Mark Goodings

Name: Mark Goodings

Date of Birth: May 14^th, 1992

Place of Birth: Doncaster, UK

Nationality: British

Races competed: IoM TT, S100, UGP, NW200, Olivers Mount, Aberdare Park, Armoy & Cookstown.

Twitter: @mark_goodings

Facebook: Mark Goodings #17

Getting into biking:

“My dad is an ex-racer and while I was growing up my brother raced, so much of my childhood was spent at race tracks. I had my first race in 2005 as an eager 13 year old at Elvington Park and have stuck at it since then.”

Mark started racing in 2005 at the age of 13 with Club Auto66 coming 2^nd in the championship in only his second year of racing, he continued to race with this Club progressing to the 400cc class in 2007 where he won two championships on the 400cc machine.

After the success he had on the 400cc bikes Mark moved up to the 600cc class in 2008 whilst still competing on the 400cc machine, where he again lifted the title of 400cc Road and Track Champion.

In 2009 Mark raced in the 125cc and the 600cc championships where he had good results throughout coming in 2nd and 3rd in the championships against very stiff competition.

Goodings’ first Isle of Man appearance came at the 2011 Manx GP, where he competed in the Senior, Junior and Newcomers A races, coming in 49^th, 58^th and 23^rd respectively. All of these races were competed on a 600 Kawasaki, with his highest average speed coming in the Senior MGP at 98.478mph.

First bike:

“My first bike was a PW50 but my first race bike was an Aprilia 125cc.”

Racing Icon:

“It would be David Jefferies on the roads and Barry Sheene on circuits.”

Career Highlights (pre-2018):

“To date it is lapping the Ulster Grand Prix at 128.5 mph.”

Goodings continued to race in many classes with the Auto 66 club competing on both the circuits and the roads including Scarborough’s famous Oliver’s Mount circuit where he won on board the 400cc machine.

In 2012 Mark continued his long standing relationship with the Auto 66 club winning races at Scarborough on the 125cc bike, and he also won a 1000cc heat at the same circuit by beating Ryan Farquhar. In addition, he earned pole position for the 600cc race there at the Ian Watson Spring Cup.

Mark’s first TT appearance came in 2015, placing a credible 40^th in both the Senior TT and Superbike TT, whilst also coming 42^nd in the Superstock race and 45^th in the Supersport TT 1. His highest average race speed was 117.725mph in the Senior race, which was won by John McGuinness.

That year saw him join the 120mph Club with a best lap of 120.299mph and the following year saw him take 49^th in each of the Superstock, Supersport 1 and Supersport 2 races.  Goodings also placed 37^th in the Senior TT.

In 2017 Mark finished 35^th in the Senior race riding a IPG Kawasaki ZX-10R, with the race being won by Michael Dunlop. Goodings recorded a DNF in the Superstock TT, but achieved 37^th in the Supersport 1 race, to take home two bronze replicas with the Senior race seeing him go quicker than ever before with a lap of 120.602mph.

At the Post TT meeting at Billown, Mark took 5^th in the Superbike race and 13^th in the Supersport before returning to the circuit a month later for the Southern 100 where he enjoyed an excellent week. Eighth, ninth and 12^th place finishes were recorded in the Superbike races with a fine tenth the outcome in the feature Solo Championship race where he lapped at an impressive 109.753mph.

Meanwhile, a strong week at the Ulster Grand Prix saw him record four top twenty finishes, the best of which was 15^th in the second Supersport race but he also took 16^th in the Superstock and Superbike races, the latter seeing him set a new personal best lap of 128.592mph around the Dundrod circuit.

2018 season:

Forced into retirement in three of the five Isle of Man TT races Goodings competed in, 2018 proved to be rather frustrating in this respect. It has to be said however, taking 25^th in the Senior race makes up for the disappointment. In the dramatic race eventually won by Peter Hickman, Mark rode his Kawasaki ZX-10R around the six laps in a total time of 01:53:51.826, just under six seconds faster than 26^th place Michael Evans. He also set a new personal best lap of 122.553mph.

In the other race Goodings finished he achieved a solid 41^st in the Superstock TT, again riding the IPG Kawasaki ZX-10R, at an average speed of 118.904mph. He concluded his week at the Post TT meeting at Billown where he took fifth and 15^th respectively in the Superbike and Supersport races.

Mark returned to the Isle of Man for the Southern 100 in July with his first result coming in the Senior race where he placed 15^th. He was forced to retire from the 600cc races but took 16^th in the second Senior encounter and wrapped his week up with a solid 14^th place in the feature Solo Championship race.

Onto the Ulster Grand Prix and Mark opened his account for the week with a strong 17^th place in the Superstock race but he went better still in the Superbike race with an excellent 13^th place finish.

2019 season:

Mark had an average speed of 119.003mph in the Senior TT riding a Kawasaki machine where he finished 28^th with a time of 1:54:08.276. His fastest lap was 121.762mph as he won his third bronze replica. In his other races Goodings achieved respectable 40^th and 41^st place finishes in the Superbike and Superstock races, with an average speed of 119.303mph and 117.191mph respectively.

Mark had earlier competed at the International North West 200, opening his account for the week with a good 21^st place in the Superstock race. He improved upon this in the solitary Superbike race where he took 18^th place on his Kawasaki ZX-10R in the wet conditions.

Unfortunately, he was forced to miss both the Southern 100 and Ulster Grand Prix meetings in 2019.

Favourite course/track:

“It’s a tough decision between Oliver’s Mount and the Ulster Grand Prix.”

Aspirations:

“To be a front runner at the TT and win a Gold Cup race at Oliver’s Mount.”

Career Achievements – at a glance:

• TT debut in 2015, has now competed in 22 races, finishing 15 and winning three bronze replicas
• Best TT finish of 25^th, 2018 Senior with a new personal best lap of 122.553mph
• 7^th, 2015, Southern 100 Solo Championship
• 9^th 2014 Southern 100 Solo Championship
• 10^th 2017, Southern 100 Solo Championship, new personal best lap of 109.753mph
• 14^th, 2015 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race
• 15^th, 2017 Ulster Grand Prix Supersport race
• 13^th, 2018 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race
• Fastest lap at Ulster Grand Prix, 128.592mph (2017)
• Regular front runner at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough

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