God bless America. That’s what most trackside fans would have been shouting on Sunday, when homegrown rider Ben Spies completed a World Superbike double at Miller Motorsport Park in Utah.

The Tennessee boy, a rookie in this season’s World Superbike paddock, has captivated millions of motorcycling fans with his seven pole positions from seven races so far in ’09.

But like most of us at home, I was trying to pick out the lime green and white liveried Hannspree Ten Kate Honda and that distinctive red and white Arai helmet of Jonathan Rea.

The Ballyclare kid wasn’t too hard to spot, running close to the front in both races, finally taking a hard-earned podium in race two after a last-ditch battle with close friend and rival Leon Haslam.

With fifth in race one and a debut podium at the previous round of the series in South Africa, young Rea is finally cracking the higher echelons of the sport and one wonders just how long it will be before MotoGP team managers come knocking?

Honda, currently struggling in MotoGP, could do worse than move Rea up to the premier class for 2010, although it’s no secret that Rizla Suzuki’s entrepreneurial team boss, Englishman Paul Denning, has been a long time admirer of Rea.

Certain members of the establishment may say, give him another year, but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough in my book and JR Jnr. has excelled in every class of racing he’s ever entered.

He has mental strength and self-belief in abundance and although Ten Kate may not want to lose him, MotoGP needs another top British and Irish rider to compliment the efforts of James Toseland.

Another Ulsterman, Irishman ? call him what you will, is Eugene Laverty from Toomebridge.

Equally as talented, single-minded and as focused as Rea and it’s showing. Three wins from the first six races in 2009 had him travelling across the Atlantic in a good frame of mind, but after leading for virtually the whole race at Miller, he had to settle for second after being mugged by Ten Kate’s Kenan Sofuoglu.

Eugene is only nine points behind Cal Crutchlow in the championship, but as a regular poster on the social messaging website Twitter, he told his fans: “Having led every lap I was gutted to lose out on the win. Kenan made a harsh move and hit me, so I was just happy to stay on board. I've closed the gap in the championship and I really like Misano and Donington, so game on!”

Game on indeed for Laverty who could realistically bring home a world title in October. Both he and Rea are products of the Red Bull ‘factory’ where the energy drink giants not only position their young athletes in the best working environment, but also educate them on personal training and how to deal with the media. Let’s hope Red Bull can continue to give them wins, as well as the metaphorical wings ?