Wednesday June 26, 2013 at 3:16pm
MRO Minitwins
Simon Schug took over the series lead in the MRO Minitwin championship this weekend, with his double win on Sunday giving him the advantage over Luke Harris in the title chase.
After the previous round at Donington Park, where the class supported the World Superbike meeting, Harris arrived at the Snetterton 300 circuit for the fifth round with a slender two-point advantage over Schug.
However, with tricky conditions prevalent all weekend, it was Harris who blinked first and unfortunately disappeared from proceedings on the last lap of race one while running inside the top 10.
On a drying track, it was Matt Hinnells who mastered the conditions and took his first win in the series, after he made his way through the leading pack to take the lead on the penultimate lap.
Joe Buxton took a well-earned second, just over half a second back from Hinnells, with third going to an impressive Grant Robertson, who was also the leading junior rider across the line.
Schug finished fifth behind Adam Cross, taking 11 points and a nine-point series lead.
The changing conditions continued for race two, and after coming close in race one, it was Buxton who took the win, his first of the season, ahead of Cross on his G.C Haulage Suzuki SFV650, who was also the lead junior rider.
A further nine seconds back and Robertson lead a six rider scrap for the remaining podium position, but just held off the challenge of Barry Mantell, who was lead rookie in fourth.
Schug was ninth and Cross 12th, who came through the field from the back of the grid to score points.
On Sunday Schug took a brace of wins to extend his new championship lead, with Harris taking a fifth and a third from the two outings.
Schug’s first win of the weekend was secured in dominant fashion, crossing the line a full 10 seconds ahead of second placed Hinnells, who took his second podium of the weekend, after a close battle with third placed Joe Buxton.
Robertson was leading junior in fourth with Mantell leading rookie in eighth.
In the final race of the weekend, Cross took second behind Schug, with Harris third, the pair first and second in the junior classification. Paul Wilby took the win in the rookie class in seventh on his Nutsmoto Suzuki.
EDIasia Formula 400 Welsh Extends Series Lead
Richie Welsh extended his slender series lead in the fourth round of the EDIasia Formula 400 championship, taking two wins over the weekend on his Peter Flemming sponsored Yamaha FZR400 machine.
In terrible conditions for race one, Welsh splashed around in a safe sixth place, taking 10 points and outscoring his title rival Colin Martin, who failed to finish the opening encounter.
At the front, Chris Camps won in dominant fashion on thesportsinjuryclinic.org sponsored Kawasaki, his first win since the opening race of the season at Brands Hatch.
23 seconds later a thrilling battle for the other podium positions ended with Alan Watson second and James Caswell-Cox third, just four thousandths of a second between them at the flag. Caswell-Cox was also the winner of the Sub 64bhp class.
In race two Welsh took his first win of the weekend with Camps second and Francesco Cavalli, who impressed at Pembrey earlier in the year, third. Martin, on his David Simon Tuning Kawasaki, came through the field to finish fourth. Reigning Yamaha Past Masters champion Graham Higlett finished sixth and was the leading Sub 64bhp rider.
On Sunday, Welsh took his second win the first race, edging out Camps at the line by just five hundredths of a second, after a four-way dice for the lead. Cavalli again finished third, just a second behind the leader, with Martin again fourth. Gary Smith was lead Sub 64bhp rider in seventh.
The final race saw Camps take his second win of the weekend, with Martin second and Daniel Ruth third and leading Sub 64bhp runner in a spread out field.
Welsh struggled to a 17th placed finish and outside of the points, but his haul of 60 for the weekend to Martin’s 46 meant he extended his championship lead to 20 points.
Rapid Solicitors National Junior Cup Grigor and Hill Share Spoils
Callum Grigor and Stefan Hill shared the spoils at Snetterton, with both youngsters taking two wins apiece on their Kawasaki Ninja 300 machines.
The first race of the weekend manifested itself into a clear two horse race, with Hill and Grigor disappearing at the front, and come the chequered flag, on a tenth of a second separated the pair of them. Thomas Lodge was a further 15 seconds back in third.
Hill looked set to take his second win of the weekend in race two after leading for the majority, but a small mistake saw him drop out of contention on the penultimate lap, allowing Grigor to take the win from Alexander and Lodge.
On Sunday Hill and Grigor found themselves dicing for the lead again, this time with Hill managing to fend off the challenge of the series lead and take the win by six tenths of a second, with Mark Piper taking an impressive third place.
In the final race, it was again Hill and Grigor at the sharp end, but Alexander and Lodge joined them in fighting for the win. Hill took an early lead before Grigor seized the advantage in the closing stages. Hill unfortunately again ended his own race early on the penultimate lap, with Grigor winning from Alexander and Lodge.
Morello Services MRO Powerbikes Coventry Closes Gap To Baker
In the Morello Services MRO Powerbike championship Sam Coventry closed in on Peter Baker for the series lead, taking two wins and two second placed finishes to Bakers two wins, second and sixth.
Coventry took his first win in race one with Baker second across the line. Alan Wood was third on his alanwoodracing.co.uk sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000, and also leading Clubman.
Baker took his first win of the weekend in race two as the weekend continued to throw up changeable conditions, with Coventry second by just seven hundredths of a second on his Futuremoto BMW S1000RR and James Cox third. Jason Byard was sixth and leading Clubman.
On Sunday, reigning champion Michael Neeves’ already difficult season took a turn for the worse, after he highsided himself out of contention early on in race one, breaking his thumb.
Baker took his second win of the weekend with Coventry again second and Jon Waghorn third. Daryl Dance was the leading Clubman in fifth.
In the final outing Coventry took his second win of the weekend ahead of James White and former EDI Asia Formula 400 champion Steve Murphy. Baker finished sixth.
In the rookie classifications, Adrian Averre took two wins with Stuart Young and Ben Neagu taking the other.
In a rerun race from the snowed off round earlier in the year, Adrian Averre took the win from Stuart Young and Colin Clune.
Team Respro MRO 600 Four Winners From Four Races
In the Team Respro sponsored MRO 600s, four different riders stood on the top step of the podium, with Ashley Buxton retaining his series lead.
Buxton took the win in race one on his Yamaha R6, just ahead of Mason Law and Jordan Simpkin, before the order reshuffled for the second race, with Simpkin on the top step on his Go Racing Yamaha, ahead of Law and Buxton.
On Sunday, Law took the victory 12 seconds ahead of Matthew Paulo and Daniel Fuller, with Ali Black taking the win the final race ahead of Aaron Clarke and Buxton.
Buxton was also lead Clubman in both Saturday’s races, with Ian Newby and Ali Black taking a Clubman win apiece on Sunday.
In the rookie 600s, James Puttrell took all four wins further extending his series lead and impressing the watching crowd. In a rerun race from the snowed off round earlier in the year, Dean Chapman took the win with Puttrell second and Joe Goggins third.
RKB / BMCRC F1 & F2 Sidecars Three Firsts for Brown & Anderson
Tony Brown and Ryan Anderson took three wins and a third in the fourth round of the RKB sponsored F1 sidecars.
Brown and Anderson took the opening win on their LCR Honda ahead of James Sirrell and Steve Wareham and Mick Bleackley and Colin Two. Their second win came ahead of Ben Bygrave and Ryan Briggs with Simon Gilbert and Jed Pilmoor-Brady third.
On Sunday, Brown and Anderson took the win in the opening race ahead of Gilbert and Pilmoor-Brady and Sirrell and Wareham, but it was Gilbert and Pilmoor-Brady who took the win in the final race, ahead of Bygrave and Briggs, with Brown and Anderson third.
However, with Gilbert a rider in the British championship, he was exempt from scoring championship points.
In the F2 class, Wayne Lockey and Luke Capewell and Dean Nicholls and Ashley Moore shared the spoils with two wins apiece.
DFDS Seaways Yamaha Past Masters Edmondson Doubles Up
After the heavy snow at the opening round of the season, the DFDS Seaways Yamaha Past Masters, were making an unscheduled appearance this weekend, rerunning all four races from the abandoned meeting in March.
Despite it being the middle of June, conditions were not a whole lot better, with heavy rain throwing up some interesting battles at the front of the field.
Doug Edmondson scored his second win of the season in race one, bettering his Wave Racing teammate Richard Sawyer by just over a second. Series leader Dean Stimpson rode to a safe third, 11 seconds back of the leader.
As conditions dried for race two, Stimpson surged into an early lead on his Newvic Property Services Yamaha TZR250, crossing the line six seconds ahead of reigning champion Graham Higlett, with Edmondson again on the podium in third.
As conditions worsened on Sunday, Edmondson took his second win of the weekend in race one, helped by the fact that Richard Sawyer crashed on the warm up lap at Oggies.
Stimpson rode to a solid second place while the most impressive ride of the race went to Len Whalin, who came through the field to take a well-deserved third place, fending off the likes of Ben Miles and impressive rookie and wet-specialist Matt Barber.
Torrential rain again made the final race of the weekend a tricky affair, with rookie Matt Barber taking an early lead. But he was unable to hang on to it as Richard Sawyer came through the field from the back of the grid to take the lead and his first win in the class.
Barber held on for an equally impressive second place, with Edmondson on the podium again in third.
BMCRC Thunderbike & Thunderbike Extreme Couzens and Jordan Class Above
Reigning MRO Minitwin champion Dan Couzens and Steve Jordan were in a class of two in the fourth round of the series, with the pair finishing first and second respectively in three of the four races.
Couzens bested Jordan in both of Saturday’s races, with Dan Wright and Denzil Davies taking a third each, all four riders in the Extreme class. Martin Cooper did the double in the Thunderbike class.
In Sunday’s opener, Dan Wright took a fantastic win, after Jordan highsided himself out of contention early on and Couzens also failed to make the finish after coming through the field.
Davies was second ahead of Adam Nelson, who was also the leading Thunderbike rider behind the two Extreme runners.
Usual service was resumed in race two, with Couzens winnig from Jordan, with Davies third. David May was the lead Thunderbike runner in fifth.
BMZRC Freshdrop 250 MZs Taylor Continues Title Challenge
Three wins and a third for Mark Taylor meant he continued his challenge for the BMZRC 250 championship, coming off the back of his double at Oulton Park.
Taylor took the win in race one ahead of Peter Woodall and Chris Rogers, and took his third position in race two, with Darren West atop the podium with Rogers second.
Taylor’s double on Sunday saw him adopt the series lead, with both of his wins coming ahead of Rogers with West third.
Even Rogers win in a held over race from the snowed off meeting earlier in the year couldn’t help him retain the championship lead, with Taylor second and Woodall third.