Thursday August 10, 2017 at 12:03pm
Team Green Junior Cup and Senior 300
Ben Hawes wrapped up the Team Green Senior 300 series, after a win and a second place in the Junior Cup and Senior 300 races at Oulton Park. The series also welcomed a new addition to the field with Team GB Olympic gold medalist, Jason Kenny, swapping pedal power for horsepower to make his racing debut.
He qualified in 16th overall, and ninth in the senior class, despite a crash. He then went on to finish 14th overall and seventh in class in race one, and 16th overall and ninth in class in race two, improving his pace and lap times throughout the weekend.
At the front, overall series leader Charlie Farrer and second place holder Hawes were the class of the field, with Hawes also holding a commanding lead in the Senior 300 championship on arrival at the Cheshire circuit.
Hawes qualified on pole, but it was Farrer who took the win in a thrilling opening encounter. The two riders both took turns at leading the race, with Hawes holding the lead onto the last lap. However, Farrer was not to be denied, and a last lap move saw him snatch victory by a mere seven hundredths of a second. But Hawes did claim 25 Senior 300 championship points to give himself the championship win.
Joey Lambden finished in a lonely third place, and second in the Junior class.
If race one’s result was close, race two’s margin of victory was negligible, as Hawes reversed the deficit from race one to take 25 championship points and ensure Farrer remained in touch as the championship heads into the final two rounds.
Again, the pair swapped positions at the front. Hawes led the opening lap, before Farrer hit the front and did the bulk of the donkey-work. With two to go, Hawes made his move and took the lead, pulling out a gap of a relatively comfortable three tenths of a second.
But with a lap to go, Farrer was still pushing for victory, and set the fastest lap of the race on the final circulation, but it wasn’t enough, and Hawes took the win by three hundredths of a second.
Jamie Kelman took third by a similarly narrow margin, holding off Lambden to stand on the podium. He was second in the Senior class behind Hawes.
BMCRC Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme
Jason Byard was all-but crowned the 2017 Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme champion, with a brace of victories taking him 187 points clear at the top of the championship standings with 200 left to play for.
The May Construction Suzuki rider qualified on pole, before commanding both races to take 50 championship points.
His win in race one came ahead of Matt Hinnells on the Moremoto Aprilia, with Alan Wood in third.
In race two, Byard quickly overcame pole-sitter Hinnells to lead to the chequered flag, with Hinnells again second, as Titan Elevators-sponsored Suzuki rider Tony Russo joined them on the podium in third.
BMCRC Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport
In the Thunderbike Sport class Chris Burrage was also in dominant form, qualifying on pole and picking up two race wins.
Alongside him on the front row was championship leader Andrew Gill, who then kept the Seton Tuning Kawasaki rider honest in the opening race, before red flags brought about an early end to proceedings.
Burrage took the win by three tenths of a second from Gill, with Jake Povah taking third.
It was a repeat podium in the second race of the weekend, but this time Burrage’s victory was altogether more convincing. Leading the opening lap, he had extended his advantage every time he crossed the line, before taking the chequered flag eight seconds to the good.
The gap was equally comfortable between second and third, as Gill added another 20 points to his championship tally, ahead of Povah in third.
Team Respro MRO 600s
It was a disastrous weekend for Team Respro MRO 600 championship leader Adam Hartgrove at Oulton Park, with a crash in race one and an 11th placed finish in race two meaning he only took five points away from the Cheshire circuit.
In contrast, his closest challenger, David Tinkler picked up 26 points, reducing the deficit at the top of the series to just 17 points.
In the weekend’s two races Matthew Waldron on the Smallboy Trackbikes Triumph took a brace of victories. He was joined on the podium by Arnie Shelton and Thomas O’Grady on both occasions, the duo twice finishing second and third respectively.
Conor Wheeler took two Clubman wins, with Tom Newman taking two Rookie class wins.
DFDS Yamaha Past Masters
Anthony Johnson made it very difficult for anyone to bet against him winning this year’s DFDS Yamaha Past Masters championship, with another undefeated weekend seeing him extend his series lead to 176 points with two rounds and 200 points to go.
Johnson, starting from eighth after a problem in qualifying, had moved into second after lap one, but from there he was faced with the small matter of passing and holding off Neil MacQueen. It proved difficult, with MacQueen holding him at bay until a mistake on the final lap allowed the champion-elect past and cost MacQueen over eight seconds.
Doug Edmondson held off Scott Grant for third, with Mark Ewans the top Clubman rider in ninth and Douglas Beacock the leading Rookie in 13th.
Johnson made it a double in race two, but was pushed all the way to the chequered flag by MacQueen, who was eager to make up for the result in race one. However, he was unable to prevent ‘AJ’ taking the win, and claimed another second place.
Grant improved to third, with Michael Stanley recovering from a DNF to finish ninth and leading Clubman. Alan Wood’s 14th gave him the Rookie win.
ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins
Just eight points separated MRO Minitwin leader Ryan Folkes and chaser Glynn Davies coming into the weekend, but Davies took control of proceedings after Folkes crashed and brought out the red flags in race one.
Davies took the win in the restart, ahead of Jake Povah and Chris Kent, just two tenths between the pair at the line.
With Folkes ruled out of action from the remainder of the weekend, Davies began easing away at the top of the table, adding another 20 points to his championship tally in race two with a narrow second place. Less than a tenth of a second split Davies and Povah at the line, with Povah taking the win. Thomas Eustace rode to a safe third place.
It means Davies now holds a 37-point lead in the championship with two rounds to go and 200 points left to race for.
Cameron Harris took a brace of Rookie wins to edge closer to the championship crown.
BG Products MRO Powerbikes
A DNF and a DNS for defending MRO Powerbikes champion, Colin Parker, meant he all-but said goodbye to any chance of retaining his crown, as championship leader Joe Morphett took both wins at Oulton Park.
Morphett, on his LID365.com / ePayMe Yamaha converted pole into the win in race one, passing Michael O’Brien in the closing stages to take victory. O’Brien took second, narrowly holding off former champion Peter Baker, as Parker crashed out of eighth. Tom Norton’s fifth gave him the Clubman win.
Baker and O’Brien swapped places for second and third in race two, but it was Morphett who again climbed to the top step of the podium with another win, as he put one hand on the championship trophy. Norton was again fifth and picked up the Clubman honours.
In the Rookie 1000s Alex Penrice took two wins.
Chilton Motors BMZRC 250 MZ
Chris Kent saw his championship lead take a hit in the BMZRC 250 series, despite a win in race two. The series leader completed just one lap of the weekend’s opening race, leaving Greg Wright to take the win ahead of Andrew Wales and Robert Dessoy.
The result meant Wales trailed Kent by just 17 points in the championship chase going into race two, with Wright also closing in on the top two.
In race two, however, Kent stretched it lead out by another nine points over Wales, recovering from the race one disappointment to take the win. Wright was second with Wales third.
EDIasia Formula 400
Andy Gill and Chris Burrage resumed their on-track battle in the EDIasia Formula 400 races, with Burrage qualifying on pole ahead of the series leader.
But the race one spoils went to Gill, as Burrage was forced to retire on the warm-up lap with machine problems. Rookie Aidan Patmore rode to an impressive second place on his Dorset Bikes Limited Kawasaki, missing out on the win by two tenths of a second, with Matthew Scott in third. Jeremy Hill’s fourth place gave him the Sub-64bhp class win.
Patmore’s impressive form continued in race two, as the rookie and Gill disappeared at the front on the opening lap, before Burrage bridged the gap. The Seton Tuning Kawasaki rider then made his way to the front, but crashed out on the final lap, handing victory to Patmore, with Gill taking second place.
Third went to Scott, with Hill again in fourth place and picking up the Sub-64 win.