Rookie Carl Simpson (BMW 1000), the 26-year-old from Stockton-on-Tees, regained the lead in the ACU Clubmans’ championship with four impressive, high-scoring rides at Donington Park, but only 15 points now cover the top three. Simpson, who made his road racing debut at Easter, notched up a fourth, a second, a win and a fifth in his four rides. That took his tally for the season to 205, eight more than Lee Wilson (Suzuki 1000), who was the leader coming into this meeting.
Wilson, the 30-year-old from near Barnsley, won the first combined ACU Clubmans’ and Derby Phoenix 751-1300cc Four Stroke championship race. He was chased all the way by Kev Sweeney (Suzuki 1000), the 44-year-old policeman from Warrington. Sweeney cruised home just over 15 seconds behind Wilson, with Manx visitor Dan Kneen (Suzuki 1000), third, two seconds further back.
Simpson was fourth, a quarter of a second in front of Jamie Harrison (Honda 1000) with Dave Irons (Ducati 1198) hard on their heels. Simpson led the second race from the off, but Kneen and Harrison both passed him on the last lap. Kneen crossed the line first, but a ten-second penalty for a start-line infringement pushed back into third place, gifting victory to Harrison, who again set the fastest lap. Simpson was second home and Wilson third.
Simpson romped home a clear winner in Sunday’s first race, run in damp conditions, just over nine seconds ahead of Kneen, who again crossed the line first, but was once more given a ten second penalty, this time for a jump start. Local racer, Carl Morris (Yamaha 1000) was third. Louis Turner-Laurent (Kawasaki 1000) won the final ten-lap race, beating Harrison by just under two seconds. Kneen, celebrating his 26th birthday three days early, was third home.
Simpson had a coming together with Morris early in the race, which put him at the back of the pack and Morris out of the race. Simpson climbed to fifth, with Wilson, who started down in 11th place, sixth. Will Leaning, the 20-year-old from Scunthorpe, had a meeting he will not forget in a hurry. His Wedgewood Morgan Kawasaki 650 broke down in both Minitwins races on the Saturday.
His dad, Mark Leaning, then stepped in with the loan of his Wedgewood Morgan Kawasaki 400 for Sunday’s F400 races. Will won the first, but then crashed out of the second when leading. Four starts, three dnfs and one win. Veteran Dan Williams (Honda 250) won the other three F400 races to go to the top of the points’ table. Wayne Gunn (Kawasaki 400) slipped from first to third in the standings as the 22-year-old from Brough, Yorkshire struggled to race with an injured shoulder picked up earlier in the week trying to push a caravan up a hill!
To add to Gunn’s misery his friend, Callum Ward (Suzuki 250), who lives just five doors away from in his village, climbed to second in points’ table, ten points behind Williams, after taking two third, a fourth and a fifth.
Robert Mack (Kawasaki 650) still tops the Minitwins, but his lead over Steven Tweddle (Suzuki 650) has been cut by one point, from 39 to 38. Scott Parnell switched from passenger to driver at the start of this season after a 25-year career in the chair. Now the 44-year-old from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, with Mark Wilkes as passenger in their Suzuki 600 outfit, is fighting for the Derby Phoenix F2 title.
Going into this meeting he held a 21 point in the championship, but after a tough third round he slipped down to second in the points table, ten behind Brian Aflatt/Heath Lane (Suzuki 600) While Alflatt romped home to three seconds and a sixth in his four races, while Parnell was plagued with a variety of mechanical problems, a sidecar tyre puncture and a severe lack of visibility in one rainy race. He took two sevenths, an eighth and a fourth. No-one could get near Mark Saunders/Kevin Jones (Suzuki 600) who won all four outings.
Ash Doughtrey (Fifth Avenue Limousines Yamaha) came close to a clean sweep of victories in the Pre-Injection class, but for an off-track excursion in the second of four races. The 40-year-old from Rotherham was leading when he went into Coppice too hot. He took to the gravel, allowing three rivals to go past and beat him to the flag. Karl Foster (Yamaha), claimed a win, two seconds and a third, to climb to second in the standings, overtaking Brett Daughtrey (Yamaha). Foster trails by 43 points.
Novice Ian Bamber (Yamaha) was impress in his sixth ever race meeting. The 29-year-old from Preston took two thirds, a fourth and a fifth in very tricky conditions.
Jon Dunn (Honda), the 48-year-old from Rochdale, stretched his lead in the Steel Frame class to 124 over his closest rival, Clive Mindham (Honda) thanks to racing up 81 points from his four rides. Dunn grabbed two wins and a second and his worst result was fifth in Sunday’s race, when the rain made him cautious.