The 2017 Oliver’s Mount Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup takes place on September 23rd and 24th in the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. With thousands of fans expected to flock to the only road race track in England, here is the preview for the weekend’s Road Racing Festival.
The 2.5 mile circuit has been famous for 70 years. With the public road winding its way around Oliver’s Mount, this venue is transformed into a motor racing track four times a year and the biggest event of them all is the Gold Cup.
With names like Giacomo Agostini, Barry Sheene, Mick Grant, Guy Martin and John McGuinness on the list of former winners, who is likely to challenge for the win this year?
Dean Harrison has made Oliver’s Mount his event for the last 3 years, winning almost every race he has started. In 2017 he has been dominant winning both the Spring Cup and Cock O’The North feature races so he heads into the race as the absolute favourite. Local rider Daley Mathieson from Stockton-on-Tees will likely provide the biggest opposition. His lap time earlier this year was faster than the long standing record held by Guy Martin – if only Dean Harrison hadn’t of been in the same race! The second fastest man ever to lap Oliver’s Mount has been closing the gap on Dean all year and will be confident heading into the Gold Cup.
Michael Dunlop returns to Oliver’s Mount after a decent 2017 season of racing. Some mechanicals here and there have stopped Michael being the dominant force in road racing this year, but he has the speed and skill to win this race. Ivan Lintin has won many races around the Mount and after a frustrating year he will be looking to end the season with a win. Probably the rider with the most momentum right now is local rider Joey Thompson from York. He has been the fastest newcomer at every event he has raced this year and he will be looking for a great end to his perfect rookie year.
Throw into the mix the inform Jamie Coward from Ottley, local rider and track specialist James Cowton from nearby Driffield, crowd favorite Tom Weeden and the Irish Champion Derek Shiels and you can see why Dean Harrison is going to have to bring his A game to take the win.
Onto the sidecars, and former World Champion Tim Reeves returns to Oliver’s Mount looking for another win but it will be hard racing against the track specialists Conrad Harrison, Lee Crawford, Steve Ramsden and Greg Lambert. The sidecars continue to amaze and impress all our fans and we can’t wait to see the on-track battles resume.
Our guest of honour for the weekend is Phil McCallen who held the lap record at Oliver’s Mount for 10 years. We are extremely proud that Phil will be joining us and we look forward to seeing him again at Oliver’s Mount. In addition to Phil, Mike Hailwood’s son David will also be in the paddock all weekend. After parading his dad’s bike at the Barry Sheene Festival in the summer, David wanted to come back again and enjoy another race weekend. John McGuinness will also be onsite all weekend meeting fans and chatting about his career. He is also planning on bringing a couple of his race bikes along for fans to look at. We are hopeful that Ian Hutchinson will also be onsite meeting fans and signing his books.
Shakey Byrne’s BSB bike will be on display on the Silkolene stand and there will be a legends parade of some of the finest bikes here in the UK. With the biggest trade village in recent years there will be plenty of accessories and clothing for fans to buy along with a live band on site Saturday night.
The scene is certainly set for an incredible weekend of real road racing both on the track and off it.
Spectator tickets are available on the gate.
TICKET PRICES:
Adults:
Saturday - £25
Sunday - £40
Weekend pass - £60
Children - 15 years and younger are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
Paddock Access - £20
Car Parking - free of charge
CAMPING:
Camping is completely sold out for the weekend. Please do not try to arrive and pay on the gate.
All occupants must be in possession of a valid event admission ticket for duration of stay.
Children under the age of 15 at all meetings are admitted FREE, when accompanied by an ADULT.
RIDERS ATTENDING INCLUDE:
Michael Dunlop
Dean Harrison
Ivan Lintin
Daley Mathison
Jamie Coward
James Cowton
Dan Hegarty
Derek Shiels
Joey Thompson
Ian Lougher
Tom Weeden
Peter Boast
Paul Owen
Adam McLean
Dave Molyneux
Tim Reeves
Conrad Harrison
Greg Lambert
Lee Crawford
Steve Ramsden
TIMETABLE SATURDAY:
PRACTICE - 4 Laps:
08.50 Newcomers Briefing
09.00 Junior Even No's
09.15 Junior Odd No's
09.30 Super Lightweight
09.45 Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight
10.00 Senior
10.15 Classic Superbike
10.30 Open Even No’s
10.45 Open Odd No’s
11.00 Sidecars
TIMED QUALIFYING – 15 Minutes:
11.15 Junior Even No's
11.30 Junior Odd No's
11.45 Super Lightweight
12.00 Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight
12.15 Senior
12.30 Classic Superbike
12.45 Open Even No’s
13.00 Open Odd No's
13.15 Sidecars
RACING:
14.00 Race 1 David Jefferies Cup – Junior A race 1st Leg 8 laps
14.25 Race 2 David Jefferies Cup – Junior A race 1st Leg 6 laps
14.45 Race 3 Lee Pullen Trophy – Super L/weight 1st Leg 6 laps
15.10 Race 4 Les & Sheila Porritt Trophy F2 S/cars 1st Leg 6 laps
15.35 Race 5 Solo Open – A Race 1st Leg 8 laps
16.00 Race 6 Solo Open – B Race 1st Leg 6 laps
16.20 Race 7 Stu Reed & Phil Mellor Trophies Lightweight & Ultra Lightweight 1st Leg 8 laps
16.45 Race 8 The Marshalls Cup - Senior 1st Leg 8 laps
17.10 Race 9 Les & Sheila Porritt Trophy F2 S/cars 2nd Leg 6 laps
17.30 Race 10 Classic Superbike 1st Leg 8 laps
TIMETABLE SUNDAY:
PRACTICE - 3 Laps:
09.00 Junior
09.12 Super Lightweight
09.24 Sidecars
09.36 Lightweight/ Ultra Lightweight
09.48 Senior
10.00 Classic Superbike
10.15 Gold Cup Qualifying – 15 minutes
RACING:
11.00 Race 11 Stu Reed & Phil Mellor Trophies Lightweight & Ultra Lightweight 2ND Leg 8 laps
11.25 Race 12 David Jefferies Cup – Junior A race 2ND Leg 8 laps
11.50 Race 14 David Jefferies Cup – Junior A race 2ND Leg 6 laps
12.10 Race 15 Les & Sheila Porritt Trophy F2 S/cars 3RD Leg 6 laps
12.30 LUNCH
13.35 Parade Parade of Stars 4 laps
14.15 Race 16 Lee Pullen Trophy – S/Lightweight 2nd Leg 8 laps
14.40 Race 17 Open Solo – A race 2nd Leg 8 laps
15.05 Race 18 Open Solo – B race 2nd Leg 6 laps
15.25 Race 19 Classic Superbike 2nd Leg 8 laps
15.45 Gold Cup Build up
16.00 Race 20 Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup Final 8 laps
16.30 Race 21 Les & Sheila Porritt Trophy F2 S/cars 4th Leg 6 laps
16.50 Race 22 The Marshalls Cup - Senior 2nd Leg 8 laps
17.30 Trophy presentation at the Start Line
The organisers reserve the right to reschedule in the event of bad weather or other circumstances beyond their control.