Words: Craig Evans Pictures: Stephen Dobson
After the Three Sisters paddock basked in the glorious sunshine at the June meeting, we were lucky enough to once again be blessed with superb weather and the sun beamed down on us all weekend. As the meeting progressed, the scorching weather took its toll on some very tired riders and literally destroyed tyres as the red hot tarmac tore the soft rubber apart, but this did not deter some fantastic racing and lap records were broken as if they were out of fashion.
Jules Embroidery 501-1300 Open
Liam Weston (77) set the pace in the opening race for 501-1300cc machines and put on a sensational performance aboard the CBR in perfect racing conditions. Leading all the way through the race and distancing himself increasingly from the rest of the pack as the race progressed, he took advantage of soft sticky tyres and warm tarmac, and literally propelled himself towards his first-place trophy. Richard Whitton (321) also rode exceptionally well, taking a well deserved 2nd a good distance in front of Jamie Devine (20) in 3rd. A bit of drama at the hairpin held up Devine but he pulled out all the stops to get ahead, although he seemed to have a few bike issues as he glanced down at the engine now and again. Pete Webster (151) tussled with the middle of the pack – with Dominic Herbertson (138) in particular, and Herbertson aboard his dad’s R1 in a last minute change of machine - taking the flag in 5th, whilst Sandy Berwick (158) appeared quicker on the SV, finishing 6th just behind Dr. Pete.
Weston put on another commendable display in the points race, leading in the first 3 or 4 laps. Devine remained hot on his tail, eventually grabbing the lead as the pair exited the pit lane straight. Weston retaliated and eagerly looked for a passing opportunity, but Devine had a plan which worked in his favour and took the chequered flag. A short distance behind, Webster and Dominic Herbertson (138) resumed their earlier battle and Whitton had another lonely but very fast ride. To sum up, the race could only be described as awesome – a brilliantly entertaining, clean, BSB-quality battle.
Earlystocks
The Earlystocks machines roared into life after a long absence from being PDMCC club guests, and a fairly decent amount of machines broke the Wigan silence and thundered around the twists and tight turns. Alec Gilfillan (216) led throughout on the mighty GSX1100 and looked untouchable by the rest of the field. His lead increased marginally by lap 5, and he took what appeared to be an easy win. Cass Beardmore (234) and John Mold (228) had some good little battles all around the circuit, the bigger 750 taking on the nimble 400, the smaller machine a bit more agile and getting eventual 2nd place. David Walker (283) joined the battle in later laps, getting an advantage over Mold and achieving the final podium spot.
Race 2 saw the entire field go cleanly from the line and Gilfillan got the advantage yet again. The mighty Suzuki got a good lead over Cass Beardmore (234) and Russell Knowles (212) & John Mold (228) were quickly on the case. Unfortunately, Beardmore’s RD400 was retired early, giving Gilfillan another easy win.
PDMCC Marshals Club Steel Frame 600
Andrew Lee (6) and James Leatham (21) enjoyed some good battles in the mix of the Steelie trophy race, and Leatham looked hard for opportunities to pass, eventually getting in front on lap 5 as he went around the inside of Lee on entry to the hairpin. Martin Clare (5) had a decent beginning to his season after a long absence from racing. He had a great start off the line, giving Stuart Poulton (46) a good run for his money in the opening lap. Poulton meanwhile had a very good ride, showing skill aboard the CBR and leading for some time, but succumbed to 2nd as Mark Rayment (162) pulled out all the stops to take a very fast, impressive win in a fantastic race.
Rayment, Edward Hosker (31) and Mike Bampton (80) got an early advantage in the points campaign later on in the day, and some extremely quick starts showed that they mean business for the all-important championship points. Just behind, Chris Dickinson (133) and Martin Clare (5) had their own battle with Stuart Poulton (46) closing in lap by lap, marginally ahead of James Leatham (21). Clare pulled ahead of Dickinson in the closing laps, and finished with a well-deserved result of 4th.
Single Cylinder
Kieran Smith (96) showed he has what it takes to be a great racer as he displayed immense focus and took a well deserved 2nd place in the Singles class. Smith had a brilliant battle against a mighty Yamaha single, and looked for passing opportunities all over and both Smith and Paul Birch (118) aboard the Yamaha – passed Chris Chrimes (48) either side as they approached the pit lane corner. Smith immediately took the advantage and pulled away, and finished with a much-deserved 2nd behind Scott Dootson (38) who was literally flying on the Honda 125. It was definitely a fantastic and fearless ride by Smith throughout the race. Meanwhile, Philip Holmes (141) led the Forgotten Eras to the finish line and was exceptionally pleased with his 1st place trophy, and was closely followed to the flag by Ian Draper (186) aboard the immaculate Yamaha.
An unfortunate retirement on the warm-up for the points race by Dootson gave Kieran Smith the chance to shine yet again. That he did, and he focused himself, riding the wheels off the Aprilia and leading the entire field by the end of the race, winning his class in a determined effort. Paul Birch (118) was on Smith’s case throughout but the young Scunthorpe rider was on form. Philip Holmes (141) once again took care of the Forgotten Era boys, taking the chequered flag just ahead of Mark Podmore (91).
4Techmoto F600
Liam Weston unleashed another top performance as he led away the F600 machines in spectacular fashion, getting another win and a trophy to add to the collection. After some red-flag drama, the riders were eager to go again and Ben Charnock (86), Rob Livesey (140) and Barry Dimelow (158) were three-abreast as they manoeuvred through Dunlop corner on the opening lap. Livesey started off very quick, but Charnock pushed really hard and some immense rider skill bagged him a well deserved 2nd. Barry Dimelow (158) – although looking for some brilliant results like last round – got a well earned 4th place behind the seemingly-fearless Sunni Wilson (26).
As the points race was led out, all eyes were yet again on the number 77 machine of Liam Weston as he put on another quick lesson in racing. Ben Charnock (86) also performed another textbook ride, and Sunni Wilson (26) pushed hard in 3rd, waiting to pounce on Charnock’s CBR should he be given the opportunity. This was not to be this time as Charnock stood his ground, but Wilson got the final podium spot as another fantastic F600 race drew to a close.
Up to 500cc (Points Race)
Although entries in this particular class were disappointingly low, the final race of the day in sweltering conditions was to be an epic display of determination from two lads on Aprilia RRVs who were battling to be top dog. Youngsters Sam Edwards (99) and Alex Baker (122) showed their skill and also that their hard work in previous rounds had paid off as the edge-of-your-seat battle commenced. The two riders took totally different lines as they each tried to pull away, but with equally-matched machines it was purely down to rider ability. Edwards appeared well suited to the 450, and he was rapidly catching Baker on the faster parts of the circuit as he literally flew round, but Baker was clever with passing manoeuvres and chose his moments carefully. Earlier, Edwards had broken the race record in the 350-750 class with a commendable 56.731 seconds, only to again take the race record this time out, with an identical time! A superb run for the Nelson teen, applauded for his efforts in his best PDMCC outing yet.