The next stop on the NG Road Racing calendar is the fast west country circuit of Castle Combe, one of the quickest tracks in the UK provides yet another challenge to the riders away from the tight confines of Brands Hatch last time out.
A place where the larger bikes can stretch their legs and use all the horse power on tap yet a well ridden 600 with lighter weight, easier to handle through the 3 chicanes and later on the brakes will provide some interesting battles in the Phoenix Open incorporating the IMS King of Combe races ( 3 through the weekends programme) the highest number of points over the 3 heats is the King for the next year and the Rodney Gooch trophy and a prize fund right down to tenth place overall which will see the winner collect £1000
Rumours will circulate right up to the day as if Max Symonds, current KoC , is going to be able to find the time with his BSB commitments to enter , are we going to see Charlie Nesbitt back to have a pop at the overall lap record again, gossip says he can drop it down further than the 1.06.918 that stands at the present time!
Former 4-time winner Dan Cooper has said he is bringing his 600 Honda back out so could be a busy DCM garage with probably one of the pre-race favourites George Edwards looking for his first title and Ricky Elder not to be dismissed and maybe the Dan Cooper run Josh Davis Motorsport team of Morgan McLaren-Wood who was awesome at Brands and teammate Carter Brown could be jokers in the grid.
With a full race programme all being well 30 races over the weekend and parades of NG Past Masters through the weekend its going to have something for everyone to watch on track and see in the paddock free to wander round and get pictures of the riders and machines.
Hopefully a local celebrity or two will be around as there is no BSB races some guy that rides a Honda comes to mind??
The serious business of championship points is still the main point of the weekend for a number of riders, Daniel Nelmes is leading both the Phoenix Open and the RE Performance Powerbikes and is in great form, Ricky Elder has a good lead in the IMS Open 600, but Swindon rider Gareth Roberts and Will Jones are fighting for 2nd and 3rd place.
Our 2 stroke friends in the ACU 250 /125 Championship are starting to get to a “down to the wire” championship finish, Mr Consistent Mike Smith is leading the way with Bobby Varey closing in after a indifferent start to the season. The DTR Cup class is also heating up with leader Alex Penrice coming under fire from Sean Morrison.
Just to add to the fun we welcome back the FSRA Formula 2 Sidecars as guests since if I remember correctly 5 years ago, most of the crews will have been to the TT so Combe will be another high-speed run for them and a lap record could well be under threat.
Words: Martin Bennett, Race Commentator Pictures colin hill, hairybeastpix@hotmail.com