The 2017 Oliver's Mount Cock O'The North will be remembered as a fantastic event, with on track drama throughout the weekend. Saturday afternoon and it was time for the first race. With the sun shining on the Mount it was time for the green lights. After their recent run at the Isle of Man TT, most of our racers are feeling positive and energized, ready for another weekend of packed racing here at Oliver’s Mount. Race 1 – Junior A Race
After a smooth morning of practice and qualifying, it is now down to the racing. True to form, Dean Harrison takes the lead throughout the first race of the day, the junior A race and furthermore takes the best lap of 1:46:8 seconds. Adam Mclean takes a brilliant 2nd place, with Jamie Coward taking 3rd and Daley Mathison in 4th.
Race 2 – Junior B Race
Qualifying for race B, the paddock is now humming with the sound of the Junior B riders raring to go. One of the riders to look out for is Chris North, local lad from York, riding his Yamaha R6. It’s an absolute scuffle to the final lap of the race, as Steve Haddow, Russell Brook and Ben Shuttlewood all cross the line within 3 seconds of each other and significantly further ahead of the other riders and their machines. However, it is newcomer, number 147 Steven Haddow, who takes first place, closely followed by 83 Shuttlewood in second and 41 Brook in third.
Race 3 – F2 Sidecars
Waiting patiently in the paddock, it’s finally the turn of the F2 sidecars to take their places on the start line. 2016 winners, Steve and Matty Ramsden, are certainly not hard to spot in their very colorful new outfit number 99. However, they have a bit of tough competition on their hands today, going up against the likes of Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle and regular at the Mount, Greg Lambert who said at the start of the year that he intends to make his passenger, Julie Canipa, the fastest ever woman around Oliver’s Mount! On the first lap, the race was red flagged and number 46, Mark Saunders and Karl Schofield retired. The race was restarted and was anyone’s to be had, however it was Lee Crawford and passenger Harry Payne who crossed the line first on their team ARC LCR 600 Suzuki. Second to cross the line was number 99 Steve and Matty Ramsden, with the Scunthorpe based Lowther brother, John and Jake in third.
Race 4 – Super Lightweights
Now to the well anticipated Super lightweight race. Dafabet/Devitt Racing’s Ivan Lintin is the fans favorite for this race and has a best lap of 1:51 seconds. Julian Tillotson, a favourite in the paddock with his cheeky charm and humour, is another one to look out for. On lap 4 the race was red flagged due to an incident involving number 79 Shuan Wynn. As a result, the race was set as a 4 lap race, with Linton taking the chequered flag, followed by Kilham’s James Cowton, Adam McLean and Brad Vicars.
Race 5 – Solo Open A final
The Solo Open A Race looks to be an exciting race with the likes of Daley Mathison, Ivan Lintin, and the Goodings brothers all taking on the unstoppable Dean Harrison. With Jamie Coward having a bit of a poor start, Dean and Daley were able to take the lead going into Mere hairpin. Unfortunately during the first lap, Daley had an off at Memorial, leaving Dean to take the lead yet again, with Ivan in a close second. Daley was perfectly ok, allowing the race to continue for the remaining 5 laps. Taking the chequered flag was Dean, on his Silicone Engineering Kawasaki machine. Second was Ivan Lintin, also on a Kawasaki. Third was Adam McLean, who is also having a great run here at the Mount this weekend.
Race 6 – Solo Open B Final
Solo Open Race B started with PMH Promotions Ltd rider Rodger Wibberley in pole position, however he didn't get a great start and retired to the paddock during the first lap. Paul Marley had a great race, pushing his way to the front by the third lap, closely followed by Stephen Parsons. However, just approaching the start/finish line, Stephen had an issue on the Farm Bends section of the circuit, bringing his race to an early end. Steven Haddow ended up taking second place, crossing the line after front runner Paul Marley who had a great race. Third place was taken by number 83, Ben Shuttlewood.
Race 7 – F2 Sidecars
It was the second time out on the track for the sidecars in race 7 and what a great race it was. The colorful outfit of Steve and Matty Ramsden, number 99, took the lead. It was a close batter for second place between the almost identical outfits of Lee Crawford and John Lowther, but it was John Lowther who crossed the line in second place with passenger Jake Lowther on their 600 LCR Honda. Taking third place was PMH Promotions Ltd. rider Lee Crawford and passenger, Harry Payne, on their team ARC 600 LCR Suzuki.
Race 8 - Senior
Onto race 8 and you can almost predict the result before they've even set off. He had a great weekend at the Spring Cup and Dean Harrison is continuing this run at the second major Oliver's Mount Road Race of 2017! Following his latest off, Daley Mathison managed to pull it back in this race, taking a close second, giving Dean Harrison that bit of tough competition to keep him on his toes. Dafabet/Devitt racing's Ivan Lintin crossed the line in third place in the last race of the day for the big bikes!
Race 9 – Ultra Lgihtweights & Lightweights
Race 9 brought the Lightweights and Ultra Lightweights onto the grid. Multiple TT winner Ian Lougher took the chequered flag for the Ultra Lightweight class, with Justin Waring following closely behind on his Kalex KTM Moto 3 250. If you didn't see him fly over the finish line, you will definitely have heard him! Local lad James Cowton took third on his Moto 250, completing the top three! Down to the lightweights and it was Joe Thompson who took first place. Joe has recently returned from the Isle of Man TT where he put in some astounding times as a newcomer to the mountain course! The future looks bright for this young rider, who is sponsored by PMH Promotions Ltd and who works closely with the above-mentioned Ian Lougher. Dan Frear took second place on his Kawasaki ZXR 400 machine, followed by Rhys Hardisty in third on his two stroke.
Race 10 – Classic Superbike
Running a little behind schedule, but with the sun still shining, we only had a small number of bikes on the grid for the final race of the day which was the classic superbikes. David Bell took the lead on his Yamaha 1000 OW01, with a best lap time of 1:54:86. Peter Boast took a close second on his Team York Suzuki machine, with Daniel Ingham following closely behind taking third. Jamie O Brien also had a great run around on the only two stroke in the class!
SUNDAY
The sun is shining once again, making a promising start for a jam-packed day of racing here at Oliver’s Mount. Shorts and shades on and it’s not even noon, its time to go…
Race 11 - Senior
First up, it’s the senior class, bringing all the big bikes back out onto the start line. It’s 18 degrees and the track is dry, some promising conditions for most our riders, particularly Dean Harrison. Dean not only gets a great start, but manages to beat the outright lap record, previously set by Guy Martin at the Gold Cup meeting in 2013. Guy’s lap record was 1:44.269 and Dean managed a 1:43.940! What a great start to the day! Eddie Stobart backed rider Daley Mathison, also has a great start to Sunday, coming in second place for the senior race, closely followed by Ivan ‘lightning’ Lintin.
Race 12 – F2 Sidecars
Onto the second race of the day and it’s the turn of the sidecars. After yesterday brought some of the best sidecar action seen at the Mount in a long time, this race is not to be missed! At one point, 2 outfits came through to sector one in 1.11secs with 0.1 between them. The Ramsdens take the inital lead. Number 22 Dave Wallis and Scott Hardie and number 24 Andy Wilby and Paul Lowther both retired. The Ramsdens manage to hold pole position and win the race closely by the Lowthers and Conrad Harrison and Andy winkle.
Race 14 – Ultra-Lightweights & Lightweights
To the first Lightweight and ultra-lightweight race of the day and after a cracking day yesterday, Joe Thompson didn't get off to his usual great start, with Rhys Hardisty taking an early lead. Number 82, Michael Rees, retired to the paddock. On the third lap, Joe managed to squeeze past Rhys, taking first place which he managed to retain until the end of the race. Rhys Hardisty came in a close second with Dan Freear in third. That completed the top three for the lightweight class. Also out on the grid were the ultra lightweights and Moto 3's. Ian Lougher had a great ride during this race, however was given a bit of tough competition by the likes of James Cowton and Justin Waring on their Moto 3 machines. Cowton managed to push past Lougher on the last lap just approaching the start/finish line, taking the chequered flag for this class, with Lougher very close behind. Third place was local lad Justin Waring.
Race 15 – Junior A Race
Race 15 was the Junior A race, bringing some of the quickest riders out of the paddock and onto the grid. Daley Mathison was the quickest through the first sector of the first lap, however not quite quick enough to beat the unbeatable, as Dean Harrison takes an early lead once again. Adam McLean was also flying through the first sector on the second lap to Drury's hairpin. Joe Thompson unfortunately had to retire on the esses section of the circuit. Jamie Coward was sitting comfortably in third place, not without a bit of competition from Daley Mathison who was soon hot on his heels, at one point just one second behind! On lap 4, Daley passed Radcliffe's Racing's Jamie, taking him up to third place. 112 Lewis Bramwell was another retirement at Drury's hairpin. Another race, another lap record and true to form, Dean Harrison was absolutely flying around in the great conditions here at the mount today, managing to break the Supersport 600 lap record with a lap of 1.46.171, previously set by Lee Johnston in 2015! A great race to watch for all our spectators here today! Closely following our lap record breaker over the finish line is Adam McLean in second place. Daley Mathison managed to retain his place in third, completing the top three for the Junior A race.
Race 16 – Junior B Race
After taking first place yesterday, newcomer Steven Haddow has high hopes for this race. However, he’s not the only one… Owen Graves, son of Gary Graves, also has hopes for a finish in the top 3! As the lights go out, it is Haddow who is quickest off the line speeding into Mere Hairpin, with an exceptional first lap of 1:59.32. Owen Graves moves up two positions to fifth and Russell Brook also makes a move up into second position. There really isn’t much between all the riders, making it a very close race. However, the top three are Steven Haddow, Ben Shuttlewood and Russell Brook.
Race 17 - Cock O’the North
It’s finally time for the feature race of the weekend, the Cock O’the North Darren Lindsay Trophy. The atmosphere down by the startline is truly overwhelming as the invited riders line up on the grid for the buildup. In pole position is, of course, Dean Harrison, along with Daley Mathison and Mick Goodings who complete the front row. As the lights go out, it’s a great start from everyone! Brian Greenfield moves up two places into 9
th position and Julian Tillotson moves up a whopping 7 places into 13
th! There is very little between Dean and Daley on the second lap, as they battle it out with a 0.763 gap between them. By lap 3, Dean Harrison breaks his own outright lap record again, with a 1:43.785 on his ZX10 machine! Ivan pushes his way through to 3
rd, forcing Mick Goodings back down to 4
th. Adam McLean is also ferociously taking on the 1000cc bikes on his 600MSS performance Kawasaki in 5
th place. Incredibly, Dean manages to break his own lap record once again, for the second time in this feature race, with a lap of 1:43.362, knocking almost 1 second of the record previously set by Guy Martin. This has to be some of the best racing we have seen at the Mount in a long while! Number 17, Mark Goodings, has an off at Memorial Out, but the rider is perfectly OK and it appears nothing was going to bring this race to a halt! The pace of this race was the highest it could have been, with not only Dean Harrison breaking the lap record twice, but Daley Mathison also lapping under the old lap record set by Guy Martin 4 years ago. A huge well done to these two! The top three are Dean Harrison, Daley Mathison and Ivan Lintin.
Race 18 – F2 Sidecars
The final sidecar race of the weekend was set to provide some edge of your seat racing. The Hebden Bridge pairing Father and Son team, Steve and Matty Ramsden, were the bookies favorites for this race and they did not disappoint, putting in some great laps and crossing the line in first place, putting their tally up to three wins this weekend. In second place were the Lowthers of Scunthorpe who were consistent top three finishers all weekend on their LCR Honda machine. Completing the top three was Father of this weekend’s record breaker, Dean Harrison, Conrad Harrison with passenger Andy Winkle. The Oliver’s Mount regular was making his second appearance on this machine and with the results he had, the future is looking bright! With the Ramsden’s securing three race wins this weekend, they won the Robin Daykin Memorial Trophy, which was presented by Annette Daykin at the Prize Presentation at the end of the day.
Race 19 – Solo Open A Final
The new King of the Mount, Dean Harrison, carries on his winning streak and take’s first place yet again! Second place was Irishman Adam McLean, tipped to be a young road-racing star, who has also had a great weekend here at Oliver’s Mount on first appearance of the year. Third place went to Ivan Lintin on his Kawasaki ZX10.
Race 20 – Solo Open B Final
PMH Promotions backed rider, Brian Greenfield, took the chequered flag on his Honda Fireblade, impressing crowds with his standing wheelie as he crossed the line! Second across the line was Steven Haddow, who has had a fantastic weekend here as a newcomer. I’m sure all Oliver’s Mount fans will be eagerly anticipating his return in the near future after his recent race wins, proving he is certainly one to watch. Third place went to local man Paul Marley riding his Kawasaki ZX10. A great result for a true supporter of the Auto 66 club!
Race 21 – Super lightweights
The final outing of the weekend for the twins saw two-time lightweight TT winner, Ivan Lintin, Take the chequered flag. Second place and only 0.722 seconds behind was local lad James Cowton on his Kawasaki ER6 with a gap back to third place, Brad Vicars. A great result from our young Tadcaster rider, who was the Duke Road Race Rankings Newcomer Champion of 2016!
Race 22 - Classic Superbike
Reigning Classic Superbike Champion, Dave Bell, cemented his authority by winning the second leg of the class and the final race of the weekend, securing him the Geoff Barry Trophy. The man of many bikes, Peter Boast, took home a second on the York Suzuki backed 1270 XR69 Suzuki machine. Boastie was followed by Dan Ingham who took third place on his Suzuki GSXR 750, bringing a close to a fantastic weekend of racing here at Oliver’s Mount.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in this weekend for making it such a huge success, from competitors to spectators. A special mention must go to all our marshals and officials who volunteer their spare time, whom without, racing would just not be able to happen. Further Information and Links:
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