Following on from a very competitive Round One at Brands Hatch, Round Two at Wiltshire’s Castle Combe was sure to be a battle. Our host club
NG Road Racing put on another two-stroke bonanza at their ‘local’ with plenty of track time on offer for 125, 250 and 350 GP machines from all eras.
That Friday feeling
Friday’s test day was cold and wet but enough to refresh track memory. Jason Davis and Roy Chapman demonstrated what can be done on the
Avon tyres. The pair caught, passed and gapped several modern 250s who were out on full wets!
With our paddock area reserved we were parked up together. The usual benevolent characters had helped put up many awnings the night before. Once settled in, our dedicated scrutineers Reg and Jean were permitted to check bikes and clothing in situ, making the whole pre-race experience smooth and as hassle-free as possible.
Quality qualifying
Following the overnight rain Saturday morning was cold; mist clung to the tarmac causing an initial delay. It soon cleared and we cracked on with our first warm-up. By 11:09 we were back out again, heads-down for our own qualifying session with up to nine laps of dry and bright track time covering a combined distance of 318 miles between us!
With a £50 cash bonus on offer the
Motocarb Motopole is awarded to both 250s and 350s – an extra incentive to set the best time. Phil Atkinson showed his title challengers that he meant business on the Rose MOT Centre TZ350 and took P1 in 1:17.458 on his 7th lap. Ant Hart was only 0.416 shy, ready to get cozy alongside Phil on the grid. Jason Davis managed to bang in the 3rd fastest time at 1:17.910 despite taking a speedy exit elicited by the dip in The Esses on his fifth lap. Times were very tight across the
AD Modular supported 350 riders.
Phil Stead gave the 350s food for thought at 1:17.964, 4th overall and the pole man for our
Maxton Suspension supported 250 riders. The North Yorkshire plumber was keen to avoid a repeat of his aerial display when we last visited Castle Combe. Gary Vines was next up with 1:20.038 looking to improve on his Round One gear selection woes. 3rd fastest 250 was Mark Linton at 1:22.291 who’s improving all the time.
There was drama in the
CBG Contractors’ Masters. Nick Williamson failed to produce a time with a non-responsive transponder coupled with a miss-fire. He would have to tackle the weekend from the back of the grid. Williamson’s rival Chapman managed to get back out following a fast off during warm-up. He battled through qualifying fairing-less and feeling decidedly second-hand. Grant Goodings was fastest Master ahead of Linton and Castle Combe local hero, Darrell Higgins who is entering his 5th decade of racing for
Dennis Trollope.
Saturday’s racing
Our first race was hot from the off. After the initial jostling from Hart and Jackson, Phil Atkinson lead the field for the opening couple of laps but Ant Hart was flying, his second timed lap produced a 1:16.585 and lined him up to grab the lead – with every following lap in the 1:16s he took the win just 0.478 from Atkinson. The pair fought it out race long gaining a gap to 3rd placed rider Scott Carson who was still learning the bumpy circuit and riding high from his dominant Goodwood victory the weekend prior. With two laps remaining Dan Jackson slipped behind the 250 of Stead to take 4th in the 350 standings leaving a comfortable gap to Chris Moore and Jason Davis.
Phil Stead was another man on a charge on the smaller 250cc machine. He also dipped into the 1:16s and followed Carson across the line just 0.054 behind to take the 250 victory and 4th on-the-road. Gary Vines struggled with further issues that curbed his usual dynamic riding, Vines enjoyed close racing with Mark Linton to take 2nd 250. Last season’s 250 Champ Michael Grigson sat out Brands and it was good to have him back. With no testing Grigson managed to secure 4th 250 with Siân Brooks in 5th and Ian Longstaff in 6th.
The CBG Masters’ riders had an aggressive Nick Williamson to deal with. From his back row start he quickly made progress getting to 9th by the first timed lap. Williamson took the Masters win and 8th overall from Goodings and Linton. Dean Mitchell, Darrell Higgins, Tony Perkin, Andy Glasgow and Lea Gourlay’s rider Mark Edge, raced ahead of the unfaired and rather bruised Chapman. Ian Longstaff and Nigel Dearden rounded out the over-55s.
Andrew Taylor had a good race with Goodings and finished ahead by 0.977 and 8th 350. Andy Green chased Dean Mitchell across the line, trailing by just 0.654 despite only having five gears to play with. Green had lost sixth earlier and had adjusted his gearing to make the best of it. George Thomas struggled with brake issues and sadly suffered a DNF.
Exhaust legend Tony Green paid the penalty for living nearby, he returned home on Saturday evening to repair Gary Vines’ exhaust to get him back out ready for Sunday.
Old but gold
Our machines are running on 18" treaded tyres, period style brakes and small diameter forks – the top five all produced faster lap times than the winner of Saturday’s ACU National 250 race and 14 of our riders were within the top 10 ACU lap times, all under the same weather conditions. Congratulations to the entire field for their commitment and safe but fast riding. We have riders in their 20s through to riders in their 70s, with competition for everyone. We all enjoyed clean safe riding with no red flags all weekend.
More overnight rain cleared and another warm-up session was completed on a wet track. By the time racing started the sun was out and conditions perfect. Richard Freeman manned the rollers in the assembly area and we formed up for our second grid of the weekend.
No rest on Sunday
This time Scott Carson showed his confidence by leading the early laps with a 2.165 gap by the first pass of the stripe. However, by lap four Atkinson had taken up the reigns with the BE Event Hire rider, Hart, hot on his heels. Davis made the pass on Jackson, Stead recovered from another bad start to pass Moore. Atkinson took the win just 0.356 ahead of Hart, taking the lap times down to 1:15.901. Carson rounded out the top three with the TW2 350 of Jason Davis 4th and Jackson 5th.
The 250 story followed the earlier script with Stead getting a poor start as he struggled to keep it in the chosen gear. He quickly recovered and gave chase to Jackson, en route delivering a new 250
lap record and collecting the
Staffordshire Triumph 250cc Fastest Lap £50 reward at 1:16.620. Gary Vines was clearly not in his happy-place and slipped behind Grant Goodings, George Thomas and Dean Mitchell. He kept his 2nd 250 spot however, finishing ahead of Mark Linton who just pipped Higgins to the line by 0.129. Siân Brooks tussled with Ian Longstaff in the closing lap and took the ‘Drew Peacock’ rider by 0.303. Grigson struggling with fork problems rounded out the 250 finishers.
Nick Williamson headed up the Masters once again from the back of the grid. Getting past rivals Goodings and Mitchell by lap four. It was too much of a gap to the JL Exhausts/Silverstar Services rider Chris Moore and he finished 8th on-the-road ahead of Andrew Taylor by 1.665. George Thomas, rejuvenated by loaned brake calipers from Jason Davis, split the Masters just 0.005 behind Goodings who had recovered from a disastrous start to pass Mitchell who ended up just 0.154 behind Thomas. This battling trio headed Vines and the aforementioned Linton/Higgins duel. Tony Perkin finished ahead of Andy Glasgow who had made a poor start but pulled through to 17th and 7th Master. Nigel Dearden, once again learning a new circuit, had to make do with dry conditions after demonstrating his clear penchant for the rain in the earlier wet sessions.
Andy Green suffered terminal loss of first gear at Bobbies, hand changed it to get safely off track at the end of the penultimate lap whilst in 16th spot. Mark Edge pulled out on the start finish straight as he began his fourth lap.
Race three
The final 10 lap race commenced at 2pm with the weather still holding fine. Carson again took the Tenpin Racing TZ into the lead for the first timed lap with Ant Hart breathing down his neck by 0.148. Atkinson and Stead queued up looking for any opportunity to pass. By lap two Atkinson and Hart had settled in up front where a race long exchange ensued all the way to the flag. Hart secured the 350
lap record in the final lap at 1:15.729 and won by 0.221 from Atkinson. Hart also took home the
Staffordshire Triumph 350cc Fastest Lap £50 reward. Scott Carson narrowly took 3rd position from Davis by 0.287 with Jackson another 0.588 behind.
The next close encounter was first Master RBM Industrial’s Nick Williamson who pipped Chris Moore by 0.146 for 6th and 7th. Williamson also staked his claim on the Masters
lap record at 1:18.345. Dean Mitchell took runner-up Master and 8th overall as Gary Vines capitalised on a slowing Phil Stead. He secured the first of the 250 runners by 0.815 over Stead. Earlier Gary provided some front row viewing for Mark Linton as he saved a high side through the notorious Esses. Andrew Taylor took a comfortable 11th overall/9th 350 ahead of Mark Linton who double-bagged 3rd Master and 3rd 250 from Grigson and Brooks.
Grant Goodings’ chain took leave of the bike exiting the final chicane whilst swapping paint with Andy Taylor. Thankfully he had enough momentum to make it across the line – as luck would have it he later won a new Regina chain courtesy of
Dennis Trollope Racing in the prize draw! The 350s of Andy Glasgow, Tony Perkin, Mark Edge and Nigel Dearden all collected points in the CBG Contractors Masters
Championship.
Darrell Higgins retired on the second lap but was delighted with how much progress had been made with the machine over the weekend. George Thomas also retired drawing a line under a difficult weekend. Ian Longstaff failed to make the grid as his throttle cable snapped moments earlier.
Getting our hearts racing
Once the competition had finished we gathered in our usual spot outside the GP Originals awning, which is festooned with the logos of our trusty supporters and sponsors. Tony and Louise Perkin with Mark Linton delivered our prize giving, prize draws and raffles expertly co-ordinated by Michelle Carthy. Once the formalities were done Phil Stead got down on one knee to propose to a very surprised Ailsa! Thankfully she accepted as we all congratulated the happy couple, a warm and fuzzy end to another GP Originals week
Words: Sian Brooks
Pictures : Paul Korkus