MICHAEL PEARSON
 
Full Name:   Michael Pearson
 
D.O.B.         6th May 1977
 
Place of Birth:  Ballygowan Co-Down
 
 
32 year old Michael Pearson cut his teeth in the sport of Motorcycle Racing as a young 15 year old who took motocross as a hobby, but as with most of today's motorcycle racers, that hobby soon became an obsession.
A successful stint in the MCUI Ulster Motocross Championships which seen Pearson crowned Ulster Campion in 2001, Pearson soon found that his desire was to try tarmac Racing, and he entered himself into the Irish Clubmans Championships the following year, with Pearson taking to the Supersport 600 class like a duck to water.
The following year, the ex Martin Finnegan GSXR1000 Suzuki was purchased with Pearson taking in the Irish Superbike Championships in 2002/03 where he made an impact that was soon spotted by the then PJ O'Kane Racing Team Manager Willis Marshall, who to this day still Manages Pearson's career.
At TT 2005, Marshall offered Pearson one of the PJ O'Kane Suzuki Superbikes that was being raced by Richard Britton, with Pearson taking up the offer and the bond between the pair was soon melted, into what was soon to be a successful partnership.
2006, saw Pearson taking reciet of his first R1 Yamaha which was supplied by his employers, Carryduff Forklifts, who to this day have stood by Pearson to the hilt.   In 2007, the ingredients between Marshall, Pearson and the Carryduff Forklifts Yamaha paid dividends when Pearson took the Irish Superbike Championship at the Sunflower Trophy races at Bishopscourt, when the Ballygowan rider took the first Superbike race win, after he beat the newly crowned British Supersport 600 Champion Michael Laverty on the Relentless Suzuki Superbike.
In 2008, Pearson turned to the Irish National Road Race scene with selective outings at Kells, Dundrod, and Killalane, with Pearson taking the Dundrod Challenge win in the Ulster Grand Prix Bike Week.   A runner up spot to Ian Lougher in the Cock o the North races at Scarborough, proved that Pearson was a force to be reckoned with, which Pearson carried effectively into a full season on the Irish National Road Race Championships. 
Still with his trusty 2008 R1 Yamaha Superstock machine, Pearson added the ex Keith Amor Supersport 600 Honda to the stable which proved to be a very effective move, with Pearson able to gain more track time at race events.
His first visit to the Cookstown 100 road races saw Pearson take the win in the Supersport 600 Group B event with Michael managing to beat established road racers like Saintfields Davy Morgan and others.
The Tandragee 100 was next up for Pearson with this event one of Pearson most exciting, after he scored no less than three top five results on is first visit to the C0-Armagh circuit.   Pearson took the Daniel Humphries newcomers award along with the Eddie Sintin Trophy for being the first 600 machine home in the Grand Final.
A return visit to Scarborough in 2009 saw Pearson win the Cock O The North Event, the first Irish winner since Phillip McCallen won the same event 11 years previous.
Continuing top five finishes continued for Pearson and the Team in the National road races, with Pearson now mixing it at the top, and beating the established riders such as Ryan Farquhar, William Dunlop, Michael Dunlop, and Adrian Archibald.
The final race of the year in the Irish Road Race calendar came at the Killalane event in North County Dublin when Pearson took a brace of podium places in third sport in both the Supersport 600 and Superbike races.  But the best was still to come when he won the Grand Final event at Killalane, the first by a road race Rookie at the event.
Pearson is about to take part in his debut Macau Grand Prix near Hong Kong where he will ride the BTS Firebade Honda in the 15 lap race around the streets of Macau.