The Wirral Hundred club’s final race meeting of the year on 8th & 9
th October marked the 25
th anniversary of the Club’s first meeting at Anglesey, and incorporated its now iconic ‘Anglesey Grand’ run over two 12-lap legs of the international circuit.
Anglesey Grand
Qualifying practice took place in slightly damp conditions and it was Carl Phillips (Suzuki) from Northern Ireland, a former Irish Supersport champion and a regular points scorer in the 2017 National Superstock 1000 championship, paying only his second visit to the circuit, who took pole position for the 1
st Leg. Race favourite Adam Jenkinson (BMW), currently 6
th in the 2017 National Superstock series, was second, followed by the two experienced Wirral Hundred champions Jamie Harris (Kawasaki 600) and Johnny Blackshaw (Yamaha).
Phillips took full advantage of his 1
st Leg grid position and led for the first five laps before Jenkinson forced his way into the lead and Blackshaw went up to second place three laps later. This remained the order at the chequered flag, with Jenkinson ahead by 5.5 seconds. Lee Williams (Kawasaki), the 2017 Thundersport champion, was a distant fourth, over 21 seconds behind Phillips, and Jamie Harris, fifth, was the best of the 600’s. The next three positions were filled by three other impressive Irish circuit racers, with little previous Anglesey experience – Aaron Clifford, Caolan Irwin and Thomas O Grady.
Jenkinson’s fastest lap in the 1st Leg brought him pole position for the 2
nd Leg, and this time he controlled the race from the front, winning this time by 4.8 seconds. After an epic chase Phillips managed to get ahead of Blackshaw on lap 10, but Blackshaw was then able to stay close enough to secure second place on aggregate. Williams again finished fourth and Harris was again fifth securing him the F600 Award. Former club champion David Jones (Kawasaki) was making a comeback at this meeting but a mysterious technical issue had caused him to be relegated to 22
nd on the grid for the 2
nd Leg, but this time he was able to move through the field to claim a creditable 6
th position.
Congratulations to all the riders for putting on a great show for the spectators, and especially to Adam Jenkinson for winning the ‘Grand’ for the fourth time in a row.
W100 Championships
Whilst the Anglesey Grand races were the main focus for the spectators, it was the other 32 races across the weekend that determined the finishing orders in the various club championships. Johnny Blackshaw was a clear winner of the both the Powerbikes and Anglesey Senior Open championships, likewise Jamie Harris in the
Paul Bland Motorsport Formula 600 series.
In his first full season with the club Mike Bampton just had to ride sensibly, which he did, to win the 650 Twins and Anglesey Lightweight Open championships comfortably. Chris Ganderton, Pre-Electronic Powerbikes and Pre-Injection, was also a double-winner, but all credit to John Robb and Joe Ravenscroft for keeping the respective classes alive until the final day. Adrian Kershaw had clinched the 100-500cc Allcomers championship at the previous round, but nevertheless was again a race winner as were championship runner-up Keith Jackson and Manx all-rounder Dan Sayle.
Another Manx resident James Labdon also knew that he could ride conservatively, and his two wins and two seconds were more than enough to clinch the Forgotten Era championship. The closest finish was in the
SSR-Suspension Golden Era Supersport class where Tim Bradley’s four wins at the weekend brought him to within two championship points of Ray Stevenson – phew! Finally, in the Open Sidecars championship Sam & Adam Christie’s consistent front-running across the season secured them the overall win, but on this occasion they had to play second fiddle to Craig Hauxwell & stand-in passenger Tom Bryant.
Photos courtesy of Lambosport