BMCRC - Round 8 - Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch hosted the traditional season finale for the British Motorcycle Racing Club, with a number of champions still to be crowned.

ACU Team Green Junior Cup & Senior Ninja Series

Lennon Docherty brought a 34-point championship lead into the final round of the ACU Team Junior Cup, and while second behind title rival Max Hardy would still have been enough to secure the title, he instead went out and won all four races to ensure there was no doubt that he was a fitting champion.

Despite qualifying second on the grid for race one behind Greg Marshall, Docherty led from the opening lap to take his first of four wins, though it was anything but guaranteed as Marshall put up a fight in the early laps before James O’Mara took over in second place and applied the pressure.

Docherty held on at the front, however, and took the win from on his Doc Fit Training Kawasaki with O’Mara in second. Zack Weston was third, just edging out Marshall and Felix Dorling, the top five covered by one and a half seconds.

Hardy finished sixth, as he could only watch Docherty extend his championship lead.

Docherty made it two from two and secured the 2022 Junior Cup with his second win of the weekend; after an early race battle with O’Mara and Weston, he eked out a one-second lead to take another win. Weston went one better than he did in race one, to take second, ahead of Dylan Mellor, who came through to finish third. Hardy struggled to an 11th place finish.

In the Senior class - with Phil Atkinson already crowned champion and absent from the weekend’s action - Mark Smith and Nicholas Bettridge took a win apiece from Saturday’s races.

A chaotic opener to Sunday’s racing took place in wet conditions and saw multiple lead and position changes in the lead group, while Hardy was making his way through the field to join the battle for the win.

Starting the final lap Hardy had closed to within four hundredths of a second of leader Docherty, but undid all of his hard work by crashing out on the final lap, bringing out the red flags.

Docherty took the win, with Sam Hirst second and Mellor third.

In the final race Docherty, Weston, and O’Mara all took turns at leading, but it was new champion Docherty that signed off the season in perfect style. He crossed the line first in front of the other two, one tenth of a second covering them as the flag was waved.

Elizabeth Cleaver and Richard Hayward made it four winners from four races in the Senior class, with one win each on Sunday.

DART Motorsport MRO 600 and Clubman 600

It looked as though both the MRO and Clubman championships were to be decided at the final round, with just 10 points covering James Bull and Jack Sim in the MRO standings while Owen Mellor arrived 36 points clear of Matt Pallett in the Clubman championship table. However, Sim was unable to make the finale at Brands due to injuries sustained racing at Oliver’s Mount, effectively handing the MRO 600 title to Bull. In the Clubman class Pallett took the title in dramatic fashion, winning it by six points

Despite being crowned champion by default, Bull still went out and won all four races to take the crown in style, taking victory by five seconds in both races one and two.

On his Kawasaki ZX-6R he took the race one win ahead of Alex Barker, the pair running one-two for the duration of the race. Pallett completed the podium and took the Clubman win, picking up 20 points on Mellor, who finished 11th in class after a disastrous opening couple of laps.

It was a repeat podium in race two, with Bull again victorious from Barker and Clubman winner Pallett, whose class victory on his BDA Chartered Architects Yamaha R6 saw him cut Mellor’s championship lead to just seven points with two rounds to go, with Mellor finishing 12th overall and fifth in class.

Winning by nearly 10 seconds in race three, Bull added another win to his tally, as Barker again finished second, himself 10 seconds up on third place finisher Tom Weeden.

Ross Clarke took the Clubman win in fourth overall, with Pallett second in class, with Mellor third in class.

As Bull took off at the front, the real focus of attention of race four was on the fight for third place overall, as the Clubman contingent of Clarke, Pallett, and Mellor did battle.

Clarke and Pallett broke clear of Mellor, who could only ride around to third in class, relying on Pallett making an error which never came.

Despite missing out on the overall podium, which saw Barker make it four runner-up finishes to Bull’s four wins and Cameron Harris take third, Pallett’s fifth overall meant he finished second in class -  behind winner Clark in fourth - one position in front of Mellor, who completed the Clubman podium, the result handing Pallett the crown.

Illuminate Design BMZRC 250

With an 84-point championship lead in his pocket, the 2022 Illuminate Design BMZRC 250 title was Scott Grant’s to lose with 100 points to play for at Brands Hatch, and he got the job done with two wins and two second place finishes from the four races.

In typical MZ fashion, the races were decided by fine margins, and just five hundredths of a second meant Grant’s weekend started with a runner-up finish, as he narrowly missed out to Andrew Wales. Alexander Mann was third.

A similar gap again split Wales and Grant in race two, though this time fortunes were reversed and the champion-elect secured the title with a victory. It was his 13th of the season. Mann, Grant’s nearest title rival, was again third, himself just five hundredths down on Wales.

A wet race one saw Wales take victory by five seconds with new champion Grant second. The pair had chopped and changed at the front, before a mistake on the final lap cost him a shot at victory. Louis Kershaw, the rookie, completed the podium.

With track dry for the final race of the year, Grant capped his season off with a win, though Wales was again in close pursuit, finishing second by half a second. Mann, who crashed out of the day’s opener, returned to the podium, finishing third.

ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins

Barring a disaster and a perfect weekend for his title rival Glynn Davies, David Tywford was all but confirmed as the MRO Minitwins champion for 2022, as he came into the season finale with a 91-point lead.

Davies did all he could, and won race one after leading from start to finish, but Twyford also did all he needed to, which was follow him home in second place, with a comfortable gap in front and behind, to James O’Mara in third, ensuring he was out of reach with three rounds to go.

With only pride at stake, Davies made it two wins in race two, with new champion Twyford again second and O’Mara third.

A damp race three began with Davies out front, but he was soon passed by O’Mara who ran out the winner by over 15 seconds.

Davies held onto second ahead of Jack Muir, with champion Twyford fourth after being bumped up a spot following a 10-second penalty for Kevin Lilley, following a yellow flag infringement.

Davies took victory in race four, the championship runner-up boasting more race wins than new champion Twyford this season. Twyford was second, with O’Mara again third.

DFDS Yamaha Past Masters

Peter Branton secured another DFDS Yamaha Past Masters championship at Brands Hatch, doing enough to remain ahead of Alan Cooper in the points table to clinch another crown.

Cooper qualified on pole, and took the win in race one, the Paul Hogan Memorial race, on his Twistgrip Motorcycles Yamaha TZR250, ahead of teammate Kevin Wholey, the gap between the pair just a tenth of a second. Branton was third.

In the annual Danny Whalin memorial race, a tenth of a second decided the winner, as Wholey led Branton across the line after the pair swapped the lead between them throughout. Cooper could only watch his championship chances diminish from third place, a second and a half adrift of the winner.

Sunday morning’s opening race took place in da conditions, and saw Wholey take win number two of the weekend, his fifth of the season.

Cooper led the bulk of the laps, leading from the opening lap to lap nine of 12, when he was passed by Wholey and Anthony Johnson. He then dropped another spot, losing out to Billy Perkins.

It would finish with Wholey pipping Johnson to the flag by a tenth of a second, with Perkins less than half a second adrift in third and Cooper a second back in fourth.

Branton took a solid ninth place finish to secure the title.

The final race of the year ended with Johnson atop the podium on his INTA Motorcycles Yamaha. Teammates Wholey and Cooper completed the top three, while Branton didn’t make the start.

L&W Contractors BMCRC Rookie 600 and Rookie 1000

Though the Rookie 600 championship was well and truly sealed - Michael Shepphard brought a 216-point lead into the final weekend of the year - the Rookie 1000 championship was still to be decided, though Luke Wallington’s 75-point lead made it his to lose.

And he put it beyond Lee Healey’s reach after race one, winning in convincing fashion aboard his BW Bespoke Developments Ltd Yamaha R1.

Behind, Karl Thomson, Harry Hinchcliffe, and Healey raced for the remaining spots on the podium. Thomson and Hinchcliffe finished second and third, and as three into two doesn’t fit, Healey missed out and had to settle for fourth.

It was a repeat result in race two, before Thomson took his first win of the season in a wet race three. On their #Teamrace Yamaha R1s, he and teammate Dan Hartle were the class of the field, taking a one-two finish. Wallington was on the podium in third, but half a minute down on the winner.

A dry finale and Wallington took his 19th win of the season to cap a successful year, with Thomson on the podium again in second. Anthony Brandish finished third.

In the 600s, despite the championship settled, Shepphard took two wins, a second and a fourth, with Nathan Miles taking the other available victories.

RKB-F1 and F2 sidecars

The F2 class championship was already decided ahead of the finale at Brands Hatch, with Greg Lambert and Ben McBride the 2022 champions. With a healthy 40-point cushion in the F1 class, Gordon Pottinger and David Dodd did enough to secure the title.

Overall victory in race one went to Ian Guy and Jed Pilmoor-Brady, the pair also taking the F1 win, while second place went to F2 class winners Sean Hegarty and James Neave.

The podium was completed by another F2 outfit in the form of Lambert, with Andy Javens in the chair, while Pottinger and Dodd’s fourth overall kept them ahead of closest title rivals Chris Wright and Paul Bailey.

Guy and Pilmoor-Brady doubled up in race two with Hegarty and Neave again second and again the leading F2 outfit to take the chequered flag. Pottinger and Dodd improved to third overall and were again second in class, with Wright and Bailey third in class, 48 points now the difference in Pottinger and Dodd’s favour.

It was all over after Sunday’s opener, following a repeat podium for the overall race. Pottinger and Dodd’s second in class, and Wright and Bailey’s fourth in class meant it was job done with one race to go.

Guy and Pilmoor-Brady took the F1 win and the overall victory, ahead of Hegarty and Neave, the F2 winners.

The clean-sweep was complete for Guy and Pilmoor-Brady in race four, with Simon Gilbert and Rhys Gibbons taking second overall and second in the F1 class, in front of Hegarty and Neave’s F2 outfit in third overall.

Pottinger and Dodd retired at half race distance, with little consequence.

Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and Clubman 1000

Running the number one plate as the new champion, Josh Wainwright won all three races to end his year in perfect fashion, while Seamus McGlynn secured the Clubman 1000 championship.

Wainwright qualified on pole on his JW MOT Centre Honda Fireblade, and won race one by nearly six seconds. After 14 laps of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit Nicky Wilson finished second on his Demon GP Suzuki GSX-R1000. Kawasaki-mounted Peter Baker completed the podium and Rookie champion Luke Wallington took the Clubman win in sixth.

McGlynn’s ninth and second in class kept him ahead of title rival Michael Clarke.

Half the field failed to finish a damp race two, but Wainwright was unaffected and took his second win of the weekend.
Frederico Lopez took second and the Clubman victory, finishing ahead of Wilson and Ritchie Thornton.

There was almost a twist in the Clubman championship story, as Michael Clarke’ second in class result gave him 20 championship points to McGlynn’s 0 for a DNF. 25 points was the difference with a race to go. However, McGlynn’s superior win tally was still enough to mean he was crowned champion with a race to spare.

In the final race of the year Wainwright took another win, in front of Thornton and Wilson. Wallington was fourth and the Clubman victor. McGlynn was eighth and second in the Clubman category, with Lopez third in class.

TBR Performance Thunderbike Extreme and Thunderbike Ultra

Both championships were already wrapped up in the TBR Performance Thunderbike Extreme and Thunderbike Ultra classes, but a full grid of riders still turned out for one last go in 2022.

Daryl Dance, this year’s Ultra championship runner-up, took three overall victories and with them three class wins. He bested Stacey Killworth and Chad Hashmi in race one - both Ultra class riders, before basting Killworth again in race two, with James Fearn completing the podium.

David May, running the number one plate as the new Extreme class champion, took the category win in race one, with brothers Max and Oliver Macrae second and third respectively.

The new champion was unable to repeat his victory in race two, failing to finish and handing the win to Max Macrae, with Oliver Macrae second. Andrew Denyer was third in class.

It was win number three for Dance in the first of Sunday’s double-header, with a tenth of a second deciding the runner-up spot. Hashmi took the 20 Ultra championship points, with Killworth just missing out and taking the bronze medal spot.

May returned to winning ways in the Extreme class after the disappointment of race two, as Michael Hogarth visited the podium for the first time over the weekend, finishing second in front of Denyer.

With Dance electing to sit out the final race, Hashmi took the win, his first of the season, with Killworth second and Connor Swyer completing the overall and Ultra class rostrum.

Fittingly, the final Extreme class win of the season went to champion May. He was flanked on the podium by Hogarth and Denyer.

EDIasia Formula 400

With Richie Welsh, having already secured another EDIasia Formula 400 title, sat out the final round of the season at Brands Hatch, Andrew Moxon swooped in to claim a hat-trick of victories, with the other available race win going to Anthony Johnson.

Outgoing champion James Seath qualified on pole, but he could only follow Moxon home to take second place in race one, the gap a second at the flag. Nick Smith was third and also top Sub-64bhp class runner.

Sticking it to the four-stroke 400s, Anthony Johnson took the win in race two on his TZR250 Yamaha, with Moxon second on his Vanguard Motorsport Honda VFR400 and Seath third on his Ovenden Earthmoving Kawasaki ZXR400. Smith was again leading Sub-64bhp rider.

It was a Moxon double on Sunday to round out the year, as he won twice from Sub-64bhp winner Smith.

Sam Hirst was third in the first of Sunday’s races, with Matthew Epps third in race four on his Sub-64bhp Kawasaki.

INTA Motorcycle Blue Haze GP

Bruce Dunn had already clinched this year’s Blue Haze GP crown, but still he went out and finished his year off with pole position and three wins.

On his Bilstein UK Yamaha TZ250 he was victorious in both of Saturday’s outings, taking the win from Frank Swain and Sean Morrison in race one, before Morrison improved to second place in race two and Anthony Johnson completed the podium in third.

Morrison continued his trajectory if improving one position a race, and took victory in race three. On his Fincham’s Two-Strokes Honda RS250 he crossed the line half a second up on champion Dunn, with Jonathan Stamper a distant third.

With nowhere to improve to in the final race, Morrison missed out on a second win, with Dunn taking his third of the weekend and 15th of the season.

Morrison took second, as Swain took to the podium again in third.

Taymar Motorcycles Blue Haze GPF

David Abraham was the runaway winner of the Taymar Motorcycles Blue Haze GPF series, for production-based two-strokes, but he still arrived at Brands and set pole before taking two wins.

He did the double on Saturday, with both wins coming ahead of David Ball and Denis Halil.

Ball and Halil were able to best the 2022 champion in a wet race three, as Martin Pearson took a podium finish in third.

Geoff Mook added a win to his tally before the season was out, taking victory in race four. Ball and Halil were second and third, the gap between them a mere seven thousandths of a second.