Whilst the engines of the Masters machines clicked away in Parc Ferme as they cooled down, it was business as usual for the remaining teams which showed Sweatshop 3 laps in front of ultra quick 600 crew - Ducks X. Leading Senior 1000 team Well Oiled Racing (Hazel Drury/Michael Naylor/Steve Griffiths) were circulating in 3rd ahead of Costello Redmond (Craig Allamby/Jon Leach/Andy Dix) with Sorrymate.com (Fergus Delano/Richard Slater/Mark Cooper) and Gasi Racing bringing up the rear.
Well Oiled use the race starting strategy of letting Steve Griffiths take all the long distance starts – his experience and success in Supermoto means that he normally makes a blinding start going into the first corner – can’t fault it.
This order of play remained almost in tact and it was noticeable that riders had dropped the race pace in the closing stages conscious that they had some sort of distance in front of the chasing rival and the fact that to nail championship points you have to take the flag. A battle royal was being enjoyed by Gasi and Sorrymate who on the fourth hour were separated by less than five seconds, Gasi worked really hard on their strategy and Fergus Delgarno had a slow off as the race entered its closing stages bring to an end any on track dices for position. So that was Gasi going from bottom up to fourth spot in the final third of the race, adding valuable points to their title tally.
Fraser was on hand to record some random speeds on the start/finish straight – not the longest straight in existence but speeds ranged from Trackcraft in the mid 130 mph zone along with Sweatshop and Freaks whist most of the rest appeared at the top end of the 120s – thanks Fraze.
Results - National and Senior 6 Hours
1 Sweatshop* 319 laps
2 Ducks Cross Racing* 313
3 Well Oiled Kitty* 303
4 Gasi Racing* 290
5 Costello Redmond Racing 288
6 Sorrymate.com 287
7 AMR Endurance 280
Not Classified
Kapital Moto 105 laps
* denotes class winners
Fastest Lap Sweatshop Racing 60.445s

Junior Endurance Race - 3 Hours
After morning practice, held in drab conditions, it was Brickdust Racing (Daniel Lane/Gary Arden) who stole pole from another 60 - Project 39 (Andy Rouse/Colin Norris). Top litre crew was Billericay Coachworks (Kevin Maxted/Tim Gorringe) who have been missing from the series since Round 1 but were now happy to be back.
When it mattered it was Brad Patras who hauled his GT Racing ZX10R (Brad Patras/Keith Tribe) up from 12th on the grid to the front after little more than a lap making up for a disappointing Cadwell Park race back in July. Brickdust had lost any pole advantage and were dumped down to midfield before waking up and making their way through to fourth by the 30 minute mark. Shortly after that BLDS Couriers (Bill Lilley/Jonty Dixon) held a whole lap over P39 and Banzai (Rupert Thompson/Ben Jenkins), no less than 14 machines shared the same lap behind the leaders.
At the one hour mark the top 11 shared the same lap with BLDS leading from the front. Billericay had moved into second and P39 not far off in third. At half distance Suzuki man Mark Floyd parted company with his mount coming onto the start/finish straight causing Nigel Slater to bring out the course car whilst the rider was whipped off to the medical centre with his leg in a splint, later to be seen hobbling around the paddock, team mate Gary Bransgrove continued single handed. The unfortunate Floyd was a relative newcomer to road racing and replaced a missing Steve Callahan in the TAR line up for the Pembrey weekend.
BLDS carried a lap lead at this stage with the next five outfits charging for second spot. Joan McIntosh was another faller bringing home the transponder for Sam Smithson to carry the TDR Racing mantle – is that the 3rd or fourth team you have raced for this season Joan? At two thirds the BLDS, Billericay and P39 status quo continued and with 30 minutes to go Lloyd Magruder stepped off bringing out various rescue vehicles but now the top three were on the same lap and pushing. The last few laps were crucial and we saw BLDS loose their lead to Billericay after some slick work in the pits by the men from Essex - the final gap being a slight 18 seconds after three hours! Final podium place went to reward the slick Project 39 team, the first 600 home. With a large field and racing that close there was no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, 600 title leaders NR Racing finished in an uncharacteristic 10th place but are still in a strong position going into the final two rounds, ditto for the 1000s - as we go to Snetterton and then Silverstone, it is all to play for.
Results
1 Billericay Coachworks 150lapş*
2 BLDS Couriers 150
3 Project 39*
4 Brickdust Racing 149
5 Rawlings Racing 148
6 Tango and Crash 148
7 Sherwood Suzuki 147
8 TMR 147
9 Graphics UK Racing 147
10 NR Racing 147
11 Spellfame Racing 147
12 STD Racing 146
13 GT Racing
14 Last Minute Racing 145
15 Costello Redmond Racing 144
16 Signs Express Racing 143
17 In the Dog House 141
18 Racing Snakes 141
19 Pirate Racing 140
20 Pit Stop Junior 139
21 ASBO Racing 137
22 Roundall Racing 136
23 Snug Racing 120
25 TAR 120
Not Classified
Banzai 146
TDR Racing 83
Fastest Lap
BLDS Couriers 61.772!
* denotes class winner

MotoGrande Races x 4
Robin Hooker, who has not contested all the 2009 races, stamped his authority on the four MotoGrande races using his immaculate and effective Team RHR Ducati 1098 after early leader Mark Affleck rode his socks off and many riders crashed in the wet but drying conditions and title rival Greg Allsop tried all he knew to stay ahead of the race preparation ace. Both men had gone into the final championship races in fifth and sixth place and it was a delighted Hooker who took the title, acknowledging that he is not a wet weather specialist. Both classes have produced some exceptional racing this season and part of the appeal is that almost any bike can compete near the front, the field including Honda Hornets, steel framed 600s and Suzuki K1s – you don’t need a latest specification superbike to finish in the Top Ten.
Coming into the final Pembrey races - the 600s were all about three riders; another Allsop - Adrian, a young man with a bright future Andrew Rouse and wily journeyman Sean Moss who recently went so well on his Aberdare debut. At the end of the four races it was an emotional Adrian who won the title in his first year of racing ahead of a pushing Rouse, good rides also from an evergreen Richie Cunningham, Mark Affleck and local man Gary Jones.
These longer than normal races, that act as a stepping stone for riders considering future rides in the endurance races, have been a real success this season offering riders more race miles for their entry fee and expect to see the series expanded for 2010 by Hottrax Motorsport's Dave Mabbutt.
Race 1
1 Robin Hooker *
2 Andrew Rouse *
3 Greg Allsop
4 Richie Cunningham
5 Adrian Allsop
6 Steve Griffths
Race 2
1 Robin Hooker *
2 Greg Allsop
3 Mark Affleck *
4 Andrew Rouse
5 Richie Cunningham
6 Andrew Parker
Race 3
1 Greg Allsop *
2 Robin Hooker
3 Gary Jones *
4 Adrian Allsop
5 Mark Affleck
6 Andrew Rouse
Race 4
1 Robin Hooker *
2 Greg Allsop
3 Andrew Parker
4 Adrian Allsop *
5 Richie Cunningham
6 Andrew Rouse

Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National, Senior, Junior and Masters TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championships – Round Four at Cadwell park, Lincolnshire 4th July 2009 – words and photos by Alfonso Lygo

3 hour National, Senior & Masters Race

The Hottrax Motorsport regulars would have to review strategies to manage a race only half distance compared with the normal six hour bash. Following on from morning practice it was newcomers Steptoe & Son Racing (Sam Smithson/Jonty Dixon) who stole pole by more than a second and a half from championship leading crews - Sweatshop Racing (Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey/Rod Lynn/R1) and Trackcraft (Mark Linscott/Mike Dickenson). Also, new to series was Elite Racing (Chris Norris/Phillip Corless) on a brace of Ducati 1098s. Apex was a man down as Adam Woby had parted company with his R6 during the morning.

At the fall of the cloth Sweatshop took off like a scalded cat with Trackcraft and the rag `n bone men in hot pursuit. Left on the grid and on the deck was Costello Redmond Racing (Jon Leach/Craig Allamby/Drew Tommons) after a fracas at the tail end of the field. First to pit was the Kapitol Moto Ducati to investigate engine gremlins after the team had worked during the night to improve things after the previous day‘s trackday. At the same time Trackcraft passed the start line in front of Sweatshop, Steptoes, Extreme Bykesportz (Ian Walker/Kevin Tait), newcomers Elite Racing and First Form Endurance (Paul Robey/Jay Smith). The order of the day was to be changed by the inaugural appearance of the pace car as a result of Pit Stop Racing visiting the greenery at Chris Curve, teams dived for the pitlane but this worked against Trackcraft and other teams dumping the #1 liveried bike down to ninth spot out of the 27 bike field.

Moments before the one hour mark Freaks of Nature (Dave Stewardson/Mark Whiston) pilot Bones slipped off after Charlie’s and ran back to pitlane with the ever important transponder collapsing in the high temperatures wearing leathers and helmet - this left Mark the rest of the race to complete on his own with regular rider breaks, hoping to grab some all important points

Half way point of this uncharacteristically short race, the timing screen showed Sweatshop and Steptoes one lap in front of Trackcraft, top 600 outfit Ducks Cross Racing (Mike Eglington/Grant Wagstaff/Martin Landmann/R6), TM72 Racing (Andy McKnight/Mike Chappell), East Coast (Phill Reed/Paul Hobson/Carl Hudson/R1), First Form and Too Old, Too Fat Racing (Paul Noble/Nigel Rae). Down in the pitlane Jon Leach did 10 minutes of his first stint before feeling unwell and gladly handing on the rest of the day’s riding to team mates Tommons & Allamby. Feeling the wrath of the pitlane police the was many teams falling foul of the pitlane speed limit or staying out longer on the track than regulations allow - this included the Bob Farnham Power Racing entry of 16 year old chargers Tom Dale and Alex Olsen on a pair of Triumph 675s. These two riders had a terrific day despite picking up penalties; both are doing well in the Triumph Challenge and were a welcome addition to the Hottrax Motorsport entourage.

With half an hour to go Sweatshop, who have won all 2009 races to date, were still leading from the front with a lap in hand over Masters 1000 leaders - Trackday who have a clean sheet so far this season. Extreme and Steptoes were on the same lap ahead of TM72. TM72 had drafted in new man Mike Chappell meaning Eric Chitty was drafted down to the Juniors later in the day partnering Claire Bowyer who used the flags well enough top start and finish this race. Eric, lacking a suitable bike was loaned a Suzuki 600 by the extremely generous Helen Gaskins.

Most riders were delighted to see the end of the race, held in sweltering conditions with Sweatshop winning by less than 30 seconds from Trackcraft, Extreme and TM72 were a slender lap down on the winners with Steptoes in a creditable class winning fifth over Too Old Too Fat and class winner’s Profibre rounding off the top six. Ducks X won the Supersport division on the same lap as Bob Farnham’s Triumphs and Rebels Racing (Joan McIntosh/Simon Bland) took the Senior 600 race.

Whilst not handing out stop/go penalties to the innocent riders who misunderstood the rules, Fraser Greenroyd poked his speed gun at people along the start/finish straight recording random speeds of; Trackcraft 130 mph, Extreme & Freaks 129 Sweatshop 126, TM72 125 and fastest 600 was Ducks X @ 118 mph.

Race Result

1 Sweatshop Racing * 100 laps
2 Trackcraft * 100
3 Extreme Bykesportz 99
4 TM72 99
5 Steptoe and Son Racing * 98
6 Too Old Too Fat Racing 97
7 Profibre * 97
8 Ducks Cross Racing * 96
9 Farnham Power Racing 96
10 Rebels Racing * 95
11 Well Oiled Racing 95
12 A&G Racing 95
13 East Coast 95
14 Gasi Racing 94
15 Apex Racing 92
16 Costello Redmond Racing 91
17 Black Flag Racing 90
18 GOSH Racing 89
19 Yorkshire Racing 89
20 AMR Endurance 88

Unclassified

21 Elite Racing 81
22 120+ Racing 81
23 Freaks of Nature Too 69
24 ETA Racing 57
24 Pit Stop Racing 54
25 First Form Racing 43
26 Kapitol Moto Racing 21

* Class Winners
Fastest Lap Trackcraft 1m 36.154s




3 hour Junior Race

After a massively hot, humid and oppressive morning race the Juniors took their place on the grid in even greater heat. Pole setters were Junior 1000 leaders Graphic UK Racing (Dean Skipper/Basil Bannayi) only a smidge quicker than the 600 of Project 39 (Andy Rouse/Carl Norris) - both teams having a couple of seconds in hand over the rest of the chasing pack. After a false start caused by rider’s eagerness to start racing the riders were away leaving MC Racing (Jason McKinnon/Mark Wadeson) to start from pitlane and Junior 600 three times race winners NR Racing (Nathan Horsfield/Ryan Peters) to be pushed off the grid in dead last spot. Piston Broke Racing (Greg Allsop/Tom Rutherford) got a stonking start to lead Graphic UK, Project 39, Tango and Crash Racing (John Blundell/Ryan Myler) and Team Banzai (Rupert Thompson/Ben Jenkins).

We had a couple of non starters including genial top bloke Nigel Slater (who supplies me with oil and other goodies at well decent prices) who was going to bomb round on his Hornet before team mate Martin Stanier landed on his ear at the Chicane meaning NS would officiate in the race in stead of sweating his thingies off in a set of leathers!

Early on we were missing Keith Dickie who fell at the chicane, team mate Brian O’Sullivan sprinting to retrieve the transponder to carry on racing his Hornet, Keith unable to continue racing with a ‘stranded’ machine. Around the 30 minute mark MC Racing were in and out the pits with brake problems and Roundall Racing (Pete Gibson/Simon Allen) reported a dead transponder which was quickly swapped with Throttlemonkey’s spare, one of the Rawlings brothers looked awful as he came in after his first stint in the heat. At the one hour mark the pace care made it’s first unwelcome but necessary appearance to enable the paramedics to retrieve a faller at the Hairpin - this prompted a rash of pitstops followed by the quick reappearance of the pace car to allow the ambulance a hasty exit to Louth Hospital. Depending on how the riders played these two white flag periods there was a re writing of the leader board which saw Speed n Spares Racing (David Etherington/Richard Walker) leading on the same lap as NR Racing, Tango, Signs Express (Lloyd Magruder/Richard Howes), Spellfame Racing (Andrew Main/Richard Lloyd) and the Graphics. Once the pace car cleared the circuit it was open season and the pack quickly reshuffled and Tango lead at the front from Graphics, Spellfame, NR Racing, Speed n Spares and Signs Express. Just after the middle point of the race Graphics lead with six other machines all on the same lap - close or what? At 2 hours Graphics lead on the road from last starters NR Racing (who have been receiving on track rider tuition from Trackcraft’s Mark Linscott and Mike Dickenson), Tango and Signs Express at the same time as the leading crew were given a one minute penalty for leaving a rider out for too long before their pitstop, drama occurred when the leader dropped his machine at the bottom of the mountain damaging the gear change - transponder was recovered, fitted to the team’s other bike and rejoined the race before pitting for the penalty period.

This saw early leaders Piston Broke and early strugglers NR racing battling it out for the lead with a whole lap over seven other teams, following their recent dramas Graphic UK was dumped back in 14th spot - so far we had a different leader on every half hour mark of the race. A final rash of pitstops around the two and a half hour mark confirmed NR Racing maintaining a lap over Piston Broke, Spellfame, Tango, Signs Express and Project 39. The status quo was almost maintained after Shelley Pike, recovering from a spill earlier this season, dropped the flag to see NR Racing a cool lap ahead of Piston Broke Racing, Spellfame, Signs Express, Tango, Project 39, TM72 Juniors (Claire Bowyer/Eric Chitty) all on the same lap only separated by seconds. Speed n Spares, GT Racing (Keith Tribe/Brad Patras) and Team Banzai were all a lap adrift of the chasing group - early leaders Graphic UK polled up in 12th place after their dramas.

Race Results

1 NR Racing 95 laps
2 Piston Broke Racing 94
3 Spellfame Racing 94
4 Signs Express Racing 94
5 Tango & Crash Racing 94
6 Project 39 94
7 TM72 Juniors 94
8 Speed n Spares Racing 93
9 GT Racing 93
10 Team Banzai 93
11 STD Yamaha 90
12 Graphic UK Racing 90
13 ASBO Racing 90
14 121 Ride 90
15 Team TAR 89
16 Costello Redmond Racing 87
17 In the Dog House 87
18 Pirate Racing 86
19 Fergus Delgarno 86
20 Racing Snakes 85
21 Roundall Racing 83
22 BLDS Couriers 76

Unclassified

23 Tom Tom Racing 63
24 EIS Racing 50
25 Snug Racing 47
26 Rawlings Racing 42
27 MC Racing 39
28 Epona Racing 26
Dos Cerdo De Cidra 0
T2 Racing 0


* Class Winners
Fastest Lap Piston Broke Racing 1m 37.320s

Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National, Senior, Junior and Masters TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championships. MotoGrande and Supermono Championship races – Round Three at Anglesey, 23rd and 24th May 2009 – words and photos by Alfonso Lygo

Masters 3 hours race and National/Senior 6 hours race

Sweatshop Racing (Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey/Rod Lynn/R1) converted a comfortable pole into leading on the road after securing pole position over Masters outfit Track craft (Mark Linscott/Mike Dickenson) by just under half a second. This was after Trackcraft’s Dickenson almost wrote his R1 off on the Friday track day - true to form the camaraderie in the Hottrax Endurance paddock enabled the bruised machine to be rebuilt using rival team’s parts, tools, support and encouragement. Much of the Saturday morning’s practice and qualifying time had been lost after a Junior 1000 machine laid a line of oil around the 1.55 mile circuit. Much of Friday had been affected by adverse weather conditions that made any meaningful running for competitors a complete nightmare.

At the start of the big race the crocodile of bikes maintained it‘s qualifying order with Sweatshop at the front, in their wake we saw Trackcraft, Freaks of Nature Too(Mark Whiston/Dave Stewardson), TM72 Racing (Andy McKnight/Eric Chitty) and the smaller machine of ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Darren Brearley). After 30 minutes Trackcraft came out on top until the safety car made its first appearance after Glen Levy crashed the Apex Racing (Glen/Nick Matthews/Lee Morris) R6 coinciding with the first round of pitstops which saw Sweatshop build a lap lead over the trailing Ducks Cross (Mike Eglington/Grant Wagstaff/Martin Landmann/R6), Trackcraft, Freaks and Extreme Bykesportz (Dave Wardle/Ian Walker). Jovial Mike has stepped into the Ducks X team for Anglesey and Cadwell whilst regular rider Jon Railton is on KTM one make series duty at BSB.

Jon had a couple of 8th places in the KTM RC8s at Donington, whilst Jenny Tinmouth (missing from the Sorrymate.com line up) was 22nd in a huge Supersport class. Sam Neate, who did so well at Snetterton in the MotoGrande was 14th in the ultra competitive 600 Superstock division. Looking towards the TT, Jenny Tinmouth, Maria Costello and Rod Lynn will be strutting their stuff in the middle of the Irish Sea and there may be others!

Being in separate classes Trackcraft resisted the strong temptation to step up to the plate & chase the leading Sweatshop effort, being content with a lap advantage over their nearest rivals - Freaks of Nature. That’s what you get from a couple of riders with the accumulated maturity of Mike D and Mark L.

The status quo very much remained in place at the 90 minute mark and at the two hour mark the timing sheets confirmed Sweatshop a lap ahead of Trackcraft, Freaks, TM72, and on the same lap with Ducks X, Pitstop (Peter and Marc Dilks), Extreme and ETA. Moments later Dave Whiston lost his Freaks R1 on the run up to Rocket as well as loosing his transponder in the long grass - despite intensive searching the errant device remained unfound and a frustrated Freaks lost second place for the day and team mate Bones stayed in the pitlane with machine, no transponder and nowhere to go! Current trend is for teams to attach the transponder to the machine using Velcro strips, some people might rethink their strategy in light of Freaks’ experience and use the normal bracket with a couple of cable ties for good measure.

With the first chequered flag thrown after three hours to signify the conclusion of the Masters TAG race - Trackcraft confirmed their third win of the season so far in the Masters 1000 class, TM72 were classified in second place ahead of Extreme and First Form Endurance (Paul Robey/Tim Westley), Freaks were unclassified despite their strong showing. Pit Stop Racing took the M600 class ahead of joint table leaders Profibre (Richard Dubber and Gothard) and ETA in bronze position.

For those only half way through the six hour show - Sweatshop held a two lap lead over TM72 who had opted to continue in the Senior 1000 class, aided by Claire Bowyer. Ducks X were next up ahead of welcome newcomers Beef Hooked Racing (Jason Lightwood/Bruce Hamer/Andy Newcombe), 120+ (Richie Cunningham/Mike Bradley), Costello Redmond Racing (Jon Leach/Pete Douglas/Derek Redmond) and Well Oiled Racing (Helen Drury/Michael Naylor/Steve Griffiths).

More drama 30 minutes later when GASI Racing’s (Helen & Grant Gaskins/Sam Godfrey) Helen ditched the immaculate 600 at Church and bought the pace car out for the second time in the race. The team soon re grouped and were back in the thick of it, without Helen who was nursing an elbow injury and the 600 which remained parked against the Armco. Simon Taylor followed suit he lost contact with the tarmac on his brilliantly prepared Auto Moto Racing KTM RC8 at the same place necessitating the transponder to return to base for the rest of AMR Endurance (Simon/Bob Robson/Al Waring) to continue.

Two thirds distance and Sweatshop luxuriated in a 5 lap lead over TM72, Ducks X, Beef Hooked, 120+ and Costello on the same lap. Rod Lynn was rested by Sweatshop after an old shoulder injury flared up, with an eye on his TT debut this was a sensible call by team chief Hugh Brasher. Finding themselves on the same lap towards the end of the race was the beautiful sounding air-cooled Kapital Moto Ducati (Phill Clarke/Jason Boswell/Luke Palmer) and the 2008 ex Phase One R1 of East Coast Racing (Phillip Read/Paul Hobson/Simon Rooms), the Yamaha chasing down and passing the Italian twin before crashing out at Church to signify ‘game over‘ for the historic R1, joining the R1 and the GASI 600 in the bike park.

As the race, held in absolutely stunning conditions, entered its final phase Well Oiled Kitty were on the same lap as Redmond Racing and 120 + so there was still points, positions and points to play for. It was indeed Sweatshop who scored their triple class and overall win of the series, comfortably ahead of TM72 (so that’s two runner up spots of the afternoon), the R6 of Ducks X was the final podium placed team with Mike Eglington subbing for Jon Railton who was on national racing duty at BSB. Hottrax Motorsport newcomers earned a commendable fourth place ahead of Well Oiled Racing, 120+ and Costello/Redmond Racing, all within a lap or so! The Kapital Moto Ducati was ahead on the road of Project Nine Three (Andy Buik/Carl Myers/Paul Noble/GSXR), GASI, AMR and Apex Racing. Lovely weather, entertaining racing and some close finishes - 12 seconds between 5th and 6th, 23 seconds between 8th and 9th and 40 seconds between the final two classified finishers.

Result

1 Sweatshop Racing * 285 laps
2 TM72 * 276 laps
3 Ducks Cross Racing * 274 laps
4 Beef Hooked Racing 272 laps
5 Well Oiled Kitty 267 laps
6 120 + Racing 267 laps
7 Costello Redmond Racing 266 laps
8 Kapital Moto Racing 262 laps
9 Project Nine Three 262 laps
10 GASI Racing * 259 laps
11 AMR Endurance 252 laps
12 Apex Racing 252 laps

Fastest Lap Sweatshop Racing 71.500s



3 hr Junior TAG Endurance

Graphic UK Racing (Basil Bannayi/Jonty Dixon) established a robust pole position by over a second from Tango & Crash (John Blundell/Ryan Myler) with the two Kawasakis of GT Racing (Keith Tribe/Brad Patras) rounding off the top three in qualifying in the morning. On Saturday afternoon it was indeed Graphic who made P1 on the road ahead of GT and ‘new to series’ Sherwood Suzuki (Carl Dodwell/Peter Symes). Moments into the race Patras parted company with the green machine at the Corkscrew running to the paddock with the transponder for partner Keith Tribe to start his race earlier than planned. He then returned to the scene of his spill to successfully recover the bike and return to the pits.

After 30 minutes early leaders Graphic lead from Sherwood S, Tango and NR Racing (Nathan Horsfield/Ryan Peters). At the one hour mark the Sherwood duo had a one second lead over NR with Tango and TM72 Juniors (Claire Bowyer/Joan McIntosh) only feet apart. After a good start and an early spill GT were back in the pit lane for a 30 second penalty and along with other random pit stops they dropped to an unpopular 18th place.

Middle distance and Sherwood had a lap over NR with Tango and TM72J both only a lap away. NR then had a small crash out on the circuit and after pitting for safety checks, returned to the fray loosing some valuable time.

With two out of the three hours spoken for the Sherwood Suzukis led by a lap from NR with Tango, TM72J, Graphics, Project 39 (Andy Rouse/Colin Norris) and the Rawlings brothers (Lee and Matt) trailing in their wake.

After an already action packed race, the final hour saw Claire Bowyer toss the 600 into the grass at Church - with rider & machine in the centre of the circuit the transponder was lobbed to the pit crew on the other side of the track and fitted to Joan's machine for the final stint of the three hour encounter, dropping the pairing down from third (and healthily closing down on runner up spot) to a distant seventh on the same lap as three other teams.

With only 15 minutes to go newcomers Sherwood Suzuki were in the frame for a debut win until Pete Symes lost it on the short straight after the banking and was unable to return his 750 or the all important transponder back to the other bike before the end of the three hours. The top men from the West Midlands, with a combined age of 90, were most philosophical about it, Pete saying he was using this race as a shake down ready for the Manx Grand Prix, later on this summer, where he finished second in the 250 Classic in 2008.

When it really matted most J600 team NR Racing won, despite a crash, with a lap in hand over class rivals Tango & Crash, the brothers Rawlings came in third spot; 9 seconds ahead of Graphics UK Racing. TMR (Ian Holloway/Steven Baggott) were a creditable fifth and a big hand to the TM72 Juniors for a creditable sixth place and a fastest 600 lap on the way. Project 39 were next, ahead of a trio of Junior 1000 machines all on the same lap - Team TAR (Gary Bransgrove/Steve Callahan), AV-IT Racing (Andy Carpenter/Marcus Langford) and Ricochet Racing (Mark Stanbury/Richard Lander Stow).

Two sides of the same coin - a disappointing day for could be winners Sherwood Suzuki but a magnificent time for NR Racing who have netted 3 wins from 3 starts and lead the championship with maximum points going into the second half of the season.

Results

1 NR Racing * 134 laps
2 Tango and Crash Racing 133 laps
3 Rawlings Racing * 133 laps
4 Graphic UK Racing 133 laps
5 TMR 132 laps
6 TM72 Juniors 132 laps
7 Project 39 132 laps
8 Team TAR 131 laps
9 AV-IT Racing 131 laps
10 Ricochet Racing 131 laps
11 Banzai Racing 130 laps
12 STD Yamaha 129 laps
13 Costello Redmond Racing 128 laps
14 In the doghouse racing 128 laps
15 Sorrymate.com 127 laps
16 GT Racing 127 laps
17 BLDS Couriers 126 laps
18 Racing Snakes 126 laps
19 Go Dive Racing 125 laps
20 ASBO Racing 125 laps
21 Snug Racing 123 laps
22 Roundall Racing 121 laps
23 Pirate Racing 120 laps

Not Classified

Sherwood Suzuki 131 laps
BF Racing 78 laps

Fastest Lap Graphic UK Racing 74.094s


MotoGrande 3 X 15 laps

Packed grids were the order of the day for the three MotoGrande races held over the weekend, qualifying was dominated by James Powell who peddled his Triumph triple around almost two seconds quicker than anyone else in changeable weather conditions. On Saturday Craig Beggs monstered the opposition on his Triumph 675 beating James Powell’s similar mount on both occasions with Robert Simcock (Suzuki 750) netting a trio of well earned third places along the way. Good rides were also delivered by Richie Cunningham (Yamaha R1), Andy Petts (Suzuki 1000), Sean Moss (Honda 600), Stephen Axton, Ashley Rothwell, Andy Rouse and the Dilks Bros - Marc and Peter. Sunday saw paddock newcomer Angelo De Rosa, gaining track time for the following day’s raceday, hounded Beggs into submission to stop the rider of the smaller machine from making it a trio of wins over two days.

Results

Race One
1 Craig Beggs *
2 James Powell
3 Robert Simcock *
4 Richie Cunningham
5 Andy Petts
6 Stephen Axton

Race Two
1 Craig Betts *
2 James Powell
3 Robert Simcock *
4 Andy Petts
5 Ashley Rothwell
6 Adrian Allsop

Race Three
1 Angelo De Rosa *
2 Craig Beggs *
3 Robert Simcock
4 Adrian Allsop
5 Peter Dilks
6 Marc Dilks

Supermono

Hottrax Motorsport was delighted to host two national Supermono races, both held in bright and dry conditions. Reigning European champion Mark Lawes grabbed pole by half a second on his Pami BMW from Aussie Michael Payne with Perry Goldstein and Aaron Easter in their wake. From the start Lawes made Race 1 his own leading early on from the front with Dijon Compton and Payne scrapping closely throughout the 13 laps with the pursuing pack in close company. In race two Lawes had to work harder for his win as Compton pushed him until his engine seemed to loose power and he dropped back. Taking up the challenge Payne and Goldstein remained hot on the trail but unable to have a pop at Lawes for the lead; Compton managed a point scoring fourth ahead of Aaron Easter. Magnificent riders and machines, weighing little more than a moped with power aplenty.

Results

Race One
1 Mark Lawes
2 Dijon Compton
3 Michael Payne
4 Aaron Easter
5 Arai Lane

Race Two
1 Mark Lawes
2 Michael Payne
3 Perry Goldstein
4 Dijon Compton
5 Aaron Easter

Hottrax Motorsport Motorcycle Endurance Championships Round 2 at Snetterton, Norfolk on 18th and 19th April 2009

Masters TAG, Senior TAG + National - 3 and 6 hours

With the 3 hour Masters race starting alongside the Nationals and Senior teams it was indeed last years champions and winners of Round One at Mallory in March, Trackcraft Racing (Mark Linscott/Mike Dickenson) who won pole position from 2008 ProSuperbike winners, Sweatshop Racing (Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey/Rod Lynn/R1). Third fastest were the Senior 1000 equipe of Sorrymate.com (Jenny Tinmouth/Fergus Dalgarno/Bruce Wilson). The grid was a little down after loosing Team Viking and Roundall following accidents in Round 1 and two teams were unable to take start after practice hassles. Phill Clarke’s lovely sounding Ducati was also missing due to work commitments. Also unable to take the star was Black Flag Racing, jovial George Duncan faced a long drive back to North Scotland after team mate Dan Ashley rendered himself unfit for the race, it will get a bit easier for George as he soon moves down to Lancashire with his work. News on Shelley Pike is that another 'big op' should have gone ahead on 21st April as the injuries were not as simple as thought - good luck with the recovery Shelley.

From the Le Mans start, shortly after noon, it was Sweatshop who made the most of things, two laps later being eclipsed by Trackcraft who were on a charge. Jenny Tinmouth was in the wars after 10 minutes, highsiding at the Esses – the transponder was recovered and bike journo Bruce Wilson took to the track on a brand new bike kindly loaned by TM72 pit crew Garry Buck who had used the brand new machine in Friday’s trackday. At the same time Mark Linscott dived into the pits on an unexpected stop as the oil light was flashing and on the 2009 R1 it was better to be safe than sorry, just needed a tad more oil adding and the bike was ready for another trip out. I didn’t take long for team mate Mike Dickenson to get out amongst it, dropping to 9th place in the process, Sorrymate.com were a massive 6 laps down on the leading Sweatshop R1 at this early stage of the race. It was during this phase that South African Superbike rider Dickenson posted a 1m 10.002s lap which would be difficult to beat.

At the one hour mark, Trackcraft had cruised to lead on the road by a mere 25 seconds from Extreme Bykesportz (Dave Wardle/Ian Walker) with Project 93 (Andy Buik/Darren Jones/Carl Myers/R6), Ducks Cross (Jon Railton/Grant Wagstaff/Martin Landmann/R6), First Form Endurance (Paul Robey/Jay Smith) and Freaks of Nature Too (Mark Whiston/Dave Stewardson), a lap adrift. More dramas for Sorrymate.com as Jenny Tinmouth stopped at the far side of the circuit with a seized rear brake, after coasting back to the pits to handover to team mate Wilson. JT was also to suffer from a couple of time penalties for crossing the double white line on exiting the pitlane, delaying the team even further.

At one third distance, the Mark and Mike (Trackcraft) held a comfortable 2 lap lead over Extreme, a sliver ahead of Sweatshop, Freaks, First Form, Ducks X and P93. The following hour was mostly steady for all teams, the main drama was when KTM Cup rider Jon Railton was handed a two minute penalty as a result of his team refuelling the R6 as others were working on the bike – cool minded Jon did not let this effect his fast and consistent riding style. P93 came in for a new rear tyre and then spent ages refitting the spindle, again for this experienced team (Darkside Endurance in 2008) it was not a problem.

After 180 minutes the chequered flag quietly dropped to signify the end of the Masters 600 and 1000 races, Trackcraft winning their second race of the season by 2 laps over Extreme one lap ahead of Freaks. Top 2008 600 outfit ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Darren Brearley) were magic in winning their class a lap up on Pit Stop and 4 ahead of ProFibre (Richard Dubber/Richard Gothard).

Masters – 3 Hours

1 Trackcraft 146 *
2 Extreme Bykes 144
3 Freaks of Nature Too 143
4 First Form Endurance 140
5 TM72 138
6 ETA Racing 138 *
7 Pit Stop Racing 137
8 Profibre 134

* denotes class winners
Fastest lap Trackcraft 1m 10.002s
ETA Racing 1m 14.584s

With twelve teams still out on the track after the end of the Masters race, top team Sweatshop were leading on the road by an obscene 7 lap advantage over the penalised Ducks X and series newcomers East Coast Construction (Phillip Reed/Phillip Usher/Paul Hobson/R1) who were riding a 2008 Phase One Endurance machine that had received very little sorting prior to the race. P93 were a comfortable fourth place until 15 minutes into the fourth hour when Daisy Jones felt the front Michelin twitch and at the next corner, Turn 1, the bike took a low side, the damaged R6 was back in the pits quickly for repair to the right hand side whilst the rider attended the medical centre. Luckily Andy Buik’s spare bike could be cannibalised to provide replacement parts, dropping them into final spot and 13 laps adrift. Darren was patched up and returned to the race for one more session; however the spill had aggravated a much older rib injury which would give him pain for the rest of the weekend.

Two thirds distance and Sweatshop had maintained their 7 lap advantage over Ducks X, East Coast still in third and Gasi Racing (Helen Gaskins/Grant Gaskins/Sam Godfrey) were enjoying a hugely successful race to be a strong fourth place going into the closing stages. By now Bruce Wilson had parted company with the borrowed 600 and made it back to the pits to exit on Jenny Tinmouth’s machine for some very quick riding whilst they chased Gasi who were up to a podium third for a while.

In the closing stages there was some real close racing on the track between teams battling for places and at the end of the race Sweatshop had held onto their now 12 lap lead over the Supersport machine of Ducks X who had a fine ride including a return to the saddle for Martin Landmann. After a host of problems throughout the six hours Sorrymate.com were masterful to finish in third spot only a couple of laps ahead of East Coast and Gasi Racing who were separated by an eye blinking 13 seconds. Well Oiled Kitty (Hazel Drury/Michael Naylor/Steve Griffiths) all pulled together effectively after several mechanical dramas on the aged Honda 600 component of the team to finish a lap ahead of 120+ Racing (Richie Cunningham/Mike Bradley/Steve Joy/R1) who were no stranger to on and off track dramas but made a welcome return to the series after a sabbatical. Worth noting that Steve Joy was really enjoying his first endurance race and is up for some more. One of the ‘Old Guard’ at Snett was Mike Eglington, with no Moores Racing at HMRC for 2009 he has done all the decorating and gardening a man can bare and is looking for a ride – any offers or ideas, contact Mike or Kailah on 07967 529060.

In a hefty eighth and racing under the ‘Help for Heroes’ banner, servicemen AMR Endurance (Bob Robson/Simon Taylor/Al Waring) finished only a minute ahead of the pursuing Apex Racing (Glen Levy/Nick Matthews/Lee Morris) effort. The KTM could have been awarded the noisiest bike of the weekend as it had been more than a challenge for the trackday scrutineer’s noise tester on the Friday. That is the same reason why Jon Railton is unable to use trackdays to further test and develop his similar machine and resorts to entering club races to give him additional track time!

On the same lap as these two until picking up a penalty for speeding in the pitlane during the closing minutes Costello Redmond Racing (Derek Redmond/Pete Douglas/Neil Garnham) were tenth in front of stablemates Yorkshire Racing (Phil Bowden/John Hewitt/Trevor Craig) and the once front running Project Nine Three after their earlier spill. A fantastic weekends racing and the tables are closing up a bit, we now move onto Anglesey on Spring Bank Holiday weekend for Round Three.

Rod Lynn could not have wished for a better meeting and was hoping a potential sponsor would be looking at his performance in readiness for the TT in May/June. If they were watching lets hope they provide a machine or machines for the Island. Also working hard at Sweatshop was Greg Wilson and Mick Dargan from Best Choice Engineering who are working hard to get their R6 onto the grid soon, hopefully at Cadwell in July - see you soon lads!

Fraser Greenroyd was busy with his speed gun (as some competitors can endorse at a personal level) – random measurements from the pitwall during the race showed the following;


National and Senior – 6 Hours

1 Sweatshop Racing 287 laps *
2 Ducks Cross 275 *
3 Sorrymate.com 267 *
4 East Coast 263
5 Gasi Racing 263 *
6 Well Oiled Kitty 262
7 120+ Racing 261
8 AMR Endurance 255
9 Apex Racing 255
10 Costello Redmond Racing 254
11 Yorkshire Racing 249
12 Project Nine Three 242

* denotes class winners

Fastest Lap Sweatshop Racing 1m 11.360s

Juniors – 3 Hours

It was third fastest GT Racing (Keith Tribe/Brad Patras) who made the best start with Patras first out of the trap and Graphic UK (Dean Skipper/Basil Bannayi) making the most of their hard earned pole, while the hapless Project 39 (Andy Rouse/Colin Norris) rider Andy Rouse had trouble getting off P2 and was last to leave the grid – 10 minutes later the novice man was into the top six joining Spellfame Racing (Andrew Main/Richard Lloyd) who had made a brilliant start. After half an hour GT Racing kept in touch with leaders Graphic UK on the same lap at the front of a raft of riders a lap down lead by P39, SOS Racing (Chris Hadfield/Simon Dennis) had to push into the pit lane with lack of fuel to execute their first pitstop. On the hour mark NR Racing (Nathan Horsfield/Ryan Peters) were only 30 seconds ahead of Graphics with GT and Spellfame sharing the same lap, a further lap down P39, Tango + Crash (John Blundell/Ryan Myler), Rawlings Racing and Costello Redmond Racing (Jon Leach/Drew Tommons) were all chasing the leaders and hoping to put some space between themselves and the next bike down. Unfortunately A & G Racing (Mark Affleck/Gary Jones), who had been 4th placed 600 at one time were bumped down the field with penalties and problems.

Graphics and NR Racing shared the battle for the lead and the same lap, holding a one circuit lead over the four next crews. Spare a thought for the ever improving Rawlings Racing (Lee & Matt Rawlings), who plummeted down the timing screen as Matt thought his R1 gearbox had cried ‘enough’ – this left brother Lee to carry on racing as a singleton and having to take the compulsory breaks between sessions. This was also the case for Neil Plummer (Old and Older), who’s team mate’s (Ray Dewhurst) Kawasaki 400 went AWOL, ditto Steve Callaghan who went from 9th to last because of a spill on the track.

With an hour left in the encounter the larger machines were benefiting from their superior top speed; Graphic and Spellfame were only 50 seconds apart, a lap ahead of the 600s of NR racing and Project 39. At the same time the pace car made its only appearance and endurance strategists in the pitlane made important decisions about rider changes and pitstops, real winner here was GT Racing who rejoined the fray in a handy third place after some smart thinking and crew work.

With an almost faultless performance this race was all about Graphic UK who controlled from the front with top 600 outfit not a great distance away in second place, Project 39 topped off the podium on the same lap as GT racing, Spellframe and Costello Redmond racing being rewarded with an excellent sixth place after Mario Costello was replaced by Drew Tommons. Should the race have been a little longer I wonder if the baffle on Spellfame's bike might have failed as on the slowing down lap it was seen to be unravelling into a trail of fibres.

1 Graphic UK Racing 133 laps *
2 NR Racing 133 *
3 Project 39 131
4 GT Racing 131
5 Spellfame racing 130
6 Costello Redmond Racing 130
7 Tango and Crash Racing 129
8 Banzai Racing 129
9 TANC Racing 129
10 BLDS Couriers 127
11 STD Yamaha 126
12 TM 72 Juniors 125
13 Racing Snakes 125
14 SOS Racing 124
15 ASBO Racing 124
16 MC Racing 124
17 Yorkshire Racing 122
18 In the Doghouse Racing 121
19 Go Drive Racing 120
20 Roundall Racing 119
21 Pirate Racing 119
22 Signs Express Racing 117
23 A & G Racing 111
24 Rawlings Racing 106
25 Old and Older Racing 93

Fastest lap: Graphic UK Racing 1m 13.833s


MotoGrande Racing

This oversubscribed class enjoyed no less than 4 Races, 70 laps and almost 130 miles, to get their teeth into over this bright and sunny weekend giving near perfect riding conditions for the participants. In practice, Steve Neate had used his well prepared R1 to great effect securing pole by almost a second from Robin Hooker on his very trick Ducati 1098 with Steve’s younger sibling Sam rounding off the top three. Steve capitalised on his pole during all the races he entered and walked away with convincing wins, the final encounter being won by Hooker with other decent rides from Dion Robinson, Greg Allsop, Andrew Rouse, Sam Neate and Sean Moss.

Big hand to the affable Sean – having been busy on his custard machine scoring a 5th 2 x 4ths and a third place in races with capacity or large grids – who volunteered to ‘marshal’ for one of the teams who had been let down and spent all day out there working, top man! Good to see young riders with a balanced lifestyle, Sam Neate did not enter Sundays race as he was playing rugby – hope he was on the winning team! Both brothers awould be delighted to hear from any team who need the services of a brilliantly rapid and consistent rider to join their team for 2009 - give Sam or Steve a shout!

http://neate77.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

Hottrax Motorsport Motorcycle Endurance Championships Round 1 at Mallory Park on 29th March 2009

Around fifty teams entered the first round of the Hottrax Motorsport Motorcycle Endurance Championship at a bright but fresh Mallory Park, rewarding the faith and commitment of Dave and Karen Mabbutt who have managed the series which enters its third year. Many teams took the opportunity to test on the day before, including top 600 team, Ducks Cross Racing who saw their Number One bike burnt out after an early spill entering Gerards at the hands of Russ Horton. The chilly testday, on the Saturday saw a variety of teams trying out settings, tyres and pit strategy.
With 55 minutes of timed qualifying it was fast and furious and the BLDS Couriers 600 Yamaha (Craig Fitzpatrick/Bill Lilly/R6s) nailed pole almost half a second proud of the R1s of 2008 Champions Trackcraft (Mark Linscott/Mike Dickenson/R1s). With five out of the fastest 9 teams in practice it would be quite within reason for a 600 to win the race overall. At the drop of the cloth it was BLDS who capitalized on their pole and built up a lead over Trackcraft, Extreme Bykesportz (Dave Wardle/Ian Walker/R1s) who had made up 8 places on the first lap and Advance Bike Shipping (Mike Bull/Jason Pittaway) over Ducks Cross Racing (Jon Railton/Grant Wagstaff/Russell Horton/R6) with Freaks of Nature Too (Mark Whiston/Dave Stewardson) rounding out the top six. It wasn't too long before the safety car made its first appearance with a faller at Edwinas, by now Trackcraft were leading from BLDS, Advance Bike Shipping and Extreme - the Kapital Moto Ducati (Phill Clarke/Jason Boswell/Luke Palmer/Duc1000ss) pitted early with a flat front tyre and were then plagued with battery problems.
Edwinas claimed Grant Wagstaff just after the hour mark which sparked a series of pitstops, up to this point Trackcraft held a 30s lead on Sweatshop Racing (Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey/Rod Lynn/R1) with Project Nine Three (Andy Buik/Darren Jones/Carl Myers/R6) a lap down in third. After 90 minutes of racing poleman Craig Fitzpatrick and Roundall Racing's (Simon Allen/Shelley Pike/Pete Gibson) Shelley Pike tangled going into Gerards leaving Craig as walking wounded and Shelley requiring a visit to hospital for checks - neither team continued. After two hours Sweatshop had a lap lead from Trackcraft with Freaks another lap down in third ahead of Project 9-3, Extreme Bykesportz and Advance Bike Shipping.
In the closing stages of the first three hours local team RJS Superbike (Daniel Lane/Gary Arden/Simon Bland) took a topple at Edwinas following an earlier stop-go penalty and Costello Redmond Racing (Derek Redmond/Craig Allamby/Andy Dix/ZX10s) were in and out the pits following an 'off' by Craig Allamby resulting in a persistent oil leak. It was great to see this team adding their considerable presence to the Hottrax series, Derek R is obviously recognised for his fantastic success on a different sort of 'track', both at National, European and International stage and it is clear to see with the whole team, enjoys riding bikes on the track and will strive to improve their finishing position as the series progresses.
The flag dropped after three hours with the National Supersport, National ProSuperbike, Senior 600 and 1000 machines being placed in 'Parc Ferme' for 30minutes prior to the start of the second half of the 6 hour endurance race where they would be joined by The Junior 600 and 1000 TAG teams.
Trackcraft were winners of the Masters 1000 race only a lap clear of Freaks of Nature Too, following on were Extreme Bykesportz, Advance Bike Shipping, TM72 (Andy McKnight/Eric Chitty) and ANS Racing (Andrew Sean/Mark Affleck). ProFibre (Richard Dubber/Richard Gothard) won the Masters 600 class after finishing 7th on the road over Pit Stop Racing (Peter + Mark Dilks), ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Darren Brearley), Sorrymate.com (Jenny Tinmouth/Fergus Dalgarno) and BLDS Couriers who retired at half distance. Fastest Lap went to Mark Linscott on his brand new 'Crossplane Crank' Yamaha R1, meticulously prepared by Robin Hooker of Team RHR (www.robinhookerracing.co.uk). Robin Hooker is an occasional Hottrax competitor with a pristine and rapid Ducati. Fraser Greenroyd was 'armed' with his speedgun and took random readings from the bikes as they entered Gerards and Mike Dickenson was travelling at around 138mph, thanks Frase!
At just before 3pm the Union Flag was dropped to start the second race of the day - two teams slow off the line were the air cooled Duke of Kapital Moto and the R6 of Ducks Cross. The Ducati was soon to be involved in a bump at the Hairpin involving the Triumph of Signs Express Racing (Lloyd Magruder/Richard Howes) - both machines making it back to the paddock. The leaders Sweatshop Racing pitted within the first half hour for fuel and rubber and after four hours of racing for the National and Senior teams it was Sweatshop who luxuriated in an 8 lap lead over the R6 of Project 9-3, who were three laps in front of Team Viking, a further lap down were RJS who had put the morning dramas behind them to be fourth on the road ahead of Well Oiled Kitty (Hazel Drury/Michael Naylor/Steve Griffiths) - GASI Racing (Helen + Grant Gaskins/Sam Godfrey) and Ducks Cross were on the same lap in 6th and 7th.
Costello Redmond Racing (Maria Costello/John Leech) were top Junior 1000 after an hour on the same lap as Spellfame Racing (Andrew Main/Richard Lloyd) and NR Racing (Nathan Horsfield/Ryan Peters) who topped the Junior 600s. At around three quarter distance the race was stooped and bikes returned to Parc Ferme after 4 machines tangled between the Esses and Shaws Hairpin, it took a while to clear debris and stabilize the track, the four teams were unable to continue; 4th on the road Team Viking, newcomers Fukasu Racing, Ricochet Racing and Bonsai Racing. At the close of play Sweatshop had completed 290 laps over the six hour race, a dominant 11 laps ahead of Project Nine Three and RJS who were on the same lap, Well Oiled Kitty were a fantastic fourth also on the same lap as the rapid Ducks Cross who were using their #2 R6 after a fire knocked out their top machine after a spill at the previous day's testing. Second in the Senior 1000 race was newcomer team - AMR Endurance (Bob Robson/Simon Taylor/Al Waring), which included a tasty KTM RC8 and is made up of either ex or current service personnel, a big welcome and well done on your debut.
Sixth place was secured by GASI Racing, in their second year after some excellent riding and smart pit work. For 2009 the husband + wife team are joined by Sam Godfrey who was part of the GBMoto Junior team last season and is no slouch on a race bike, Sam's husband Mick has joined Hugh Brasher and the Welsh Wizard, Rod Lynn on the Sweatshop Racing R1 - Mick has a distinguished endurance racing career and is a safe pair of hands when it comes to long distance racing. Rod, a consistently fast and competent competitor, has the good news that he has secured entries for three races in this years TT, however he now needs something to ride - he can be contacted via his website - http://www.rodlynnracing.co.uk/. Back to the Senior 600s and it was good to see Apex Racing (Glen Levy/Adam Woby/Dave Morris) secure a third in class only a few bike lengths ahead of the seasoned Black Flag Racing (George Duncan/Dan Ashley).
For the Juniors, things were close after three hours, NR Racing peddled their 600s a lap ahead of the larger Suzukis of Spellfame Racing - a further lap down were the next three teams; Tango and Crash (John Blundell/Ryan Myler), Costello Redmond Racing and Graphic UK Racing (Dean Skipper/Basil Bannayi) - all a couple of laps in front of Project 39 (Andy Rouse/Colin Norris) and Old Skool Racing (Aaron Harte/John Harris). Spare a thought for Joan McIntosh who partners Claire Bowyer in the TM72 Juniors. Joan, in her first ever race, fell heavily at Gerards - like a true professional she ensured the transponder was returned to the pits for Claire to continue and then safely rode the Suzuki 600 back for repairs and was out on the track before the end!
After an action packed day to mark the opening round of the Hottrax Motosport Motorcycle Endurance Championships the racing was close, entry very healthy and teams new to endurance pressured their more experienced peers. Round Two is at Snetterton in three weeks time and the programme returns to a two day format with practice, Junior and MotoGrande racing on the Saturday and MotoGrande, National, Seniors and Masters racing on Sunday.
Results
Masters 1000 - 3 Hours
1 Trackcraft 170 laps
2 Freaks of Nature Too 169
3 Extreme Bykesportz 167
4 Advance Bike Shipping 166
5 TM72 165
6 ANS Racing 164
7 Billericay Coachworks 162
8 First Form Endurance 159
Masters 600 - 3 Hours
1 ProFibre 164 laps
2 Pit Stop Racing 163
3 ETA Racing 162
4 Sorrymate.com 161
5 BLDS Couriers 88
ProSuperbike - 6 Hours
1 Sweatshop Racing 290 laps
2 Kapital Moto Racing 236
Senior 1000 - 6 Hours
1 Well Oiled Kitty 271 laps
2 AMR Endurance 249
3 Costello Redmond Racing 245
Senior 600 - 6 Hours
1 RJS Superbike 279 laps
2 GASI Racing 266
3 Apex Racing 264
4 Black Flag Racing 262
Supersport - 6 Hours
1 Project Nine Three 279 laps
2 Ducks Cross Racing 271
Not Classified - 6 Hours
Team Viking 239 laps
Roundall Racing 80
Junior 1000 - 3 Hours
1 Spellfame Racing 119 laps
2 Costello Redmond Racing 118
3 Graphics UK Racing 118
4 GT Racing 115
5 Rawlings Racing 114
6 Team TAR 114
7 Racing Snakes 112
8 ASBO Racing 110
9 Vigil-Clockwork Orange 109
10 Pirate Racing 109
11 Banzai Racing 91
12 MC Racing 78
Junior 600 - 3 Hours
1 NR Racing 120 laps
2 Tango and Crash Racing 118
3 Project 39 116
4 Old Skool Racing 116
5 STD Yamaha 112
6 TM72 Juniors 96
Not Classified - 3 Hours
Ricochet Racing 65 laps
Bonsai Racing 51

2009 HMRC Season – Team and Series Progress – 16 Mar 09

New to the Hottrax Motorsport National Endurance grid in 2009 will be Kapital Moto Racing (www.kapitalmoto.com), who will be competing in the ProSuperbike class for fully World Endurance-specification machines. The series will be held over 7 rounds in 2009, each race being up to 6 hours long and involving frequent pit stops for refuelling, tyres, and rider changes.

The Twickenham-based team intend to contest the series on a 2-valve air-cooled Ducati SuperSport 1000, extensively modified to bring it up to class standards and equipped for the long distances of Endurance bike racing. Competing in a series dominated by modern 4-cylinder Japanese bikes, the Kapital Moto Racing Ducati is certain to be one-of-a-kind in the class and sure to grab plenty of attention.

Formed by ex-Ducati Desmo Due series riders Phill Clarke and Jason Boswell, the team is completed by former MRO Powerbike rider Luke Palmer. All three will be principle riders, supported by an extensive crew in the pit garage and on the pit wall to keep the team competitive for the duration of the 6-hour races.

Phill Clarke, who secured second overall in the Hottrax Junior TAG 600 Endurance series in 2008, commented: “We’re excited to be launching the team to take on the challenge of National Endurance ProSuperbike class. This is the culmination of lots of hard work over the last few months, and moreover our desire to see a Ducati on the grid for this series. While we will be giving up some top-end speed to the other bikes on this class, we will more than make up for that in low-down power. It’s going to be a great contest.”

Dave Mabbutt, Managing Director of Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club (www.hottrax-motorsport.co.uk) welcomed the new team to the ProSuperbike class: “We’ve seen tremendous levels of interest in Endurance racing over the last few years, and Hottrax Motorsport are pleased to welcome the Kapital Moto Racing team to the series. It’s always good to see different machinery on the grid, and we wish the Kapital Moto Racing team all the best for this new season”.

The team are currently completing the preparation of the bike, and finalising sponsors and technical partners, ready for the first round of the season at Mallory Park on 29th March, 2009.

New kids on the JTE 1000 block are a complete novice team registered in the hope of competing in every round of 2009. A very warm welcome to Racing Snakes (#96) – the team will consist of Ian Charles (a young 41) and Colin Todd (even younger at 37) who by their own admission is a couple of 'should know better' first time racers.

Ian classes himself as an average track-dayer who starts every season like a novice, whereas Colin's a smooth, quick road rider with a few track days under his belt. Racing Snakes target is to finish each race, hopefully not impeding the fast folk too much along the way.

As for the pit team, Ian and Colin have a short list of 'pub guarantees', so expect changing faces each round in that department, or in the worse case scenario, look out for a Racing Snakes pitboard held out by someone wearing helmet and leathers! As for mounts they be competing on a '04 R1 (tatty but reliable- hopefully), and a GSXR750 (freshly prepped roadbike).

Racing Snakes will be taking it round-by-round and hope to compete in all seven, as by pure luck every round fits in with their offshore rota!

Juan Dickenson

Hot off the press from a component of Team Track Craft is a note from Mike Dickenson who reports that he has been back in South Africa for five weeks on personal family stuff and was unable to attend the Milton Keynes bash. However, Juan did manage to ride at Kyalami, Phakisa and a track just outside Pretoria called Swartkops. (Just the name Kyalami invokes a feeling of excitement in me as a venue on the F1 calendar back in the 70s when F1 racing was decent, close and exciting. In the European closed season the track was often used by many well known motorcycle racers as part of a ‘winter series’.

Mike has therefore done quite a bit of winter testing in 35degree temps, “I’d forgotten how hot it gets there”. He is now back in the UK now, trying to get ready for the forthcoming season; “Not much time left so its gonna be a rush. Trackcraft is planning a day at Mallory in mid march, so will let you know how it goes”.

After a very successful season in the HMRC Senior 1000 class in 2008, TM72 are changing tack slightly for 2009. They will be fielding two teams in the HMRC endurance races. Andy McKnight and Eric Chitty, two out of the three riders from the Championship winning 2008 Senior campaign will be entering the 1000 masters series, whist Kevin Doughty retires from racing, although will no doubt make a few appearances in support of the team during the year. Eric has stepped up to a Suzuki GSXR 1000 having raced in 2008 on a GSXR 750, whilst Andy continues on the GSXR 1000 that he rode so well during the 2008 season

An exciting venture for the team is the formation of TM72 Juniors, which will be an "all girls" team racing Suzuki GSXR 600’s, possibly the only all girls team on the grid for 09, comprising Claire Bowyer and Joan McIntosh, although at the current time Joan may be working offshore for one or two rounds which she is hoping to get changed. However the team has a couple of substitute lady riders in reserve to call upon should Joan not be able to make any round due to work commitments. Claire who only started racing 6 months ago raced in 2 endurance rounds in 2008, with a best result of 4th in class at Snetterton, Joan is yet to start her first race, so the first aim for the team is to finish every round and have fun. The Junior team will benefit from the knowledge and experience gained from the senior team and the girls hope to take a few male scalps as the season progresses.

Always one of the best turned out and most professional teams, TM72 are hoping for a safe and successful 2009 campaign. They are still looking for additional sponsors, and if you would like to get involved, they can be contacted via their team website, www.tm72.com

So between snow blizzards, the erstwhile Bones went down to Dover to collect an special R1 which he was interested in as it had been set up as and came with all the required goodies such as: slipper clutch, suspension, QA, quick shifter etc. With only a few things to do to it to make it his own, the man has ordered a set of rear sets off Barry at GBMoto, spare fairing, filler cap, Stompgrips along with a few other little bits and pieces which will surely scare the opposition.

It was almost impossible to glean anything sensible from those present at last Saturday’s HMRC Awards Celebration – a combination of people with lots of plans but cannot say anything just yet, some well on their way but choose not to ‘go public’ and some who genuinely have nothing to report yet! Either way – the season starts in about six weeks time so we will see….

The HMRC paddock is unlikely to have representation of GBMoto or Moores Racing, however some of the riders are keen to continue in some form and they are not there just to make up the numbers!

Masters/Senior + TAG classes

Team Trackcraft (2008 Champions) report “I've placed my order for a new 'Big Bang' version with the same stuff as I have on this one...Full Titanium Akrapovic system, Ohlins TTX, re valved forks, quick shifter, Pro-mach fully adjustable footrests, Brembo Front Radial Master Cylinder, Power Commander, 520 chain set etc...I'm not going to the length of 16.5" wheels as the standard road tyres are more than good enough!”

Freaks of Nature have entered the Junior Tag and Freaks of Nature Too is entered in the Masters category. Co-Ordit Racing were spotted at the NEC Bike Show last week and hoped they would be doing the Masters Class

Former Olympic 400m runner Derek Redmond has joined forces with Maria Costello to form a new endurance racing team in the UK.

The pair will compete in both the two hour Junior and six hour Senior TAG Endurance Championships. The Series consists of seven rounds culminating at the season finale at Silverstone in October 10th. The team has enrolled ten riders to race throughout the course of the season, with five taking part at each round.

Costello Redmond Racing will front a differing degree of motorcycle racing experience. At certain rounds regular competitors Costello and Alistair Fagan of Fastbikes Magazine will lead the team line ups, but the majority, including Redmond, will be racing for the first time.

Redmond, a keen motorcycle enthusiast, explains: “Myself and my friends are at the stage where we are too old to get very far in the racing world, so we want to have some fun. Club racing is a bit too hardcore for me but this kind of endurance racing really excites me.

"Once you have gone beyond the hectic start you settle into your groove and it is quite similar to riding on a track day. My friends who will be competing are in their early to late forties with other commitments so the set up of the championship really suits us.”

But for a chance meeting at a Donington Park track day the team may never have came about. Maria takes up “Derek lives just down the road from me so we have a few mutual friends around the local area. We met at a track day at Donington earlier this year, got talking about racing and decided we would like to start something together.”

For Redmond, the camaraderie as well as the racing buzz is what attracted him to the Hottrax racing scene. “The endurance racing paddock is renowned for having a relaxed atmosphere, where everyone competes and gets on together. It is a paddock where you can count on fellow competitors for assistance if you are having machine difficulties, and this attitude to racing attracted me to the series. I’ve visited some of the Hottrax track days, which are held just before the racing event and they have some great people working for them.”

So what are the teams aims for the season ahead? Redmond is remaining pragmatic. “As a team we are aiming to finish every race, and I don’t want to raise expectations but I would love to stand on the podium at some stage. Obviously I will be travelling to each race with the intention of winning, but the main thing is that the team gets along and we all have fun.” 
 

Pirate Racing will be racing in the Juniors next year!

Team First Form - were racing in the national superbike class in 2008 on a pretty standard bike in the production based class but unfortunately not enough teams entered the class so it was later scrapped. They soon found we didn’t really have a chance of finishing where we could of because they lost so much time in the pits refuelling and changing the stock wheels vs the TAG teams or the teams running quick release stuff - it was a little bit frustrating the team still enjoyed the racing. For 2009 they have decided the simplest and most cost effective thing to do is to move to the Masters TAG class so they can hopefully have a little bit more of a chance to compete on a level playing field and will be running 2 x 2007 ZX10R's with stock motors, stock wheels, race pipe, power commander, Ohlins suspension and the obligatory Brembo master cylinders.

Hazel Drury - raced with 2 teams last year and currently has no concrete plans for 2009 and could be looking for a team or just race in MotoGrande. Haze has registered the name “Well Oiled Kitty” to run an all girls senior team perhaps. Watch this space!

Phill Clarke, who raced successfully in GBMoto Junior in 2008, is hoping to do the Masters TAG having really wanted to try and race in the National series, but is struggling to get the required financing together. Even though, by Phill’s rough estimates, it costs quite similar on a per round per rider basis to do Masters TAG as it would to do National, any sponsorship money goes further in Masters TAG, as it costs less on a per team basis.

Best Choice Endurance’s Greg Wilson reports “We will again be in Supersport Nationals in 2009. Although in 2009 we will be several stages up on where we competed in 2008. We have secured some funding to provide a 21litre dry break re-fuelling setup for the R6 so pit stops will be quicker, added to the captive spacers this will allow us to spend less time in the pits on stops, (our main loss of time in 2008 during races). The bike is going in for an engine re-fresh early 2009, and maybe some work to improve performance in the engine department. This will take us over 120 bhp. Suspension is having the usual re-fresh as well. Mr (Phil) Seton is providing a better clutch slip system for us as well. Mark Hill (MHP ‘zorts) is also altering the exhaust for more mid-range power and his new clubman end can will provide us will a cheap replacement silencer if a crash damages it.

We have 2 attractive models (Greg + Mike, not) as well providing promotion for the team throughout 2009 - details on our launch event will follow in early 2009. Greg is currently in the final stages with team crew for the 2009 season to provide BCE riders with a wealth of experienced pit crew for their title challenge.

BCE Riders - have one confirmed for the whole of the 2009 season, another who can do all bar a single round, and are waiting confirmation on the 3rd rider.

If any rider would be interested in joining our team for 2009 then please let Greg know and he will provide them with all the details on bike, team personnel etc by email or phone.

“BCE will be there in 2009 to win the Super Sport championship and with the loss of Moores Racing Team we hope others will step up to continue the highly competitive class that National Super Sport was in 2008”.

Black Flag Racing comment “After the lack of racing in the Seniors this year we'll be entering the two 08 R6's in the three hour races. We'll be looking at fewer trophies but a lot better racing if this year is to go by. We'll see you all out there in March”

2009 Newcomers Team Banzai - have just entered a team for junior TAG. Neither riders have ever raced, but hope they will be about (near the back) hopefully in one piece! Team Principal commented maybe we should have called ourselves "Team Nothreat" but went for Team Banzai in the end. Still unsure if its litres or 600's - yet to buy a bike! Most likely they will piloting a pair of 600s as they've not ridden or raced bigger bikes before. Anyway they hope to at least finish second from last in one race this year!

Throttle Monkey 72 Racing (TM72) is pulling together their final plans and will be out to build on their substantive success of last season, expect a well resourced and well organised effort from the boys in blue.

Having finished 3rd in the Junior TAG Championship in 2007 Team Issor (that’s Rossi backwards…..) unfortunately had to miss the series in 2008. They are delighted to confirm that they will definitely be back competing in the series in 2009 and look forward to seeing all teams at the Mallory Park meeting. Details are at http://www.teamissor.co.uk
Ducks Cross Racing writes “We'll be doing Nationals again - will probably lose Jon Railton to KTM RC8 series for a couple of clashing BSB weekend rounds - and hopefully as an entrant in the Manx Grand Prix as well.”


Classic Endurance

To date there is no comment in this class, possibilities could be endless and exciting – maybe we can expect some new about what Tony Jimenez or Uprite Racing’s Max Scholl is planning for March. Will GBMoto re emerge following the retirement of principal rider Mark Smith-Halvorsen, ditto Moores Racing? Only time will tell!

Those very pleasant sounding Roundall Racing Aprilias from 2008 will be enjoying a sabbatical as Simon Allen and Dave Rose actually have to work for a living as serving RAF personnel. Phoenix Endurance riders Pete Gibson and Shelley Pike/Dave Rose will be contesting the National 600 Championship on a new R6, supported in no small part by main sponsors BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP and RAF CAREERS, who also supported Roundall Racing last season. All the well run team need, in addition to the well put together R6 are spares and supporters for the seven round championship. After dipping their respective toes in the Manx GP water over the past couple of years, Shelley and Pete also intend to go back to The Island, on a 400 and 600 respectively with PG riding a trick R6 provided by Trefor Riding Stables.

More news on the Ducks Cross Racing front; Team Manager and rider, Martin Landmann reports - Jon Railton will be competing in the KTM RC8 Supercup event which will be run at 9 of this years BSB meetings – he’s also doing his A levels this year but luckily a lot of the rounds will be after these are finished. DX are looking forward to this as they will all be on equal machines and there should be some established names in the field for Jon to measure himself against. The team also plan to be at the Manx with Wag (Grant Wagstaff) to run one of their 2006 R6 HMRC endurance bikes in the Newcomers and Junior races - provided we can get an entry. Mick Thompson who rode for DX in 2007 HMRC and has several years TT experience from racing sidecars so will be heading up the support team. Fortunately this falls nicely between endurance rounds so it looks like the team will all be having their 2009 summer holidays in the Isle of Man rather than changing our pounds for Euros at one to one and heading off to Benidorm.

After a few failures keeping us off the podium last year in the National Endurance championship, Ducks Cross Racing will be back to running a Superstock engine spec machine for 2009, commenting “the 600 Superstock bike Jon ran at BSB never missed a beat all year so we are taking that as a lesson learnt. Former KRC racer Darren Wnokoski from expert company MCT Suspension is helping us out with the various challenges that we’ve taken on this year – a gut feeling is that suspension set up could be especially important with the KTM”.

With Moores Racing disappearing off the HMRC radar along with GBMoto this will leave a gap that will be comfortably filled by new outfits arriving on the national endurance racing scene. Talking of Moores….Tony Jimenez will be riding a Norton Dominator in the Lansdowne Cup (assuming bike and rider meet the strict criteria for entry into this most prestigious series). The Norton will be prepared by Sandy Topin and is owned by a very trusting and generous Ed Shoobridge. The initial engine will be fairly standard but the team will have an all singing and dancing version coming on as the season rolls out. Ultimately Ed wants it ridden at the Manx with a 100 mile an hour lap recorded during the MGP fortnight, hopefully with TJ at the wheel!

Another project coming into focus for the genial Kingston on Thames residence could involve something else, again classic and maybe involve foreign travel……… At the same time Tony might not have taken his eye off the HMRC ball so watch this space – or better still be at Mallory at the end of March for Round One.

Bones has been on the line and reports that after chasing the thousands around all last season on his very respectable it was time to upgrade to a 1000cc to be totally competitive if he was going to continue to ride in that class although he was far from shoddy up against the 1 litre machines – “I did lack power down the straights and some cheeky Bar Stewards would give me a wave as they came past which was slightly annoying”.