Words: Craig Evans Pictures: Stephen Dobson A welcome change was in store for all at Preston and District Motorcycle Club this weekend, and certainly for the better. The weather was thankfully the opposite of what ruined the later stages of the May meeting, and all were eager to get going and make the most of a hot sunny day and the perfect track conditions that were presented. A rush of late entries from riders returning from the Isle of Man TT and spotting the weather forecast gave some extra volume to the paddock and livened up a rather empty programme of competitors, guaranteeing some excellent racing.
Bikepics.smugmug.com Newcomers
Welsh rider Barry Dimelow (158) took charge of the first newcomer’s race as he led the pack around a warm dry track, encouraging the following 14 machines to push hard in the first race of the day. The Abergele R6 pilot established a huge lead from the outset and showed his determination as he increased the lead lap by lap and took the win easily. A huge moment as he wound the power on leaving the mountain could have proved costly however, as the Yamaha bucked and unseated Dimelow, but he shut off and saved a potential highside on the 4th lap. Further back, Simon Nell (19) – son of Classics rider Jonathan – brought it home in a steady 7th place as he returned to racing and settled back into form after a long break, and Euxton’s Simon Nolan (973) came across the line 10th in his first ever race. Gary Kay (93) had a decent start but an unfortunate moment at the hairpin in lap 1 saw him lowside after vac pipe problems which began in practice caused issues with the power of his Honda twin. The afternoon points race saw all 16 machines safely home, and this time Paul Wood (85) took a well deserved victory thanks to some very quick lap times. Barry Dimelow (158) got quicker as the race went on and tried to catch Wood but the race was over before he could get a decent opportunity and so had to settle for 2nd. Bolton’s Geoff Morris (4) was clearly more comfortable later in the day as he picked up the pace and increased his best times, the same being said for Tom Jones (93) aboard the Aprilia RS125. Gary Kay (93) nearly became part of a bit of drama on the second lap as he overshot the hairpin and almost collided with the eventual leaders, but he got going again and brought the CB500 home in eventual 14th place.
Jules Embroidery 501-1300cc Open
A usual full grid of machines lined up for the ‘premier’ class and old scores were to be settled by a couple of regular 600cc champions. Jay Dunn (511) made a welcome return to Three Sisters as he blew the cobwebs from his R6 and relished a break from his regular duties in the Ducati 848 Challenge. Although Jamie Devine (20) was to be the nemesis of the Romiley rider, Dunn is a natural 600 pilot and he knows and loves his Yamaha. Dunn started the race from pole, whilst the Kawasaki ridden by Devine began the race further back in fifth, but the Devine Motorsport rider had an instant advantage thanks to his new tyres and immediately took charge of the proceedings. Rocketing to a huge lead – almost a third of a lap at one point – Devine impressed further by setting a new race record of 55.441 seconds in the second lap as his new tyres glued the Kawasaki firmly to wherever he wanted it, and he powered through the laps as if it was on rails. Meanwhile, Dunn gave it his all but crossed the line 2nd, just over 10 seconds behind Devine. Richard Murray (105) and Liam Weston (77) had their own battle for the remaining podium, with Murray eventually grabbing it with 2 seconds to spare, and John Goode (98) made up the rear end of the grid as he tested out the new 400 framed/600 engined ‘oddball’ machine. A similar situation was to be in the points race, with Devine again taking the flag this time 8 seconds over Dunn, but considering that the Romiley R6 guru hasn’t raced at this circuit for a number of years together with some recent bad luck with his Ducati, he did well to achieve a brilliant result of 2nd. Meanwhile, Liam Weston (77) put in some excellent lap times and almost caught Dunn on a few occasions partly due to the absence of Richard Murray, and he took a well deserved 3rd place along with the all-important championship points.
Primecare Training Classics
Reigning classics king Tony Benson (67) was ready to defend his title this time as his old rival Jonathan Nell (167) made his first appearance of the season. As predicted, an excellent battle was had between the two and Nell was obviously giving Benson a run for his money as the Hondas roared around the circuit, although the North Allerton rider lost a little time as he ran wider than usual making his way around the hairpin on lap 4. Earlier, a big crash at the bottom of the mountain almost caused the race to be stopped as Sue Stelfox (81) slid from the Norton, bringing the Cotton Telstar of Michael Armstrong (198) down with her. Thankfully both were ok, and Benson led Nell over the line by almost a second, with Darren Whittaker (25) limped the Honda home in a remarkably lucky 3rd place as his engine expired. After the race Jonathan Nell commented on his performance, stating that he is able to catch Benson on the straights, but Three Sisters is extremely twisty and can be frustrating particularly when trying to overtake a rider ‘better’ with corners – “if I can get round him on a corner I’ll beat him – I’ll do it one day” he laughed.
PDMCC Marshals Club Steel Frame 600 & 4Techmoto Formula 600
A healthy number of machines filled the grid for this split championship race as some of the finest riders the club has to offer lined up to test their machines and riding skill to the limit. Although the result of the first three finishers in the Formula 600 was as predicted, some fantastic battles took place as the race progressed. Jamie Devine (20) set the pace once again and took the win, his best lap time 56.1 seconds – slightly slower than his earlier race record in the Open class. Jay Dunn (511) increased his pace and was clearly more comfortable after getting more laps under his belt, crossing the line a little over 7 seconds behind Devine. Sunni Wilson (26) gave a remarkable performance aboard the R6 as he cornered with his elbows almost skimming the tarmac whilst he chased down Dunn, but he had a massive moment exiting Dunlop corner as he was unseated as the machine gripped, and narrowly avoided a huge highside. Barry Dimelow (158) showed some vast improvement as he chased down the frontrunners and took 4th place. The Steel Frame class was dominated by a battle between Edward Hosker (31) and David Atkinson (104), and local CBR rider Stuart Poulton (46) took the final podium. The points race later in the day was red flagged after Barry Dimelow tried to get into an early lead but suffered a highside as he approached the hairpin. On the re-run, Devine went quickly to the front once more but it was clear that Jay Dunn had his old shine back as he chased Devine all the way around, completing just 3 seconds behind. Wilson again bagged 3rd, however not without a couple of moments as he got used to the R6. Sean Martin (101) had a disappointing race after he overshot the hairpin on the 3rd lap and although he rejoined and battled with backmarkers throughout the remaining few laps, he was way down in the order and finished last in his class. Bolton S/F CBR rider Lorna Winstanley lost out on some points after a first-lap retirement thanks to an intermittent ignition fault which caused the Honda to misfire.
Pre Injection
Lining up at the hottest part of the day were the older pre-injection machines, and stiff competition was in order thanks to perfect racing conditions. This was the first Pre Injection race of the season as the class was a victim of the early abandonment of round 1, and so points were up for grabs for both races. Clitheroe’s Edward Hosker (31) was eager to establish his usual strong presence, and set a very fast pace within a good clean race. Displaying the power from his CBR by lifting the front on the short Rodgerson’s straight, Hosker literally flew round the circuit and eventually lapped the backmarkers and took the flag although David Atkinson (104) was in hot pursuit and only half a second behind. Richard Whitton(321) took the final trophy as he was clearly on the pace in a well deserved 3rd place, but getting marginally quicker was Stuart Poulton (46) who had a good steady race and rounded off the top 4. The race of the day was definitely the second Pre Injection outing, with another breathtaking battle between Hosker and Atkinson. A fantastic clean race, Atkinson gained an early advantage and immediately took to the front of the field. Edward ‘Steady Eddie’ Hosker was literally on the back wheel of Atkinson’s machine throughout, and pulled out all the stops to overtake the Buckley rider. Midway, backmarker Simon Nolan (973) ran wide at the hairpin and unintentionally held up the battling frontrunners, causing Hosker to lose a bit of time but this only made him go faster and push harder on the warm tarmac. Hosker eventually grabbed the lead on the mountain – a common spot to win and lose races – on the final lap, and cheers could be heard from the spectator banking as the blue CBR was propelled to victory. Richard Whitton (321) grabbed another (lonely) 3rd, whilst Stuart Poulton again rounded off the top of the results sheet with a big gap, and Manx GP rider Mick Hampson (157) brought it home in a steady 8th position.