Go Racing Developments (Andy Carpenter/Greg Allsop) kept their nerve to win round two of the ACU/sorrymate.com National Endurance championship, beating a determined Team Traction Control (Steve Mercer/Ben Neeves) by just 42 seconds at the end of a dramatic three-hour race.
The victory takes Go Racing Development to the top of the championship table. Carpenter was lucky to escape unhurt in a spill in a Mallory Park practice day three days before the Welsh meeting. The bike needed repairing, though. Boosted by the efforts of Greg Allsop the team qualified second fastest.
With better luck Team Traction Control (Steve Mercer/Ben Neeves) might have finished first, instead of second.
The team were leading by a lap and half laps after 40 minutes, but then Neeves crashed out and could not re-start the bike. He ran back with transponder to enable Mercer to get back out. Neeves’ machine was recovered and the team repaired the damage while Mercer blasted round.
Despite their brave efforts Team Traction Control ended 44.8 seconds down on the winners, both clocking up 144 laps. Third overall were the Clubman Endurance 1000 team of TANC 2 Racing (Grant Berry/Chris Mason), a lap down on the first two.
The result lifted them to the top of their class, four points ahead of Anglia Interiors/Igsignia Signs(Arron Bird/James Loveday), winners of the first round, who were third home in the class, eight seconds behind Fire It Racing (Goddard/ Griffiths). Fourth, fifth and sixth home were a trio of National 600s, all covered by a mere eight seconds!
They were headed home by Team Sorrymate.com (Colin Norris/Warren Herwey), followed by early race leaders Triumph Over Adversity (Richard and William White) and Power Projects Racing (Richard Cunningham/Dan Helyer). With championship leaders Pit Stop Racing absent, because Marc Dilks was in New Zealand, Team Sorrymate.com top their class on 41 points, five more than Power Projects.
Best of the Clubman 600s was TDM Racing (Michael and Terry Merritt), taking them to the top of their championship. Julian Hughes (Suzuki), Graham Hornby (Honda), Angelo Derosa (Kawasaki) and Chris Lacy (Kawasaki) all grabbed victories in the Motogrande 1000 class.
It was an eventful meeting for Hughes. He won his first race, crossed the line second in race two only to be given a ten-second penalty, pushing him back to seventh place. On the Sunday Hughes was second home in race three and then, in the fourth and final race he was knocked off when lying third.
Derosa was only able to race on the Sunday, but still left the meeting top of the point’s table with 88 points, two more than Hornby. There were three different winners in the four Motogrande 600 races. Paul O’Connor (Triumph) won the first two, Stephen Bridle (Suzuki) the third and Brendan Brown (Yamaha) the fourth. Bridle now leads the championship with 99 points, 18 clear of O’Connor. Brown is third on 67.
Angelo Derosa made his single day race meeting pay off, with two wins in the Motosolo class, to move into the championship lead. With four races run he has 86 points, 34 ahead of Kevin Sweeney, who followed him home both times out.
Tony Keilty (Kawasaki) won all four Michelin Power Cup 1000 races to take his tally of points to 111 points and open up a 48 point lead over his closest rival, Darren Blackwell (Kawasaki).
William White (Triumph 675) carried on where he had left off at Oulton Park in the Michelin Power Cup 600. Not only did he win all his four races to continue his unbeaten run of six events, he was first over the line, beating all the big bikes His victories took him to 125 points, 19 more than Richard Charlton (Yamaha). Wayne Humble (Yamaha) is third, on 84.
Stuart Bayliss (Aprilia) set the fastest lap in qualifying in the Support classes, one tenth of second faster than Joe Connolly, before crashing out, uninjured. Bayliss missed race one because of mechanical problems, allowing Owen Richardson to win, beating Craig Robertson by almost ten seconds. Bayliss had no problems though, in the next two races, taking his points’ tally to 86, the same as Richardson to top the Superbikes table.
Joe Connolly (Aprilia) was on his own in the Maxitwins class, so it should have been a straightforward maximum weekend for him. Connolly took an early lead in race one, but then crashed out on lap five, bringing out the red flag. In the five-lap re-run Bob Barker (Suzuki) grabbed his first-ever overall race victory.
Bayliss won race two, beating a very sore Connelly, with Barton third.
Eagling and Sands squabbled for fourth place, with Eagling again getting the verdict by less than half a second. The final race followed the same pattern, but with Connolly finishing just three tenths of a second behind Bayliss. Barton was third, slightly further back.
Robert Eagling now tops the Modern Classic Megabike class.
Stu Bayliss and Owen Richardson share the lead in the Modern Classic Superbike class.
Bob Barton heads the Modern Classic Supersport series.
Joe Connolly has a 60 lead over Robert Tomkinson in the Maxitwins class and Laurie Sands tops the Formula 400 series.
Just six points cover the top three in Class A of the Ducati Due series after the second round.
Andy Pike tops the standings on 86, one more than James Gerrard, who led after the opening round at Oulton Park and six in front of David Wood Jr.
Three more wins maintained Thomas Hallifax’s unbeaten run for the season to five, giving him a commanding 47-point lead over his closest rival, Dave Jenkins.