Wednesday March 14, 2018 at 10:59am
The opening round of the 2018 season for the British Motorcycle Racing Club took place at its spiritual home of Brands Hatch, but while it was a welcome return to racing action for the oldest motorcycle racing club in the country, the meeting was brought to an early end in the interests of rider safety, after a large oil spill at the Clark Curve. The club said in a statement, “Just before lunch a large oil spill had resulted in us needing to wash the circuit at Clark Curve with significant amounts of detergent and water. The weather stayed dry through the early afternoon - with the vast bulk of the circuit remaining dry - yet the section at Clark Curve remained quite wet and the transition from dry to wet surfaces was starting to catch out riders. “The Clerks conducted a detailed inspection and this led to the conclusion that as this section was not drying, so in the interests of safety of all riders yet to race we were better served by choosing to abandon the second half of the day.” However, despite the setback, all classes managed to enjoy 75% of the scheduled racing activity, and it didn’t disappoint. Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and BG Products Clubman 1000 After relinquishing his number one plate at the end of 2017, former champion Colin Parker got his championship assault off to a winning start in 2018. Back aboard his Global Robots Yamaha R1 for another year, Parker qualified on the second row of the grid, but made an impressive start to lead every lap of the season’s opening race. Another strong-starter was Anthony Johnson on his Bexhill Gearboxes BMW S1000RR. The reigning Yamaha Past Masters champion qualified fifth, but was up to second on lap one, with reigning MRO Powerbike champion Joe Morphett third after qualifying second fastest. Another former Powerbike champion, Peter Baker, sat fourth after the opening circulation, but the Kawasaki ZX-10R-mounted pilot made a brace of passes on lap two to elevate himself to second place. However, he was never able to mount a charge on Parker, and crossed the line in second place, with Johnson third and Morphett fourth. The first Clubman 1000 win of the season went to the 2017 Rookie 400 champion, Aiden Patmore, in sixth. Two races were on the schedule for Sunday, but due to track conditions, only one went ahead, and it was a runaway victory for Johnson. Johnson led every lap on a damp, drying Brands Hatch track to steadily pull away from his pursuers to take a dominant win. Meanwhile, behind, the battle raged. It started steadily, with Morphett holding second ahead of Paul Wilby on his Moremoto Yamaha, but the 88 of John Butler was carving through the pack. At the halfway stage Johnson had a 10 second lead, but seven riders were locked in the battle for second place, covered by just two seconds. And five of those riders were split by just half a second. Butler was up to second, and Baker third, but a lap later Baker had taken over the runner-up spot, with Morphett and Parker also still in the fight. Going into the closing stages Parker dispensed with Butler to assume third place, and would hang on all the way to the chequered flag, crossing the line behind Baker. More movement behind had also seen Patmore climb to fourth, despite being ninth at the halfway stage, and take another Clubman win. It was also the first outing for this year’s BMCRC Rookie 1000s, with Peter Gunn enjoying a perfect weekend. He took all three wins on his BMW, but while his first two were after dominant displays, his third was taken by less than a tenth of a second, with Rikus Bruwer showing he is also a contender for wins in 2018. Team Respro MRO 600 Tommy Philp kicked off 2018 with pole position in the Team Respro MRO 600 series, before backing it up with a brace of wins and a third place from the weekend’s three races. The Draper Vent Yamaha rider was quickest in qualifying, but a dismal start in the weekend’s opening race saw him complete the opening lap in 20th place. He would recover to third, charging through the pack in the nine remaining laps to salvage a podium. At the front Chris Burrage on the Seton Tuning Yamaha and Sam Smith on GBM Kawasaki-supported ZX-6R pushed past the early the race leaders to take positions one and two at the halfway stage. From there Smith was in touch but could never mount an attack, the pair split by seven tenths of a second at the chequered flag, while Philp took third, setting the fastest lap of the race along the way. Fourth to eighth were covered by just one second, from David Twyfood, down to Clubman winner Phillip Baker. Keen to rectify his mistake from race one, Philp made sure to lead every lap of race two, but he could never relax, with Burrage on his case from the off. The gap fluctuated between but remained around half a second, until Philp put in the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate go round, stretching his advantage. He extended it further on the final lap, to take a commanding win. Sam Smith crossed the line in third to complete the podium. Clubman honours went to Andrew Smith in ninth. In the third and final race Philp pulled an early lead, but was soon hunted down by Smith, who continually reduced the gap until he was right on Philp’s tail. From there, he shadowed and hassled, but could never take over at the front, and chased Philp across the line, three tenths down. Dave Shelvey ended the first lap in 12th place, but was able to pick off riders in front to get himself into third place at the halfway point. He then consolidated his position to take his first podium of the year. Andrew Smith’s impressive fourth gave him another Clubman win. The first round of the BMCRC Rookie 600s saw Michael Attwood take two wins, winning the season-opener and race three, while Dawid Krawiecki won race two. ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins Picking up where he left off in 2017 was reigning MRO Minitwin champion Glynn Davies. After qualifying on pole he raced to a dominant victory in race one, before stamping his authority with another win in race two. Daniel Singleton bettered Mason Williams in the fight for second place in race one, but was bested by Paul Witherington in race two for the runner-up position, with Witherington making a last-lap-pass to take 20 championship points. It wasn’t to be a fairytale weekend to start the 2018 campaign for Davies, however, after he crashed out of the third, and would-be final race of the weekend. He again led off the line, and completed the opening lap in the lead, but dropped back to third on lap two, before ending his race in the gravel. Mason Williams went on to take the victory, with Witherington second and Dan Harris third, just one tenth ahead of HP Racing teammate Richard Harris in fourth. Charlie Crawt took a brace of wins as the new Rookie Minitwins attended their first day of school, with the other victory going to Stuart Jarvis. Team Green Junior Cup and Senior 300 Elliot Pinson is aiming for championship glory in his second season in the popular and hugely-competitive Team Green Cup and Senior 300 series, and started his campaign strongly with two wins. In race one he battled all race with pole-sitter Jamie Kelman, but did enough to take the win, with Kelman taking second and the Senior 300 class win. Michael Stone rode to a lonely third place as runner-up in the senior category. Kelman was keen to taste victory, and led the opening half of race two, but always had Pinson in tow, who made a move for the lead on lap seven of 10. From there, Pinson kept edging away and took a second win, leaving Kelman to take another second place overall, but another Senior 300 win. Stone also added another third place to his weekend’s tally. Not to be denied his chance to stand on the top step of the podium, Kelman came out swinging on Sunday morning, and established a lead of over one and a half seconds on the opening lap alone of race three. That lead would only grow, and he romped to a stunning win of nearly 15 seconds. Pinson’s second ensured he made it three from three in the Junior class, and still leads the overall championship standings. Junior Cup contender Brandon Sheriff finished third. RKB-F1 and F2 Sidecars There were three winning outfits at the first round of the RKB-F1 and F2 sidecar championship, with Matt Maclaurin and new passenger Lee Watson taking the win in race one, before Simon Gilbert and Jack Tritton took the spoils in race two. The final race went to the pairing of Brian Gray and Jason Pitt. Sam and Adam Christie and Martin Kirk and Shelley Smithies completed the race one podium, an all F1 affair. The F2 class win went to Sean Reeves and Paul Thomas. Gilbert and Tritton’s win came ahead of Kev Cable and Guy Pawsey, with Gray and Pitt third, while Reeves and Thomas took another F2 win. The final race saw Gray and Pitt take their win, with the Christie pairing taking the runner-up spot, while Reeves and Thomas put the 600cc machine on the overall podium with a third place finish. Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme Barry Chamberlain came away from the opening round of the Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme championship at the top of the points table, taking a double win and a second place from the three races. Riding a Goldline Maintenance Services Suzuki, Chamberlain qualified on the front row for race one, starting from second place behind Carl Tucker. But he was in a class of his own as the lights went out for the first time in 2018, racing to victory, and crossing the line over five seconds ahead of the runner-up. That was David Shelvey, who crossed the line ahead of David May, to make it an all-Suzuki podium. Peter Funnell was the lead Rookie, inside the points in 14th. Chamberlain made it a double, but won race two by a far slender margin than race one. One second covered the whole podium, with Matt Hinnells taking second place after a last lap move on Shelvey. Shelvey crossed the line in third, with Funnell again the lead Rookie in 14th. Shelvey prevented Chamberlain from making it a hat-trick, and was untouchable in the final race. He hit the front on lap one and pulled a huge advantage to take a dominant win. Chamberlain’s second means he left Brands Hatch as the championship leader, with David Abraham third. Rob Bryant’s 12th was enough for the Rookie win. Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport In the Thunderbike Sport class Steve Topping converted pole position into victory in race one, but he had to come from behind to secure victory. Topping dropped to third on lap one, and was down in fourth place on lap four. However, just two laps later he assumed the race lead, and from there controlled proceedings to take the win. Second went to Edward Watson, and third to Malvern May, while the Rookie spoils went to Shane Beasley in an impressive seventh. After finishing fourth in race one, Paul Holden climbed onto the top step of the podium at the conclusion of race two. The Moremoto Racing Yamaha rider advanced to second on lap one, and was in the lead at the halfway stage, before holding off the challenge from May and Topping for the win. May and Topping finished second and third respectively. Richard May was top Rookie in ninth. Topping was back to winning ways in the final race, after a thrilling battle that saw all three podium finishes take turns in the lead. Holden lead early on, but would finish third, while Stewart May led the mid-part of the race. However, he would miss out on victory by less than a tenth of a second, as Topping took win number two for the weekend. William Young was lead Rookie in 13th. Chilton Motors BMZRC 250 Former class champion and 2016 Yamaha Past Masters champion, Mark Taylor, took two wins from three races in the 250 MZ championship - again backed by Chilton Motors Ltd - the other victory going to Chris Kent. Kent set pole, but could only manage sixth in race one, while Taylor took the win. Behind, three racers battled for the final two spots on the podium, with just half a second between them at the chequered flag. Greg Wright bagged second, with third going to Robert Dessoy. 10th place was enough for Nick Hodgins to take the Rookie win. Kent took his victory in race two, but just a tenth of a second behind him at the line was Taylor, while Wright was back on the podium in third. Alexander Mann was the top Rookie in 13th. Race three and Taylor was back on the top step of the podium, this time ahead of Andrew Wales, who secured second place, with Wright again third to take another podium finish. Mann also made it two wins in the Rookie class with a 10th overall. DFDS Yamaha Past Masters It was a cleansweep of victories for Peter Branton in the Yamaha Past Masters championship, but he was forced to race for it every time by Doug Edmondson. Edmondson himself took a trio of runner-up finishes, but missed out on the win twice, by less than half a second. In race one Dan Wright was third, before Scott Grant took his first podium of the year in race two. Wright was back on the box in race three, leading four riders across the line as they battled for the final rostrum position. Kev Marshall and Andrew Burscough took one and two Clubman wins respectively, with Scott Carson notching three Rookie wins.