Saturday
Warm up
As 17 outfits head out for the warm up, the sky is overcast and following the mornings rainfall the track is slippy. Add in the wind which is also playing a factor and you have the makings of a tricky test session. The teams put a few laps in with times ranging from 1:37.864 to 1:54.731.
Qualifying
Twenty sidecars take to the track to aim for one thing - getting pole position. The track is greasy with a dry racing line and damp patches off to the sides. All riders are close together in their own groups not really giving room or space to get a clear run or clean air. Positions are constantly switching as the track rubbers back in. Crawford/Hardie put in the best time of 1:27.462 on their 7th lap and was fast enough to take pole. Kershaw/Gibbons was 2.990 seconds behind them in 2nd place and Dawson/Sims pipped Clarke/Johnson to 3rd on the grid by 0.022 of a second.
Race 1
Race 1 saw 19 riders take to the grid, sadly we lost Saunders/Stell before the race started. The bikes lined up with engines screaming ready for the green light - the clutches dropped and they were away. Plenty of overtakes happened on lap 1 with Hegarty/Knapton making the best start going from p11 to p8. Kershaw/Gibbons got a great start on Crawford/Hardie getting in front but Crawford/Hardie got a great run through chicane with a drag race down to Tower Bend and outdid Kershaw/Gibbons on the brakes. Lockey/Binns came flying down the outside, then made their way to the inside taking two positions in one swift move. Saunders/Stokoe, Holden/Knapton and father and son duo Gibson/Gibson head down towards Tower Bend side-by-side. Morphet/Ryder, Saunders/Cooke, Lambert/Haynes and Schofield/Astley pulled out of the Hairpin for a drag race down to Clervaux, all 4 outfits were within 1 second of each other! The battle continued around Hawthorn and out of the Chicane to Tower Bend where they ended up side-by-side. Lockey/Binns got past Baker/Dawkins then built a gap. The red flag came out to end the race following an incident. We had another retirement of Moore/Gash due to a technical issue which would hopefully be solved for race 2.
Race results
Supers Cup
1st Crawford/Hardie 1st Dawson/Sims
2nd Kershaw/Gibbons 2nd Saunders/Stokoe
3rd Clarke/Johnson 3rd Schofield/Astley
Sunday
Warm up
Only 15 teams made it out on track for a few laps just to test set ups and check any issues that they had from the previous day. Moore/Gash fixed the fuel issue which saw them retire from race 1.
Race 2
Before the race got underway we had 4 non-starters; Lambert/Haynes; Kirkup/Oldroyd and Lockey/Binns who didn’t make the grid, whilst Saunders/Cooke retired the previous day due to being involved in the red flag of race 1. We all wish Vicky a speedy recovery and hope to see her back on track soon.
That left 16 bikes on the grid ready to race, tires screeched and off they went. Crawford/Hardie got a flying start and built a lead of 2 seconds per lap. Kershaw/Gibbons and Clarke/Johnson had a great battle which saw Clarke/Johnson get in front and stay there for the race. Again we had a 4 way battle between Schofield/Smith, Saunders/Stokoe, Morphet/Ryder and Schofield/Astley seeing all outfits swapping and changing. The Schofield family were trading places for 4 laps, one brother trying to get the better of the other. Unfortunatly, on the back of this battle as Morphet/Ryder were pushing it trying to take advantage of the family rivalry, Morphet spun the bike and Ryder came out putting an end to their race. Gibson/Gibson also retired from the race as did Saunders/Stell. Crawford/Hardie came away with another win as well as setting a PB on their Kawasaki engine. Clarke/Johnson take second and Kershaw/Gibbons take 3rd, a great effort as prior to Knockhill last season Kershaw hadn’t ridden an F2 in 15 years!
Race results
Supers Cup
1st Crawford/Hardie 1st Dawson/Sims
2nd Clarke/Johnson 2nd Saunders/Stokoe
3rd Kershaw/Gibbons 3rd Schofield/Smith
After Round 1 the top 3 are:
Supers Cup
1st Crawford/Hardie 50 pts 1st Dawson/Sims 50 pts
2nd Kershaw/Gibbons 36 pts 2nd Saunders/Stokoe 40 pts
3rd Clarke/Johnson 36 pts 3rd Schofield/Astley 29 pts
Lap records
Super Founds/Walmsley 1:26.484 02-04-23
Cup Clarke/Johnson 1:28.846 25-08-24
On behalf of the F.S.R.A., I would like to express thanks to our loyal series sponsors, who have continued to pledge their support. ACU, Pagid Brake Pads/Breitenbach Rennsport, Whitby Cottages, Hegarty Plant Hire, Freight Hub, Tingles of Warmfield, we thank you all for investing in the championship. This thanks is also extended to our new 2025 sponsors SJH Bodyworks, Power Tools Rentals Ltd and this rounds title sponsor ARC Newton Aycliffe, we thank you for coming on board and look forward to our partnership this season.
Finally, the F.S.R.A. would like to thank N.E.M.C.R.C for hosting, and to all their resolute officials, marshals, medics and all the other volunteers involved in running the event.