Derek’s passion with bikes started at a young age and he finally got a 100cc motocross bike at 15 which he loved riding but unfortunately the bike was stolen after only having it for a year and didn't get another motocross bike for two years after.

At the age of 18 Derek got his first race bike which was an old Yamaha 400 and he did some track days which he really enjoyed and after that he felt fit to go racing. He was also riding a Kawasaki 900 road bike on a daily basis.

Derek’s first race was at Mondello park race track, just outside Dublin in which he finished 11th in the SS400 class and he was disappointed with that result.
With help from his dad’s friend Alan ONeill he managed to get an 1998 R1 Yamaha and a 600 Kawasaki to race for the 2002 season in which Derek was going to compete in the 600 and 1000cc Irish clubmans championship. Derek finished 3rd on the big bike that year with 7 wins and 4th on the 600 with 6 wins.

After that Derek moved up to race short circuit until 2007.  During his short circuit racing Derek won the Irish superbike championship in 2004 and raced in British championship with some good result there also.

In 2007 Derek decided to go road racing which is a steep learning curve but he found it really exhilarating and challenging.

Derek has had many podium finishes to date and he has also won at the Skerries 100 beating the Dunlop brothers among many other big names and he finished an impressive 2nd in the Irish 600cc championship and also 2nd in the Irish 1000cc Championship in 2011.

Derek has officially lapped the Ulster grand prix circuit at just under 127mph on his first time there and he hopes to improve on that for the coming years.

So keep an eye out for number 82 on the Irish roads this year.