Archive for April, 2010

PRESS RELEASE – IMMEDIATE CIRCULATION

SUPERMOTO HITS THE BIG TIME – ALL GO FOR THE BRITISH MOTO GP

The resurgent British Supermoto scene has just received a welcome boost with the announcement that a one off “Masters Cup” will take place at this years British Moto GP at Silverstone on the 18th 19th & 20th June.

The meeting will feature the top domestic riders and a sprinkling of foreign stars in three classes, Open Elite, Open National & Open Clubman. For many of the huge crowd that will be gathered at the historic Northamptonshire circuit this will be their first opportunity to witness live top class Supermoto racing first hand and they will be in for a real treat as the specialist single cylinder machines drift into corners leap over jumps and achieve lean angles that even the Moto GP stars will be amazed at.

To qualify to enter riders must be registered & eligible to ride in the 2010 British Championships and Michelin tyres are compulsory for all races. The entries will close on the 15th June and there will be no late entries available after this closing date.

A significant prize money fund for all classes has been pledged, further adding spice to the race to become “British Masters Champion 2010”. A provisional timetable will be posted on www.norasport.com and entry forms will also be available to download soon.

Norasport’s Development director Mike Taylor, commented “We are really pleased to work in conjunction with Silverstone at what will be by far the biggest bike sport event in the UK this year, we are confident that we will put a great show on for the thousands of Moto GP fans that will be visiting Silverstone”

The ACU’s Deputy Chairman Frank Carter who has special responsibility for Supermoto in the UK added, “Our joint venture with Norasport is only months old but running this event just proves that we took the right decision in joining forces as it allows us to put on bigger & better events which is great for competitors, sponsors and the fans.”

For further information please visit either www.norasport.com or www.britishsupermoto.net or email info@britishsupermoto.net

Full report from Kathryn Drayton

Beautiful weather signalled the second round of the British Supermoto Championship at the Rowrah Circuit in Cumbria which saw some spectacular racing on Saturday with the Youth, 250 and 450 classes out on the fast twisty circuit. Sunday morning brought wet practice for the Open classes and the track remained wet for the rest of the day, but the exciting racing continued despite the difficult slippery conditions.

250
Ben Stafford had the fastest lap in race one for the 250 class, and came over the line in first place followed by Lee Cunliffe; Owen Connell and then Malachi Mitchell Thomas. There was a turnaround for race two as Ben Stafford fell leaving Malachi to take the second win of the day from Lee Cunliffe in second place once again. Stuart Sharp would move up from sixth place in race one to take the third place finish in race two. Michael Ford also moved up three places from the first race to finish in fourth position.
In the final race of the day a return to racing for Lee Cunliffe and he held onto an early lead extending this over the course of the race, finishing six seconds in front of Malachi. Ben Stafford came back well in the final race which saw him take third place from Stuart Sharp for a trophy in the final. Stuart had his best finish of the day with a fourth in the final and Ben Stafford took away a Muck Junkie award for his efforts at round two.

Junior
Ryan Rudd was the fastest junior on the track, while Ashley had an early fall and had to make up time, this left second spot open for Jack Raines and then Daniel Drayton who took third place finish in race one. Dylan Henderson struggled at the start of race two stalling his machine and Daniel Drayton also stalled in the dirt so both riders lost time on the track. Ryan Rudd finished in the top spot again in race two. In the final race of the day Ryan was once again the victor and Jack Raines took second place for the third time while Ashley Rudd made it back to take a third place finish, and Loris had a consistent day with three fourth place finishes.

250 Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Lee Cunliffe 2. Malachi Mitchell Thomas 3. Ben Stafford 4. Stuart Sharp 5. Owen Connell

Junior Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Ryan Rudd 2. Jack Raines 3. Ashley Rudd 4. Loris Hunt 5. Dylan Henderson

450 Clubman
Phil Gee started the day with the first win in the clubman class, and then had to settle for second place followed by a third in the final, while Ben McKlusky started on a fourth place finish and went onto win in both the second and third race of the day. Chris Lambourne has been in top three all day with two third placed finishes and then second place in the final race. Michael Craig and Steve Ellis were right on the back of the top three riders all day hoping for a podium finish. Neil Crayston who finished the final race in sixth position had earlier enjoyed a second place finish in race one, and James Moore improved his times over the day to finish his last two races in the top ten along with Alan Cragg and Paul Plevin.
Sam Roberts had led a pack of riders in race two but Ryan Metcalfe moved past to finish in eleventh place and in the final race Scott Maller led a close battle but kept Gary Paul at bay to hold on to fourteenth place.

450 Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Ben McClusky 2. Chris Lambourne 3. Phil Gee 4. Michael Craig 5. Steve Ellis

450 Elite
It was a mixed bag for the first 450 Elite race with multiple fallers seeing both Andy Mitchell and Graeme Norris retiring from the race. Matt Winstanley took the first win followed by Craig Venske and George Clements, and the top four had really carved out a lead, but as the race neared the end the introduction of back markers split the group, and Lee Jones having had been so close would not be able to challenge the top three any longer and finished the race in fourth place. Chris Hodgson and David Hartley both got a really good start and finished well in fifth and sixth place respectively. Lee Williams worked his way through to eighth place and Chris Walker came back to finish in eleventh, while Lewis Cornish fell twice following an excellent qualifying and finished in sixteenth place.
After stalling on the line and then falling later in the race Sami Salstola had to retire from race two.
Matt Winstanley however was on form and pulled out a clear lead in the second race from Craig Venske and Chris Hodgson, and despite Lee Jones putting in the effort to move up to fourth he finished in sixth over the line. Lewis Cornish regained form in the second race and finished in a very respectable eighth place, and Richard Blakeman had the best of a three man battle to finish eleventh followed by Lee Williams and Lee Rudd. There was an all action fifteen lap final which saw Craig Venske, Chris Hodgson and Matt Winstanley battling at the front. Craig had the early lead but Chris Hodgson went though on lap five to take the lead and hold on tight. Craig had to concede his position to Matt midway through the race while Chris and Matt split away at the front. Lee Jones made his way through to fourth and held on to that position until the finish line. Plenty of riders fell in the dirt section including Lewis Cornish and Craig Richardson leaving them well down in the results. Dale O’Connor led a great battle to take twelfth place at the finish line closely followed by Lee Rudd and Oliver Harrison. While over the line it was Chris Hodgson from Matt Winstanley and Craig Venske, though in the points it would be Matt who took the spoils as a birthday treat. He also took away a tyre at the presentation for the best “move out the way” move of the day. George Clements had great finishes with two fifth places and a third while Andy Mitchell had to be the most improved ride of the day to finish in eighth place, and consistent Richard Blakeman took his second ninth place of the day.

450 Elite Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Chris Hodgson 2. Matt Winstanley 3. Craig Venske 4. Lee Jones 5. George Clements

Open Clubman
Ricky Grimshaw sat on pole for the first Clubman B race and despite a good start, within one lap he had lost ground leaving Rob Dickens to take to the front. Another lap later and Rob had lost then the lead to Kris Norris who would go onto win the first race and with his efforts to get into second place Streaky Joe would be the second move up to the A group for the remaining races. Ricky Grimshaw put his position to good use to win the second race unchallenged with Rik Nuttall five seconds behind and Rob Dickens secured third place. The top three riders were clear of Ryan Metcalfe and Kyle Wingate who were close over the line in fourth and fifth positions while David Wiseman unfortunately had to retire form the second race. In the final race Kyle Wingate would lead in the early part of the race but Rob Dickens would come back to take the final win of the day with Kyle in second and Ryan Metcalf who had been consistent all day finished in third. Martin Bennett had his best race of the day to take fourth and Michael Ford improved taking fifth, and securing his second sixth place of the day was Andy Nuttall.

Despite Scott Wright leading the first race it, was James Wood who would take the first win of the Clubman A race. Paul McNamara was having a really good day and finished in third position well clear of Paul Plevin who made it up from sixth to fourth over the course of the race and Harry Kampz also made up three places to come over the line in fifth. Sam Gilbody had a really good start and finally finished in sixth. James Wood then led the second race from Paul Plevin and Scott Wright and Grant Cunningham had made it up to fifth place early in the race. Neither James Wood or Paul Plevin would finish in the top five of the second race however, as the win went to Scott Wright with Grant Cunningham up to second place with Paul McNamara once again in third place and then Stuart Sharp was in fourth leaving Sam Gilbody to take the points for fifth position. The final race of the day and Scott Wright had done the hard work taking his second win of the day, while Stuart Sharp had improved over the day to finish second, Grant Cunningham had third and Sam Gilbody had moved up one place in each of the races finishing fourth in the final and just missing out on a trophy position. Bradley Hardy made a massive move up to secure fifth place over the line leaving Jon Sigsworth, Dan Spencer and Lee Head battling it out for seventh place while Joe Edwards had an excellent finish in tenth place after his B group start.

Open B Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Rob Dickens 2. Kyle Wingate 3. Ryan Metcalf 4. Martin Bennett 5. Michael Ford

Open A Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Scott Wright 2. Stuart Sharp 3. Grant Cunnighan 4. Sam Gilbody 5. Bradley Hardy

Open National
In the Open National races Phil Gee took the early lead from pole position in the first race and Dean Wingate took second place straight from the start, Kevin Drayton was in third place but was pressured by Ben Kirkman from very early in the race. Ben Stafford had an excellent qualification and was in fifth place during the race. Ben Kirkman then moved up to third place in the fifth lap as Phil Gee and Dean Wingate both made themselves room at the front and Ben Kirkman also stretched out a lead in third place from Kevin Drayton who came under pressure late in the race from Ben Stafford who had Simon Walker close on his tail for sixth. In the second National race Kevin Drayton a great start taking the early lead but Ben Kirkman was also hungry for the win and there was little room for manoeuvre at the front and Ben Kirkman had the best of the late breaking to slip past Kev and take the lead. Phil Gee also got through into second and when Kevin Drayton went down later in the race Dean Wingate would be unable to start his machine in time to capture any lucrative points. Ben Stafford as another casualty of the slippery conditions and could not maximize on points either. The final positions were Phil Gee, Ben Kirkman and Simon Walker in third. Graeme Norris made the most of the second race finishing in fourth with Robert Hartley in fifth. Phil Gee would lead the final National race of the day with Ben Kirkman having a really good race in second but he was finding it difficult to make up ground on Phil. Graeme Norris finished upright over the line in third with a jubilant Simon Walker taking fourth position leaving Kevin Drayton in fifth. Lee Metcalfe had another great meeting making the best of a battle with Robert Hartley and Dean Wingate who made up ground from his start at the back of the grid, to finish the race in eighth place while Malachi secured his second ninth place finish of the day.

Open National Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Phil Gee 2. Ben Kirkman 3. Graeme Norris 4. Simon Walker 5. Kevin Drayton

Open Elite
There were some notable absences in the Open Elite group with James Addy a victim of volcanic ash and Carl Shield suffering a fracture to his foot. Chris Hodgson capitalized on his win from Saturday with a win in the first Elite race as he was hounded by Matt Winstanley, these two broke clear at the front and although Craig Venske held third for most of the race a mistake saw him in eleventh place in the last few laps, this allowed Lee Jones to take third place unchallenged and Andy Mitchell came over the line in fourth having a much better days racing. George Clements had led a really close pack of four riders for the whole race coming over the line to finish in fifth place, though David Hartley dropped off the pack and then Sami Salstola lost his sixth place position over the line to Lee Williams.
In the second race of the day Matt Winstanley led the race and Chris Hodgson couldn’t hold onto second place which was taken by Lee Jones who was having an excellent weekend. Craig Venske this time had the better of the four man battle as he secured fourth place followed by George Clements and David Hartley with Chris Walker having an excellent second race to finish in seventh place. Neither Ben Robb or Sami Salstola would finish the second race with Ben having fallen twice.
The final race and Matt Winstanley would lead the race this time from Craig Venske and Lee Jones who pulled out a clear lead from Chris Hodgson who was on a charge then George Clements, Chris Walker and Lee Williams who had fallen in the second race. As the race progressed Matt would stretch a lead from Craig with another cushion to Lee Jones then a closing gap back to Chris Walker. Jamie Duncan led Sami Salstola, Ben Robb and Lewis Cornish with a mid pack battle for ninth position. By the twelfth lap Lewis had made up three places to lead this battling pack before Sami sat him up a lap later to take the position at the finish of the race. Back at the front and Matt was riding clear of the pack and Lee Jones couldn’t mount a challenge on Craig Venske for second place so he would take third place. Chris Hodgson couldn’t complain about his fourth place finish as he maximised on points for this round. George Clements had a run of fifth place finishes all day and Chris Walker had his second seventh place finish of the day, while Andy Mitchell had a much better run in the Open than in the 450 championship a day earlier.

Open Elite Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Matt Winstanley 2. Craig Venske 3. Lee Jones 4. Chris Hodgson 5. George Clements

Rowrah has now been and gone. What a weekend it was too. All that is best in Supermoto and why we all love it so much.

Tv schedules will be announced shortly.

Paddock chitter chatter has been about blue flags, timing screens and race clock. Don’t let this worry you too much as its all in the mix for the next round. The team do thank all for their constructive comments and for not turning them into a moan for the sake of it.

Full race report and a special interview with Toby Taylor to come shortly.

Saturday saw a fantastic days racing in brilliant sunlight. The Elite riders in the 450 class didn’t Disappoint the baying crowd. At the front of the grid the usual protagonists swapped places, bashed bars and out braked each other in an effort to catch the now distant front runner Matt Winstanley on his Husky. A brace of KTM’s all ridden beyond any normal sense of grip by the pilots in an amazing display of bike control with David Hartley charging and Chris Hodgson moving up and down positions almost lap by lap. Craig Venske remained consistent and pressured for every second of the race. Let us not forget Lee Jones, the sole new Husaberg rider on board a lesser than his usual factory finished bike maintaining position and learning his new machinery lap by lap.
Further down the order saw groups of riders battling for position with established names being pushed by new up and coming riders. Richard Blakeman, still recovering from a serious injury, stayed mid pack struggling to get himself back into the groove and his previous top level form. His team mate Ollie Harrison who has just moved into the big class seemed to struggle with his power delivery but put in a performance anyone would be proud of at 16 years old.
George Clements, the gentleman of Supermoto had a cracking days racing but appeared to have tyre problems late in the day to take the shine off his podium level performance.

Sunday and the riders woke to find spatterings of rain, always a leveller, love it or hate it expect close exciting racing as wet weather experts push harder than dry.

A full report of the weekends racing will follow with points and positions.

With round two of the current championship underway at Rowrah the ACU liaison officer, David Dearden, made an announcement that will see Supermoto appear at Silverstone in support of MotoGP.

Full and further details will be made available as soon as possible on this site.

Introduction
The opening Round of the 2010 British Supermoto Championships was held at the Three Sisters Circuit over the Easter Weekend and was kindly sponsored by Pemberton Tyres. Qualification sessions took place on Saturday to seed riders in the appropriate group for the start of the championship, and with over a hundred and twenty competitors this was no mean feat, but racing got underway on Sunday morning and though the format was new to everyone the weekend culminated in a successful start to the season.
Many riders were new to their machinery, championship grouping or their race teams; and it looked as is this year could be the most competitive yet in all disciplines

Quads
Joe Hodgson led the first Quad race until machine failure saw him retire, at which point Mike Taylor took up the lead and was unchallenged for the rest of the race. The battle within the race was for the second place position with Craig Kilner the victor from Matt Lawry, then Sam Hodgson in fourth. With Joe unable to start the second race Craig Kilner would lead but a late challenge from Mike Taylor while setting the fastest lap in the race; would see him with the second win of the day, Matt Lawry secured third with Sam Hodgson in fourth. In the final race Mike had a poor start and Craig Kilner led once again, but it all came alive in the last two laps when Mike upped the pressure and challenged hard; though his efforts would be in vain as he failed to pass Craig over the line. These two led Matt Lawry, Sam Hodgson and Chris Wright over the line

Quad Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Craig Kilner 2. Mike Taylor 3. Matt Lawry 4. Sam Hodgson 5. Chris Wright

Junior 250
Malachi Mitchell Thomas cemented fast qualifying with a win in the first race followed closely by Greg Evans who was trying his hardest to make it first to the finish line. Ben Stafford had his work cut out but improved throughout the race, and claimed the third place finish with a comfortable lead from Owen Connell and Stuart Sharp. Sam Gilbody had an unfortunate start but with a display of stamina and a long push he made the result sheet for race one. Malachi went on to win the second race but was challenged hard once again by Greg Evans with Ben Stafford having a great ride in third and these were the finishing positions for race two, while Owen Connell deposed Stuart Sharp into fifth on the penultimate lap to take the fourth place finish himself. Sam Gilbody had a much improved second race with an eighth place finish. The top three riders in the final race had stayed the same all day with Malachi in the lead once again followed by Greg Evans and Ben Stafford but they led the pack with a much larger margin in the final, and all three riders held the fastest lap in the class Ben in race one, Mal in the second outing and Greg in the final. Owen Connell and Stuart Sharp mirrored fourth and fifth places in every race, with Sam Gilbody up to sixth in the final

250 Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Malachi Mitchell Thomas 2. Greg Evans 3. Ben Stafford 4. Owen Connell 5. Stuart Sharp

Ryan Rudd had the best ride of the juniors pacing himself among the 250 riders with Ashley Rudd the closest in his group followed by Loris Hunt, and newcomers for 2010 Daniel Drayton and Matt Raven. Ryan and Ashley Rudd once again led Loris Hunt in the second race followed by Jack Raines while in the final Ryan and Ashley were followed this time by Jack Raines in third and Loris in fourth. This group were gaining confidence all weekend and it is likely they will move comfortably with the 250 pack at most of the rounds.

Junior Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Ryan Rudd 2. Ashley Rudd 3. Jack Raines 4. Loris Hunt 5. Matt Tilbury

450 Clubman
Neil Crayston had an early fall leaving Dean Wingate a good advantage on the track. Phil Gee could not make up enough ground to challenge Dean but still came in second place over half a second down over the line in race one; to a very pleased Mr Wingate. James Moore secured the third place finish with Darren Lee close on his heels and then James Wood came over the line in fifth.
Kyle Wingate was having a battle for tenth position to get the better of Mike Dooling while Guy Monk had to retire from the first race. In the second race Dean Wingate would take the win again clearly from James Moore who was being chased by Daren Lee. Phil Gee moved up to fourth place at the expense of Steve Ellis who would have to be content with fifth. Andrew Rumsam had to retiree while Mike Dooling on this occasion led the mid pack battle of Grant Cunningham, Kris Norris and Kyle Wingate.
Dean Wingate scooped all three wins in the Clubman race while James Moore secured two second place finishes, and Phil Gee secured a second, fourth and third place finish. Guy Monk saw his day improve greatly with a fifth place finish in the final while Ryan Metcalfe and Paul Scott continued to battle for positions on the track

450 Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Dean Wingate 2. James Moore 3. Phil Gee 4. Steve Ellis 5. Guy Monk

450 Elite
Matt Winstanley had the early lead in race one of the 450 elite as Chris Hodgson deposed David Hartley for second place in the second lap, while James Addy also moved up the grid to pass George Clements and Andy Mitchell. By lap five Matt led Chris from David Hartley and Richard Sharp, and then it would be Craig Venske from Jams Addy in the next battle. James made up another place to fifth by the eighth lap and chased Craig Venske but couldn’t take the fourth place finish, while Sami Salstola challenged Andy Mitchell for eleventh place. Matt Winstanley won the first race confidently with Chris Hodgson riding brilliantly in second as David Hartley came over the line from Craig Venske in fourth. James Addy in fifth place would lead Richard Sharp and Lee Williams over the line in sixth and seventh. Chris Walker unfortunately retired in the first lap.
In the second race Chris Hodgson had the early lead and although Matt came through to take the lead Chris stayed in the chase and these two riders were the first over the line. Craig Venske held onto third position despite pressure throughout the race first from James Addy and then from David Hartley. James Addy lost eight places in a fall but made his way back up to eighth position for some valuable points. That left Craig Venske to finish third from David Hartley and Richard Sharp rode a fantastic race battling with Ben Robb for the fifth position finish. Behind James Addy was Sami Salstola who was clear of Richard Blakeman and Lee Williams in ninth place. Both Robert Hartley and Graeme Norris made this race a difficult ask after they both fell in the first lap.
The final race of the day and positions changed dramatically, James Addy fell on the first lap and came back eleven places to finish fourteenth. While Craig Venske led the race with such a tight pack of riders, being followed Chris Hodgson, Craig Venske and David Hartley. These four riders were wheel to wheel for nine laps when backmarkers came into play and Chris Hodgson took first place on lap eleven, quickly followed by a fall from Craig Venske which left Matt Winstanley chasing Chris and Venske chasing David Hartley, the pace at the front was blistering and Chris was holding on tight to the lead; but over the line with that extra stretch of one hundredth of a second; Matt Winstanley took the win from a very worthy Chris Hodgson. David Hartley came over the line in third and the original race leader Craig Venske in fourth. George Clements and Richard Sharp had faultless race and finished fifth and sixth, with Richard Blakeman and Ben Robb the next two finishers.

450 Elite Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Matt Winstanley 2. Chris Hodgson 3. David Hartley 4. Craig Venske 5. George Clements

Open Clubman
Ricky Grimshaw and Andy Nuttall had the top two spots in race one of the Open Clubman races which allowed them a move up to the A group for race two leaving Paul Scott on pole position for race two.
Karl Geary Junior led Sam Roberts and Paul Reynolds within half a second to hold onto sixth spot. While in the second race Karl Geary Junior set the fastest lap time and won the race by a clear margin to take the second win and move up along with Lee Head who had held off Paul Reynolds for second spot. Lee Peet claimed twelfth place battling over the line from Phil Dacres, and similarly close over the line were Darren Corkett and Dave Kavanagh with less than a whisker between them. Paul Reynolds sat on pole for the final race of the day and although he lost the lead momentarily, he soon regained it to finish in first from Ryan Metcalfe, while Paul Fletcher deposed Matt Shutt for third place and Phil Dacres took seventh place from Martin Bennett and David Vaughan.
Paul McNamara led the first A Clubman race from Harry Kampz and Rob Dickens, but a great ride by Jon Sigsworth saw him move up three positions to take the top spot with two laps to go. Both Jon and Paul McNamara stayed clear at the front until the finish line, with Harry Kampz and Rob Dickens in third and fourth place respectively clear from the rest of the pack.
Rob Dickens had an excellent start to race two chased by Paul Plevin who would take the second win of the day, leaving Rob in second place a second clear of third placed Bob Hart. The top seven riders were clear from the rest of the pack who were led by Scott Wright. It was Jon Sigswoth the winner of race one who would set the fastest lap and finish in fifth. Rob Dickens then led the final A Clubman race followed by Bob Hart but it would be Jon Sigsworth who would take the lead and secure the win in the fourth lap. Rob held onto second place from Bob Hart who had closed in throughout the race. Dan Spencer improved to move up two places as did James Wood while the sixth place finisher Scott Wright put in the fastest lap. Lee Head and Andy Nuttall who had both started in the B Clubman had excellent finishes in twelfth and fourteen respectively.

Open A Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Jon Sigsworth 2. Rob Dickens 3. Bob Hart 4. Dan Spencer 5. James Wood

Open B Clubman Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Paul Reynolds 2. Ryan Metcalf 3. Paul Fletcher 4. Matt Shutt 5. Paul Scott

Open National
In the first Open National race the leader into the first corner was Phil Gee though Kevin Drayton held the front spot coming out of the dirt, and stayed clear at the front for the whole race taking the first win comfortably, Ben Kirkman took second spot quite quickly but was challenged late in the race by Simon Bentley who came home in third place with Phil Gee in fourth. The fastest lap was set by Lee Metcalfe as he moved from seventh to finish in fifth place. Neil Crayston just pulled away from the pack of Steve Hall, Dave Jolly and Darren Lee and claimed ninth place
The restarted second race was close from the off, with Kevin Drayton leading Ben Kirkman, Simon Bentley and Dean Wingate. Ben set the fastest lap and pressured Kevin hard to take the lead in the last few laps which he until the finish line leaving Kevin in second being chased by Simon Bentley; with Dean Wingate having a battle of his own to keep Lee Metcalfe at bay and secure the fourth place. In twelfth place Greg Evans only just got over the line in front of Ben Stafford, with Steve Hall and Darren Lee equally close in fourteenth and fifteenth.
In the final National race of the day Simon Bentley had the lead from Kevin Drayton, Ben Kirkman, Dean Wingate then Lee Metcalfe. Midway through the race Kevin Drayton took the lead of a very tight pack as Ben Kirkman set his sights on Simon Bentley but was himself under pressure from Lee Metcalf. Then there was a mid pack battle being led by Neil Crayston from Andrew Rumsam and Phil Gee for seventh spot. The action was still happening at the front of the pack with the four rider’s almost inseparable lap after lap, all pressuring for positions but Kevin Drayton was jubilant over the line from a very happy Simon Bentley who had a fine ride followed by Ben Kirkman. Lee Metcalfe who had been in the top five all day put in the fastest lap of the race as he tried to get into a top three finishing position. Malachi Mitchell Thomas had an excellent start to the season in the Open class with and eighth and two eleven place finishes and Ben Stafford equally enjoyed his first round out in this class.

Open National Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Kevin Drayton 2. Simon Bentley 3. Ben Kirkman 4. Lee Metcalf 5. Dean Wingate

Open Elite
Matt Winstanley had the lead for the first Elite Race, and stayed clear from the second and third place riders as David Hartley lost second place to Chris Hodgson in lap five to regain it again in the ninth lap. The top three finishers were Matt Winstanley, David Hartley and Chris Hodgson. Lee Jones led a charge to finish admirably in fourth under pressure from Sami Salstola and James Addy and with Carl Shield in seventh place; then there would be a breather back to another close pack. Craig Venske had dropped back to eighth position but then had to hold back George Clements and Lee Williams.
In the second race Matt Winstanley once again led the race but Chris Hodgson had him within his sights for the whole race and set the fastest lap time, and these two riders had a gap from Sami Salstola and Craig Venske. Andy Mitchell tried to hold off Lee Williams while Richard Sharp led a tight pack of riders, made up of Chris Walker, Ben Robb and Richard Blakeman. At the finish line it would be Matt Winstanley and Chris Hodgson from Craig Venske and David Hartley, Sami Salstola had his own race in fifth from James Addy in sixth then followed by Carl Shield. Lee Williams got the better of Andy Mitchell before the race ended and Ben Robb got the better of the mid pack finishing behind eleventh place Richard Sharp.
The final race of the day caught out Chris Babbitt, Lee Williams and Sami Salstola ass they all fell. Matt Winstanley led the race from Chris Hodgson once again, with James Addy taking third place. This was a position he took advantage of as Matt fell in the dirt in the seventh lap and as Chris took avoiding action leaving James Addy to take the lead. One lap later and Chris Hodgson would retire with machinery problems completely redesigning the make up at the front of the race. James Addy had to work his hardest to keep David Hartley at bay, but although they were close over the line James would take the win with David in second and Craig Venske in third. An excellent final race for Carl Shield saw him take fourth place with Lee Jones in a fantastic fifth place after being dogged with machinery problems over the weekend. In a mixed bag of racing the likelihood was that in the points David Hartley would most likely come out on top. Will Moore had move into the elite group and finished in eighteenth place in the final, while Ryan Dixon and Lewis Cornish both moved up consistently throughout the day.

Open Elite Finishing Positions Final Race
1. James Addy 2. David Hartley 3. Craig Venske 4. Carl Shield 5. Lee Jones

Superlites

Twenty Superlites took to the track for an all action race and Colin Griffiths was dominant in the lead, though Steve Burgess tried everything in the book to get into the top spot costing him track time on the way, but his efforts paid off as he took the lead leaving Toby Taylor in second and Ben Dimmack in third. Colin Griffiths had an excellent race but suffered a puncture with two laps to go and had to limp over the line in sixth place. Ian Gibbons spun out early in the race and had to pull back to twelfth spot.
The second race got underway with Ben Dimmack at the front from Phil Lee and Toby Taylor; Toby would get into second place and hold that over the line leaving Phil Lee in third. Colin Griffiths made up four places and set the fastest lap to finish in fourth place from Ian Biswell and Steve Burgess. Alan Bott retired from the second race after a spin around lunar seriously affected his ability to either steer or drive the machine. The final would hold just as much action with Mike Taylor having the early lead and Steve Burgess once again hounding Colin Griffiths. Mike would retire from the race leaving Ben Dimmack in first and after a coming together Steve Burgess would take the second place from Colin Griffiths and Phil Lee in fourth. It was no surprise that the fastest lap was set by Steve Burgess, but hats off to Sadie Redfearn with an excellent finish in thirteenth and congratulations to Alan Bott on his very first Superlite race finishing in a very respectable eighth place, in a tight pack with Phil Redfearn in front of him and Mick Blatchford behind.

Superlites Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Ben Dimmack 2. Steve Burgess 3. Colin Griffiths 4. Phil Lee 5. Matthew Dimmack.

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