Following the establishment of the Hottrax Motorcycle Racing Club over the 2006/7 winter, much had work by Dave Mabbut and the HMRC team came to successful fruition on the Easter weekend over the 1.952 mile circuit of Snetterton in Norfolk.
National Endurance Championship – 6 hours – 9th April 2007
A very impressive grid assembled at Snetterton for the first of five rounds counting toward the 2007 Hottrax Motorcycle Racing Club Endurance Championship, previous national endurance race winners from 2006 returned to join new teams, attracting a host of very quick riders with a background of short circuit and international endurance racing.Uprite Racing (Jason Gunning/John Crockford/Vance John) used last year’s KRC championship winning Suzuki 1000, the ex Team Serendipity bike, to secure pole and converted this into an early but short lead over the R1 of Harvey Mushman Racing (Richard Wright/Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey) and GBMoto (Mark Smith Halvorsen/Richard Norris/Alex Cudlin) back with their 2006 race winning R1 Yamaha, much work had been done on this bike to ensure it didn’t continue to eat clutches during the races, as experienced by GBMoto last year.
Uprite spent the first three hours in 3rd place behind GBMoto and HMR prior to retiring with gremlins in the engine after Crockford set the fastest race lap of 1m 09.235s. It was during this period that Uprite managed to lap the whole field; during 2006 the Uprite team often worked their 750 Suzuki up into the top three but lost out against the bigger machines at the end of the day, with a reliable 1000 this team are quite capable of winning races, however satisfying - fastest lap might have felt little compensation for the effort spent. Moores Racing (Tony Jimenez/Mike Eglington/Jim Agombar) visited the pits 3 times in the opening hour to sort out front brake problems rendering them in last place and 16 laps down on the leading bike. In 2006 Moores campaigned both the R6 and the R1 Yamaha machines but have decided to focus on the Supersport 600 class for this year.
Their race winning R1 is still, surprisingly, for sale – contact Tony J. Another team having problems were M2 Construction (Matthew Checkley/Doug Cannon/Neil Richardson), having won their class in every one of the 2006 rounds on a Honda 600, their new R6 was a frequent visitor into the pit lane. It is hoped this race will act as a shake down session and any problems occurring will not reappear.Following the departure of Uprite, GBMoto and HMR ran at the front for the remainder of the race separated by only a couple of laps, and elevating new to endurance racing; Team UKRM (Neal Champion/Jon Haley) - Suzuki 600 up into a robust third for the rest of the race.
A real ding dong was just behind with; last off the grid Phoenix Endurance - (Shelley Pike/Pete Gibson/Shaun Finch), the ZX6RR of Kawasaki Newcastle (Andy Jones/David Alsop/Phil Knowles) and the resurgent Moores Racing R6. This battle royale lasted the final three hours with fourth place going to Moores over the Newcastle Kawasaki and Phoenix who must be delighted with their brand new R6, hopefully Shelley feels buying a new R6 in February was a wise investment! The results will show four of the teams separated by just over one lap, after six hours of racing. These three teams have a lot of endurance racing experience and don’t be surprised to see any of them looking in contention for a podium place.Another brand new 600 was the Honda of Team Viking (Paul Clarke/Crispin Albertson/Barry Salmon) which had a steady race, the team gaining speed and confidence to finish in eighth, just behind M2 Construction who recovered some of the time lost pushing in and being repaired.
For much of the race Pulse Racing (David Roake/Bob Jackson/Keith Miles) led their class on a bog standard Triumph 955i until the final hour when they were bumped into 10th by the very experienced endurance racing crew of 120+ Racing (Richard Cunningham/Seam Moss/Damian Rowley) who’s R1 saw rather too much of the pitlane. The same could be said of the Farside Racing R6 (Charles Van Berckel/Phillip Dennis/Chris Lewis) with far too much time spent with the wheels not moving - their determination earned them twelfth spot ahead of Ducks X Racing similar mount now with a clutch that didn’t slip. Both young Aussie barman Alex Cudlin and professional racer Damian Rowley are on World Endurance duty this year, starting with Le Mans in three week’s time and the HMRC circus move to Knockhill at the end of April for another six hour race.
Overall
1 GBMoto * 288 laps
2 Harvey Mushman Racing 282 laps
3 Team UKRM* 262 laps
4 Moores Racing 262 laps
5 Kawasaki Newcastle * 261 laps
6 Phoenix Endurance 261 laps
7 M2 Construction 254 laps
8 Team Viking 254 laps
9 120+ Racing* 247 laps
10 Pulse Racing 243 laps
11 Farside Racing 234 laps
12 Ducks X Racing 197 laps
13 Uprite Racing 137 laps
* Class WinnersFastest lap – Uprite Racing 1m 09.235s (101.498 mph)
Class Results
National Superproduction 1000
1 GBMoto 288 laps
2 Harvey Mushman Racing 282 laps
3 Uprite Racing 137 laps
National Supersport 600
1 Team UKRM 262 laps
2 Moores Racing 262 laps
3 M2 Construction 254 laps
4 Team Viking 254 laps
5 Ducks X Racing 197 laps
National Superstock 1000
1 120+ Racing 247 laps
2 Pulse Racing 243 laps
National Superstock 600
1 Kawasaki Newcastle 261 laps
2 Phoenix Endurance 261 laps
3 Farside Racing 234 laps
Junior Endurance Championship – 2 hours – 8th April 2007
An exciting prospect of two hour endurance races offers racing regulars and trackday heroes the opportunity to try endurance racing and offers a progression route into the National Endurance Championship.Following timed practice it was the very experienced Mark Linscott (Yamaha R1) of Team Sober who lined up for the Le Mans start in pole position with a time of 1m 13.732s. Linscott was left on the grid as the field disappeared around Riches; he was to take the lead for a short while after only eleven minutes. The pace car appeared after a tumble at Corams on the half hour mark and many teams bought their riders in for the first rider/bike change, James Barker (Last Minute Racing) re emerging as the leader building on the pace already set by Tim Allen (Suzuki 1000).
At the half way point Last Minute Racing held a two lap lead over Team Sober (Linscott and Gary Bransgrove) ahead of the Extreme Bikesportz pairing of Phil Wood and Ian Walker on a pair of 600 Suzukis who eventually moved up to second in front of Team SOBER. Newcomer, Gary Bransgrove rode the wheels off his Kawasaki ZX6 but it never had the speed of the 1 litre opposition. At the end of two hours of close racing in fourth place the Advance Bike Shipping 1000 Suzuki pairing of Jason Pittaway and Mike Bull who started 13th on the grid.
1 Last Minute Racing 91 laps
2 Extreme Bikesportz 89 laps
3 Team SOBER 89 laps
4 Advance Bike Shipping 88 laps
5 M + P Racing 88 laps
6 Moto Developments 88 laps
7 Freaks of Nature 87 laps
8 Go Fast Racing 86 laps
9 ETA Racing 86 laps
10 Dos Albaniles 85 laps
11 Rawlings Racing 84 laps
12 Radtec Racing 84 laps
13 Black Flag Racing 84 laps
14 Highside Racing 82 laps
15 Black Cat Racing 82 laps
16 Team Allez Oop-La 81 laps
17 C2C Racing 81 laps
18 MC Racing 79 laps
19 Team Issor 78 laps
20 Newlinc Racing 38 laps
21 Team Deliverance 7 laps
Fastest lap – Last Minute Racing 1m 13.564s (95.525 mph)
Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National + Junior TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championship – Round 2 – Knockhill, Scotland 28th April 2007
HOTTRAX National Endurance Championship – 6 hours
Series leaders GBMoto (Mark Smith Halvorsen, local ace Torquil Paterson and very experience rider Roger Bennett, making a welcome return to GBMoto on the Yamaha R1) managed to grab pole from local specialists – Grant Racing (Bruce Binnie/Forbes Cowan – Suzuki 1000) who have their base in the Knockhill paddock, a business run by Scottish 600 specialist and race winner - ‘Wee’ Bob Grant. Missing from the grid were Uprite racing who arrived at the track with the borrowed Moores Racing R1 but managed to drop a valve in testing. Moores also supported Harvey Mushman Racing (Hugh Brasher/Mick Godfrey/Vance John – R1) who arrived with bike, riders but no crew or race tent, Welshman Vance had initially been down to ride for Uprite but switched camps after the R1 expired.
The early part of the race saw northern racing protagonists, Binnie and Bennett circulate in very close company before initial pit stops commenced, by the one hour mark GBMoto held a lap over HMR who were in front of the Moores Racing R6 (Tony Jimenez/Mike Eglington/Jim Agombar) with Grant Racing in fourth.
The Pace Car made an unwelcome appearance on the 2 hour mark, as Team Viking’s Paul Clarke and one of the Radtec Junior riders went down at the hairpin. Paul’s team mate, Crispin d’Albertanson managed to recover the stricken 600 and continue sharing the riding with Barry Salmon. Clarke was knocked out for a short while but recovered with bruised pride and backside. After 179 laps, former World, European and British Strongest Man – Forbes Cowan, a big man who loves his racing, dropped the Grant Racing machine and retired back in the pits with front brake problems.
Another team having real dramas were Team Purple (Kevin Davies/Chris Wade/Des Senior) whose steel framed 600 was in and out with fuel problems, in the fourth hour the bike threw a chain at the other side of the track and a new chain was purchased and sent out to Chris Wade to fit and return to the fray. Team Purple was run by Hazel Drury, the racing GP, who is recovering well from an endurance racing massive spill last year at Pembrey on a very quick Honda Firestorm. Des Senior is new to endurance racing after a long and illustrious career in motorcycle road racing.
Towards the end of the race, GBMoto consolidated a safe lead over HMR who had the M2 Construction R6 (Matthew Checkley/Doug Cannon/Neil Richardson) only a couple of laps behind. With just over an hour to go the GBMoto R1 developed a split exhaust, holding a seven lap lead just in case! The bike pitted and new front pads were fitted, the exhaust was left in tact and half the lead evaporated. Although they had a spare system in the van did they want to risk loosing the race with a lengthy pit stop repair?
In the final hour, the Kawasaki Newcastle (Andy Jones/David Alsop/Phil Knowles – 600) was chasing the Phoenix Endurance R6 (Shelley Pike/Pete Gibson joined by Hottrax instructor and supermono specialist Andy Buik) for sixth place behind 120+ Racing (Richard Cunningham/Sean Moss/Steve Lunnon) who had enjoyed a steady race in the top 6. The Kawasaki eventually battled past Shelley Pike, only to be handed a 10 second time penalty for a pit lane speed infringement, effectively loosing the gained place.
GB Moto took the chequered cloth ahead of the similar machine of Harvey Mushman Racing with the 600 Supersport teams of M2 Construction and Moores Racing behind, 120 + Racing were fifth on another R1 and Phoenix retained sixth ahead of Kawasaki Newcastle. Team Viking made it all worthwhile by finishing a brave eighth place, Grant Racing were classified ninth and Team Purple Endurance were running well at the end to complete the field.
The first motorcycle endurance race in Scotland, a national endurance race started with a saltire and two races starting at the same time with different race lengths and fantastic Scottish weather - all the ingredients for a fantastic event.
Despite winning the first two races, GBMoto cannot relax, Harvey Mushman Racing are close, M2 Construction have their R6 running well with Moores Racing in very close attendance and Phoenix look good in the Superstock 600 class. Next round in at Pembrey on 21/22 July at Pembrey.
1 GBMoto * 375 laps
2 Harvey Mushman Racing 369 laps
3 M2 Construction * 366 laps
4 Moores Racing 365 laps
5 120 + Racing 348 laps
6 Phoenix Endurance * 344 laps
7 Kawasaki Newcastle 344 laps
8 Team Viking 332 laps
9 Grant Racing 251 laps
10 Team Purple Endurance 179 laps
* Class Winners
HOTTRAX Junior TAG Endurance Championship – 2 hours
Starting from pole position M & P Racing (Mike Ashton/Paul Rogers) were quickly overhauled by Team SOBER (Mark Linscott/Gary Bransgrove) who had shown much promise at the opening round at Snetterton, three weeks ago. By the one hour point Team SOBER held a half lap lead over at the M & P Fireblade - at the same time running 7th and 8th on the road as the Junior race ran at the same time as the six hour National encounter.
When the chequered flag dropped after two hours, Team SOBER had developed a one lap cushion over Moto Developments (Luke Hall/Simon Nash) who finished on the same lap as Go Fast Racing (Tristan Clarke/Tim Westley/Kane Dalton), and M & P. Not far away were TSE Racing (Nick Potts/James Urquart) and Dos Albaniles (Nicholas Ford/Dave Charrett) who made up the top six finishers of the Junior 1000 class. The two brothers Lee + Mat Rawlings (Rawlings Racing) took their R1s into 7th place in their class ahead of C2C Racing (Martin Black/Dave Brooking) and Radtec Racing (Guy Langley/Martin Timms) after a spill at the Hairpin.
Junior 600 winners, ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Daren Brearley) finished fifth on the road a whole seven laps ahead of their other class rivals; Team Issor (Kevin Miller/Bruce Cobburn) and Black Flag Racing (Alistair Holmes/George Duncan).
1 Team SOBER * 115 laps
2 Moto Developments 114 laps
3 Go Fast Racing 114 laps
4 M + P Racing 114 laps
5 ETA Racing * 111 laps
6 TSE Racing 111 laps
7 Dos Albaniles 110 laps
8 Rawlings Racing 109 laps
9 C2C Racing 107 laps
10 Team Issor 104 laps
11 Radtec Racing 95 laps
12 Black Flag Racing 90 laps
Fastest lap – Team SOBER 55.923s (83.636mph)
* Class winners
Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National + Junior TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championship – Round 3 – Pembrey, Wales 21st & 22nd July 2007 by Alfonso Lygo
HOTTRAX National Endurance Championship – 6 hours
Three riders missing from the grid were former BSB privateer and International endurance expert, Warwick Nowland; whose wrist injury had not improved enough to join Harvey Mushman Racing – his place was taken by regular team rider, Richie Wright. Following a practice spill in the wet on the Saturday, local rider Vance John was unable to start with Uprite Racing – the rider was willing but the medics had different ideas. Andy Rouse, who had made such an impact with Ben Pearce in Saturday’s TAG race fell off his Yamaha R6 on the last lap of the Open Race whilst challenging for the lead, again a hospital visit meant that Andy failed to take his place with Kawasaki Newcastle for the big race.
A few minutes before the race start the heavens opened and the track was awash leaving teams with a real dilemma over tyre choice as blue skies appeared. At the drop of the Welsh flag Team Uprite (John Crockford/Jason Gunning/Suzuki 1000) shot off building a substantial lead over Harvey Mushman Racing (Hugh Brasher/Rod Lynn/Richie Wright) Yamaha R1), Moores Racing (Tony Jimenez/Nick Roake/Daz Jones/Yamaha R6). Crockford was on a charge before pitting at the 30 minute mark, Uprite were struggling with front wheels after discovering 2 of their 3 rims were not true (one due to Vance John’s excursion on Saturday), they stayed on wets and dropped a lap in the pits. Just before the hour mark, Shaun Finch toured in on the Phoenix Endurance (Shaun Finch/Pete Gibson/Shelley Pike) R6 back to the pits after an ‘off’, costing the team 15 minutes to replace and lash a newly acquired ‘end can’ to the bike.
At the first hour mark, Moores R6 was a lap ahead from Uprite – Harvey Mushman were four laps adrift in seventh place and series leader GBMoto (Mark Smith Halvorsen/Mike Dickenson/Mick Godfrey/Yamaha R1) were down in 9th following a lengthy pit stop. A dry line was appearing around the track and Uprite pitted for slicks, Macca dropped the R1 and returned to the pits for running repairs, loosing about 20 minutes before returning, Uprite were again back in the pits swapping front wheels! South African rider Mike Dickenson, was making his series debut – no stranger to endurance racing having already won a recent two hour at Mallory in May and coming second to GBMoto at Pembrey four weeks ago. Clearly Mike made an impression on the R6 he shares with son, Craig who is also a rapid and intelligent rider with a great future, having come second to the very experienced Mark Linscott in the morning’s Open race.
After two hours Harvey Mushman were back at the front two laps ahead of Uprite with the Moores R6 in third place, the experienced Tony Jimenez sharing riding duties with Derbyshire's Daz Jones, at twice the age of third man – Nick Roake. Nick had raced in the HMRC series back in April at Snetterton where he shared a Triumph 955i with father David. These two young bloods were standing in for Jim Agombar who was away at Laguna Seca in the US and Mike Eglington who was taking part in the Triumph one make series elsewhere.
During the third hour Uprite overhauled the Mushman machine to enjoy a one lap lead and Moores in third place, ahead of the almost bog standard Kawasaki Newcastle ER-6 ridden by Gareth Martin and Ian Patterson – from eighth place after one hour the going to work commuter machine had overhauled the other Kawasaki Newcastle ZX6 of Ben Pearce/Phil Knowles/Andy Jones on it’s way up through the field. The only ‘mods’ made to the ER-6 was the fitting of a Power Commander, a race can and a couple of recent oil changes – proving you don’t need a fortune to get results.
GBMoto had made a couple of lengthy visits to the pits to investigate clutch and gear selection problems dropping them down to last place, HMR and Uprite were on the same lap at two thirds distance and Phoenix Endurance were back up to 10th after their earlier spill. At half past four, Macca cruised past the pits indicating he could only select fifth gear, getting around the hairpin was a bit of a struggle and the team retired after 181 laps. The team were gracious in acknowledging their retirement would set up the remaining two rounds as an excellent battle for the championship.
At the drop of the chequer, the Uprite team won - five laps down on the leaders were HMR, ahead of the Moores Racing R6, the Kawasaki ER-6 finished well ahead of fifth placed newcomers – Darkside Endurance (Andy Buik/Darren Eyre/Kevin Upstone/Yamaha R6) – they had spent the whole race in either 5th or 6th, an excellent debut outing. Andy Buik, an accomplished single cylinder pilot was drafted into Phoenix Endurance for Knockhill, replacing an absent Shaun Finch - clearly Andy was hooked on long distance racing and came back with this well organised and capable entry.
The second Kawasaki Newcastle entry, the ZX6 rounded off the top six by only one lap over the perusing 120+ machine. 120+ Racing (Richard Cunningham/Steve Mercer/Rhys Boyd) experienced big problems with the rear wheel of their R1, after a race which had seen them as high as fourth before finishing seventh. Following dramas at the last round at Knockhill, Team Viking (Paul Clarke/Crispin d’Albertanson/Barry Salmon/Honda 600) kept themselves mischief - and the gravel - to finish in eighth place.
120- Racing (Sean Moss/Steve Lunnon) worked solidly to finish 9th, ahead of Phoenix Endurance who struggled to recapture the time lost following their spill. In eleventh; Farside Racing (Charles Van Berkel/Phillip Dennis/Richard Cleverley) were classified ahead of GBMoto and Ducks Cross Racing (Martin Landmann/Michael Thompson/Jonathon Railton/Yamaha R6) who lost time getting stuck in the mud at the hairpin.
Look at the points situation - with two rounds of the championship remaining - its open at the top and there's all to play for at Snetterton in August and Silverstone in October.
1 Uprite Racing * 316 laps
2 Harvey Mushman Racing 311 laps
3 Moores Racing * 302 laps
4 Kawasaki Newcastle 2 * 298 laps
5 Darkside Endurance * 293 laps
6 Kawasaki Newcastle 1 291 laps
7 120+ Racing 290 laps
8 Team Viking 286 laps
9 120- Racing 279 laps
10 Phoenix Endurance 274 laps
11 Farside Racing 265 laps
12 GBMoto 181 laps
13 Ducks Cross Racing 174 laps
Fastest lap – Uprite Racing 60.612s (86.478mph)
* Class Winners
HOTTRAX Junior TAG Endurance Championship – 2 hours
It was Fresh Orange Racing (Ben Pearce/Andy Rouse) who hit the front at the start of the wet race, leaving Moto Developments (Luke Hall/Simon Nash) and Team SOBER (Mark Linscott/Gary Bransgrove/Steve Callahan) in their wake. Rouse pitted cleverly on the half hour mark as the pace car made the first of its two appearances and Ben Pearce was able to get out quickly taking advantage of the situation. Most riders found racing in the wet conditions difficult and, thankfully, the race was without major incident.
At the half way point of the two hour race, Moto Developments held a one lap lead over Fresh Orange who had incurred a 30 second penalty for a technical infringement whilst exiting the pit lane. Team RHR (Robin Hooker/Paul Evans) were third ahead of M and P Racing (Mike Ashton/Paul Rogers).
When the chequered flag dropped, with the track still awash, Moto Developments won by 1 lap from Team RHR with Fresh Orange a lap adrift ahead of M and P Racing who enjoyed a single lap advantage over Team 2-Ply (Darren Carter/Steve Smith), completing the top six were Dos Albaniles (Dave Charrett/Nick Ford). Current championship leaders, Team SOBER (Mark Linscott/Gary Bransgrove/Steve Callahan) finished seventh, opening up the points table a little, with rounds at Snetterton and Silverstone to round off the season.
Fresh Orange won the Junior 600 class with a 3 lap advantage over points leaders ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Daren Brearley) with Black Flag Racing (Alistair Holmes/George Duncan/John Higham) third.
1 Moto Developments * 97 laps
2 Team RHR 96 laps
3 Fresh Orange * 95 laps
4 M + P Racing 94 laps
5 Team 2-Ply 93 laps
6 Dos Albaniles 93 laps
7 Team SOBER 92 laps
8 ETA Racing 92 laps
9 C2C Racing 91laps
10 Rawlings Racing 91 laps
11 Epona Racing 91 laps
12 Black Cat Racing 90 laps
13 Go Faster Racing 90 laps
14 Black Flag Racing 87 laps
15 Team Deliverance 87 laps
16 Freaks of Nature 83 laps
17 Team Issor 79 laps
18 A & G Racing 79 laps
19 Purple Voodoo 75 laps
20 MC Racing 60 laps
Fastest lap – Moto Developments 68.061s (77.013mph)
* Class winners
HOTTRAX Open Solo Race – 18 laps
Mark Linscott (Yamaha R1) showed his well developed race craft and won the first ever HOTTRAX solo race, despite being chased home by young South African hot shot Craig Dickenson on an R6 and Dave Charrett on his Suzuki 1000. Craig and his father, Mike, have been sharing the R6 in recent two hour races at Mallory and Pembrey where they had a first and second place. For Pembrey Mike joined the GBMoto line up and Craig would consider offers to race in either the 2 or 6 hour HMRC races.
The race was stopped with one lap to go after Andy Rouse slid off on the last corner before the start line in an effort to hit the front, Andy was riding his Yamaha R6, used to great effect in the previous day’s 2 hour TAG Endurance race – as a result of his accident, a visit to the nearby hospital meant he was unable to join the Kawasaki Newcastle 2 team on board the 'sit up an beg' ER-6.
Andy Buik decided to start the race from the pitlane on his single cylinder machine, as it tends to overheat if the grid is held – from last spot he made sixth on the diminutive device over the 17 laps.
There is lots of scope in this class of racing, offering newcomers and experienced riders the opportunity to race their bikes in something a little more meaningful than a five lap sprint. One such newcomer was Simon Allen on his awesome sounding Aprilia RSVR 1000, the previous day he paired with Hazel Drury in team Purple Voodoo in the 2hr TAG race and joined the pit crew supporting Phoenix Endurance for the National race on Sunday.
1 Mark Linscott
2 Craig Dickenson
3 Dave Charrett
4 Tim Westley
5 Kane Dalton
6 Andy Buik
7 Ray Warren
8 Nick Ford
9 Richard Woolcott
10 Gary Bransgrove
11 Steve Callahan
12 Simon Allen
Fastest lap – Craig Dickenson (Yamaha R6) 66.183s (79.199 mph)
Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National + Junior TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championship – Round 4 – Snetterton 26th & 27th August 2007 – report and photos by Alfonso Lygo
HOTTRAX National Endurance Championship – 8 hours
Series leaders, Harvey Mushman Racing came to Snetterton with a slender 10 point lead over double race winners – GBMoto, ahead of Moores Racing and Kawasaki Newcastle. Pembrey winners Uprite Racing holding eighth in the table. In the classes, HMR led Superproduction 1000 protagonists GBMoto by only 4 points who were a reasonable distance from Uprite. 120+ Racing have a really healthy lead in the Superstock 1000 table and Moores Racing are safely ahead of Team Viking in Supersport 600 reckoning. Closest of all the classes is Superstock 600 where Kawasaki Newcastle are only two points ahead of Phoenix Endurance. With only two rounds of the 2007 championship remaining it is getting tight at the top.
Pole was set by GBMoto, based on average lap times (Mark Smith Halvorsen/Mick Godfrey/Roger Bennett – Yamaha R1) despite some blistering practice times set by John Crockford on the Uprite Suzuki (John Crockford/Jason Gunning/Vance John). Master strategist Max Scholl put Crockford out for an opening double shift of 1hr 25 minutes to establish a healthy lead of over a lap in the first hour building to 4 laps by the two hour mark over GBMoto after GBMoto pitted to adjust the chain, loosing a lap.
During this time, HMR (Hugh Brasher/Simon Watson/Mark Linscott – R1) were forced to pit to sort persistent clutch problems which had caused the team to start the race from pit lane as well as loosing most of the early morning warm up. Linscott, current leader of the Junior TAG championship was joining the National race for the first time – looking at the speeds, lap times and machinery of the Junior TAG competitors a number of the TAG teams could elevate themselves to National level without too much trouble – HMRC have designed the final round at Silverstone for you to so this, so how about taking up the challenge!
At around quarter distance, Macca pitted the GBMoto bike with a broken gear linkage which cost them 3 laps dropping them from second down to sixth place. By the three hour mark, some rapid lappery had moved them back up to fourth place, a lap adrift of the Supersport 600 machine of Moores Racing (Tony Jimenez/Nick Roake/Jim Agombar) behind the HMR machine and Uprite luxuriating in a seven lap lead.
Crockford returned to the track producing a string of 100 mph + laps, prior to handing over to Jason Gunning to protect the 8 lap lead at halfway point, HMR maintained second spot, 4 laps ahead of the recovering GBMoto machine and Moores in a very comfortable fourth place. Darkside Racing (Andy Buik/Darren Eyre/Kevin Upstone) were on the same lap as class mates Phoenix Endurance (Shelley Pike/Shaun Finch/Chris Mayhew) – Chris was deputising for regular pilot Pete Gibson who was away at the Manx who achieved a practice lap of 100 mph, a nineteenth place in the Newcomers and a start in Friday’s Senior MGP). Chris, a sometime Bimota factory test and development rider from Leicestershire, produced some very quick laps during his stints which saw Phoenix overhaul Darkside during the closing stages, despite his lanky frame nestling behind the R6 fairing. This was after Phoenix had pitted to replace both sets of rubber; the R6 has been known to complete a six hour race without the need for new tyres.
Just before the six hour mark the Pace Car made its one and only appearance, for two laps to allow track workers to collect debris from the track at Sears causing the riders to bunch up and giving GBMoto a slingshot opportunity to overtake HMR whilst in the pits for fuel and rider change.
With an hour to go Gunning pitted the Uprite machine to replace a worn rear sprocket, slick spannering saw this task completed in around four minutes and they re emerged on the track with a still comfortable lead over GBMoto. Uprite, like many of the top teams in British endurance racing practice these types of tasks so when it happens for real it has been well rehearsed.
All the starters were still circulating until the Team Viking (Paul Clarke/Barry Salmon/ Crispin d’Albertanson) Honda 600 was planted in the gravel at Riches by Clarke – sterling work by the team saw the machine return to the fray to take the flag at the end of the eight hours. A Viking team member was quick to point out that Paul, who was also turfed off at Knockhill by another rider, was the man responsible for putting the END into ENDURANCE – seems a tad harsh! Viking had a torrid time at Snetterton with the bike being drastically down on power due to a gremlin in the engine management/mapping department, visibly slower on the straights the three riders all rode well.
At the end of the eight hours, Uprite took the flag ahead of GBMoto and Harvey Mushman Racing, Moores Racing maintained their fourth place and secured the Supersport 600 championship with a faultless display throughout the season, often champing at the heals of larger machines for podium places – a deserved result for Tony Jimenez and the Moores Racing team. Phoenix finished ahead of rivals Darkside Endurance on the same lap ahead of a steady race for 120 + Racing (Chris Carter/Sean Moss/Steve Lunnon) – well done on your class win in Superstock 1000 chaps! Rounding off the finishers were Kawasaki Newcastle (Andy Jones/Phil Knowles/Kevin Stainsby), Ducks X Racing (Martin Landmann/Michael Thompson/Russell Horton), Farside Racing (Charles Van Berkel/Chris Lewis/Philip Dennis) and Team Viking.
Outstanding features from the day were; the points situation for the 2007 Endurance Championship are now closer at the top, John Crockford put in some blinding circuits throughout the whole race, including a 101 mph lap, Moores nailed the Supersport 600 class, all the starters took the chequered flag after 8 hours of racing and the weather was fantastic.
The final round of the championship is at Silverstone on Saturday 6th October and you would be daft to miss it!
1 Uprite Racing * 381 laps
2 GBMoto 377 laps
3 Harvey Mushman Racing 374 laps
4 Moores Racing * 367 laps
5 Phoenix Endurance * 357 laps
6 Darkside Racing 357 laps
7 120+ Racing* 352 laps
8 Kawasaki Newcastle 350 laps
9 Ducks X Racing 341 laps
10 Farside Racing 335 laps
11 Team Viking 304 laps
Fastest lap – Uprite Racing 68.536s (102.533mph)
* Class Winners
HOTTRAX Junior TAG Endurance Championship – 2 hours
Starting from pole position Team RHR (Ryan Hooker/Paul Evans) was unable to shake off championship leaders Team SOBER (Mark Linscott/Gary Bransgrove/Steve Callahan), who started 15th on the grid, and circulated closely on the road until the first round of pit stops which saw leaders RHR separated by Co-Ordit Racing (Pete Bradshaw/Dave Wardle) from third placed Team SOBER. By the half way point of the race, RHR had a one lap lead over Co-Ordit who were a lap ahead of Moto Developments (Luke Hall/Simon Nash) with Team SOBER in fourth.
Following the mid race retirement by RHR, this left championship newcomers; Co-Ordit Racing to win, maintaining a one lap lead over A + M Racing (Andrew Gardner/Marc Westcott) with Team SOBER consolidating their championship points advantage in third. Moto Developments were fourth on the same lap as Go Fast Racing (Kane Dalton/Tim Westley), M and P Racing (Mike Ashton/Paul Rogers) and Combined Stabilisation (Nigel Sean Rae/Graeme Woodhouse/Phil Blackmore). Team SOBER now lead the championship heading into the final round, ahead of Moto Developments who were grateful of some support (and spares) from Moores Racing and GBMoto following a spill at Snetterton earlier in the week. ETA Racing consolidated their lead in the Junior 600 class with a 10th place.
To reiterate (and only a personal view) – a look at the practice/race times, along with the rider talent and quality of machinery and equipment indicates it would not be a huge leap for some of the Junior TAG teams to dip their toe in the water for the National race at Silverstone on October the 6th, with a view to moving up a gear for 2008. HMRC has provided a well structured progression ladder for endurance racing and now is the time to see some movement.
1 Co-Ordit Racing * 93 laps
2 A + M Racing 92 laps
3 Team SOBER 91 laps
4 Moto Developments 90 laps
5 Go Fast Racing 90 laps
6 M and P Racing 90 laps
7 Combined Stabilisation 90 laps
8 Freaks of Nature Too 89 laps
9 Freaks of Nature 89 laps
10 ETA Racing * 88 laps
11 C2C Racing 88 laps
12 Black Cat Racing 87 laps
Fastest lap – Team SOBER 72.792s (96.53mph)
* Class winners
Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National + Junior TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championship – Final Round 5 – Silverstone 6th October 2007 – words and photos by Alfonso Lygo
HOTTRAX National Endurance Championship – 6 hours
Championship leaders; Harvey Mushman Racing (Hugh Brasher/Rod Lynn/Kenny Gilbertson – Yamaha R1) was only six points ahead of GBMoto (Mark Smith Halvorsen/Mick Godfrey/Peter Jennings – Yamaha R1) and winners of the last two rounds – Uprite Racing (Damien Rowley/Jason Gunning – Suzuki 1000) were 21 points away. With superb reliability and riding, Moores Racing were mathematically still in with a shout for overall honours as HMRC arrived in Northamptonshire for the final round of the 2007 National Endurance Championship. It was again GBMoto and HMR who topped the Superproduction 1000 table, with Uprite chasing hard in bronze position, whilst 120+ Racing (Richard Cunningham/Sean Moss/Steve Lunnon – R1) were untouchable in the Superstock 1000 class.
Moores Racing (Tony Jimenez/Jim Agombar/Mike Eglington – Yamaha R6) had smashed and grabbed the Supersport 600 title but were hunting for another podium place or possible overall victory and Team Viking (Paul Clarke/Barry Salmon/ Crispin d’Albertanson - Honda 600) were looking to Silverstone to secure second place in their class championship, following coping with a spill and a down on power machine at Snetterton’s last round, back in August. Only 9 points separated Phoenix Endurance and Kawasaki Newcastle at the top of the Superstock 600 table – so it was all still to play for.
Major dramas occurred well before the start of the race; GBMoto lost their #1 engine and much of the qualifying session on Saturday morning – the pit crew having just 60 minutes to swap engines to one not set up for Silverstone. With minutes to go, the power plant was fired up in the garage – would it last for six hours?
Uprite Racing was stuck with an Ohlins rear shock with no rebound – GBMoto’s Pete Jennings donated a replacement from his Crescent Suzuki which was found not to fit so it was back to the original item! Unfortunately, regular Uprite pilot Vance John had to pull out for family reasons on the Sunday morning negating the talented equipe manager, Max Schol to rethink race strategy for the afternoon. Uprite’s pit crew included a number of young trainee Modern Apprentices who were gaining some real work experience in the pit lane, making a welcome change from college classrooms and workshops: rider line up also included experienced international endurance pilot – Damien ‘Demon’ Rowley.
Pole position had been secured at blistering pace by the Paul Young Racing (Paul Young/Adam Tempest/Peter Ward – Triumph 675) over half a second from the bigger machine of Uprite, ahead of four Junior 1000 teams. It was a brilliant sight to see 40 bikes leaving the grid after a Le Mans start, heading into Copse at Silverstone, the home of British Motorsport – and when was the last time a British machine was on pole for a major endurance race? The flag was dropped by Sarah Ozanne, a member of GBMoto from Guernsey who helps HMRC run the meetings, one of a band of people with a real passion for motorcycle endurance racing.
Despite starting from the pit lane and being 33rd at the end of lap one, GBMoto were leading at the one hour mark ahead of Uprite with the Triumph in third, the pace car was soon to make a brief appearance and Adelaide born national Supersport runner Youngy pitted with a broken clutch, pushing them down the order. Kenny Gilbertson had lost the HMR Yamaha at Woodcote and pushed into the pitlane requiring the crew to work on the machine in the garage for quite a duration. GBMoto also pitted at around the same time for a new rear tyre and battery borrowed from Pete Jennings’ Suzuki - twenty minutes later the Triumph was back in the garage for attention to the clutch which was drenching the rider’s boot with hot oil, loosing PYR valuable track time. PYR pit crew also included Glen Richards who has ridden so effectively in 2007 for Phase One Endurance, including a recent third place at the Bol d’Or in France – Phase One go into the final round at Qatar sixth in the table with a mathematically possible third within their grasp.
More battery trouble was occurring to GBMoto just after the two hour mark, with the possibility of salvaging the regulator from their Junior TAG bike as a solution. By halfway point Uprite held a two lap lead over GBMoto with the well ridden Moores Racing R6 in a close third and Team Viking a delighted fourth on the road ahead of Duck’s X Racing (Martin Landmann/Jonathon Railton/Michael Thompson – R6), whose riders ages spanned 43 years with Jonathon aged a tender 16.
Kawasaki Newcastle (Andy Jones/Phil Knowles/Andy Rouse – Kawasaki ZX6) were 5 laps ahead of class title aspirants; Phoenix Endurance (Shelley Pike/Pete Gibson/Shaun Finch – R6), Phoenix would be safe for the title if this position held as Darkside Endurance (Andy Buik/Darren Eyre/Kevin Upstone) were leading the Superstock 600s. In the third hour this plan went horribly adrift when the Phoenix R6 required a battery change to keep going, this was to occur again, later on in the race costing the team 15 minutes in the garage – Shelley Pike calculated the R6 would have to achieve another 30 laps to be classified as an official finisher and, if the status quo was maintained – the class win would be secured by Phoenix. Pete Gibson was returning to Phoenix having missed Snetterton to compete in the Manx Grand Prix, doing well in the Newcomers, the Senior was unfortunately abandoned on the final day of the week. Joining the team in the garage was Pete’s replacement at Snetterton – Chris Mayhew, who was nursing a bruised body as he had managed to throw something expensive and Italian at the countryside whilst on road testing duties recently.
Stations were held for the final hour of racing and at the drop of the cloth Uprite Racing won their third race of the championship, six laps ahead of new HMRC Champions – GBMoto with the R6 of Moores Racing taking a creditable third place. Ducks X Racing were fourth ahead of Superstock 600 winner Darkside who were on the same lap as Team Viking. Kawasaki Newcastle was in seventh just ahead of 120+ Racing and a resurging Paul Young Racing. The bright pink R6 of series newcomers; Feisty Racing (Susie Grayson/Deb Cartwright) ex Army and RAF personnel, who have considerable international racing experience, were tenth ahead of Pulse Racing (Nick and David Roake/Cliff Heather – Kawasaki ZX10). Next to last were title protagonists Harvey Mushman Racing who never really recovered from their Woodcote excursion requiring a couple of lengthy pit stops. HMR were helped out in the pits by those very jovial people from Moores Racing. After the race, HMR’s Hugh Brasher was noble and generous in defeat and was one of the first to congratulate GBMoto’s Mark Smith-Halvorsen assuring Mark the result might be different in 2008!
Final classified finisher was Phoenix Endurance, who had completed more than 75% of the class winner’s distance thus enabling them to be classified as finishers and take the class title. Shelley is already committed to returning to defend her title in 2008; however Phoenix will be without the redoubtable Shaun Finch who has announced his retirement from the sport to possibly go rallying (why). The Uprite Racing Endurance Forum will be a lot quieter without Shaun’s wit and words of wisdom – you will be missed Finchy.
Uprite Racing’s win was rightly dedicated to missing rider; Vance John’s father who had died in Wales after a long illness, a period of silence was held before the prize giving as a mark of respect. This would have been Vance’s final race for Uprite as he had decided to ‘hang up his leathers’ - he has made a major contribution towards Uprite’s three outright wins and success throughout the 2007 season.
In its first year the Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club National + Junior TAG Endurance Motorcycle Championship has produced some fantastic racing with a high quality field of riders and machines. There will be some minor regulation changes and some new exciting venues for 2008 so watch the website and press for emerging details. http://www.hottrax-motorsport.co.uk/
1 Uprite Racing * 309 laps
2 GBMoto 307 laps
3 Moores Racing * 301 laps
4 Ducks X Racing 293 laps
5 Darkside Racing * 292 laps
6 Team Viking 292 laps
7 Kawasaki Newcastle 291 laps
8 120 + Racing * 290 laps
9 Paul Young Racing 290 laps
10 Feisty Racing 288 laps
11 Pulse Racing 278 laps
12 Harvey Mushman Racing 269 laps
13 Phoenix Endurance 243 laps
Fastest Lap GBMoto 64.921s (88.834mph)
* Class Winners
HOTTRAX Junior TAG Endurance Championship – 2 hours
With a mere 5 points separating the teams at the top of the Junior 1000 table; Team Sober (Mark Linscott/Gary Bransgrove/Steve Callahan) were third fastest overall in qualifying and the team’s race strategy was to keep ahead of rivals Moto Developments (Luke Hall/Simon Nash) which they comfortably achieved in the two hour race. Eventual winners were Team RHR (Ryan Hooker/Paul Evans) who finished an incredible 0.84s ahead of C2C Racing (Martin Black/Dave Brooking/James McBride) who took fastest lap with some demon riding by international road race specialist McBride – a man with a number of 120+ mph laps on the Isle of Man as well as successes in Ireland and Macau.
Going into the final race of the year, ETA Racing (Ian Courts/Darren Brearley/Phil Muldowney) were already Junior 600 champions and in the race they were to finish third in class behind winners Extreme Bikesportz (Ian Walker/Dave Wardle) and GBMoto Junior (Robert Moon/Samantha Godfrey). For Sam, wife of leading national team rider, Mick, this was the second time the pairing had competed against one another, the last occasion being in Thailand!
The field, at thirty, was the largest to date and included the Moores Racing Pit Crew entry of Phil Haynes + James Walker on last year’s Moores R1 and an ex Phase One Endurance parts bin special 750 Suzuki, finishing in 22nd spot.
Some riders paid respects to a rider who should have been racing # 99, sadly Simon Philpot died in a road accident prior to the meeting and rightly so he was remembered for his passion, enthusiasm and riding.
1 Team RHR * 101 laps
2 C2C Racing 101 laps
3 Throttle Monkey Juniors 100 laps
4 Racing Snakes 99 laps
5 Team Throttle Monkey 99 laps
6 Go Fast Racing 98 laps
7 Freaks of Nature Too 98 laps
8 M & P Racing 97 laps
9 Extreme Bikesportz * 97 laps
10 Electric Lemonade 96 laps
11 Radtec Racing 96 laps
12 Team Sober 95 laps
Fastest lap – C2C Racing 65.176s 88.486mph
* Class winners
HOTTRAX Junior TAG Endurance Championship – 6 hours
A number of the TAG teams had chosen to continue to race on for the full duration of the six hour race, with championship finishing positions standing at the two hour mark. The results indicate it is a relatively small step for HMRC Junior teams to make the transition to National level and the fact that C2C struck the fastest lap of the day show how competitive the Junior teams are; 2008 should see several Junior teams migrate to the National championship.
1 C2C Racing 302 laps (3rd on the road)
2 M & P Racing 294 laps (5th on the road)
3 Team SOBER 292 laps (7th on the road)
4 Black Cat Racing 276 laps (15th on the road)
Fastest lap – C2C Racing 64.772s 88.630mph (fastest time of the day)
KRC Motorcycle Endurance Championship 2007 - Round One @ Mallory Park 20 May 2007
With a small but quality field the first round of the KRC Endurance Championship got off to a fast and furious start in the Mallory sunshine after two weeks of rain. After 8 laps of practicing in the morning it was Glynn Racing (Aaron Hughes/Lee Hodge/Yamaha R1) who was fastest with a lap of 56.44 seconds ahead of the very experienced endurance team of GB Moto (Mark Smith Halvorsen/Mick Godfrey/Corporate FX Ltd Yamaha R1), Mick Godfrey drafted in from the Harvey Mushman Racing team. Relative newcomers to the UK racing scene were the father and son combo of M & C Racing (Mick and Craig Dickinson/Yamaha R6), Mick has raced for a while in South Africa at various levels and in various disciplines whilst his seventeen year old son is at the early stages of his racing career and is looking forward to learning the circuits and becoming more competitive. The South Yorkshire domiciled team, like so many at this level, was a real family effort with Mick’s dad, wife and son acting as support and pit crew. A late entry was fourth fastest in practice – LMS Elite (Shaun Woffinden/Gawaine Clarke) –- Langworth Motorsport with Elite Signs, a team based just north of Lincoln and better known for their car rallying exploits. Woffinden having his first ever motorcycle race and first ride on slicks – he steadily came to grips with the Dunlop rubber and felt more comfortable at higher speeds. The management of the team was carried out by endurance guru – Max Sholl – of Uprite Racing who are normally to be found at the sharp end of the grid with their R1; however a recent bout of costly engine rebuilds has given Max time to support other newcomer teams.
At the two pm start it was just like a 10 lap short circuit race, all fast and furious with Glynn Racing holding onto the lead for the 40 minutes of the two hour race from the smaller Yamaha of M & C Racing who were both on the same lap as the very experienced GB Moto.
Just before the hour mark and after the first round of pit stops Mick Godfrey stopped on the back straight and had to push the R1 back into the pits across the grass at the Esses and down the pit road. Following further investigation, the crew dis