For this the third meeting of 2014 we head to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire for the fourth and fifth championship rounds of the 14 round 2014 series. Brands and Oulton have seen full grids and great racing, and Cadwell's unique nature always produces great racing, and the 2014 trend continues here.
Cadwell Park is famous, or even infamous for "The Mountain", a taxing left-right-leap-land-left-right, section (.... sounds simple!!!), but that is barely a couple of hundred yards of one of the best circuits in the country, there is so much more to this picturesque Lincolnshire circuit and most riders love it.....and we all know happy riders are fast riders. It is a track that demands respect and commitment to get that race winning lap time.
Defending superbike champ Phil Bevan, is almost fully up to speed on his new ZX10 and has the smile back on his face for 2014, his Powerbike rivals include Chris Pope, Roo Cotton.
The 600cc Open class has Dave Manley, looking to grab his first win of 2014, but with Max Symonds, Corey Lewis, Sean Montgomery, Jamie Harrison, Peter Carr, Paul Jeffery, Dale Thomas and Keenan Armstrong all on the entry list it will be a tough fight for the points.
Kevin Davies heads up the Super Twins entry whilst David Irons on his Panigale will be gunning for the win in the Sounds of Thunder along with rivals Paul Willis, Ben Broadway and Tom Palmer.
There is a treat for sidecar lovers with the Camathias European Classic sidecars and some interesting machinery from the 70's.... and earlier!!!
Sam Wilford, aims to extend his 100% win record in the 500cc and GP45 classes, the 16 year old is in stunning form, this year. Keep an eye on Mark Clayton in the 125's too he is another fast kid with a bright future.
So with all the main classes plus Streetstock action with Simon O'Donnell….. Pre Injections with Mike Hobbs, Adam Jeffery and Phil Hacker….. Mini Twins…. Super Twins and F400's with Daniel Tilley in charge and the National 250GP ACU series, it all stacks up to 8 hours of on-track action each day.......settle back and enjoy..... "The chase for points continues....."
The Circuit.....
This 2.17 mile Cadwell Park Circuit is quick and very demanding with the long flat out sections and high speed sweeping corners allied to the much tighter and more technical woodland sections, that include the infamous Mountain. Cadwell is all about good track knowledge and smooth riding. You will see a lot of high speed overtaking and bravery in the braking areas. An indication of how demanding and technical this track is, is that a good 125cc GP bike is less than 6 seconds slower than a Superbike over a flying lap!
The Fastest.....
Josh Wainwright, set the fastest NG Road Racing lap here at Cadwell in April last year on his Be Wiser ZX10R Kawasaki. He hustled the big ZX10 round in 1min 30.61 seconds....that’s an average speed of almost 86.21mph.
The Phoenix Open.....
This is the premier NG Road Racing series, and is again supported by Phoenix Motorcycles from Trowbridge. All the fastest riders of the meeting battling it out for one of the biggest prize funds in the country. The Open competitors have timed qualifying and longer races to earn their points for the gruelling 20 round championship, ensuring that the very best will end up as champion. Phil Bevan is back and on a new ZX10 Kawasaki to defend his title and Oulton park last time out proved that he is getting a liking for the big ZX10 after fives years on an R1.
The 250 GP ACU National Championship.....
Once more we are promoting the UK's premier Grand Prix based series. These former 250cc world championship spec machines are pure race bikes and are designed with one thing in mind......to race. The main series is backed by The ACU and Dunlop along with 100% Suspension Cup and Watchwood, and the new pre-'92 series.
With three podiums from the first three rounds, former champ Ant Hodson heads the current standings, but proven 2014 race winners Dave Hampton and Darrell Higgins, will be all out to wrest the lead away from Hodson.
One To Watch..... Kevin Davies
Double 2013 championship winner, Kevin Davies is not just trying to defend those titles here on his NP Motorcycles SV650 in the Super Twins and Pre Injection classes but he has taken on the challenge to get back up to speed on the superbikes. For 2014 a new ZX10 in NP colours has been wheeled into the Davies garage, and he is revelling in the extra power available to him. His winter fitness programme will be fully tested this weekend as he has 11 races and a 20 minute qualifying session to contend with.....he will be a busy boy !!!!