The seventh round of the British Motorcycle Racing Club championship took place on the prestigious Brands Hatch GP circuit. The start of the meeting was sadly marred with the death of Karl-Heinz Kalbfell following an accident at Druids.
Karl-Heinz was competing in the Lansdowne Classic Series, guesting with Bemsee for the weekend and was a well-known and highly respected figure in the automotive industry, having served as CEO of Maserati and as an Executive Director of BMW, where he headed the Motorsport 'M' performance division.
Everyone at the British Motorcycle Racing Club wishes to pass on their condolences to the friends and family of Karl-Heinz.
MRO Minitwins
MRO Minitwin series leader Simon Schug pulled out an advantage over his nearest championship rivals on the Brands Hatch GP circuit, taking four wins from four, while his nearest challenger, Luke Harris, could only notch one podium finish.
Schug set pole position, nearly a second ahead of his nearest challenger, and went on to take the victory in race one by nearly six seconds, leaving Joe Buxton and Adam Cross to fight it out for second. Buxton eventually took the position, with just two tenths of a second separating them at the line after a race long battle.
With the second race shortened to three laps following a red flag, it was another comfortable affair for the MAK Fencing sponsored rider, as Schug took the win by just over four seconds.
Behind him it was a three way fight for the remaining two podium positions involving Buxton, Grant Robertson and Cross. It eventually went the way of Robertson with Cross third, as Buxton dropped out of contention on lap four when the race was stopped.
Luke Harris, who holds second position in the championship on his K.H Brickwork Suzuki, took his only podium finish in Sunday's opener, taking third position after being beaten to second by an in-form Robertson, while Schug took the win by three and a half seconds.
And Schug made it four wins from four in the final race of the weekend, but this time the margin of victory just over a second, as Buxton took second place ahead of Robertson. Cross took fourth and Harris sixth, with Roger Marsh separating the pair in the results.
It also meant that Cross bettered Harris's result in three of the four races, reducing the gap in the championship standings to just 19 points with eight races remaining.
BMCRC Rookie 600s
James Puttrell all but etched his name into the 2013 Rookie 600 championship trophy at Brands Hatch, taking three wins and a third, as well as another win in a race held over from Snetterton at the start of the year.
The youngster on the Bike Stop Yamaha R6 extended his series lead to 187 points with just 200 left to play for in the remaining two rounds.
Chris Beck and Simon Tucker took second and third respectively in both of Saturday's races, before Olly Savage took victory in Sunday's opener.
Joe Muncey, who slotted into second in the championship after Donington, took his only podium finish of the weekend with a second place, with Puttrell third.
However, Puttrell took another two wins in the afternoon, taking his tally for the season to 15 and putting him on course for the 2013 Rookie 600 crown.
Beck and Dean Chapman secured second and third in the final race on the Brands Hatch programme, while Beck and Tucker stood on the rostrum in the Snetterton re-run.
Team Respro MRO 600s
In the Team Respro sponsored MRO 600s series leader Ashley Buxton extend his advantage ahead of the final two rounds of the season, taking a second, third, and two wins on his Yamaha R6.
After qualifying on pole, James Lodge took the win in race one on his Earnshaws sponsored Kawasaki, just over a second ahead of Buxton with Dave Heal third. Behind him, the remaining top 10 were split by less than four seconds, as second in the championship, Martin Turner, led the dice for fourth.
Lodge took the win in race two, this time by nearly 10 seconds, with second going the way of Dan Helyer on his Littlewood Fencing Triumph. Buxton took third, less than half a second ahead of Turner.
Buxton returned to winning ways on Sunday, taking both wins from the two races, bettering Heal on both occasions, and taking his tally to six for the season with two rounds remaining. Ali Black and Chris Black took a third placed finish apiece.
Buxton also took all four wins in the Clubman 600 class, further extending his advantage over Greg Wright.
EDIasia Formula 400s
Champion elect Richie Welsh recovered from an uncharacteristically slow start in race one to further extend his championship lead and put one hand on the 2013 trophy.
Welsh qualified on pole for the weekend's races, but could only muster ninth in the opening race in tricky conditions on the full GP circuit. Daniel Anderson took the win with Welsh's now nearest title challenger, Chris Camps, second on the thesportsinjuryclinic.org Kawasaki. James Caswell-Cox took the remaining podium spot.
Welsh returned to winning ways in the second race however, but it was a close run thing with the podium finishes crossing the line just over half a second apart.
Francesco Cavalli showed more of the form he displayed at Pembrey earlier in the season to take a hard fought third place on the Motoeng.com Honda, but it was former BMZRC 250MZ champion Andy Saunders who took an impressive second place, just four hundredths of a second back from Welsh. Camps took fourth.
Saunders impressed further in the third race of the weekend, going one better and securing the race win, with Welsh in second and Cavalli third. Welsh's title hopes were further buoyed with Camps failing to finish in the points, only mustering a 19th placed finish.
Life got better for Welsh in the final race of the weekend, taking the win ahead of Daniel Ruth, with Cavalli again third, while Camps again failed to score points.
Welsh boasts a 133 point lead over Camps with 200 available from the remaining two rounds at Cadwell Park and the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
BMCRC Thunderbikes and BMCRC Thunderbike Extreme
Just three riders stood on the podium in the BMCRC Thunderbike Extreme class over the course of the Brands Hatch GP weekend, which saw things tighten up at the top of the championship.
Dan Couzens took both wins on Saturday with Dave Shelvey second on both occasions and series leader Steve Jordan third, two results which saw Couzens take 18 points out of Jordan's 40 point advantage over him.
Couzens took another five points out of Jordan in race three, taking the win to Jordan's second, with Shelvey third, before Jordan clawed back nine points in the final race, taking the win to Shelvey's second and Couzens's third.
In a race held over from the cancelled round at Snetterton earlier in the year, Shelvey took the win ahead of Denzil Davies, his only podium finish of the weekend, and Adam Nelson.
Jordan still holds a 26 point advantage in the fight for the championship, but Couzens now holds second ahead of Davies.
In the Bumpstop Thunderbike class, Adam Nelson and Martin Cooper took two wins apiece. Cooper fended off David May and Adam Cross in race one, before Nelson pipped Cooper and May in race two.
Nelson again bettered Cooper in race three with Steve Parrott third, before Cooper pipped Nelson and Cross in race four. Nelson however, took the win in the Snetterton rerun.
DFDS Seaways Yamaha Past Masters
Dean Stimpson showed his class on the full Brands Hatch GP circuit, taking all four wins and extending his series lead. The reigning MZ champion holds a 147 point advantage with 200 to play for.
Stimpson took the win in race one ahead of Ben Miles and rookie Peter Moore, before bettering Doug Edmondson, one of only four other race winners this season, and Moore in race two.
On Sunday, it was a repeat of the race one podium, with Miles second and Moore third, but Moore was denied the top rookie honours in the final race after his Yamaha TZR250 seized on the fast GP section of the track. Miles took second and rookie Matt Barber third.
Freshdrop BMZRC 250MZs
Chris Rogers took three wins from four races in a bid to close down series leader Mark Taylor, but a DNF in race two cost him valuable points.
Rogers took the win in race one ahead of Taylor with Darren West third, but the DNF in race two saw Taylor take the win ahead of Peter Woodall and West.
Rogers stood on the top step of the podium in both of Sunday's outings, ahead of Woodall and Taylor in the opener, before their positions were reversed in the final race of the weekend.
Taylor now takes a 29 point advantage into the final round at Cadwell Park.
Morello Services MRO Powerbikes
Sam Coventry kept the Morello Services MRO Powerbike championship hunt alive, taking four wins and 100 points, compared to series leader Peter Baker's 72 point haul, and reducing the gap the top of the championship to 26 points.
Baker and Jonathan Lodge stood on the podium in race one, before the positions were reversed in race two.
On Sunday, Lodge and Baker again shared the second and third placed positions in the two races, with Baker's championship lead cut to 26 points at the end of the weekend.
In the Clubman class, Michael Honey took three wins to Mark Fincham's win in the opening race, and Jack Croucher took all four victories in the Rookie class.
In rerun Rookie 1000 race from the postponed Snetterton meeting, Jay Wilkinson took the chequered flag ahead of Adam Foster and Colin Clune.
RKB-F1 BMCRC Sidecars
In the F1 Sidecar races, Tony Brown and Ryan Anderson took two wins, putting one hand on the 2013 championship crown, while the Reeves outfit and Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood took a win apiece.
In the F2 class, Wayne Lockey and Luke Capewell dominated with four wins and all-but wrote their names on the 2013 trophy.