Cadwell Park
ç 11th and 12th April ç Rounds 3 and 4 Words : Russ Gardner Images : EDP Photo News
So much more than just “The Mountain”.....
Everyone talks about the mountain when Cadwell park comes around, but that is just one small part of this circuit, and it takes an experienced rider with Cadwell laps under the belt as well as well set up bike to come out on top. So expect the likes of Phil Bevan in the Powerbike, John Day in the 600, David Irons in the Sound of Thunder and Tim Bradley on his F400 FZR Yamaha to be up front. However the young and fearless can always pull off a surprise…..step up James Harrison on his 675 and Liam Delves on the Moto Engineering RS125 GP bike
Cadwell Park the Circuit..... There are eleven big corners packed into this 2.18mile Cadwell Park circuit, six lefts and five right’s, plus the awesome swooping Park straight, and the demanding Hall Bends to Barn section. But the circuit is famous for “The Mountain” where most riders get some airtime. It is no surprise then that Cadwell is one of the UK’s most picturesque but demanding circuits with it’s notorious jumps and bumps to upset even the best set up bike.
The Fastest..... Josh Wainwright is the NG Road Racing lap record holder at 1min 30.61 sec, that's an average of 86.21mph, set back in April 2013 on his BSB spec ZX10 Kawasaki.
The Phoenix Open..... Phoenix Motorcycles from Trowbridge again support the Open. All the fastest riders of the meeting will be battling it out for one of the biggest season long prize funds in the country. Phil Bevan the seven time Open champion is already atop the table this year, which is already ominous for the opposition!!
The 250 GP ACU National Championship..... These former 250cc world championship spec machines are pure race bikes and are designed with one thing in mind, to race, and this is the best place to see them. Former champ Ant Hodson heads the grid after the first meeting of the year over Phil Atkinson and Dave Hampton, with former champ Daniel Jackson and perennial front runner Darrel Higgins, hoping to put a poor first meeting behind them.
Ones to watch..... Streetstocker’s and True Heroes As I have already said experience counts a lot around Cadwell so Bevan, Day, Luke Jones, Max Symonds, Mark Lister are sure to shine. Some of the closest racing though can be seen in the Streetstock, Pre injection and Mini Twins classes so keep an eye on them too. The Streetstocks will have Paul Williams, Simon O’Donnell, Paul Jeffery, Martin Lowe, Justin Collins and a whole host of others vying for glory. It is also nice to here a full complement of The True Heroes Race Team in the Thunder class with Murray Hambro, Dave MacKay and Luke Smith all on 899 Panigale’s. As they raise awareness for UK servicemen and women through racing as they prepare for BSB Ducati Cup in 2015.
Last time out…. Brands Hatch..... 14 time club champ Phil Bevan is never normally one to start the season with all guns blazing, but Brands saw Phil come out fighting as he took on (….and beat !!) all-comers to the biggest points haul. Michael Blank, Daniel Cooper, Luke Jones and Peter Baker, who all have National championship credentials, had to give best to Phil. Other riders on form were Shane Smith on his 675 and Chris Whitehouse too on another 675. One of the performances of the weekend came from David Irons on his 1198 Ducati who bounced back to take a double podium after a massive crash on Saturday……but much of the talk was about newcomer Paul “Potchy” Williams who’s lurid style not only caught the eye, but brought a brace of wins….how will he cope with Cadwell ?