Thursday September 20, 2018 at 11:44am
The penultimate round of the British Motorcycle Racing Club’s season took the action to Wales and the Pembrey circuit, and with the championships reaching their conclusion, there were more winners crowned. ACU Team Green Junior Cup & Senior 300 Arriving with an eight-point advantage in the Senior 300 championship standings, Jamie Kelman was odds on to secure the title over the weekend. He started promisingly, setting pole, before winning the first race by over eight seconds. His victory meant that only a runner up finish for rival Kai Dickinson would prevent the championship being won almost two rounds early, but Dickinson could only finish fourth overall and third in class, and Kelman was crowned champion. Glynn Davies crossed the line in second, ahead of a three-way battle for the last podium positions that saw the trio split by less than a second. Owen Jenner finished third and took the Junior Cup win to extend his championship lead, with Dickinson fourth and Junior Cup runner up James Dutton fifth. Despite having the title sealed, Kelman was back out and looking to add more wins to his tally in race two, and he crossed the line to take victory ahead of Junior Cup winner Jenner and Dutton, a result that saw Jenner extend his championship lead by another five points. It was an all Senior 300 podium in the first of Sunday’s wet races, but it was the same face on the top step of the podium, as Kelman made it three from three. It was also a spaced out race at the front, with four seconds between the winner and second placed Konrad Breese, and another four seconds again to Davies. Despite missing the overall podium, Jenner was again the Junior Cup victor. He was back on the overall rostrum in the final race, which was another wet affair, taking third place and the Junior win. Dutton was fifth but second in class. The winner, though, was the dominant Kelman. The new champion led from start to finish to make it four wins, as Davies finished second. Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport The trip to Pembrey marked the final round of the Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport championship, but there was only pride at stake with Steve Topping’s name already engraved on the 2018 championship trophy. Three winners adorned the top step of the podium over the weekend, with pole-sitter Edward Watson converting it into victory in race one. However, he left it late, after spending every lap prior to the last one sat in second place, allowing Daniel Jones to lead the way. After the second lap Jones had a lead over nearly one and a half seconds, but Watson bridged the gap, pouncing on the last circulation to snatch victory. Jones finished second, with Sam Elkins third. Not to be beaten again, Jones led race two from start to finish, taking a comfortable win, as Watson settled for second. In an intense battle for third, Richy Welsh came out on top, holding off Thomas Watson and Elkins. Thomas Watson took a brace of wins in the wet conditions on Sunday, the Motorsportdays.com Yamaha rider bettering his brother and teammate Edward Watson in race one, with Jones third. He was back on top in the final race of the year, as Jones and Edward Watson reversed their positions. Shane Beasley is the 2018 Thunderbike Sport Rookie champion. Chilton Motors BMZRC 250 While it was a tall order to secure the BMZRC 250 title at Pembrey, with a round still to go, it was very much a possibility for Mark Taylor, and given his form, you’d have thought twice before betting against it. However, after arriving with a 68-point lead, it’s now very much all to play for at the final round, as just 15 points separate Taylor from closest rival Chris Rogers. Chris Kent could still feature, too. Rogers won both of Saturday’s races, with Kent second and Andrew Wales twice third, as Taylor took a fifth and a fourth. On Sunday it was Kent doubling up, with Rogers second on both occasions and Wales making it a full house of third placed finishes, as Taylor took another fourth before carding a DNF in the final race, scoring no points. The championship leader only holds a 15-point lead over Rogers with four races to go, with Kent just about in contention in third, 48 points back. DFDS Yamaha Past Masters Pete Branton finally wrapped up the 2018 DFDS Yamaha Past Masters championship, despite the less than dominant showing we have been used to seeing from the #19 this season. In qualifying it was Scott Grant to posted the quickest time, followed by an impressive Paul Whitby, with Branton’s closest rival Doug Edmondson completing the front row. Grant converted pole into a win in race one, taking the chequered flag well ahead of Ben Miles and Branton, who finished second and third. Grant was again the victor in race two, as Miles took another second placed finish, this time with Edmondson on the third step of the podium as Branton finished in fifth. Wet weather specialist Edmondson was the runaway winner in the first of Sunday’s two races, as he led from start to finish to take the chequered flag. Newly-crowned champion Branton was in a lonely second place, with Miles third. But Branton finished the weekend properly, celebrating his championship with a dominant win, crossing the line over 13 seconds ahead of Edmondson in second place, as Douglas Beacock took an excellent third place. EDIasia Formula 400 Andy Gill wrapped up the 2018 EDIasia Formula 400 championship at Pembrey, and despite being the odds on favourite, arriving with a 90-point lead, he eventually raced unchallenged to the title, with Gary Henning absent from the weekend’s action. James Seath’s also took the Rookie title with four class wins. Impressively, it was Sub-64bhp championship challenger Hayden Wood who qualified on pole, but it was the outright class champion Gill who won the opening race and the three subsequent races, taking the championship in style. It was anything but comfortable for Gill, however, with the top five in race one split by just one and a half seconds. Gill led every lap, but never with a lead of more than a couple of tenths of a second. Mark Thompson eventually finished second, with former class champion Richy Welsh third. Wood’s fifth gave him the Sub-64 win, helping him close in on Harry Fowle in the championship. Race two was easier for Gill, as he raced unchallenged to victory, ahead of Matthew Scott and Thompson. Fowle and and Wood, in fourth and fifth, were first and second in the Sub-64 class and split by just two tenths of a second. Sunday morning and Gill was back on the top of the podium, with the Sub-64 TZR250 of Doug Edmondson in an impressive second place. However, he was unable to prevent Gill romping to another dominant win. Thompson finished third. In the Sub-64 championship fight, Wood was eighth with Fowle 11th. Gill completed his dominant weekend with a fourth win in the final race, but he was challenged by Thompson who took the fight to the new champion, battling for the win until the final lap. However, Thompson could do nothing in the end to stop Gill winning, and had to settle for second. Scott was third. Wood took another Sub-64 class win in fifth, as Fowle finished third in class in ninth. The championship fight will go to the final round at Brands Hatch. ProperlyProtected MRO Minitwins Daniel Singleton’s Properly Protected MRO Minitwins championship challenge took a blow in Wales, and with one round to go he trails championship leader Mason Williams by 45 points. Williams arrived at Pembrey with a slender 28-point lead, but it was Singleton who set pole and was looking to reduce the deficit to the series leader. However, he gave himself a mountain to climb after tangling with Glynn Davies in race one, the pair holding second and third at the time before crashing out on lap five. It meant he now trailed Williams by 53 points, after the #777 crossed the line and took the win. Keith Povah was second and Sam Elkins third. Singleton managed to recover some ground in Saturday’s second race, as he, Williams, and Davies battled all race for victory. The lead changed hands, but with two to go Singleton grabbed the lead, and took the chequered flag just six hundredths of a second ahead of Williams, with Davies third. He then clawed back a further seven points in the first of Sunday’s two races, finishing second behind Davies. He was two seconds down on the race leader, after Davies took the lead from him on lap nine and pulled away. But he held on and fended off Paul Witherington, who finished third, and Williams, in fourth. Both of the main championship protagonists finished off the podium in the final race, with Williams fourth and Singleton seventh, meaning Williams goes into the final round with a 45-point lead. The wet race was won by Witherington, from Davies and Povah. Charlie Crawt has already been crowned the Rookie class champion. In the four races at Pembrey Robert Franklin took two class wins, with Hayden Rushden and John Reynolds taking a win apiece. Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and BG Products Clubman 1000 With Anthony Johnson already crowned this year’s MRO Powerbike champion, he opted to miss the weekend’s action. Peter Baker and Gary Stevens split the three wins, with Baker winning race one before Stevens won both of Sunday’s races. Baker took his win ahead of Paul Wilby and Kevin Silvain, the two riders battling for the Clubman 1000 championship, with Wilby extending his advantage at the top of the points table. Stevens then bested Baker in race two to take the first of his two wins, while the third podium spot went to Clubman winner Silvain, reversing the deficit from races one as Wilby finished fourth and second in class. It was a repeat result in race two for Stevens and Baker, but Wilby got the better of Silvain by a tenth of a second to take third and and the Clubman win, extending his championship lead to 33 points with three races to go. Daniel Johnson took two Rookie wins with Glen Phillips taking the other. RKB-F1 and F2 Sidecars Sean Reeves and Paul Thomas took a hat-trick of victories in the RKB-F1 and F2 sidecar races at Pembrey, winning both of Saturday’s races, before taking victory number three in the second of Sunday’s outings. It also meant they secured the 2018 F2 championship, while Craig Clarke and Craig Andrew Clarke wrapped up the F1 title despite a weekend of relatively mediocre results The F2 duo took two overall wins on Saturday, the first coming ahead of Dean Nicholls and Kenny Cole, who also took the F1 win. Third went to Sean Hegarty and Jake Lowther, the pair the second F2 outfit home. Reeves and Thomas’ second win on their Velocity V1 LCR Honda came as they crossed the line nearly four seconds to the good, while Hegarty and Lowther and Nicholls and Cole switched positions on the podium, as Nicholls and Cole again took the F1 win. It was another F2 overall win and all-F2 podium in Sunday’s opening race, this time with Hegarty and Lowther on the top step. Mike Cookson and William Moralee were second, with third going to Andy King and Andrew Sigsworth after Reeves and Thomas dropped out of podium contention on the final lap. They returned to winning ways in the final race, however, taking the overall victory and F2-class win number three. Craig Clarke and Craig Andrew Clarke took the F1 win and were awarded second overall after Cookson and Moralee, who finished as runners up, were handed a 10-second jump start penalty. Team Respro MRO 600 Phillip Baker secured this year’s Clubman 600 championship crown at Pembrey with a round to spare, while things tightened up at the top of the main championship as the season reaches its conclusion. With a best finish of third overall, Baker took two class wins on Saturday and two runner up finishes on Sunday to seal the championship. With four races to go he boasts 13 class wins to his name this season. His third placed finish came in race one, which also saw Lawrence Edgeley hold of Luke Hopkins for the win. Hopkins’ third place also allowed him to begin to drag himself back into championship contention, too. Hopkins was on the top step in race two, further closing in on Rowlings’ championship advantage, with the series leader off the podium in fourth. Edgeley finished second, with Max Symonds third. Clubman Andrew Smith took an excellent overall win in the wet on Sunday, bettering championship protagonists Hopkins and Rowlings, although only narrowly. Hopkins returned to the winner’s spot on the rostrum in race four, ahead of title rivals Rowlings and Michael Mills. He’s now just 27 points off Rowlings’ lead and has leapfrogged Mills in the championship chase to sit second with a round to go.