Friday September 25, 2009 at 4:19pm
The 2009 ACU/Speedway Star British Masters Grass Track Championship took place on Sunday 20th September near Truro in Cornwall.
The Mid-Cornwall “Premier” Motorcycle club had laid out a wide track on a slight slope which provided an exciting challenge for both solos and sidecars.
In both classes it was the younger riders who coped best with the fast track. Early in the meeting the defending solo Masters champion Jason Handley slid off and took no further part in the event. It was then that the young solo riders 
Jamie Rodgers and Lewis Denham who proved to be the men to beat. Glen Phillips lost out with a machine problem and Paul Hurry fell and dislocated his arm. Thankfully the dislocation went back into place, but Hurry withdrew from the meeting to allow it to recover.
After the semi-finals, Rodgers started the final two points behind Denham with former British Masters champion Andrew Appleton in third place. In the final Denham fought off the challenge from Rogers to take the Championship leaving Rogers second and Appleton remained in third place overall. This was a good display from Denham who came into the Masters via an ACU wild card entry after returning to the sport this year, following a long layoff with an injury.
The track provided some of the best 1000cc sidecar racing seen for some time, with three and sometimes four outfits alongside each other. One disappointment was that defending champion driver Rob Bradley was still suffering from a fall the previous week.
Colin Blackbourn and Martyn Smith rode superbly in their semi-final to start the sidecar final with a three point lead over Mark and Tom Cossar, with Rod Winterburn and Liam Brown both on twenty-six points.
The final was a tremendous battle with the top four places changing on each lap. At the end of four laps the race winners were the Cossar brothers gaining an additional seven points, giving a total of thirty three. Blackbourn and Smith also finished on thirty three points, so there was a tie in the overall result.
Unfortunately the Championship cannot be shared so the tie was decided by which outfit finished in front in the Final. So the 2009 British Masters Sidecar Champions were declared as Mark and Tom Cossar.
Mark and Tom are the youngest ever winners of the 1000cc sidecar Masters title – a great accolade to have. A great sidecar competition was completed with the third place taken by Winterburn and Brown.
Solo result:
1. Lewis Denham
2. Jamie Rodgers
3. Andrew Appleton
4. Tim Nobes
5. Tom Perry
6. Rob Finlow
7. Matryn Sturgeon
8. Daniel Winterton
Sidecar result:
1. Mark and Tom Cossar
2. Colin Blackbourn and Martyn Smith
3. Rod Winterburn and Liam Brown
4. Myles Simmons and Kevin Woodley
5. Rob Wilson and Terry Saunters
6. Steve Smith and Dave Hogan
» Categories:
None