Weekend of two halves for Bemsee circus at Silverstone

As the British Motorcycle Racing Club rolled into Silverstone for the second round of 2018, the weather made it a weekend of two halves, with Saturday’s action mostly dry, before the rain arrived on Sunday.

 

While not necessarily favourable for riders, it certainly shook up the order in many of the club’s 10 classes that were in action.

 

Team Green Junior Cup and Senior 300

Elliot Pinson extended his Team Green championship lead at Silverstone, taking a brace of victories. On day one he was in a league of his own, the Junior Cup rider and overall championship leader setting a qualifying time over two seconds faster than anyone else, before going on to take two commanding wins.

 

Onboard his Ninja 300, he started race one from pole alongside the Senior 300s of Jamie Kelman and Michael Stone, but it was Kelman who led the opening lap, pulling a gap of nearly one and a half seconds by the time he crossed the line to start lap two.

 

But it wasn’t to last, and as they started the third lap Pinson had closed right in on the Senior 300 championship leader and his nearest rival in the overall championship. He hit the front, and immediately gapped Kelman, pulling away every lap until he took the chequered flag and the race win.

 

While unable to match Pinson’s pace, Kelman took a comfortable second place and Senior 300 win to extend his championship lead, as the battle for the final podium position saw five riders cross the line split by just a second and a half.

 

At the halfway stage it was the 29 machine of Charlie Stone that held the bronze medal position, followed by brother Michael Stone, Damian Rowley, Kai Dickinson, and Reece Guyett. But a mistake a lap later would allow Michael Stone to inherit the position. Despite coming under attack, he held the position to the chequered flag to take third by a tenth of a second.

 

It was a case of of déjà vu in race two, as Kelman led the opening lap from Pinson, albeit by a slender margin, and a lap later Pinson was in the lead. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field, and again a battle for third ensued.

 

Guyett held the position early on, but lost out lap three, dropping from third to sixth in one go. Charlie Stone then picked up the baton for two laps, before being passed by Michael Stone. Charlie battled back, and re-took the position on the penultimate lap, but lost out again on the final circulation, and had to settle for fourth behind his brother.

 

Sunday’s opener took place in damp conditions, and Kelman took victory, reducing his deficit to Pinson to just one point in the process, as the Junior 300 championship leader took fifth. However, it still gave Pinson the Junior Cup win. Second overall went to Michael Stone, after he pushed Kelman all the way to the chequered flag. It was also an intense battle for third, that saw Guyett take the position after a last lap pass on Rowley.

 

The final race, however, saw the red flags come out with Kelman unable to make the restart. Owen Jenner took the overall win and Junior Cup victory in the shortened race, with Pinson second, opening up his advantage in the overall championship again to a healthy 21 points. Third and Senior 300 win went to Rowley.

 

Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme

The Steve Jordan Motorcycles-sponsored Thunderbike Extreme delivered some of the weekend’s closes action, with three riders tasting victory over the weekend, including championship leader Barry Chamberlain.

 

Chamberlain qualified on the front row on his Goldline Maintenance Services Suzuki GSX-R750, but it was Tony Russo on his Titan Elevators GSX-R that set pole.

 

However, it was another GSX-R750 that was fastest in race one, as Ross McLurg took a narrow victory on his E.D.I Building-backed machine. Less than a tenth of a second split him from Matt Hinnells in the runner-up position, as Chamberlain crossed the line in third.

 

It was more of the same in race two, as McLurg took another win, leading from start to finish, while Hinnells and Chamberlain finished second and third respectively. Rob Kuschel took the Rookie win, after Tommy Hemphill took that award in race one.

 

The Thunderbike Extreme class were fortunate with the conditions for Sunday’s first race, getting away in dry conditions. McLurg led the way on lap one, but dropped to third a lap later, before dropping way down the order and retiring on lap four. That left three riders, Chamberlain, Carl Tucker, and Ande Friend, fighting at the front. It was nip-and-tuck, and just half a second covered the trio when the race was brought to an early end when the red flags came out.

 

Rain had finally arrived for the fourth and final race of the weekend, and it was a masterclass in wet weather riding by Doug Edmondson on his Suzuki, as he led every lap to take the win. Tucker claimed second, with Friend third. Robert Breen and Alexandru Traxler took a Rookie win apiece.

 

Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport

Things tightened up at the top of the Thunderbike Sport championship standings, with four riders taking a race win, while the championship leader also suffered a DNF in Sunday’s tricky weather conditions.

 

Steve Topping arrived with the series lead, and started the weekend strongly with pole position in qualifying. But it was Paul Holden who took the win in race one, clawing back five points on his championship rival. Topping finished second, with Thomas Watson in third.

 

Any damage done to Topping’s championship lead was reversed in race two, as he took a narrow win following a last lap overtake on Holden, who crossed the line just a tenth down, as third this time went to Stewart May.

 

A wet race one on Sunday, however, did dent Topping’s championship charge, as he dropped from contention on the final lap while Holden, Stewart May, and Malvern May - the other three in the championship top-four, all took strong finishes.

 

Malvern May took the win, with Watson second and Stewart May third, while Holden finished fourth on his Moremoto Racing Yamaha.

 

In the final race it was Watson on the top step of the podium to make it four winners from four races, and he was joined by both Stewart and Malvern May.

 

Topping rejoined the fray after his early exit a race earlier, and charged to a fourth placed finish, one spot ahead of Holden.

 

It means Topping now has 149 points, with Holden on 136. Malvern May sits third in the standings on 130.

 

ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins

It was a tough weekend for Paul Witherington in the Properly Protected MRO Minitwin championship; after arriving holding the series lead, the P&R Plumbing Suzuki rider could only muster one podium finish from the four races.

 

In fact, the form book was ripped up and thrown out, as seven riders stood on the podium over the course of the weekend, including four different race winners.

 

It was Byron Kirk who kicked things off, taking the win in race one by just a tenth of a second, crossing the line ahead of Mason Williams, himself just two tenths ahead of Jake Povah. Pole-sitter Dan Singleton slowly dropped down the order to finish sixth, one place ahead of Witherington.

 

While Witherington’s weekend got worse in race two - finishing down in 11th place - Singleton’s fortunes improved. After an early race scrap at the front, he eventually pulled enough of a lead to take the win, ahead of Richard Hickling and Keith Povah.

 

A wet start to Sunday’s proceedings ended with Dan Harris adding his name to the weekend’s winners list, the HP Racing Suzuki rider never looking back after taking the lead on lap three. Williams and Hickling were back on the rostrum in second and third.

 

Jake Povah became the fourth winner in the final race, and after swapping positions with Hickling in the early laps took a comfortable win. Hickling would relinquish second place to Witherington - who made it onto the podium to give himself something to be cheerful of on the drive home - but still came away with a third placed finish.

 

In the Rookie Minitwins Charlie Crawt and Stuart Jarvis took two wins each and sit first and second in the championship.

 

Chilton Motors BMZRC 250

It was a hat-trick of wins for Mark Taylor in the Chilton Motors BMZRC 250 class at Silverstone, as he extended his championship lead.

 

It was anything but plain sailing, however, as Chris Kent took it to the wire in race one, finishing runner-up by just a tenth of a second, while third went to Chris Rogers. Taylor was again made to work for it in race two, as this time Rogers was a tenth away from snatching victory as Kent finished third.

 

Rain did nothing to dampen the fiery racing at the front of the MZ field. Taylor started the last lap of Sunday’s race one in the lead, but would lose out by less than a second at the chequered flag as Rogers, this time, did snatch the win, after the pair went head-to-head all race. Andrew Wales took his first podium of the weekend with third.

 

Wales went one better in race four of the weekend, but it was Taylor who was back on the top step of the podium, with CB Racing’s Rogers in third.

 

Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and BG Products Clubman 1000

Colin Parker and Anthony Johnson arrived at Silverstone tied on points at the top of the points table, both bagging 41 points at round one. The duo then went on to record the fastest and second fastest times in Saturday’s qualifying session to start Saturday’s feature race on the front row.

 

Parker led from pole for the opening few laps, but surrendered his lead to Johnson, before being passed by reigning champion Joe Morphett. The number one-plated, ASJ Racing Yamaha R1 stalked the race leader for a much of the race, before grabbing the lead on lap 11.

 

It was a timely move, and with the race brought to a premature end Morphett was credited with the win. Johnson claimed second, with Parker third. The Clubman win went to Kevin Silvain in ninth.

 

Making up for the disappointment of missing out on the win in race one, Johnson eased to victory in the first of Sunday’s scheduled races. He finished over five seconds ahead of Parker with Morphett third in the rain. The Clubman spoils went to Paul Wilby, in fourth.

 

Johnson then doubled up in race two of the day, taking the win on his Bexhill Gearboxes BMW S1000RR and extending his championship lead. Parker was again second, although this time by only a tenth of a second, with Morphett adding another third place to his weekend’s tally. Silvain also took another Clubman win in fifth.

 

RKB-F1 and F2 Sidecars

Despite Silverstone’s fast and flowing nature, it was the F2 outfit of Alan Founds and Tom Christie that enjoyed the most success from the RKB F1 and F2 sidecar races, taking a hat-trick of victories. In fact, it was a F2 dominated weekend, with pole and the other race win going to Sean Reeves and Paul Thomas.

 

Reeves and Thomas were quickest in qualifying, and converted that pace into victory in the weekend’s first race in dominant fashion. But the battle for second provided plenty of excitement.

 

Nick Webb and Paddy Byrne on the F1 LCR Suzuki held the position into the closing stages, but were under pressure from fellow F1 pairing Craig Clarke and Craig Andrew Clarke, and the F2 machine of Marc and Rik Vannieuwenhuyse.

 

Disaster struck on the last lap for Webb and Byrne, the pair forced to retire, handing the runner-up spot and the F1 win to Clarke and Clarke, with Marc and Rik Vannieuwenhuyse third.

 

From race two, however, Founds and Christie were untouchable. Coming from the back of the grid after failing to finish race one, the pairing hit the front at the halfway stage, and steadily pulled away to take the win. Reeves and Thomas took second, with third and the F1 win going to Webb and Byrne.

 

They then went on to do the double on Sunday, best getting a handle on the tricky conditions. The LCR Yamaha pairing bettered Reeves and Thomas on both occasions, with Webb and Byrne again third and leading F1 outfit in the first of the day’s races, before Munro and Masters made it an all F2 podium in race four, taking third place. The F1 win went to the Clarkes in fourth.

 

Team Respro MRO 600 and Clubman 600

Adam Lyon was a double winner in the Team Respro MRO 600 races, opening his account for the season after taking wins in Sunday’s tricky conditions. Saturday’s race wins were shared between Lawrence Edgeley and Sam Smith, who arrived at the Northamptonshire circuit as the championship leader.

 

The opening race of the weekend started things off steadily, with Edgeley leading from start to finish, while Smith and Michael Mills followed him round for the duration of the race, eventually finishing second and third without much in the way of incident. Mills, however, was pushed all the way, with a train of riders led by Luke Hopkins ready to pounce and snatch the final podium position away.

 

In race two Nick Edgeley led from the start, but Smith passed on lap two before pulling away to take the win. Edgeley would go on to take second, however, he was handed a 10-second penalty for jumping the start, demoting him to 10th.

 

That promoted Luke Hopkins from third to second, as he came out on top in the scrap with Mills and Harry Rowlings, who finished third and fourth in the end.

 

Saturday’s Clubman wins went to Phillip Baker and Charlie Farrer.

 

Cue the rain for Sunday, and the day’s opener was a race of attrition, as 10 riders failed to make the finish, including series leader Smith. Mills was also a casualty on the opening lap.

 

None of it mattered to Lyon though, who was over a second a lap faster than anyone else to take victory on his Yamaha R6. Hopkins was second with Kurtis Butler third. Clubman honours went to Ben Hawes in fourth.

 

Things were far closer in the final race, as Clubman rider Andrew Smith led the entire race, never able to escape the chasing Lyon and Sam Smith, who came through the pack to third and joined the chase by the halfway stage.

 

Andrew Smith held them off admirably, until the final lap when Lyon made a move and stole victory away to make it a double for the day. Andrew Smith would take second and the Clubman win, while Sam Smith finished third to make up from the disappointment of the day’s first race.

 

The Lansdowne Classic Series

Making its first appearance with the British Motorcycle Racing Club in 2018 was the Lansdowne Classic series, and it was former MZ 250 and Yamaha Past Masters champion Dean Stimpson on pole.

 

He backed up that speed with a victory in race one onboard his Izzard Racing Norton, taking the win ahead of Sam Clews and Chris Firmin. He doubled up in race two, as the podium was covered by just half a second. Clews was again second, while Keith Clarke took third.

 

Stimpson went three from three on Sunday morning, with teammate Clarke backing him up in second on the other Izzard Racing machine. Duncan Fitchett claimed third.

 

However, Stimpson was prevented from making it a 100% weekend in the final outing, as Clews took the win. Stimpson took second, with Matchless-mounted Firmin, third.