A Co Derry father has paid an emotional tribute to his motorcycling son by competing in his first ever road race.
Tom Oliver made his debut last weekend at the Cookstown 100 under heartbreaking circumstances.
Tom's son Jack Oliver was tragically killed in a crash at the Kells Road Races in County Meath last year.
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The 22-year-old, from Limavady, was a rising talent in the world of motorbike racing, and was tipped to be a future star of the sport.
As Jack progressed in motorcycle racing he decided to try pure road racing and enjoyed a successful debut finishing second in the 2021 Armoy Senior Support race. He enjoyed his first road race win last year at the Cookstown 100 senior support class.
The family's world came crashing down in June last year when Jack was competing at the Kells Road Races in County Meath.
He had started the event with a runners-up finish in the Junior Support race and was 10th in the Senior Support event.
But it was in the Supersport race that Jack crashed and tragically died at the Crossakiel circuit.
There was an outpouring of grief following the young rider's death, with his brother Robbie saying Jack died “doing what he loved”.
The Oliver family have inspired and touched the motorcycle racing world since Jack’s death. Using social media as a platform, many other families bereaved of loved ones have been touched by the sheer love and compassion shared online.
News recently emerged that Tom was planning a special tribute to his son by racing at this year's Cookstown 100, the very track that Jack won his first road race.
I met up with 54-year-old old Tom just minutes before he was preparing to go out and race at Cookstown.
He said: "I know many people think I am mad for participating in a road race, especially after my son Jack was recently killed at the Kells road last year.
"I am doing it because Jack and I talked about doing the Cookstown 100 together before he was killed.
"Indeed my heart is broken that we are not doing it together, and it is my way of paying a special tribute to a son I love so much.
"I was extremely nervous in practice, but once I started to get dialled in, I realised, like never before, what the buzz of road racing means to every rider that races on the roads.
"So it will be a weekend I will never forget, and special thanks to all my family, supporters and friends who have inspired me to keep Jack Oliver alive in our hearts."
Tom finished a brilliant 10th place in the Junior support class during wet weather conditions before racing was abandoned.
It was a touching tribute felt throughout the paddock and beyond the Cookstown track.
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