Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 9:05am
Once again Supermoto featured on the events timetable for the Air Asia British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit in 2011. The Supermoto racing was flanked with stunt shows from world Championship Trials rider Dougie Lampkin and the popular Craig Jones Stuntman, with the Californian Superbikes Pillion rides also running throughout the day.
Friday was open practice for all the groups, and the day finished with a shoot out for the top fifteen fastest riders. There were four or five riders nominated for the riding with style award, which went to Richard Sharp, while the most notable crash went to Richard Blakeman in the absence of Chris Walker who benefited from the treatment at the Dr Costa medical centre. Lee Williams also collected a new tyre for the fastest lap on the day. Saturday saw excellent racing on the tight but fast flowing circuit, while
Sunday was wet racing for all concerned and the Moto GP would have the same considerations over the difficult surface conditions, but the racing was as close as ever and the Supermoto boys had far less fallers than in the Moto GP.
Quads
Jonathan Dennan led the Quad B Group for the majority of the race, but a fall in the late stages would see second placed Ed Giddings take the front spot from Sam Hodgson who was promoted to second place thanks to Jonathan after Joe moved up to third place in the second lap. David Holman had been trying for sixth place for the whole race and despite some position changes he would cross the line in seventh very close to the back of Nick Wright and Steven Bradbury. Jonathan Dennan would have to settle for fifth after restarting his machine. A slippery moment for both Danny Smith and Nick Wright early in the race dropped then both from their second and third positions over the line, and while Danny would continue the race and make up ground Nick would retire. Jonathan Dennan had a run away lead in this second race and was twenty seconds in front of David Holman in second spot who eventually pulled clear of Ian Russell. There was a three man battle as one of the early leaders Danny Smith pushed up to sixth position leaving Paul Bennett holding off Paddy Thorne. The final race of the day and Ian Russell made it stick out at the front, while Danny Smith who had been in second at the start would finish the race in sixth. Steven Bradbury stayed in fourth from a third place start as his position was taken by Ady Toll though less than a second would separate this pair with the next placed rider being Paul Bennett who had made up a couple of places in the race.
In the Quad A group, Mike Taylor and Gareth Thomas were flying at the front, but being chased by Colin Forsythe. Despite Gareth being the fastest of this trio out on the track he wouldn’t be able to take the lead from Mike, so the top three positions would remain. Cathal McCarten managed to move up three places on this tight track to claim fourth place from Matt Lawry who would finish in fifth from Craig Kilner.
Colin Forsythe led the first of Sunday’s Quad racing but within the first lap Gareth Thomas squeezed past both Colin and Mike Taylor to move into the top spot. Gareth then held the fastest time out on the track and pushed hard to hold on to the lead. Mike was determined not to be off the pace and would continue to challenge for the front spot for the whole race, while Colin spun out and found him self unable to restart his machine for a couple of laps quashing any hope he may have had to get back in contention. Craig Kilner and Cathal McCarten had their usual battle but Cathal took third place from Craig than Matt Lawry with Emma Mackin finishing in sixth. Sam Hodgson and Ed Giddings had moved up from the B group on Saturday and had a race long battle with Sam finishing in tenth after pulling out clear a lead from Ed
The final race and Mike Taylor would lead from Gareth Thomas and despite being very close Gareth would not get a chance to pass Mike. Craig Kilner had third early in the race but Cathal McCarten was pushing hard at the start of the race and was on a charge to take third spot which he did early in the race and although he was clear of fourth placed Craig and then Matt Lawry,Cathal wouldn’t have a chance to close in on the leaders.. Jonathan Dennan led a gaggle of riders in seventh with himself Mark Beevers and Gary Curry only separated by a little over a second, then these were clear of both Luke and David Holman in eleventh and twelfth places.
Quad 450 Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Cathal McCarten 2. Jonathan Dennan 3. Mark Beevers 4. Gary Cuddy 5. Ed Giddings 6. Luke Holman
Quad Open Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Mike Taylor 2. Gareth Thomas 3. Craig Kilner 4. Matt Lawry 5. Niall O'Hanlon 6. Colin Forsythe
Open C Group
Alan Henderson would lead the C group race followed by Tomas Booth Amos off the line but Alan would take the front spot with Joe Edwards and Dave Auker for the first half of the race leaving the junior rider Thomas Booth Amos in sixth on his CRF 150. Tom still kept fourth and fifth placed Steve Abbott and Ben Hallam in sight for the whole race and there were no changes in the top ten positions throughout the race. Alan Henderson would lead the first race on Sunday morning chased hard by Ben Hallam with a cushion from third placed Tim Johnson, while Darren Corkett in fourth led a very close pack of seven riders which included Tom Booth Amos who battled for the whole race. Andy Wood slid off with two laps to go and would retire at that point. Alan Henderson and Ben Hallam would move up to the B group for the final race of the day leaving Tim Johnson, Darren Corkett and Steve Abbott making up the front row of the final C group race. The final race and it was Tim Johnson as expected in the lead halfway through the first lap and followed by Paul Higgins, but with one lap completed a guest ride on a Skyzone bike saw Christopher Sherring move in to second spot. Keith had been in charge of the Californian Superbike Pillion Rides all weekend at the Moto GP and was determined to show his skill in a different discipline, and he was doing well, but even good riders can have scary moments and he did get the bike all crossed up but managed to come out of that lap in the lead from Tim Johnson. These two riders would finish first and second well clear of third place. The third place position was hotly contested by Steve Abbott, Paul Higgins Thomas Booth Amos and Darren Corkett. Over the line the third place would go to Daren Corkett From Sam Roberts and Tom Booth Amos even though Paul Higgins, Lee Pantling and Gregg Whitmee had been in this battle for the whole race. While Tom gave a great showing this weekend Jack Raines a 250 rider also finished in twelfth; and all the junior's who took part showed they could be a contender in the future with Daniel Drayton showing excellent skill on Saturday he was the second of the junior riders and finished in fourteenth position, leaving Matt Raven to fend off a charging Dylan Henderson who ran out of time to be able to make any final moves to overtake.
Open B Group
Dean Wingate was straight to the front in the first B group race and pulled out a good lead to finish almost six seconds ahead of second placed Brad Davey, Both these riders would move up to the A group for the start of the racing on Sunday leaving Belgian Roel Vanderberghe in pole on his Skyzone machine after his third placed finish in the first race. Roel had a good cushion from Steve Ellis and Karl Geary jnr who were being chased by Craig “stuntman” Jones.
Karl Geary Jnr led the first B group race on Sunday but with pressure from Steve Alford and Rich Jennings he would not hold on to the lead for long. But it would be Craig “stuntman” Jones who would take the lead early in the race to stretch out a little lead. Rich Jennings was certainly on the pace and pressured Steve Alford in the final lap, and with very little track left Rich made the move on Steve top clinch second place. These two riders would move up to the A group for the final and Steve Alford would lead the B Group out on the track for the final. The final race was led by father and son team though it was Karl Geary Jnr who would lead the race from his dad. The only thing stopping this pair taking first and second places was Dave Jolly who was consistently putting the fastest lap to get through to second spot and hold off father Geary while Jnr pulled out a twelve second lead. Davey Todd managed to stick to his fourth position only a second off the top three until he crossed the line. The next two riders, Steve Ellis and Steve Alford were almost inseparable and had been that way for the whole race bumping Shane Gibbins into seventh from Dan Spencer. Alan Henderson had an excellent finish in ninth following a C group start this week end along with fellow C group rider Ben Hallam, who followed Tom Hallam who finished tenth.
Open A Group
Chris Hodgson led the for the first qualifying followed by Richard Sharp and James Addy but the second qualifying saw James Addy in front of Chris Hodgson then Richard Sharp. A Change in conditions led to a wet race being declared for the final on Saturday, and James Addy, Chris Hodgson and Richard Sharp soon established a clear lead from Lee Williams in fourth place. The track began to dry and both Graeme Norris and Ben Kirkman were sitting out the race midway.
James Addy was still being closely followed by Chris Hodgson, and as the race dried out very quickly there would be no more time for any last minute passing and James would take the win from Chris, with Richard Sharp sixteen seconds adrift, then Lee Williams and Ashley Barber both respectively two seconds apart in fourth and fifth. The rest of the riders had a good safe race in the conditions and the positions would determine the grid for Sunday morning.
The A group would be reliant on their wet weather skills on Sunday morning, and though James had the early lead Lee Williams would push through to lead James Addy and Chris Hodgson early in the race and at that point the win was open for takers. As the race progressed the challenge from Chris Hodgson eased off as he had a comfortable third place leaving James to pressure Lee, but even with the addition of backmarkers in the last two laps Lee would clinch the win from James in second and Chris in third. Richard Sharp had been unchallenged in the first half of the race but he then came under pressure from both Richard Blakeman and Ashley Barber. It was Ashley Barber who would take fourth spot from Richard Sharp with Richard Blakeman finishing only half a second off the back of Richard Sharp. John the Bong had put in a great ride for twelve laps but could not hold off Jay Smith and Ben Stafford who would pull out all of the stops to finish in eighth and ninth positions respectively.
The final race of the weekend at the end of the Moto GP event and James Addy took straight to the lead from Chris Hodgson and Lee Williams with Richard Sharp next in line, though Lee Williams put in a fantastic move to pass Chris Hodgson and a fall from James Addy in lap six allowed Lee to lead the race from Chris Hodgson and Richard Sharp. James remounted and was in sixth position in lap seven.
David Hartley led Richard Blakeman while Ben Stafford had been chasing Jay Smith but found himself in seventh in lap seven. There was action throughout from the front right down through the grid for the whole race, and Graeme Norris in tenth would lead Ben Kirkman, Dale O’Connor and Ashley Barber
Lee Williams push hard for the win to hold off Chris Hodgson and Richard Sharp was clear in third as James Addy took Richard Blakeman’s fourth position on the very last section of the race
Open A Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Lee Williams 2. Chris Hodgson 3. Richard Sharp 4. James Addy 5. Richard Blakeman
6. Ben Stafford 7. Robert Hartley 8. Ashley Barber 9. Graeme Norris 10. Lee Cunliffe
Open B Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Karl Geary Jnr 2. Dave Jolly 3 Karl Geary Snr 4. Davey Todd 5. Steve Ellis
6. Steve Alford 7. Shane Gibbins 8. Dan Spencer 9. Alan Henderson 10 Tom Hallam
Open C Finishing Positions Final Race
1. Christopher Sherring 2. Tim Johnson 3 Steve Abbott 4. Daren Corkett 5. Sam Roberts
6. Tom Booth Amos 7. Paul Higgins 8. Lee Pantling 9. Gregg Whitmee 10 Paul Maskell