Newmills teenage sensation Paige Mullen takes Championship
NEWMILLS teenager Paige Mullen became the first female competitor to win a national short circuit USBK Championship.
NEWMILLS teenager Paige Mullen became the first female competitor to win a national short circuit USBK Championship.
Paige secured the title after inclement weather cancelled the end-of-season Sunflower event, making her points lead unbeatable.
Paige had only needed a top-five finish at the Sunflower to seal the championship, but her consistent excellence throughout the year meant she clinched the title without turning a wheel.
This season has been extraordinary for Paige. After transitioning from minibikes to short circuit racing, she competed in nine rounds of the USBK Moto One class - 21 races in total.
Paige quickly established herself as a force in the championship, scoring 16 podium finishes, including 10 second-place results, and missing the podium at only one race meeting.
A standout moment came at Kirkistown in September: after a tough practice session relegated her to the back of the grid, Paige surged through the field to finish second, earning a front-row start for race two.
That second race became an instant classic. Paige rocketed into the lead, hotly pursued by reigning Mondello Masters SS400 Champion Hubert Tomaszewski.
On lap three, Tomaszewski edged ahead, but Paige was relentless. Her determination and competitive spirit, hallmarks of her 2026 season, shone through.
With two laps to go, she reclaimed the lead, and although Tomaszewski challenged again, Paige refused to yield.
The final laps saw a thrilling back-and-forth battle, but on the last lap, Paige dug deep and pulled ahead to secure a sensational victory—widely regarded by many as the best race of the day.
Paige maintained her remarkable form for the rest of the season, racing intelligently to secure valuable points. By the time the Sunflower event approached, she held a commanding 36-point lead.
Although she still needed a safe finish to mathematically seal the title, the event's cancellation handed her a historic triumph: Paige became the first - and youngest - female to claim a USBK Championship.
Her hard work and off-season preparation, cycling, etc., paid dividends.
Indeed, 2026 has been quite a season for the Mullen family, with older brother Lewis competing in the Junior sportbike championship on the mainland.
In his debut season, Lewis took a hard-earned win at the fast Thruxton circuit, before competing in a couple of meetings back home, where he took three wins from three starts.
In doing so, Lewis and Paige scored a win on the same day, once again creating their own little niche of history as the first-ever brother and Sister to win an Irish national short circuit race on the same day.
Looking ahead to 2027, Paige will endeavour to retain the Moto One title, while Lewis will again take on the Junior sportsbike championship and is on the lookout for a 600 New Gen machine for the home races.
Lewis and Paige are also protégés of the Irish Minibike Championship series, both starting in the popular BamBam class, with Lewis going on to win a few championships and Paige showing progress each season.