Thursday October 13, 2016 at 12:18pm
BG Products MRO Powerbikes
Colin Parker was crowned the BG Products MRO Powerbikes champion at the final round at Brands Hatch, but the series was denied the nail-biting finalé it promised, after a crash in the second race brought out the red flags, saw both Parker and Baker score no points and also ruled Baker out of contention for the rest of the weekend.
Parker started the weekend with a 24-point lead over reigning champion Baker, and soon extended his lead to 29 points by taking the win in race one, with Baker second. Joe Morphett finished in third place, while the Clubman win went to Chris Lay in eighth.
An uncharacteristic crash for Parker in race two looked set to give Baker the opportunity to claw back valuable championship points and take it to the wire on Sunday, before the outgoing champion fell two laps later at Surtees, ending not only his race but his weekend, gifting the title to Parker.
Parker returned to action on Sunday, ensuring he sealed his championship with two wins.
Morphett added another podium finish to his weekend’s collection in Sunday’s opening race, taking second place ahead of John Butler, as the Clubman class honours went to Tom Norton in fifth place.
The final race was also red flagged for an incident involving Morphett, and was restarted with Parker taking another win, ahead of Steve Heneghan and Butler, as Norton again took the Clubman win.
Parker cemented his title with a margin of 79 points in the end, while Jamie Tibble had already secured the Clubman class title with a round to spare.
In the BMCRC Rookie 1000s, Kyle Donovan had already put his name on the 2016 championship trophy. That allowed Mick Whalley to take a brace of wins in two of the weekend’s four races at Brands Hatch, while Mariusz Siemieniuk-Juzwiuk took both available wins on Sunday.
Properly Protected MRO Minitwins
A 65-point championship lead coming into the final weekend of the season meant Richard Hickling had to do very little to ensure he lifted the 2016 MRO Minitwin championship title, and the champion-elect had the job sealed by the end of Saturday’s action.
A fifth place in race one was enough to extend his lead, as Kurtis Butler finished behind him in seventh place, meaning he held a 67-point lead going into race two with 75 left to play for.
Glynn Davies took the win in the weekend’s opening race, ahead of Paul Witherington and Ben Clark.
Despite Butler clawing back seven points on Hickling in race two, Hickling’s 60-point lead was enough to crown him champion without the need to turn a wheel in the remaining two races.
Meanwhile, Davies added a second win to his victory in race one, crossing the line ahead of Butler, with Witherington in third.
The MRO Minitwin series is renowned for its close racing throughout the field, but it saved its narrowest winning margin of the season for the final day’s racing, as Kurtis Butler was credited with the victory in Sunday’s opener, the gap between him and Davies one thousandth of a second.
Former champion Grant Robertson also ended his season strongly with a third place.
Davies was back to winning ways in the last race of the season, his third victory of the weekend coming ahead of Jack Wallis and Witherington.
Fortunately for Daniel Singleton, crashing out of the lead in the opening BMCRC Rookie Minitwin race was of little consequence, as he had wrapped up the championship a round early.
Crashing out of the lead left Richard Tyrer to take the win, but he returned to winning ways in races two and three, before finishing second in the final race to James Larter.
RKB-F1 BMCRC F1 & F2 Sidecars
Both the F1 and F2 sidecar championships were up for grabs coming into the final weekend of the season at Brands Hatch.
In the F1 class, Gary Smith and Ryan Anderson had the job all but complete, heading into the weekend with a healthy 79-point lead. A second in class in race one and a class win with a second overall finish in race two were enough to confirm that as the 2016 champions, before the pairing opted to sit out of Sunday’s action.
In the F2 class, the gap was a lot closer between the two outfits fighting for the gong, with Brian Ilaria and passenger Harry Payne in the chair holding a 17-point lead over Simon Gilbert and Carl Morgan. It meant everything was to play for.
In the opening race Barry James and Jack Tritton took the overall win and the F1 class win, while the F2 honours and second overall went to Gilbert and Morgan. With Ilaria and Payne in fourth place, and third of the F2s, it meant the deficit was reduced to five points.
In race two the overall win went to the F2 outfit of Sean Reeves and Tom Christie, with the F1 spoils going to champions Smith and Anderson in second place.
Ilaria and Payne re-established their lead in the F2 title, finishing third overall and second of the F2 runners, while Gilbert and Morgan finished fifth in class, allowing Ilaria and Payne to extend the series lead back up to 14 points with two races to go.
Race three saw James and Tritton back on the top step of the podium, but they were made to work for the win by the F2 pairing of Wayne Lockey and Mark Sayers, who also took the F2 class win.
Gilbert and Morgan’s third in class finish reduced the deficit once again by five points, meaning nine points separated the two outfits going into the final round of the season.
In the end the gap was too much for Gilbert and Morgan to bridge, their fourth in class finish in race four still cut the series lead by two more points, but the 2016 BMCRC F2 sidecar title went to Ilaria and Payne.
The race was won by James and Tritton, with Matt Dix and Shaun Parker’s third place giving them the F2 win.
ACU Team Green Championship (Juniors and Seniors)
Elliot Pinson wrapped up the ACU Team Green Championship at Brands Hatch and the final round of the British Motorcycle Racing Club season, but while 50 points separated series leader and his nearest rival, Luke Hopkins, going into the weekend, it was still an uncomfortable two days for Pinson before he eventually wrapped up the 2016 title.
In the Senior 300 class, Gareth Hopkins secured the championship, after he arrived at Brands with a comfortable 87-point lead.
In the overall and Junior championships, Pinson immediately set himself up as one of the main contenders, starting the year with a hat-trick of victories at the opening round at Donington Park. However, an uncharacteristic shaky start to his weekend at Brands Hatch gave Hopkins a glimmer of hope.
The opening race saw Hopkins claw back 10 points on Pinson, who could only manage sixth place. After circulating in the podium positions, he dropped down the order, eventually taking 10 points in sixth.
At the front, third in the standings Joey Lambden took the win, with Hopkins in a lonely second place, but his 20-point haul saw him claim 10 points back on Pinson. Third overall went to Mark Taylor, the newly crowned Yamaha Past Masters champion enjoying his first outing in the class by taking the win in the Senior 300 category.
In race two Hopkins took a dominant victory, pulling out a gap of nearly 10 seconds over the chasing field. Pinson returned to podium form, but had to race for his second place finish, as just a tenth of a second covered the champion-elect and Lambden at the chequered flag.
The Senior 300 class win went to Ben Hawes in fifth, ahead of fellow Senior competitor Gareth Hopkins.
Luke Hopkins again did all he could to prevent Pinson from being crowned champion in race three, again taking another win and another five points out of his title rival, but with just one race left to go, Pinson held an unassailable 30-point lead in the championship standings.
Brandon Payne finished third in Sunday’s opening race, with the Senior win again going to Ben Hawes in fourth place.
Pinson was denied the opportunity to celebrate his championship win in style, as he crashed out of second place on lap three chasing eventual race-winner and hat-trick hero Hopkins, who missed out on the 2016 Team Green Championship by five points.
Hawes secured another Senior 300 class win with a fine second placed finish, while third went to Gary Smith.
Team Respro MRO 600s
In the Team Respro MRO 600 series Grant Newstead had already secured the championship title, but that didn’t stop him from racing to three wins and third over the course of the weekend, while Dominic Pettit took the Clubman class title.
After qualifying on the front row in second place, Newstead made a bright start behind pole-sitter Chris Burrage in the first race of the weekend, who led the opening two laps. Running the number one plate, Newstead hit the front on lap three, as Burrage dropped to second, before eventually slipping back to fourth place.
Meanwhile, Newstead extended his advantage at the front, escaping the rest of the field by nearly four seconds to take the win. Behind, James Plummer came through to second place, as he too began to gap the fight for the remaining podium position.
The battle for the final spot on the podium saw a trio of riders eventually cross the line within half a second of each other, with Hayden Platton, Burrage, and Simon Tucker finishing third, fourth, and fifth respectively. Platton was also awarded the Clubman class win.
Burrage put the disappointment of missing out on the podium in race one behind him in the second race, as he took a comfortable win as track conditions improved.
The order on track changed little at the front throughout the race, as Burrage pulled a comfortable margin, Platton slotted into second on the opening lap and rode to an impressive runner-up finish and another Clubman win, while Newstead added another podium finish to his season’s tally - his total would increase to 23 before the season was out - in third place.
Newstead signed his season off in style on Sunday, racing to a brace of victories, his first of the day coming after a last lap move snatched 25 points away from rival Burrage, who had led every lap of the race up until the one that mattered.
It took Newstead half the race to recover from a poor start and get himself up into second place, but from there he stalked the race leader, stealing the win on the last lap as just over a tenth split the pair at the line.
Pettit recovered from a DNF and a relatively poor showing by his standards on Saturday to take third place and the Clubman win, while also ensuring he held onto second in the overall MRO championship.
The final race saw Newstead again on the top step of the podium, this time with 2016 BMCRC Rookie 600 champion David Shoubridge impressing everyone to take a superb second placed finish overall, just one second back of the race winner and 2016 MRO champion, while Pettit finished third.
In the BMCRC Rookie 600s, Liam Duffet took the win in the opening race, with Shoubridge taking a brace of victories, before Andrew Smith took the win in the final outing.
Chilton Motors BMZRC 250
Only pride was at stake in the Chilton Motors BMZRC 250 series, with Pete Woodall already crowned champion and Chris Rogers already safe in second place. However, that didn’t stop the new series winner riding to three victories from four of the weekend’s races.
He would have to wait until race two before taking his first win of the weekend though, as Andrew Wales took the win. Coming through the pack in the opening laps, Wales hit the front on lap six, before edging away from his rivals to take a comfortable win.
Second went to Robert Dessoy, with new champion Woodall third.
Woodall took his first win of the weekend in race two, as just six hundredths of a second covered the entire podium. The new champion led the entire race, but was chased hard by Chris Kent and Wales, who finished second and third respectively. The pair were split by a slender two thousandths of a second at the line.
Sunday’s races again saw the newly installed champion on the top step of the podium in both outings, as he finished his season the way any champion wants. He bettered Kent and Chris Rogers in the first of the day’s races, before finishing ahead of Kent again the final race, with Gary Howlett third.
DFDS Yamaha Past Masters
Mark Taylor had already wrapped up the DFDS Yamaha Past Masters championship, and instead concentrated his weekend’s efforts in the ACU Team Green championship races, in which he is looking to join full-time in 2017.
The opening race of the weekend was for the Paul Hogan memorial trophy, and saw an entertaining battle unfold at the front between Sacha Gyte and eventual winner, Jeremy Hill, who was making a guest appearance in the class.
The pair jostled for the lead throughout the race, with Gyte looking to take his first win in the class. Gyte had regained the lead onto the penultimate lap, but he was unable to hold off Hill, who made a break for it and pulled out a narrow lead at the front to take the win with Gyte second. Third went to outgoing champion Matt Barber.
Race two was for the Danny Whalin Challenge Cup, and saw Barber take the win and the privileged award, while Gyte took another second place ahead of race one winner Hill.
Barber was again victorious in the first of Sunday’s two encounters, better Anthony Johnson and Hill, before Hill took the win in the final race of the season, with David Abraham on the podium in front of Marc Prentice.