IN competition Racing Brands Hatch GP

It was a solid weekend for young Irishman David Allingham this weekend at Brands Hatch in round five of the Motorpoint British Supersport Evo Championship. David who has never rode at the Brands GP track before gained fourth in the sprint race in the Supersport Evo class and backed it up with a great third place on Sunday in the main feature race.

The youngster from Northern Ireland was eager to learn and put in a good time during practice and qualifying at Brands. In each session David improved on his times and was able to qualifying in fifth place for the Motorpoint Evo sprint race for the 12-lap race. He got a good start and was up to second in the Evo class at one point. He took around a second off his time from qualifying and was eager to improve in race two. In race two his times were once again better and this time he was in contention for the win, he rode a smooth and consistent race to bring the IN competition Racing Yamaha home in third place.

David Allingham - "I sometimes forget this is my first season racing at BSB level and each time I want to be quick instantly, as any rider does. The team worked hard this weekend to help me find a good set up here at Brands but I was losing a lot of time in the first sector, I had to try and relax and let my times come. In both races I went faster again and I'm really pleased with my progress by the end of the weekend. I suffered with really bad arm pump in the second race so I need to strengthen my arms before the next round at Thruxton. Once again I would like to thank all my team and sponsors for helping me this season, it's much appreciated."



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Harrison extends winning sequence with more Scarborough success

Dean Harrison and the RC Express Racing by MSS Performance team’s highly successful 2014 season continued at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough over the weekend with the Bradford rider taking no less than seven wins from eight starts, including winning the feature Cock o’ the North Trophy for the second successive year.

The Bradford rider was in imperious form around the 2.43-mile woodland venue in both wet and dry conditions, kicking off his weekend in the rain on Saturday with victories on the Kawasaki ZX-10R in the opening Superbike race and then doing the same on the ER6 650cc Kawasaki in the first leg of the Lightweight class. He duly completed his hat-trick with a narrow 0.125s victory over Ivan Lintin in the second Lightweight leg, later in the day.

Sunday’s conditions were a lot more favourable at the seaside venue with the rain having disappeared and replaced by bright, sunny weather but the outcome was still the same with Dean taking two more victories on the blue and white Kawasakis. The first victory of the day came in the second leg of the Superbike class, his winning margin over Lintin on this occasion 16.4 seconds, and he then romped to the race win in the feature Cock o’ the North Superbike race with Lintin again in second, this time eight seconds adrift. Dean also set the fastest lap of the race, and weekend, with a time of 1m45.080s, 83.251mph.

The 25-year old also added two more victories in the Supersport 600cc class where he was again on board the Mar Train Racing Yamaha and the only downside of an otherwise faultless weekend was a small spill in the third Lightweight race when he slid off at the Memorial while chasing eventual winner Lintin, with the damage to the bike keeping him out of the final leg.

Dean Harrison: “I can’t complain at all with how the weekend’s gone and although it was a weekend of two halves with the weather, the bikes were working perfectly in both the wet and dry conditions. It was quite strange on Saturday as although it was wet, it was still red hot and when you were riding through the trees, it was like being in the middle of a rainforest! It was a bit greasy but I had no dramas and won every race I was in that day, having a good battle with Ivan in the second Lightweight race.”

“Sunday started damp but soon dried up and the big bike was flying. We’re moving forward all the time with the bike and the new engine-spec was another jump forward and I was pleased with my lap times, which weren’t a million miles away from the lap record. I was out on my own, not pushing hard and enjoying myself. I had a little tip-off in the Supertwins race when Ivan and myself were having a good battle but the back end came round on me and I slid across the grass with no harm done. There was a little bit of damage to the bike and although I got out for the warm-up lap of the final race, we think a few wires had been broken as the bike wasn’t running right. Overall, it’s been another great meeting and I’ve got plenty of time on the bikes coming up so a big thanks to the team for all their hard work once more.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “It’s been another spot on weekend and I have to say we’re getting quite used to this winning lark, it’s a nice feeling!! Every race Dean started, he won and with a return like that there’s no reason at all to complain. He had a slight off at the Memorial on Sunday when him and Ivan were having a good battle and although we tried to get him out again for the last race, it was misfiring slightly so had to pull in.”

“The bikes were working equally well in the wet and dry so a big thanks to Metzeler for some awesome tyres once more and also to Nick and Jeb at MSS Performance. They built us a stunning engine with a spec just for the Scarborough weekend and it was absolutely mint so it stands us in good stead for the rest of the year.”



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Second place for Reeves maintains Championship lead

Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze head into next weekend’s sixth round of the World Sidecar Championship with a healthy 46-point lead, after taking a close and hard fought second place at the recent German round held at the Sachsenring circuit, with the duo only narrowly missing out on their fifth win of the season. However, the meeting was marred by an accident in qualifying that resulted in passenger Enrico Becker losing his life and driver Kurt Hock being seriously injured.

Having taken yet another pole position on the SMT/Remse Racing LCR Kawasaki, Tim and Gregory immediately grabbed the holeshot in the race, closely followed by regular rivals Ben and Tom Birchall and the duo would be locked in battle for the entire race distance. Tim and Gregory continually held the upper hand though and although the Birchalls managed to get alongside on occasion, the World Championship leaders successfully kept them at bay.

As the race wore on, Tim found himself suffering from a lack of grip and was having to call upon all his talent and skills to keep the Birchalls, who appeared to be in a healthier position, behind him. It all came down to the final corner on the final lap and Tim seemingly did everything perfectly, taking a good line to prevent the Birchalls from having an overtaking opportunity. However, just as it looked like they’d take the win, the Birchalls got superior drive on the exit to pass the finish line first, their margin of victory just 0.145s.

Tim Reeves:“Germany was a tough weekend after Kurt and Enrico’s terrible accident and both his team and mine were very close. Kurt was my team-mate in 2009 and 2010 and most weekends we’d be parked near each other, having dinner together and just generally being in each other’s company so the loss of Enrico has hit us hard. My thoughts go out to all his family and friends and also to Kurt’s wife and family. We’re all praying he makes a speedy recovery from his injuries.”

“Regarding qualifying and the race itself, I was made up with the lap that got me pole, which proved to be the fastest lap of the weekend, but it was only when I pulled up on the grid that I realised Ben and Tom had the newer spec Avon tyres fitted and whilst they drove well, they were in a better position than me in terms of grip towards the end of the race. I knew my tyres wouldn’t last the full race distance so had to conserve them throughout, particularly with the heat, and my plan was to get in front and do all I could to keep him behind me for the entire race. That’s exactly what I did save for the final few yards.”

“I was spinning up a lot at the end and whilst I knew Ben was right behind me, I kept everything covered. He just had superior drive coming onto the start and finish and I couldn’t have ridden any harder with what was underneath me. It’s another podium though and maintains our Championship lead so a massive thanks to all my sponsors especially DFDS Seaways, SMT Racing, H&S Contractors, MJW Kawasaki, Remse Racing, Planet Engineering and LA Marketing. I'd also like to thank a new sponsor, Aircode, for coming on board and I hope we can give all of them plenty to cheer about between now and the end of the season.”



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IN competition Racing Thruxton

David Allingham riding for the IN competition Racing team had a good weekend at round six of the Motorpoint British Supersport Evo Championship at the fast Thruxton Circuit. Allingham secured two great results in the Evo class with a fourth and second place respectively.

Having never ridden at the abrasive track before the young Irishman had to learn how to ride it in the dry on Friday and then in the wet on Saturday. Despite this his times improved dramatically from first free practice to the second race showing clearly the improvements the youngster was able to make over the weekend once he gained an understanding of the track.

In the soaking conditions on Saturday, David was slightly apprehensive of the weather conditions and was slightly cautious only able to qualify in 19th place on the grid for the sprint race. He worked hard to improve his position in the dry race later that afternoon and gained a strong fourth. His time placed him a row in front for the main race on Sunday in 16th position, he got a great start and was lying second in the Evo class for the majority of the race before a mistake put him back to third, he worked hard and was able to regain second and a stunning 13th place overall in the main Supersport Championship race.

David Allingham - "It was certainly a reality check coming to a circuit like this that I'd never seen before. I had to spend Friday not just learning where the track went but also trying to find a good set up with the bike. I was feeling more confident at the end of the day on Friday and then saw the weather on Saturday morning and knew that qualifying would be tough. I was seeing what my limits were here in the wet and I know I probably could have gone faster but I have to keep reminding myself this season is a learning season.

It was back to dry for the race in the afternoon and I felt pretty happy in the race, my lap times were good and continuously improving. I was feeling a lot more confident going into the main race on Sunday and was eager to get my head down and go for a podium, I got a good start and was locked in a really good battle. I knew it would be hard to catch Alex (Olsen) as his bike is super quick and he was riding really well all weekend, he was nearly untouchable round here by any other Evo machines. I worked hard and my times were the best they had been all weekend I'm really pleased with second and it has given me a good confidence boost for Oulton next weekend. I would like to thank my IN competition Racing team, Adrian and Ruairi, plus all my personal sponsors and glad I could get a podium to say thank you."



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Thruxton Weekend Came Together For Cox

After Victor lost his ride at Brands Hatch Round 5 due to team funding it was uncertain whether or not the Wiltshire rider would be out for his home round at Thruxton for Round 6 of the National Superstock 1000 Championship.

The weekend before the event it was decided that with help from Complog Performance Centre sourcing a bike, Cox would ride at Thruxton. Monday afternoon the team collected a Kawasaki ZX10 road bike from the showroom at MSS Kawasaki then it was back to the workshop to turn it in to a race bike. With hours of work put in thanks to Victor’s new mechanic for the season Ally Grant the bike was ready for Thruxton.

The weekend started slowly with improvements being made to the bike all the way up to morning warm up on Race day. Victor qualified in 20th position but still was positive that the changes made to the bike would give him the set up he needed. A challenging race it would be but Cox came from 20th through to 11th position and in the points.

Victor Cox ‘I am happy with the result after a hard start to the weekend, but thanks to all that helped to make it happen. It was great to come away in the points and something to build on ready for this weekend at Oulton Park. Thanks to Mark Hanna at Road and Race Performance, Sam Coventry and team for allowing me to work alongside and to Nick Morgan at MSS Performance.’

'Thanks to my team for getting me to this point it’s all down to you that I’m back out there, and to my sponsors and everyone that came to support me'



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Reeves extends World Championship lead with fifth win of the season

Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze took a step closer to clinching the 2014 World Sidecar Championship on Sunday when they took their fifth win of the season at Assen, Holland. The SMT/Remse Racing pairing again went head-to-head with Ben and Tom Birchall but came out on top to extend their Championship lead to 51 points.

Part of the ‘Gamma Race Day’ event, qualifying started well for the Anglo-French duo on their LCR Kawasaki as they set the pace in the opening session with a time of 1m42.361s, almost four tenths of a second quicker than the Birchalls. However, Saturday’s second session saw better conditions and the tables were turned as the Nottinghamshire brothers went quicker at 1m42.120s to claim the pole position. Nevertheless, Tim and Gregory, who had been hindered by a fuel leak in final qualifying, were still more than content with second place and the front row.

A staggering 85,000 fans were in attendance for Sunday’s feature race day and when the lights turned green at the start of the 17-lap race around the famous ‘Cathedral’ circuit, it was Tim and Gregory who grabbed the holeshot from the Birchalls and local heroes Bennie Streuer and Geert Koerts.

As expected, the race turned out to be a battle between Tim and Gregory and the Birchalls, the duo dominating proceedings as they exchanged the lead on numerous occasions. As the race entered its final third, Tim – already a four-time World Champion – had slowly began to edge away and although the Birchalls clawed back some of the gap in the closing stages, he wasn’t to be denied and took his fifth win of the season by 0.561s to extend his Championship lead to a more than healthy 51 points.

Tim Reeves: “What can I say, it’s been another great weekend and to take the win in front of such of a huge crowd was a great buzz. Things went well from the start and although we didn’t grab the pole position, a fuel leak held us back in the final qualifying session and we felt confident of our race pace. I got a great start to lead off the line and just tried to keep control at the front and conserve the tyres as much as possible.”

“Ben and Tom got by on a few occasions but I managed to get back ahead almost straightaway and just after half race distance, I got my head down to open up a bit of a gap. It wasn’t a huge gap but it was enough and I’m delighted to have taken another win and strengthen our title lead. There’s still work to be done but things are shaping up well so a massive thanks as always to all my sponsors especially DFDS Seaways, SMT Racing, H&S Contractors, MJW Kawasaki, Remse Racing, Professor Dr Sallmon, Planet Engineering, Pro-Shift, Aircode and LA Marketing.”



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IN competition Racing Oulton Park - Highs and Lows

David Allingham had a mixed weekend at round seven of the Motorpoint British Supersport Evo Championship at Oulton Park this weekend. The young Irishman from Derry had a huge crash on Friday morning in first practice but fought through the pain in the opening Supersport Evo race to secure a fantastic win and 12th overall in the main race. He struck disaster on Sunday in the second race where he was hit on the first lap and he crashed out.

David made some changes during first practice which saw him cut his times dramatically until a huge crash put an end to his session. The mechanics worked hard to rebuild the bike and despite some injuries he further improved his time. Qualifying went well and he ended up 15th on the grid, second Evo rider. He got a steady start but slipped back to third Evo rider, he got his head down and on the final lap took a stunning win in the Evo Championship and 12th in the main race.

With the weather taking a turn for the worst on Sunday he was looking strong in the wet warm up session and looking set for another good race in the afternoon. Sadly his day was cut short when Sam Coventry clipped the back end of David's bike at one of the fastest parts of the track forcing him to crash out. A visit to the medical centre at the track saw him leave Oulton Park with a broken thumb and in a cast.

David Allingham - "I can't believe my weekend, it really is the highs and lows of racing to go from winning one day to leaving the next with a cast on my arm. I made a mistake in first practice and crashed out, I hurt my thumb that day and I was feeling ok for the race on Saturday. I'm really pleased with the result in the Sprint race as not only did I win the Evo class but I gained 12th overall in the main race.

I was really fired up for Sunday and looking forward to racing here in the wet, warm up went really well and I was ready to race. I didn't even get to complete a lap; I found out that Sam (Coventry) had no front brake, so I was his brake into Island bend, the fastest part of the track. I went down hard and landed again on my thumb this time after an x-ray at the medical centre I found out I'd broken a bone. Now I'll be straight back to Ireland to find someone that can treat it and hopefully be back out at Cadwell, I just have to see what the hospital say now."



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