Thursday May 1, 2014 at 3:23pm
Andy Saunders arrived at Snetterton with a healthy 35-point lead at the top of the EDIasia Formula 400 standings, but it was reigning champion Richie Welsh that pushed for that top spot, taking two wins and two seconds over the weekend.
After qualifying on pole, Daniel Ruth went on to take the win in both of Saturday's races, but with Welsh second on both occasions. Welsh led the way in race two, only for Ruth to reel him in and pip him to the line after Welsh backed off to keep things safe.
Saunders' third in race one kept him on top of the championship, but a DNF in race two saw his advantage slashed. Former champion Steve Palmer, who arrived in Norfolk second in the championship, took third in race two.
On Sunday Welsh launched himself to the top of the championship standings with two wins with Palmer second in race one. Palmer and Welsh diced it out for the win throughout the race, with Palmer hitting the front at the hairpin on the final lap, only for Welsh to out drag and retake the lead down the back straight.
Palmer took fourth in race two and kept himself in second place in the championship, after scrapping for the lead early on. Ruth's weekend took a turn for the worse, crashing out on lap one of the final race after a third in Sunday's opener. Italian Francesco Cavalli and Alan Watson completed the podium in race four behind the impressive Welsh.
The new championship leader said, "It was a good weekend and I was happy to come away as the top points scorer, especially with my 28-day old son there too.
“We had some good races this weekend and some good battles, and well done to Dan on his first 400 win. It's still too early to be thinking about the championship just yet for me, but we’re in a strong position.”
Graham Higlett took all four wins in the Sub-64 class, while Mark Thompson took three wins in the Rookie 400s with Allun Thomas securing the other.
The usual close racing that has come to be expected of the MRO Minitwin series was again on display at the second round, with four different riders standing on the top step of the podium.
Paul Holden took the win in race one, with Robertson carving through after a disappointing qualifying to take second and Steve Topping third, the podium split by less than a second. Holden was again on the podium in race two, with Harry Truelove taking the win and Wilby third.
Just one and a half seconds covered the top seven at the chequered flag in Sunday’s opening race, with Joe Buxton taking the win, just ahead of the Suzuki and Kawasaki of Harry and Matthew Truelove respectively.
The fourth winner of an exciting weekend’s worth of racing was Adam Cross, the youngster bettering Harry Truelove with Robertson back on the podium in third and helping keep the fight for the championship tight in the early part of the season.
It was the first round of the season for the DFDS Seaways Yamaha Past Masters series at Snetterton, with local rider and 2012 champion Graham Higlett starting his campaign off on the right foot with four wins.
Higlett failed to score a single win last season as reigning champion, and signaled his intent early on with pole position on his Yamaha TZR250. Doug Edmondson and 2013 Rookie champion Matt Barber rounded out the front row.
Higlett then went on to take all four victories, albeit pushed hard by Barber in the first three races of the weekend, as he took three second placed finishes with Edmondson taking three thirds.
In the final race Higlett escaped at the front, with Barber quickly going backwards off the start. Edmondson gave chase to the disappearing Higlett, but could not prevent him taking his fourth win, and settled for second with Baber third.
James Sharpe took two wins the Clubman class, with Trevor Sharpe and Paul Whitby picking up one apiece, while Sacha Gyte took three wins in the Rookie class and Tim Moore
Barry Chapman dominated the Morello Services MRO 1000s, with three wins and a second place, the other win going to Jonathan Lodge on his Diesolift / Unipart Rail Kawasaki. Michael Honey took all four wins in the Clubman class, with an impressive three seconds and one third overall. Jack Croucher and Jason Loomes took two apiece in the Rookie class.
In the Team Respro MRO 600s, Tommy Philp also took three wins from four races, with Ashley Buxton taking the win in Sunday’s opener, while Ali Black and reigning Rookie 600 champion James Puttrell shared the spoils in the Clubman class. Stephen Draper took three Rookie 600 wins with Grant Newstead taking victory in the final race.
Dan Couzens showed why he’s a championship favourite in the BMCRC Thunderbike Extreme class, taking all four wins at Snetterton, while Sam Wilford took three from four in the Thunderbike category, Steve Palmer taking the other available win.
Dean Stimpson, not out in the EDIasia Formula 400 series due to technical issues, was in dominant form in his former stomping ground, the 2012 champion cruising to all four wins in the BMZRC 250MZ class, his first margin of victory a whopping 11 seconds, despite coming from the back of a 32 rider-strong grid.
The BMCRC F1 Sidecar spoils were split between the outfits of Kevin Cable and Guy Pawsey and Matt MacLaurin and Adrian Hope, the pairs taking two wins apiece over the weekend, while Wayne Lockey and Mark Sayers extended their championship lead in the F2 class, taking all four wins, with a best finish of second overall.