There is always an air of expectancy when NG Racing visit Cadwell Park not just the challenging nature of the Lincolnshire circuit but who will turn up?
This round was no different with numerous BSB riders out prior to their August outing and to give the NG runners a measure of the next step up.
The Phoenix Open was going to be scorcher from the word go with Joe Sheldon-Shaw and Craig Neve looking to be the pace setters in qualifying at lap record pace on a weekend where the weather was hotter than a Swedish sauna!! Race 1 saw Sheldon-Shaw and Neve run away with Ash Barnes , DMJ R6 Yamaha , Max Symonds , BMW and Rhys Irwin 765 Triumph giving chase but both front runners under the lap record it was tough ! on the last lap Neve pushed the front too hard and gifted the win to Sheldon-Shaw who lowered the lap record to 1.29.898 Race 2 on the Sunday saw no Sheldon-Shaw and Neve on the back row along with Ash Barnes who also had an off, Symonds and Irwin set the pace and Neve was carving through the pack at will , Barnes also on the move, eventually Neve delt with Symonds and Irwin to take the win Race 3 was a smaller field as the heat was taking its toll on the riders and another Neve win was set with Symonds, Irwin, Barnes and Arron Silvester, A&J R6 in the mix for the minor places.Ims 600 was looking just a competitive with a host of visitors to give championship leader George Edwards a real run ,Barnes topped qualifying with Irwin, Silvester on the front row. Race 1 Barnes was a non-starter after his off in the Phoenix race, so it was Irwin and Silvester head to head with Cameron Hall ZX 636 in the early stages, Irwin making the decisive move on lap 6 of 7 to win by 0.186Race 2 was a repeat with Irwin and Silvester, Ash Barnes from the back after an overnight rebuild with Kier Armstrong also there , Barnes could only make 4th just in front of Edwards, Irwin coming off when challenging Silvester giving him the win, Hall and Armstrong next up Race 3 with Barns at the sharp end of the grid saw him get the lead and control the race lowering the lap record in the process ,Hall, Armstrong and Edwards having no answer for the flying DMJ Yamaha
Bluebell Lakes Powerbikes was a Sheldon-Shaw Neve battle the upper hand always looking like the Protect my Income Suzuki with another class lap record and the win with Symonds 3rd , Sundays 2 races were as
Expected a Neve double win with a brace of seconds for Max Symonds before his wild card races at BSB
Triple winner yet again was Nick Williamson in FP2 for the second meeting in a row , Scott Larkin continued his run of form with 3 wins in SMW Mini twins, as did Finn Smart-Weedon in the Ace Transport Open 500 the triple winners continued in Love life and Ride PI 600 Brian Greenfield, Mick Godfrey FP1 ,Paul Potchy Williams in SMW Super Twins and FP3 plus the lap record and a 10 second jump start!! Tyson Lewis has one hand on the Open Newcomers with another win and the lap record but work to do before Castle Combe after a big off on the Sunday
The Bandits lived up to expectations with Ben Miller and Chris Edwards swapping places and paintwork for every race with Miller taking 2 wins before the final race on Sunday with the pair not more than inches apart every lap came to a halt when they came together and the race was red flagged giving Lee Marks the win.
Words – Martin Bennett, mb07818@gmail.com
Pics- Hairy Beast pics, hairybeastpix@hotmail.com