BMCRC - Round 5 - Cadwell Park

Cadwell Park marked the halfway point of the British Motorcycle Racing Club’s season, and under sunny skies some of the historic club’s championships were starting to take shape.

Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes

One championship starting to take shape is the Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes, with Josh Wainwright looking like the runaway series leader.

Arriving with a 141-point lead at the top of the standings, he further extended that lead after converting pole position into three wins.

On his JW MOT Centre Honda Fireblade, he was nearly a second and a half quicker than anyone in qualifying, with Sam Cox’s Belcom Cable Ltd BMW S1000RR and Nicky Wilson’s Demon GP and Haslemere Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R1000 completing the front row.

Pulling a one and a half second lead on the opening lap, Wainwright was unstoppable as he led every lap to take victory. However, he left four riders to fight for the remaining two podium positions, with just one second splitting the quartet at the line.

Luke Dixon started strongly and gave chase but was eventually deposed by Cox, who would go on to finish second.

Coming through from the second row of the grid was Peter Baker, who passed Dixon on the penultimate lap, along with Wilson. Come the chequered flag Dixon was demoted to fifth, with Baker taking the final podium spot in front of Wilson.

In race two Wainwright pulled a ridiculous three second lead on the opening lap, and doubled it by the end of the penultimate lap, only to steady it up on the final circulation to take a dominant win.

In eighth, Seamus McGlynn took the Clubman win.

A lightning start from the third row from McGlynn rocketed him into second place, but his start was deemed too good, and he was slapped with a 10 second jump start penalty. He eventually took the chequered flag in eighth, before being dropped to 11th with the penalty.

At the front Wilson moved into second place on lap two, and held it until the halfway point before being passed by Cox, who would hang onto the runner-up spot. Wilson took third.

The Clubman win went to Michael Clarke in ninth.

It was three from three for Wainwright in the weekend’s closer, but this time he left five riders to scrap over the two remaining rostrum positions, with one and a half second covering the lot.

Cox took another second place finish, just in front of Baker, with Dixon, Wilson, Ritchie Thornton fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively.

ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins

In the ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins Glynn Davies took four wins from four races, but his victories were anything but assured, with his biggest margin of victory over the weekend just over a second.

In race one it was a two horse race at the very front between Davies and Daniel Good, with David Twyford - the pole-sitter and championship leader - third, circulating just out of touch of the battle for the lead.

Davies led from the off, but Good hit the front on lap two and managed to hold on to the race lead until the penultimate lap, when Davies re-took the position and held on to take the win.

It was a similar story in race two, though Davies was able to hold Good off for the duration of the race, and despite the margin of victory at the flag just a tenth of a second, at one point Davies was able to pull out a lead of over a second.

David Twyford and James O’Mara battled for third from the start of the race until the end, though it was Twyford that held the position for the bulk of the laps. However, a last lap move from O’Mara, as the two negotiated a backmarker, saw Twyford pushed back to fourth, with O’Mara completing the podium.

Buoyed by his podium in race two, O’Mara made a strong start to race three of the weekend and Sunday’s opener, and after finishing the first lap in third, he passed Good for second place. On lap three he set the fastest lap of the race so far, to close to within two tenths of a second of leader Davies.

Sadly for him, he crashed out on lap four, promoting Good back into the silver medal position. Twyford finished in a lonely third.

Not to be deterred by his off, O’Mara launched into the final race with confidence and led the opening lap from Davies and Good. His lead lasted a lap, before Davies hit the front. Two laps later, Good made his way past to bump O’Mara to third.

It was the order the race would finish, with Davies winning from Good and O’Mara. Twyford was fourth.

DART Motorsport MRO 600, GP2, and Clubman 600

The MRO 600 class - sponsored by DART Motorsport - entertained a wildcard ride by British Supersport regular Eugene McManus, who took two race wins on the Saturday, though didn’t score championship points and sat out Sunday’s action.

Behind McManus it was Harrison Crosby who took second at the flag in race one, in front of Kam Dixon and Alex Barker and Jack Sim, with not much to choose between them all.

Dixon and Crosby reversed positions in race two, but Crosby was nudged off the podium after being handed a 10 second jump start penalty. He was classified eighth.

In turn, Sim was promoted to third, though with McManus not scoring points, Barker took 16 championship points in fourth.

Seventh and sixth place finishes for Matt Pallett meant he picked up two Clubman 600 wins on Saturday.

A multi-rider battle for the lead in race three, which saw Sim, Crosby, and Dixon all take turns leading early on. Eventually, however, the action settled down, and Crosby and Dixton pulled away to do battle for the win.

Dixon chased Crosby in the closing laps, but a mistake on the final circuit cost him the chance to fight for the win, and he had to settle for second, with Crosby the winner.

Barker was third, with Owen Mellor this time the Clubman win, taking the flag in sixth.

Sim again took an early race lead in race four, on his Vanguard Motorsport Kawasaki, but after a handful of laps he was passed by Dixon’s Delicious Race Wear Kawasaki.

Pulling away, Dixon took victory by two and a half seconds from Sim, while Barker led a three-rider train across the line in the fight for the final podium spot.

A tenth of a second split Barker and Cameron Harris, who finished fourth on a GP2 machine, while Mellor finished fifth, just over half a second back on Harris to take the Clubman win.

DFDS Yamaha Past Masters

Wins were shared in the DFDS Yamaha Past Masters over the weekend, with title hopeful and former champion Peter Branton taking a brace of victories, with the other wins going to Anthony Johnson.

Branton won race one, and did battle for victory with Johnson and series leader Kevin Wholey. Unfortunately for Wholey, he crashed out of the lead on the final lap, leaving Branton to take the win, narrowly, from Johnson.

Another beneficiary from Wholey’s exit was Alan Cooper, who was elevated to third at the flag.

Saturday’s second race saw Branton double up, though despite leading every lap, he was kept honest by Cooper. Wholey also gave chase in third, but he was, in turn, chased by Doug Edmondson, who snatched the position away on the penultimate lap to take third place.

Wholey, now second in the championship, finished fourth, giving away more points to new series leader Branton.

On the podium in third place in race three, Wholey recovered some of those points on Branton, who finished fifth, the pair sandwiching Edmondson.

At the front, Johnson took his first of two wins, with Cooper second.

Johnson took a commanding victory in race four, winning by over eight seconds, as Wholey and Edmondson provided the entertainment in the battle for second. It came down to the last lap, with Wholey taking it. Cooper and Branton battled for fourth, and finished fourth and fifth respectively.

EDIasia Formula 400

Richie Welsh extended his EDIasia Formula 400 championship lead with a perfect weekend at Cadwell Park, taking all four wins.

Pole-sitter Mark Thompson led the first lap of race one, but Welsh hit the front on lap two and led until the end of the fifth lap before a red flag brought about an early end.

Thompson was classified in second, with reigning champion James Seath third and Sub-64bhp class winner Carl Johnston fourth.

Race two and Welsh doubled up with another win, with Thompson again second, despite picking up a 10-second jump start penalty. Seath was third and Haydon Smith’s fifth gave him the Sub-64bhp win.

On his Yamaha FZR400RR Welsh completed the hat-trick on Sunday morning, but he was forced to race Thompson for the win, and it would take a last lap move to secure his third victory of the weekend.

Seath made it another third place in front of Smith, whose fourth gave him another class win.

It was a repeat podium in race four, but Welsh’s margin of victory was a paltry one and a half hundredths of a second.

Seath, again, occupied the bottom step of the podium, as Johnstone took his second Sub-64bhp win of the weekend, to share the spoils with Smith.

Inta Motorcycles Blue Haze GP

Stuart Hall qualified on pole and took three wins, with Bruce Dunn recovering from two DNFs to win the final race of the weekend.

Hall beat Frank Swain and Phil Harvey in race one, with Dunn retiring on lap one.

On his Yamaha TZ250 Hall won race two, with fellow Yamaha pilot Dunn coming through to finish second in front of Sean Morrison’s Honda RS250.

Sadly Sunday’s opener yielded more bad luck for Dunn, as he failed to complete a lap, leaving Hall to race unchallenged to his third win. Swain was second with Harvey third.

Despite the two DNFs, Dunn was going home happy after winning the final race of the weekend, though Hall was absent from proceedings.

Morrison was second, in front of Swain in third.

Taymar Motorcycles Blue Haze GPF

David Abraham was unstoppable in the road-bike based Blue Haze GPF class races, winning all four races, some by over 20 seconds.

He set a qualifying time over a second quicker than anyone else, and on his big bore Suzuki RG570 he won race one 23 seconds from Richard Hayward and James Seath.

He was in equally dominant form in race two, this time winning by 25 seconds, with Yamaha TZR250-mounted Hayward again second.

Mark Haigh and Andrew Moxon duked it out for the final spot on the podium, less than half a second the gap between them as the chequered flag fell, with Haigh taking the bronze medal.

Haigh improved to second in race three, but he could do nothing about Abraham out front, who took another win, as Seath rounded out the podium, before the trio finished in the same order in the fourth and final race of the weekend.

Illuminate Design BMZRC 250

He arrived with a 71-point championship lead, but despite three wins over the weekend, Scott Grant saw that lead shrink thanks to a DNF while title rival Alexander Mann took a win, second, third, and a fourth.

Grant was battling for the win in race one with Chris Kent, but a coming together on the final lap handed victory to Mann. Gary Howlett was second, with Gary Williams third.

Bouncing back, Grant took victory in race two ahead of Christopher Rogers and Mann, before doubling up on Sunday.

He ran away at the front of the day’s opener, while Mann and Andrew Wales battled over second place, three tenths of a second the gap at the end of eight laps.

After a comfortable win in race three, Grant was made to work for it in race four, and he swapped the lead with Wales throughout before taking the win five hundredths of a second.

Pete Woodall and Mann were locked in their own battle for third, with Woodall taking the final spot on the rostrum by three tenths of a second.

ACU Team Green Junior Cup and Senior 300

Three wins for Maximus Hardy in the ACU Team Green Junior Cup saw him eradicate Lennon Docherty’s championship lead - which stood at 22 points before the weekend got underway - while Phil Atkinson continued his 100% record with another four class wins.

In race one there were multiple lead changes, with Docherty and Hardy fighting it out with James O’Mara, Atkinson, and Dylan Mellor.

O’Mara and Hardy did most of the leading, before Docherty hit the front on the penultimate lap before taking victory. Hardy took second, two tenths of a second down on the winner, with O’Mara third.

Atkinson, the Senior 300 winner, was fourth, a tenth up on Mellor.

After a closely-fought race one Hardy took a relatively comfortable win in race two, crossing the line six seconds in front of the tight battle for second.

Half a second covered O’Mara, Mellor, and Senior 300 winner Atkinson, as Docherty crashed out on lap four, surrendering his championship lead.

Hardy went on to win race three, with Docherty taking second after the disappointment of Saturday’s second race, half a second the difference between them.

Two tenths decided the final spot on the podium, as Mellor bested Senior runner Atkinson.

It was another Hardy-Docherty one-two in race four, and again the pair traded the lead between them before one tenth of a second decided the outcome, as Hardy took the win from Docherty to lead the championship going into the Brands GP round.

Atkinson stood on the overall podium as the Senior winner.

Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme and Thunderbike Sport

Andy Scanlon and David May took two Extreme class wins apiece over the weekend at Cadwell Park, while Tommi Caldwell took three Sport class wins, and three Thunderbike Sport Rookie wins in the process. The other Sport win went to Ricardo Branco.

Scanlon won the opening race of the weekend, a red-flagged affair with Extreme championship leader May crashing out on the seventh lap, along with Sport runner Malvern May.

Scanlon’s win, aboard his Continental Ducati, came ahead of Derek Cripps, after the pair exchanged the lead throughout, and Michael Hogarth. Caldwell was sixth and the Sport class winner in front of Branco and Adam Jamison.

Putting the disappointment of race one behind him, David May responded by taking victory in race two, crossing the line in front of race one winner Scanlon and David Spencer.

Three tenths of a second split the Sport class podium, as Branco, Jamison, and championship leader Matthew Fedrick fought for honours, finishing seventh, eighth, and ninth overall. Caldwell crashed out on lap five.

The pendulum spun in Scanlon’s favour again in race three, as he led from start to finish to take victory by three and a half seconds. David May followed him home in a safe and lonely second, with David Spencer third, completing the Extreme class podium.

A crash for Jamison brought out the red flags, with Caldwell recovering to take another Sport win, in front of fellow rookie Luke Lawson. Branco was third in class.

David May and Scanlon fought for victory in race three, with May keen to even the score and Scanlon looking for a hat trick of victories.

Come the chequered flag, less than two tenths of a second was the difference, the result going in May’s favour. Spencer was third, some eight seconds back on the battle for the lead.

Caldwell took another Sport class victory on his DART Motorsport Yamaha R6, with Branco second and rookie Lawson third in the Sport category.

TBR Performance Thunderbike Ultra

With four wins Mark Wilby extended his series lead in the TBR Performance Thunderbike Ultra championship.

He set the fastest time in qualifying on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, and led every lap of race one to take his eighth win of the season.

Luke Wallington held second on lap one but crashed out a lap later, promoting Anthony Brandish to second place. He held the position to the chequered flag, but was chased all the way by Stacey Killworth.

Race two and Wilby again led from start to finish, with Brandish holding second from the opening lap to penultimate lap, before crashing out. That promoted James Fearn, Daryl Dance, and Killworth’s battle for third into a battle for second.

Fearn held the advantage, with Dance looking set for third before a small mistake saw Killworth snatch the position away on the last lap.

It was a comfortable victory in race three for Wilby, as he took victory by nearly 13 seconds, with Killworth second and Fearn third, after Dance crashed out of the podium fight at the halfway stage.

Kilby’s perfect weekend was complete in race four, as he won again - though this time by just a second - from Killworth and Fearn.

RKB F1 and F2 Sidecars

In the RKB F1 class Luke Williams and Anthony Hildige took three victories at Cadwell Park, with the other victory going to Martin Kirk and David Ryder taking the other win. Greg Lambert and Tony Jevans took all four F2 wins, with a best of second place overall.

Williams and Hildige won the first three races, the first from Lambert and Jevans and the F1 outfit of Gordon Pottinger and Dave Dodd, before narrowly holding off Kirk and Ryder in race two, winning by three tenths of a second. Lambert and Jevans were third overall, winning the F2 class.

After only narrowly taking victory in race two, Williams and Hildige romped to victory in race three, winning by a third of a minute from the F2 pairing of Lambert and Jevans, Kirk and Ryder were third.

Sadly Williams and Hildige didn’t take to the grid for race four, giving up the chance to make it a clean sweep.

Kirk and Ryder stepped up to take the win, as Lambert and Jevans did complete the clean sweep in the F2 class. Pottinger and Dodd finished third overall, second in the F1 class.