben’s made fiends in the paddock that he would never have otherwise met.

“His little brother, Mike, is six and he races as well. He finished 14th overall last weekend.

“His cousin, Isaac, races as well in the BamBam class. He’s eight and he finished fourth overall last weekend.” she said.

Certainly, it is little wonder that Ben quickly took to competing in the Irish Minibike Championship as Rose explained “His grand-dad always had motorbikes and his uncle, Davey, raced in the Mondello Masters for years.

“He and Ben’s dad always had motocross bikes. We were always just big into bikes and we’d follow the Moto GP.

“When Ben got to seven and we realised that the IMC was a way to start them into bikes at a young age, we just jumped at the chance, because the earlier you start kids the better” she insisted.

Anyone who would like to follow the progress of Team Finnerty in the IMC can check out their instagram, Facebook and tiktok page all @teamfinnertyracing