As August tipped into September the penultimate round of the 2022 British Motorcycle Racing Championship took place at Donington Park and saw champions crowned, while others will have to wait until the season finale at Brands Hatch in October.
DART Motorsport MRO 600 and Clubman 600
The race to be the 2022 DART Motorsport MRO 600 champion will go to the final round, as James Bull took the championship lead from Jack Sim, and heads to the season closer with a 10-point lead.
Bull took both of Saturday’s victories from the front on his Bull Racing Kawasaki. He led from the off on both occasions, and took the chequered flag in race one by two and a half seconds.
Mikey Hardie recovered from a poor start from pole on his Kawasaki - backed by 113 Events - and after ending lap one in fourth he took the flag in second, himself two and a half seconds up on Cory Tinker’s Aquatix-2U Yamaha, who snatched the final podium position from Harrison Crosby on the final lap. Sim was fifth.
It was a repeat result in race two, though Bull saw a one and a half second lead eroded to just two tenths of a second by the end of the final lap, but held on to take his second victory.
Hardie was second, from Tinker, Crosby, and Sim.
After a tough Saturday, Sim recovered ground on Sunday morning, winning race three in dominant fashion after taking the lead at the halfway stage.
Bull and Tinker battled it out in the opening stages, exchanging the lead before Sim took control on lap six after hunting down the leaders. Once at the front he pulled away to take the win by over seven seconds.
Behind, three riders battled over the remaining two podium spots, with Gareth Cunningham securing second from Bull. Alex Latham missed out in fourth.
Bull ensured he would take a series lead to the final round at Brands Hatch with victory in the final race. It was another start-to-finish win, as he led from the off to take the flag six seconds up on Sim in second.
In the fight for third two tenths of a second covered Hardie and Crosby.
In the Clubman 600 class Matt Pallett took a trio of wins, with a best finish of fifth. The other class win went to Ross Clarke.
ACU Team Green Junior Cup and Senior 300
Lennon Docherty extended his ACU Team Green Junior Cup championship lead by 10 points at Donington Park, with all four races seeing a different winner on the top step of the podium.
It was a weekend of fine margins, and in race one just over half a second covered the top five.
Zack Weston led the opening half of the race while the chasing quartet chopped and changed position behind. Docherty then assumed the lead, but on the final lap Sam Munson seized the advantage and crossed the line less than a tenth up championship leader Docherty.
James O’Mara was third, Dylan Mellor fourth, and early race leader Weston fifth at the flag. Phil Atkinson, in 10th, took the Senior win.
It was an equally thrilling race two, with O’Mara battling with Munson early on before Munson crashed out. O’Mara, after dropping down to fourth, regrouped and took the win from Nathan-Ellis Ward and Dylan Mellor.
Ben Jolliffe was fourth, in front of Weston, Hardy, and Senior winner Atkinson, all seven covered by one and a half seconds.
Atkinson, who secured the Senior Cup championship over the weekend with another clean sweep, took the overall victory in race three, and after 10 laps of the Donington Park circuit he managed to keep the youngsters behind him to cross the line two tenths up on Hardy. Mellor completed the overall podium in third.
In the final race just over one second was all that covered the top seven, as Docherty took all 25 championship points, taking his season’s tally to 11 with four races to go. Felix Dorling took his first podium of the weekend, with Hirst third.
Hardy, Mellor, Weston finished ahead of Senior winner Atkinson to complete the top seven.
ProperlyProtected MRO Minitwins
Glynn Davies kept his slim championship hopes and made sure David Twyford would have to wait until the final round to secure this year’s MRO Minitwins title, after taking just enough points out of his lead to reduce his advantage to under 100 points with four races left this year.
In the Rookie Minitwins Roger Parkes was already crowned champion, as he entered the final round with a 100-point lead but a comprehensive win tally advantage, meaning if Aaron Monk took all four wins Parkes would still be champion.
Davies took three wins at the Leicestershire circuit to James O’Mara’s one, and in race one the pair of them swapped the lead while Twyford watched on from the best seat in the house, in third.
Davies came out on top and doubled up in race two, this time with Twyford second. Davies led until the penultimate lap, when Twyford stopped shadowing and hit the front. Unfortunately for the champion-elect, Davies was able to respond on the final lap to take the spoils. O’Mara was third.
In the Rookie class Monk was twice fourth to take both wins.
On his BRP Machining Limited Suzuki SV650 O’Mara took his weekend’s win in the first of Sunday’s outings, in front of Davies and MHP and IMP Racing-sponsored Twyford, before Davies celebrated his third win of the weekend in the final race, after winning from O’Mara and Twyford.
A DNF for Monk in race three handed the class win to Jack Muir, who was again victorious in the final race.
Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and Clubman 1000
With Josh Wainwright already crowned champion with two rounds to spare, there was still pride at stake at Donington, plus this year’s Clubman champion has still to be decided.
Sam Middlemas and Nicky Wilson shared that pride, with Middlemas taking a brace of victories to Wilson’s single win. Seamus McGlynn, the Clubman championship leader took two class wins but a DNF in race two handed Luke Wallington the other victory.
Nine of race one’s 10 laps were led by Wilson on his Demon GP Suzuki,, but a last lap move from Middlemas, on his GSX-R1000 backed by Albany Shed Company - who made his way through the pack from sixth - saw him snatch victory away from long-time race leader.
Peter Baker was third on his TJ and Peter Baker Motorcycles Kawasaki ZX-10R. McGlynn was seventh to take the Clubman win.
Not to be outdone again, Wilson led every one of the 14 laps of race two to take a convincing win, with Baker holding station in second for the duration. Luke Dixon was in a safe third, while Wallington, in sixth overall, was the Clubman winner.
A chaotic final race ended after the lead changed hands multiple times and Wilson, Baker, Dixon all failed to finish.
Staying out of trouble, Middlemas took the win after inheriting it when Wilson crashed out on the final lap.
Ritchie Thornton took second after the melee, with Rick Dickinson third. McGlynn’s fifth gave him the Clubman win.
DFDS Yamaha Past Masters
Peter Branton extended his DFDS Yamaha Past Masters championship lead at Donington Park, with title rival Alan Cooper failing to finish two of the weekend’s four races.
Branton’s best finish of the weekend was second, which came in race three, as Anthony Johnson took all four victories.
Johnson led the bulk of the laps in race one - though Branton did lead across the line to end lap three - and took the win from Kevin Wholey by two tenths of a second. Cooper took three points out of Branton’s championship lead, finishing third to Branton’s fourth.
In race two Branton, Johnson, and Wholey swapped the lead between them in the early laps, but after starting the final lap in third place Johnson passed them both to take another win.
Wholey was second and Branton was pushed off the podium by Doug Edmondson. However, he was able to extend his series lead thanks to Cooper’s DNF.
Cooper’s second DNF of the weekend in race three, as Johnson ran out the winner. Branton led the early laps but was soon passed by Johnson who, once in front, was never headed. Branton was second with Edmondson third and Wholey fourth.
After giving away a chunk of points thanks to two non-finishes, Cooper recovered three points on Branton in race four, as they finished third and fourth, but Branton heads to the final round as the championship favourite with a 54-point advantage.
Johnson made it a perfect weekend, winning from Wholey, in second place.
EDIasia Formula 400
Richie Welsh was crowned the 2022 EDIasia Formula 400 champion at Donington Park, after doing enough in Saturday’s races to ensure he had the points in hand he needed to put himself out of reach of rival James Seath, despite a round to go.
Welsh qualified second quickest but a brace of victories on Saturday gave him enough to secure this year’s championship. He finished ahead of Andrew Moxon in race one and Mark Thomson in race two, while third went to the Sub-64bhp class winner and impressive rookie, Haydon Smith.
With mission accomplished, Welsh sat out the rest of the weekend’s proceedings, but the action continued on Sunday.
Thomson was in dominant form in the day’s first race, taking the win some 20 seconds up on Smith in second, the Rookie class and Sub-64bhp class winner. But while Thomson dominated Smith was pressured all the way and chased across the line by Matthew Epps, a tenth of a second splitting the pair.
Thomson won again in race four, his margin of victory cut in half to 10 seconds, with Smith again second, handing him the class wins in the Rookie and Sub-64bhp categories. Moxon was third.
Inta Motorcycles Blue Haze GP
Bruce Dunn wrapped up this year’s Blue Haze GP championship at Donington Park with a second and two thirds, while Phil Atkinson and Frank Swain shared the race wins across the weekend.
Atkinson took both of Saturday’s wins on his Q Oil Treatments Yamaha TZ350. In race one Swain led lap one before Dunn led lap two, only for Atkinson led from lap three to the finish. Dunn took second on his Blistein UK Yamaha TZ250, in front of Swain’s Honda RS250.
Swain again led the opening lap in race two, but Atkinson took over a lap later and again led until the chequered flag, This time Swain took second from Dunn in third.
Atkinson was absent from Sunday’s opener, which saw Swain go head-to-head with Sean Morrison on his Fincham’s Two-Strokes Honda for the victory, coming out on top by half a second. New champion Dunn was third.
Dunn elected to sit out the final race, though spectators were still treated to an entertaining 10-lap scrap between Swain, Ian Mackman, and Atkinson.
Morrison led the first lap while Atkinson came through from the back of the grid. As Atkinson made progress, Morrison faded.
At the very front it was a two horse race. Swain did the bulk of the leading, but on the penultimate lap Mackman hit the front.
On the final lap the pair raced to the line with two hundredths of a second covering them. Swain snatched victory, demoting Mackman back to second, while Atkinson ultimately ran out of laps and crossed the line in third, just over half a second off the win.
Taymar Motorcycles Blue Haze GPF
In the Taymar Motorcycles Blue Haze GPF class, for production-based two stroke machines, David Abraham’s three wins and a third gave him the 2022 title.
However, it took a mistake from Alex Symon to hand Abraham victory in race one. Passing backmarkers Symon let a 17 second advantage go after a mistake on the final lap let Abraham by.
Abraham took the flag two seconds up in the end, with Andrew Burscough third.
Symon missed race two, and allowed Abraham to run out the winner by over nine seconds. Burscough, James Seath, and Alan Wood were left to scrap over the remaining podium positions, less than a second covering the trio come the chequered flag.
Abraham took his second win of the weekend in race three, from Damian Lee and Burscough.
Symon was back in action in the fourth and final race, and atoned for his error in race one by taking victory by over 20 seconds.
Richard Lambourne took second, with new champion Abraham third, running the number one plate.
Illuminate Design BMZRC 250
The 2022 Illuminate Design BMZRC 250 title will have to be decided at the final round at Brands Hatch, with Scot Grant taking an 84-point lead into the season finale after Alexander Mann came out on top by five points at Donington Park.
Mann did everything in his power in race one, and took the win. Andrew Wales took second place, with Grant on the podium in third.
He recovered more ground in race two, winning again, with Grant second by less than a tenth of a second. Less than a second covered the top four, with Wales third and Chris Rogers fourth.
Sadly for Mann, things started going wrong in race three, as he only completed one lap before dropping out. Sadly for Grant he was unable to look a gift horse in the mouth and crashed out himself with a lap to go.
Wales took the win, nearly 50 seconds up on rookie Gordon Ryan and John Ashmead.
Grant recovered to win race four, with Mann third, the pair sandwiching Wales and all three covered by less than a second. Grant heads to Brands Hatch with an 84-point lead and 100 left to play for.
TBR Performance Thunderbike Ultra
Mark Wilby took all four wins in the TBR Thunderbike Ultra class at Donington Park to clinch the 2022 championship, with four races still to run.
A shortened opening race saw Wilby win by less than a second from his nearest title rival Daryl Dance. Stacey Killworth completed the podium in third.
A longer second race allowed Wilby to take the win by eight seconds, with Dance again second and Connor Swyer third.
Wilby made it a hat trick of wins in the first of Sunday’s double header, beating Killworth, James Fearn, with Dance fourth.
He then capped his perfect weekend with victory in race four and with it took the 2022 title. Dance, who looks set to take second in the championship, finished runner-up, with Killworth third, two tenths down on Dance.
Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Extreme
Four wins in the Thunderbike Extreme class at Donington Park took David May’s tally for the year to 21, and also saw him lift the 2022 title.
His winning margins increased race-to-race, and after beating Andy Scanlon by just three tenths of a second in race one, before bettering him by two and a half seconds in race two.
Raymond Stagg was twice third.
That gap creeped out to just shy of three seconds in race three, this time with Andrew Firth second and Scanlon third, before Scanlon took another second place finish in race four, though some nine seconds behind winner May. David Spencer was third.
Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport
The Thunderbike Sport championship was taken down to the wire at Donington Park, with just one point separating eventual champion Adam Jamison and rival Matthew Fedrick.
Fedrick took 86 points from the four races at Donington, including three class wins, while Jamison scored one point fewer, with 85 and a single victory. However, after arriving with a two-point lead he took the title by a single point.
Fedrick won both of Saturdays with Jamison second. Jeremy Hill twice finished third.
Jamison then took the win in race three, after Fedrick slumped to a relatively lowly fifth place, meaning Jamison only had to finish second in the final race and follow Fedrick around. Harrison Day was second, in front of Michael Regan.
Fedrick did all he could in the final race of the year and was back on the top step, but Jamison did exactly what he needed to and followed him home in second to take the championship.
Darren Corkett finished the race in third.
L&W Contractors BMCRC Rookie 600 and Rookie 1000
Three wins and a second handed Michael Shepphard the 2022 Rookie 600 championship, while Luke Wallington will have to wait until the final round to secure the Rookie 1000 title despite taking all four wins at Donington Park.
In the 600s, Henry Ross got off to a winning start, taking victory ahead of the soon-to-be-crowned champion Shepphard and Toby Cook. Shepphard then reversed his and Ross’ fortunes in race two, winning by a little over a second with Cook again third.
Ross crossed the line to take the chequered flag just in front of Shepphard in race three, but he was handed a 10-second penalty for a yellow flag infringement. He had enough in hand over Paul Nicholas in third to hang onto the runner-up spot, with Shepphard credited with the win.
Shepphard and Ross again went at it for the win in race four, with the new champion winning by a second. Aaron Daykin, this time, took third.
In the litre bike class three of Wallington’s four wins came ahead of Anthony Brandish. On Saturday the pair finished one-two in both races with Alfie Coker and Harry Hinchcliffe taking a third place finish each.
Hinchcliffe narrowly bested Brandish in race three and pipped him to second place by a tenth of a second, with Wallington eight seconds up the road.
In the final race Wallington made it a perfect score, with Brandish taking second ahead of Hinchcliffe.