Cadwell Park played host to the fifth round of the British Motorcycle Racing Club’s 2023 season, with the tricky Lincolnshire circuit serving up some close fought racing across the classes.
Unfortunately, a serious incident in the MRO Powerbikes on Sunday morning involving Jack Croucher brought proceedings to a halt. He was airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary and is receiving treatment.
As a result of the stoppage, changes were made to the schedule. Classes that had already had a running on Sunday morning kept a second race, albeit shortened in distance, while classes that had not yet had a race on Sunday essentially had their races combined into a single, longer race. The races dropped will not be re-run.
Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes and Cigma Racing Clubman 1000
There were two races of the MRO Powerbikes and Clubman 1000s over the weekend at Cadwell as a result of the schedule changes.
In the eight-lap opener Clubman Scott Forbes-Cowdry took an early lead before Nicky Wilson over at the front.
While he led the way, Kieran Smith and Josh Wainwright were making their way forwards, and on lap five Smith passed Wilson, with Wainwright getting by a lap later.
At the chequered flag less than two tenths of a second covered the pair, with Smith taking the win. Wilson dropped six seconds on the leaders in the closing stages but held onto third. Forbes-Cowdry was fourth and the Clubman winner.
After the delays caused by the stoppage in Sunday’s opening race, a 10-lap affair was won by Wainwright in comfortable fashion.
Kirt Powell took an excellent second to win the Clubman class, Philip Baker was third, less than a second up on Peter Baker in fourth.
BMCRC F1 and F2 Sidecars
In the club’s sidecar championship races there were three wins for the F1 pairing of Luke Williams and Jason Pitt. Aboard their LCR Yamaha machine, they won the first three races of the weekend, but failed to make the start of race four, allowing Simon Gilbert and Anthony Hildige to collect 25 championship points.
However, it was Oscar Holden and George Lawrence who set pole, and they led every race they started until pulling off and retiring on the final lap to ensure they didn’t collect any championship points.
As a result, Williams and Pitt inherited the number one spot in races one, two, and three.
In the first race, second place went to F2 class winners Sean Hegarty and James Neave, their lonely ride to third overall on the Baker Honda suddenly becoming a cruise to second place. Aden Pearson and Gary Wheeler on the ABS Racing LCR Suzuki picked up an unexpected pot in third overall, second in the F2 class.
Williams and Pitt again inherited the lead of race two on the final lap and took win number two, as Hegarty and Neave made it two F2 wins from two attempts, this time in second overall, with Gilbert and Hildige third overall and second in the F1 class.
It was a repeat podium in race three - Williams and Pitt the F1 winners and Hegarty and Neave the F2 winners - after Holden and Lawrence withdrew before the chequered flag.
In the final race of the weekend neither Holden and Lawrence nor Williams and Pitt lined up for the start, and as a result Gilbert and Hildige ran out dominant winners on their Ryde 1000 sponsored by West Ewell Fencing.
Running in second, Hegarty and Neave retired after two thirds distance and missed out on an F2 win. That honour went to Pearson and Wheeler in third overall, just a second down on Chris Wright and Paul Bailey, who claimed second overall and second in the F1 class.
DFDS Yamaha Past Masters
Kevin Wholey extended his championship lead in the DFDS Yamaha Past Masters series, taking three wins in the races run at Cadwell Park.
He twice beat Doug Edmondson into second place, each time the winning margin less than a second. Edmondson looked set to take victory in race two of the weekend, but crashed out of the lead to enable Wholey to make it a perfect score.
Stuart Hall was quickest in qualifying, but a poor start dropped him down the order. He eventually dropped out of contention on lap, running in ninth.
At the front, Edmondson led early on but with two laps to go Wholey took the lead and the win, three tenths up on Edmondson. Rik Ballerini was third, narrowly fending off Liam McCarter.
Desperate to prevent Wholey from running away with this year’s championship, Edmondson was out front in race two, and keeping Wholey at bay, only to crash out on the final lap. With a 17-second gap back to Hall, Wholey cruised round to take the win. Hall was second, and McCarter third.
In race three Wholey and Edmondson battled hard for victory, the lead changing hands almost every lap. Edmondson started the final lap in front but a last lap overtake from Wholey denied Edmondson the win, and instead the series leader made it three from three.
Edmondson was second with he and Wholey in a class of two over the weekend. McCarter was third, nearly 40 seconds off the race win.
ACU Team Green Junior Cup and Senior Ninja series
There was drama aplenty in the ACU Team Green Junior Cup and Senior Ninja series, but despite the jeopardy, Harley McCabe came out on top with three race wins, the other going the way of Zack Weston.
McCabe was the quickest qualifier, and the weekend started fairly routinely, with the Junior pilot going on to win race one from fellow Junior runner Weston, nearly five seconds back.
A similar margin split Weston from Senior winner Phil Atkinson, who was third overall after holding off Craig Dance.
Unfortunately for McCabe he only lasted a lap of race two before crashing out. That left Weston, Dance, and Atkinson to fight for the win. And there was little to choose between them, with less than two tenths of a second between them going onto the final lap, with Weston leading Atkinson and Dance.
Weston then preceded to set the fastest lap of the race to break the chasing Atkinson and Dance. He was also helped by Dance launching an attack on Atkinson to snatch second place overall. Despite finishing third, Atkinson was still the leading Senior rider across the line.
Sunday’s opener saw Weston assume an early lead, but he crashed out of contention on lap two. That left McCabe to fight with Oliver Arbon and Atkinson for victory.
Arbon led them onto the final lap, all three tied together. Unfortunately for him, he was on the receiving end of a hard move from Atkinson and crashed out as a result. McCabe took advantage and crossed the line first. Atkinson was second, but was subsequently removed from the results for irresponsible riding.
In the final classification Dance was credited with second, despite being 17 seconds down on the winner. Joe White was awarded the Senior win in third.
McCabe completed the treble in race four, winning by three and a half seconds from Weston, Arbon was third and the winning Senior rider.
Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport and Supertwins
After taking all four wins at Cadwell Park to take his season’s tally to 18, Jeremy Hill secured this year’s Steve Jordan Motorcycles Thunderbike Sport championship.
In Saturday’s races he took victory in dominant fashion on his Silver Arrows Racing Yamaha R6, but, behind, the fight for the podium was intense.
In race one he was victorious by nearly seven and a half seconds, though the group of five riders battling for second place were covered by two seconds at the chequered flag.
Elliot Fricker held second early on, before being relegated to third by Tommi Caldwell, who held second until the finish on his DART Motorsport Yamaha. Fricker was third until the final lap, but was denied a podium by Mark Biswell.
In race two less than half a second covered three riders battling over two podium spots, with Biswell second on the Bizzle Bikesport FZR600R Yamaha, and Andrew Denyer third on his OW01. Missing out, in fourth, was Honda-mounted Alex Mann.
In both races Nick Allison was the top Supertwin rider across the line aboard his Aprilia RS660, finishing 16th and 17th overall from the two outings.
It was three from three for Hill in the first of Sunday’s races, as he again won comfortably. Behind, what started as a three-way battle for the podium spots soon became a two-horse race as Caldwell dropped away.
That left Biswell to take second, chased all the way by Mann, half a second the gap at the flag.
After three dominant showings, Hill was pushed all the way in the final race, as Biswell managed to get his hooks into the back of Hill’s Yamaha and break away from the chasing pack.
Though unable to find a way past, Biswell crossed the line for second less than a second back of Hill. Mann was again third.
Allison and Daniel Black shared the Supertwin spoils with a class win apiece.
Steve Jordan Motorcycles and TBR Performance Thunderbike Extreme and Ultra
After winning race one by nearly 8 seconds, you’d be forgiven for thinking Morgan Creasey was going to have it all his own way in the Steve Jordan Motorcycles and TBR Performance Thunderbike Extreme and Ultra races.
With a near one and a half second lead by the end of lap one, he led the first race from start to finish to claim victory on his Warics Ltd Suzuki.
It was an entirely different race for second placed Stacey Killworth, who had to come from seventh on lap one to take the runner-up spot. Chad Hashmi was third, three tenths up on James Fearn.
Ian Ashby was fifth and the Extreme class winner behind an all-Ultra class top-four.
Despite a repat podium in race two the spectacle was entirely different, with Killworth chasing Creasey all the way to the finish, a tenth of a second all that split the pair at the end of the six laps. Ashby was again the Extreme winner in fifth.
The third race of the weekend began as three-way fight for the lead, with Creasey, Killworth, and Hashmi all in contention.
After the halfway stage Hashmi began to lose touch, and eventually dropped a second to the leaders. Conversely, coming the other way through the field was Kieran Smith.
After a disappointing Saturday, he started the race from 18th on the grid, but made a last lap lap pass on Hashmi to snatch a podium. And with superior pace to the leaders, he made up two seconds on the last lap alone to finish just two tenths of a second off the win.
In seventh, Ashby collected another Extreme win.
Having demonstrated his superior pace in the first of Sunday’s races, Smith romped to victory in race four, winning by eight and a half seconds. Behind, Creasey and Killworth continued their duelling, and finished second and third respectively, with Ashby’s eighth place giving him all four Extreme class wins.
DART Motorsport MRO 600 and Clubman
Cameron Hall took all three wins in the DART Motorsport MRO 600s at Cadwell Park, despite Fenton Seabright looking odds on to at least fight for victory after setting a pole position time nearly a second quicker than anyone else.
On his FHS Racing Yamaha, Seabright led the opening lap of race one, but a crash a lap later ended his victory hopes. Hall, who ended lap one in second place, assumed the race lead and pulled away to take victory on his Nationwide Electrical Kawasaki.
In a relatively processional affair Taylor Rose took second on his Verkada Yamaha, followed by Kam Dixon. The Clubman spoils went to Henry Ross in fourth.
Starting race two from the third row, Seabright managed to get himself into podium contention, and started the last lap in third place, only to again find himself watching from the sidelines.
This time his retirement had no impact on the race victory, with Hall leading from start to finish. Rose was again second, with Dixon inheriting third place from Seabright. Ross was again fourth and the top Clubman rider.
Seabright finally made it onto the podium in the third and final race, but even though he moved into second place on lap two, he was already too far down on Hall to be able to launch a bid for victory.
Hall claimed victory number three by three seconds, with Seabright second and Dixon third. Ross also made it three from three in the Clubman class, finishing in seventh.
ProperlyProtected.co.uk MRO Minitwins
Championship leader David Twyford had to settle for three second place finishes at Cadwell Park, however, he still extended his series lead over Stacey Killworth.
Twyford was the quickest rider in qualifying by over a second, and started race one from pole position on his IMP Racing Suzuki SV650. From the outside of the front row he led every lap of the opening race, bar the last one.
Coming through from fifth place on lap one, Daniel Good put himself into a position to launch an attack on the final lap and grabbed victory away from long time race leader. Darren Dowds completed the podium.
In race two the pair duked it out for the win for the full race distance, the lead chopping and changing throughout. In the end, less than two tenths of a second split them, with Good taking his second victory, while Twyford was again forced to accept the runner-up spot.
Killworth was third, a second back of the fight for the win, and only half a second up on Dowds.
After setting the second quickest lap time in race two, Dowds started from the middle of the front row in the final race, and took an early race lead before being passed by Twyford and Good on lap two.
From there, Twyford again led every lap until the one that mattered, with Good in close pursuit ready to capitalise on any mistake. Consistently in the 1:40s, Twyford’s last lap was a 1:42, with Good slipping by to take the win, his third of the weekend, as Twyford took his third runner-up result.
Andrew Smith completed the podium in third, with Dowds in fourth.
BMCRC Formula 400
There were three wins for Haydon Smith in the BMCRC Formula 400s, however, a crash in race three proved costly. Championship leader Nick Smith took the other available win.
Haydon Smith ran out victorious in race one, with Nick Smith following him close behind - but never close enough to launch an attack - to finish second. Nick Smith took the Sub-64bhp win, though only just, as Alan Major crossed the line just a tenth behind him in third overall and second in the Sub-64bhp class.
Just over half a second covered the entire podium in race two, with Haydon Smith taking his second win of the weekend and his seventh of the season.
Nick Smith was on the podium again, albeit in third this time as Major pipped him to the silver medal position, and took the Sub-64bhp class win in the process.
Haydon Smith was making inroads into Nick Smith’s series lead, however, his hard work was undone on Sunday morning when he crashed out of the lead and out of contention of race three on lap four.
As a result, Nick Smith extended his championship lead with victory, though Major ran him close, with Jake Donkersley third.
Making amends in race four, Haydon Smith recovered to take his third win of the weekend, less than a second up on Sub-64bhp winner Nick Smith, who, in turn, was just under a second in front of Major in third, the trio again dominating the racing at the front.
INTA Motorcycles Blue Haze GP and GPF
Gavin Mills quadrupled his season’s win tally in one weekend at Cadwell Park, taking three of the four available wins in the GP class, while the wins were evenly shared between Liam McCarter, David Abraham, and Rik Ballerini in the GPF road-based class.
Despite GP series leader Edmondson setting pole, a retirement on lap two of race one allowed Mills ride unchallenged to victory, which he backed up with another start-to-finish win in race two.
John Lea and Phil Atkinson took a second and third place finish apiece from the two races.
Mills was on course for win number three in race three, again leading from the off only to drop out with two laps to go, handing victory to Lea, with Edmondson taking his first podium of the weekend in second, while third went to Michael Frost, thanks to Atkinson also failing to finish.
It was win number three for Mills in race four, however, as he took his season’s total to four, after winning at the last round at Donington Park. He crossed the line ahead of Lea, only a tenth of a second covering the pair, with Edmondson third.
In the GPF races McCarter cleared off at the front in race one to win comfortably. He left David Ball and Ballerini to fight for second, with less than a second deciding the result.
After only lasting a handful of laps in race one, Abraham took his solitary win of the weekend in race two, ahead of McCarter and Ballerini, before Ballerini added a win to his brace of third place finishes in the final race, winning handsomely ahead of Ball and Damian Lee.
Illuminate Design BMZRC 250
Alexander Mann and Andrew Wales shared the wins in the BMZRC 250 championship, with Mann winning race one before Wales doubled up with victory in races two and three.
Typical of the close racing the series has come to be known for, Mann crossed the line to take the chequered flag less than a tenth of a second up on Wales, with Chris Kent third.
There was little to choose between the pair in race two, until Mann retired with a lap to go, leaving Wales to take the win, three seconds in front of Louis Kershaw, with Kent again third.
A tenth of a second was all that split Wales and runner-up Kent in race three, as Wales claimed his second win of the weekend, with Mann third.
L&W Contractors Rookie 600 and Rookie 1000
Duncan Bedwell and Callum Manley took two wins each in the Rookie 1000 and Rookie 600 races respectively. Sam Cranstone was the other victor in the litre bike class, while Kallum Bedwell picked up the other 600 win.
Duncan Bedwell was the quickest qualifier and won the weekend’s opening race by a huge 18 seconds, before winning a red flag-shortened race two by nearly 13 seconds.
Cranstone and David Wilkins were second and third on both occasions.
In the Saturday’s two 600 races Manley converted pole into victory in race one, and was joined on the podium by Jason Gamble and Kieran Sembiante.
However, he lasted less than a lap in race two. He was also joined on the sidelines by Gamble after the halfway stage.
As a result Kallum Bedwell could take a fairly convincing win in the end, with Sembiante second and Tom Elliot third.
On Sunday a processional race at the front in the 1000s ended with Cranstone taking victory from championship leader Karl Thomson and James Vincer.
Manley returned to action and to the top step of the podium in the 600s, ahead of Kallum Bedwell and Sembiante.