The fighting Irish!
Taking part in the 1989 Macau Grand Prix was completely different to anything Eddie Laycock could have ever imagined…
MikeTrimby had arranged the invite whilst all flights, freight and hotels were paid for by the organisers.The humidity was almost oppressive while the curious culinary delights were not to the Irishman’s liking: Eddie would stick to McDonalds for his entire trip…The racing diet wasn’t too bad – he finished 4th behind winner Robert Dunlop, Phillip McCallen and Steve Hislop.
From 1990, Eddie would be more of an international racer, rather than a domestic one: his only non-GP races that year were the North West, the TT, the Ulster and Macau. First up, the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, southern Spain, which was a long drive from Dublin…
As a privateer Eddie wasn’t eligible for a garage so he and the team had their truck in one of the car parks – oh the glamour! But at least he was now full-time against the likes of Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner. For Eddie and his team, as soon as the race was over, it was time for the non-stop return journey back to Ireland to be on time for Wednesday evening’s North West 200 qualifying – 1990 would be Eddie’s last NW,TT and Ulster: he was a grand prix rider now, well, he’d take part in eight of the 15 races that season…
Eddie’s 1990 North West started badly, with him crashing out in first practice, but he was lucky to do so without injury. A
