With an interesting weekend in store due to the run up to the TT, some riders going to compete and others as helpers or spectators it was going to be a weekend of a few new winners.
Missing from the Paddock was Phoenix Open and Powerbike series leader George Edwards who had been wild carding at Donington Park in BSB Stock1000 leaving the door open for the likes of Dan Nelmes, Dave Mackay and Chris Pope to grab some points back.
Phoenix Open Qualifying:
You tend to forget just how quick this 1.5-mile circuit is until the first bike comes screaming out of Honda Curve! Daniel Nelmes was right on the pace with a sub 1 minute lap of 58.929 on his R1 Yamaha also sub 1 was local rider Lewis Jones on his BSB Supersport Kawasaki ZX6R with 59.813 the team using the event to chase some set up issues, Dave MacKay was also on the pace but skirting round 1:00 times with a 1:00.051 for the front row, Ricky Elder and his R6 Yamaha not to far away with 1:00.182.
Race 1:
Pole sitter Nelmes got off to a great start and headed the grid into Hatchets and got into a rhythm while Elder piled on the Pressure being pulled along chasing Nelmes to get into the under 1 minute laps but this was being bettered by Nelmes who had just enough of a gap to stop any challenge for the lead , MacKay and Jones were also locked in battle for 3rd place, Dave upping his pace to keep the ZX6R at bay. The margin at the flag was 1.107 to Nelmes over Elder, MacKay some 5.3 seconds adrift of the winner.
Race 2:
30 seconds of rain was the deciding factor to this race! Giving the track a good coating of the wet stuff before the race, so tyres were franticly being swapped slicks out wets in, but with the open nature of the track and the sun now back, were the full wets going to cope with 10 laps of drying track?
MacKay arrived on the front row with a set of intermediates in while the rest went with wets, from the start it was Nelmes and Elder the front runners as the field carefully negotiated there way round the damp track ,Elder leading by lap 2 Nelmes starting to slow and then getting pushed back to 3rd by MacKay the track starting to dry and giving no help to the wet riders, next target Elder was passed by lap 6 as riders with no grip were coming in to retire tyres absolutely shredded. Elder’s times were dropping off and Chris Pope was gaining ground to move into second finishing 6.5 seconds behind MacKay, Elder 12 seconds behind the leader with zero grip.
Race 3:
MacKay was the first away and looking determined to get anther win but a mistake on lap 2 dropped him way down the pack and having to fight through the traffic, Nelmes was in the lead now with Elder and Pope not too far away , but dark Horse of this race Gary Stevens was making moves for the top 3 holding 3rd briefly until a recovering MacKay got past, Nelmes was having to use all the R1’s power to stay in front of Elders R6 the pair locked in a battle to the flag by just 0.296 of a second, MacKay a charging 3rd
IMS National 600 & HM Racing Clubman 600:
This was going to be a battle with Ricky Elder and Lewis Jones, Elder looking to pull back points from a horrible Cadwell round and Jones upholding local honour.Jones took qualifying at 59.538 from Elder 59.752, and Will Jones after a test day tumble 1:00.113
Race 1:
Elder stole the start from Jones and surprise entry 250 ACU champion Bobby Varey on a borrowed R6 Yamaha after the Suzuki he qualified on had terminal problems was up into 3rd , Jones pushed through to lead on lap 2 and Varey up to 2nd on lap 3 all 3 riders lapping under 1 minute. Jones was by then well in control of the race steadily increasing the lead to win by 4.3 seconds from Elder and Varey, Will Jones 4th
Race 2:
With all the data and testing they needed Lewis Jones and team set off for the 30minute drive home leaving the pole slot on the grid empty. But Varey was still there and after a 250 victory was up for another win, Elder saw his chance and pulled away from the lights to establish a lead with some fast and calculated riding through back markers kept a good gap from Varey of 4.9 seconds Gareth Roberts having a strong finish in 3rd place.
Race 3:
It was Elder’s start, but Varey led by lap 2 and stayed in front until lap 5 when Elder retook the lead gradually putting a couple of tenths a lap into Varey to build a bit of space and then work the backmarkers to keep Varey at bay to win by 2.9 seconds Michael Tustin got the better of Gareth Roberts after a race long tussle for 3rd
R E Performance Powerbike & N L Motor Services Sound of Thunder:
Dan Nelmes was the class of qualifying with a 59.134 pole lap, Tyron Lewis 1:01.054 and Howard Burchnall 1:01.386 for Powerbike , Caleb Williams 1:02.089 was fastest in Sound of Thunder from Chace Collymore 1:02.208 and Jay Able 1:02.943.
Race 1:
Nelmes stamped his authority on the race when the lights changed leading from Lewis and carrying the speed he had shown in the Open leading by over 2 seconds on the first lap and keeping the pressure on for the first 4 laps until he had a gap of about 6 seconds then cruised home by 7 seconds from Lewis and Burchnall. Collymore was SoT victor from Able and Ben Broadway
Race 2:
Press replay and Nelmes shot off at pace with Lewis in tow but setting a blistering pace again no one could match, 2 seconds a lap faster and leaving the grid in his wake. Lewis faded half race distance and dropped back behind Pope and Burchnell who got the better of Pope on lap 9 for second but Nelmes was up the road by almost 5 seconds for the win, only 0.167 from Burchnell to Pope.Able followed Collymore home in SoT.
Race 3:
A bit of a repeat performance from Nelmes get out the trap quick and run away, Lewis was a bit more up for this one keeping him honest for the opening laps and upping the pace in the closing laps to keep it down to 4.3 seconds, Gary Stevens end of the day form continued with a good 3rd place finish
SoT was a 3rd win for Collymore , Ben Varley, Ducati second, Aaron Matthews , Triumph 3rd
T W Suspension Mini Twins: was another clean sweep for Joe Woodward now having won all mini twin races so far this season , 200 point maximum
J C R Super Twins: , Edward Giles was top scorer and leads the championship 2 seconds and a 3rd for the weekend
Love Life & Ride Pre Injection 600:, 2 wins and a 2nd for the weekend took Tyler Smith to the top of the points table.
The points in The Open have shifted in favour of Dave MacKay 112 , George Edwards 102, Dan Nelmes 101 , Powerbike: is new leader Daniel Nelmes 135, George Edwards 107 , Stuart Cooke 75
National 600: Ricky Elder is back on top 152, Gareth Roberts 105, Michael Tustin 88
Clubman 600: Harry Hinchcliffe 123, Mike Knorr 116, Dave Tilling 113
Words: Martin Bennett, Race Commentator
Photos: Christopher Price: chris@pulsepm.com