Dan Jones

Congratulations to Dan Jones on winning his first Honda NSF250 Cup Race

draperRACING BRANDS HATCH INDY

Brands Hatch kitty litter was visited by both of the draperRACING riders over the weekend with Aaron Clarke taken out of his race and not to be outdone Tommy Philp suffered the same fate in his race later in the day.

But it was not all bad news as Tommy showed his potential in the British Supersport Sprint race on Saturday when he came away with a points finish.

 Philp qualified in 17th place and started the 18 lap sprint race from a sixth row grid position on Saturday. He got away to a good start but had to take avoiding action on the first lap to avoid hitting a fallen rider. He lost a lot of ground and completed the first lap in 27th place. The course car halted his progress for a couple of laps and once it left the track Tommy lost a place to 28th.

He had just begun to make headway through to 25th when the race was red flagged because of rain. At the restart now to be run over 12 laps Tommy once again got away well and was up to 22nd on the first lap. Again there were riders falling ahead of him but this time he was able to run past without a problem and moved up to 17th one lap later. On lap three he was up into a point scoring position in 15th place and then to 14th but was pushed back a place when Joe Thompson passed him on the final lap.

Aaron Clarke was riding well and qualified his Kawasaki in 16th place to start the Superstock 600 race from the sixth row. His race was halted before it hardly began as there was a multiple crash at Druids on the first lap. The restarted race was to run over 18 laps but the Kirton rider was only able to complete three laps before he was involved in another rider's accident. The force of the crash sent his bike hurtling over the air fence and was only stopped from going into the crowd by the catch fence. On his way to the gravel trap Aaron was trapped under the bike but luckily they parted company once they hit the kitty litter. Aaron was taken to the medical centre with a very sore knee and ankle but apart from some bruising there were no broken bones.

The bike didn't fare so well, the front was badly bent in the crash and it will take a lot of work to get it repaired. It is unlikely that Aaron will be able to take part in the next round which takes place at Donington Park at the weekend as part of the support for the World Superbike championship.

Aaron said: "it was just a racing incident; the other rider involved in the crash was very apologetic! I was doing quite well and hopeful of a top 10 result today. But I didn't really get a chance to get going, I had got through to 11th and felt comfortable with the pace but then I was upended and that's the end of that. I really cannot see us being able to get the bike sorted before next weekend. It's only three days before we need to be there so my next race is looking like it will be at Knockhill."

Later in the day Tommy was out in the British Supersport Feature race which he started from the sixth row. As the lights went out he moved straight into 15th position and poised to make a move upfield when Matt Truelove crashed and took Tommy down with him. Although up and walking straight away Tommy was seen to hold his arm and was taken to the medical centre for a check. He has always had a problem with his arm dislocating and once again it has popped out of place. Not a major problem and he will be fit for the next round.

Podium but no joy for KMR Kawasaki

After a highly emotional and challenging week at the International North West 200 road races, Jeremy McWilliams lifted the spirits somewhat for the KMR Kawasaki team when he took third place in Saturday's Supertwin race. The team made a joint decision to contest the four-lap race after team owner Ryan Farquhar was seriously injured in a spill at Dhu Varren and as well as McWilliams, Darren James finished in a fine sixth and Danny Webb tenth.
However, there was further sadness at the Causeway Coast venue when the race was stopped after Malachi Mitchell-Thomas crashed, ironically at the same corner as Ryan, on the third lap. Tragically, the 20-year old, one of the sports brightest talents to emerge in recent years and who earlier this season had enjoyed some great battles with Ryan, succumbed to his injuries and everyone from KMR Kawasaki wishes to convey their deepest sympathy to Malachi's father Kevin, all his family and friends, and also to John Burrows and the Cookstown BE Racing team.
Ryan himself has now been moved out of intensive care with the Belfast Trust describing his condition as stable. Ryan's wife Karen would like to publicly thank everyone for all the support they have given her and their daughters, Keeley and Mya, since the accident, especially all of the team members, family and friends who have called or texted, and is extremely grateful and appreciative to everyone.
Jeremy McWilliams: "The decision to race on Saturday was taken with the aim of getting a podium finish for Ryan but, sadly, it's a hollow podium for us. I was one of the first riders to pass through the scene of the accident and although the race was stopped, we didn't know that Malachi had sadly passed away when we were called onto the podium; if I had I wouldn't have gone up. We're all absolutely devastated for Malachi's father, his family, John and Rachel Burrows and everyone connected with the team so our thoughts are all with them at this difficult time."
Darren James: "It's really tough to be happy or proud about my own results after this week with the crash of Ryan in race one and the terrible loss of a young superstar in Malachi Mitchell Thomas in race two. All my thoughts are with Malachi's family and friends and to wish Ryan a speedy recovery."
Danny Webb: "I was happy with how both races went from a personal point of view although I ran on in the second which dropped me back. As a newcomer, my first time at the North West 200 was good although it's obviously been overshadowed by the accidents. I hope Ryan gets well soon and want to thank him for all the hard work that he's put into the team."
Saturday's Supertwin race was won by Ivan Lintin from Martin Jessopp, the Yeovil rider having been just ahead of Mitchell Thomas at the time of the accident. As a result, Jeremy was awarded third place with Canadian rider James in sixth and Webb tenth thus ensuring all three SGS International/IEG/KMR Kawasaki's finished inside the top ten.

Lintin claims second win at North West 200

Ivan Lintin and the Devitt RC Express Racing team claimed their second win in three days at the International North West 200 with the Lincolnshire rider again taking the victory in the Supertwin race on Saturday, this time by the more emphatic margin of five seconds.

However, the win was sadly marred by an accident on the third lap which claimed the life of Malachi Mitchell-Thomas, the Chorley rider falling at Dhu Varren and sadly succumbing to his injuries.

Prior to the incident, it had been an action-packed day’s racing although Ivan’s first race, the Supersport 600, saw him forced to pull in after the warm-up lap when a stone holed his windscreen. He was also a retirement in the following Superstock race, pulling in on the fifth lap due to a problem with his rear tyre. Team-mate Alan Bonner fared better though and he took a fine 14th place having started from the first row of the second wave.

It was his turn to suffer misfortune next as he retired from the Superbike race on the opening lap, Ivan having sat out the race due to the meeting’s rule that a rider couldn’t start more than five races.

That meant Ivan was back out on the grid for the Supertwin race, scheduled for four laps and he signalled his intentions immediately, taking the lead the moment the lights turned green. Leading at York Corner, his advantage was up to 1.4s at the end of the lap and second time around he upped his pace courtesy of a new lap record. He went quicker still on lap three at 109.304mph with his lead over second placed Martin Jessopp now five seconds.

The red flag came out soon after due to the tragic incident and the remainder of the meeting was subsequently cancelled.

Ivan Lintin: “We made some changes to the Twin after Thursday’s race and I was pleased that we’d gone the right way. My race plan was to try and make the break from the pack and pull away which worked perfectly whilst I was also pleased to set a new lap record, especially as I did it all on my own and without the aid of any slipstream. However, my win has been overshadowed by the sad loss of Malachi so my thoughts go out to his friends and family.”

“In my other races, little things held me back and prevented me from getting any other finishes but I’m pleased with the bikes and have made good progress on all of them, especially the Superstock bike, which I feel really comfortable with. I’m heading to the TT in a good frame of mind and confident of some good results.”

Alan Bonner: “I was quite a way down the grid for the Superstock race, in 25th place and the new BMW’s and Kawasakis are rocketships but I was pleased with my riding and to end up 14th was pleasing. Unfortunately, the clutch went on the first lap of the Superbike race and I had to pull in but it was just one of those things. Thanks to the entire Devitt RC Express Racing team and all my personal sponsors whilst my thoughts are with the family and friends of Malachi at this sad time.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “We’ve taken two wins this week which we’re naturally happy about but we’re deflated by the events of today and Thursday with the passing of Malachi and the injuries to Ryan (Farquhar) and our thoughts are with their friends and family at this difficult time.”

“On the racing side of things, we’ve made good progress with all the bikes and both riders are a lot happier now that they’ve got some high-speed racing under their belts. We’ve had a few issues along the way, which have prevented us from getting some stronger results but the team have all worked mega hard and I couldn’t be happier with how they’ve all performed. We can go into the TT now in confident mood and are looking forward to it getting underway.”

Lintin and Devitt RC Express Racing claim maiden North West 200 win

Ivan Lintin and the Devitt RC Express Racing team claimed their maiden win at the International North West 200 on Thursday evening when the Lincolnshire rider took victory in the Supertwin race.

Victory meant that Lintin completed the set of wins in the class at the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix although the celebrations were muted after an incident involving Ryan Farquhar and Dan Cooper on the third lap left class specialist Farquhar with serious injuries.

The duo, along with Ivan and James Hillier, had been locked in battle at the head of the field from the very beginning of the race until the incident occurred on the third lap. Farquhar crashed at Dhu Varren with Cooper also going down and the race was ultimately stopped on the fourth lap. By that time, Ivan had nosed ahead of Hillier and the result stood with both Farquhar and Cooper being taken to hospital.

Earlier on the Thursday evening, Ivan had taken a solid 15th place in the opening Supersport race, the first event on the race programme whilst he’d also been busy during the morning’s qualifying sessions. Concentrating on riding the 2016 Superstock Kawasaki ZX-10R, the Bardney rider lapped at 117.309mph to qualify in 15th place for the two Superstock races whilst his best time in the Superbike sessions, 116.984mph, will see him start Saturday’s races from 19th place.

Team-mate Alan Bonner, meanwhile, experienced braking problems during Tuesday’s qualifying sessions, managing only a handful of laps, but he bounced back on Thursday to qualify in 25th place for the Superstock class and 27th for the Superbikes, his best lap on the day being 115.536mph. He was also experiencing the high-speed 8.9-mile circuit for the first time on a full blown Superbike-spec machine but continually improved with each and every lap.

Ivan Lintin: “It’s been a good day overall and whilst I’m pleased to take my first North West 200 win, I naturally would have liked it to have been under different circumstances and I wish Ryan a speedy recovery. In the race itself, I had to make up a lot of time on the brakes and whilst we have a new, improved Supertwin this year, the opposition have certainly upped their game too. It was tough going and I made a couple of mistakes changing gears but managed to close the gap back up to the leaders. Everything was happening very quickly but I was awarded the win so I’ll look for more of the same on Saturday.”

“It’s been nice to get some good, dry mileage under my belt this week and get more and more dialled in with the Superstock bike whilst the 600cc race was pretty lonely. I lost the draft to the riders ahead and after that just concentrated on bringing the bike home.”

Alan Bonner: “Qualifying’s been pretty tough and losing a lot of time on Tuesday has put me on the back foot a bit. It’s also been my first time on the Superbike but I’m really enjoying it and have been concentrating on getting a feel for it before the TT. I feel like I’ve been making good progress and was a lot happier after Thursday’s session whilst the Superstock bike has been really good. I’m a bit down on speed to the 2016 Kawasaki but I should be fit for some good results come race day.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-Owner: “So far, so good and we’re pretty happy with how the week’s been going. The Twin race was shaping up to be a cracker and although it’s not the way we would have liked to have taken the win, we’re happy to have done so although our thoughts are naturally with Ryan and Dan. Ivan lost the tow in the 600cc race and once that happens around here, it’s almost impossible to get back but it was a good, solid result. He’s also been performing as we would have liked on the Superstock bike so Saturday should be a good day.”

“Alan’s had a few issues and it’s his first time on the Superbike having only ridden it previously at Cartagena. Doing 200mph along the straights here is obviously a bit different but he’s been chipping away and we’re hopeful that he’ll put in some strong rides come race day.’

Lintin and Devitt RC Express end 2016 TT with top ten finish

Ivan Lintin and the Devitt RC Express Racing team concluded their campaign at the 2016 Isle of Man TT races in fine style on Friday afternoon with an excellent tenth place in the Senior TT.

Mist on the island led to the race being delayed by over three hours, eventually getting underway at 3.45pm, but when it did, the Lincolnshire rider set off at an excellent pace and with his opening lap being 127.909mph, he slotted into 14th place.

Another 127mph lap second time around enabled Ivan to hold onto 14th place but a rapid pit stop saw him jump up three places to 11th at half race distance. A new personal best lap of the Mountain Course on the fourth lap, 127.948mph, meant he still lay in 11th place but with Steve Mercer being forced to retire, he was promoted up the order to tenth with two laps to go and he successfully saw out the race to claim a superb top ten finish.

Team-mate Alan Bonner was also back in action and with a lap in excess of 125mph, he slotted into 22nd place at the end of the first lap. This was where he stayed until lap three when he moved up three places to 19th but all hopes of a top 15 finish ended on the fifth lap when he missed his braking marker at the Creg ny Baa and crashed out at little more than 10mph, fortunately without injury.

Ivan Lintin: “I’ve got to be happy with a top ten finish in the Senior TT! I didn’t quite lap as fast as I would have liked but still set a new personal best and was consistently in the 127mph bracket so it’s a good way to end this year’s TT. I had a pretty steady race and could see Steve and Martin Jessopp in front of me, eventually getting by Martin and the team did a mega job in the pits again. I can’t fault the week and obviously the Lightweight win was the highlight but I’ve been happy with all my rides and results.”

Alan Bonner: “It’s been one of those TT’s for me and lady luck’s just not been on our side but fair play to the whole Devitt RC Express Racing team, they’ve done everything they could for me this fortnight. The bike was getting better all the time and even at the pits we made some changes which helped even more but I was a bit lazy on the brakes going into the Creg and ended up hitting the bales at about 10mph and toppling over. It hasn’t been my TT but well done to Ivan and thanks again to the whole team and my personal sponsors for making it all possible.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “We’re chuffed to bits with Ivan’s top ten finish and it’s rounded off a good week for him and the team. He set a new personal best lap and when you look at the names of the riders who finished ahead of him, he’s in some illustrious company. The team did a great job in the pits with both Ivan and Alan and it’s just a shame Alan had his little off as a top 15 finish was within his grasp. Luck’s been against him this week but he’ll bounce back stronger. It’s been a massive team effort this fortnight and I can’t thank the boys enough for all their hard work.”

Reeves takes sixth TT podium

Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance made up for the disappointment of retiring from last Saturday's opening Sidecar race at the Isle of Man TT races by claiming third in Friday's second three-lap encounter. It was the Kent driver's sixth TT podium.

Swirling sea mist caused the race to be delayed by over three hours but it finally got underway at 1.30pm and at Glen Helen on the opening lap, the F13K Cancer/Klaffi Honda duo lay in fourth place, just two seconds adrift of race leaders Dave Molyneux/Daniel Sayle. As the lap progressed though, the gaps began to grow and an opening lap of 114.772mph saw Tim and Patrick maintain fourth place but now almost 15s behind Molyneux/Sayle.

A quicker lap second time around of 114.317mph saw Tim and Patrick continue to hold onto their fourth place and whilst a podium position looked out of reach, they were over ten seconds clear of Ian and Carl Bell. However, a quarter of a way into the third and final lap, Molyneux and Sayle retired and that promoted Tim up to a comfortable third place behind race winners Ben and Tom Birchall and John Holden/Andy Winkle. It was Tim's sixth TT podium and Patrick's eighth.

Sadly, the race was overshadowed by a final lap incident at Ballaspur involving the Bells which saw Ian lose his life and everyone from Tim Reeves Racing passes on their deepest condolences to all of Ian's family and friends.

Tim Reeves: "It's good to be back on the podium and although I'm not one for excuses, we have a few things to sort out but with Klaus' continued support we'll starting making plans for 2017. We've had a lot of disappointment this fortnight so I'm glad to have taken another TT rostrum and well done to Ben and Tom and John and Andy. We didn't quite have the speed this year but we know what we need to do so will be back for the top step next year - I don't want to finish third again! A massive thanks to all our sponsors for their continued support."

"After the race, we heard of Ian's accident and it's shocked and saddened us all. Ian was a superb competitor, one of the fairest on the track and one of the good guys off it, and someone who I had tremendous battles with so it's a terrible end to the fortnight and on behalf of the team, I'd like to extend our heartfelt sympathy to the entire Bell family."

Strong Scarborough meeting for Devitt RC Express Racing

Fresh from their highly successful campaign at the Isle of Man TT races, the Devitt RC Express Racing team were back in action at the weekend with both Ivan Lintin and Alan Bonner contesting the Cock o’ the North meeting at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough – and it proved to be another strong meeting for the duo as they both scored some impressive results, the highlight being Lintin’s two wins in the Supertwin class.

With good conditions for the majority of the weekend at the North Yorkshire venue, Lintin dominated both Supertwin races, winning Saturday’s encounter by an impressive 30 seconds, his fastest lap being some six seconds quicker than the second placed rider James Cowton. He repeated the victory on Sunday, his winning margin on this occasion 15.5s.

He was also out in the 1000cc races, again riding the Kawasaki ZX-10R machine and he took no less than five second place finishes behind the unstoppable Dean Harrison. On each occasion, Ivan was comfortably the second quickest rider and, as well as the feature Cock o’ the North race, he took the runners up spot in the two Open and two Senior races.

Team-mate Bonner was making his third appearance around the 2.43-mile circuit and he got quicker and quicker with each and every outing. Having claimed fifth and sixth on Saturday, he took seventh in Sunday’s Open race before saving the best until last with a brace of fourths in the Senior and feature Cock o’ the North race. He also recorded his best ever lap in the final race of the weekend with a time of 1m48.639s.

Unfortunately, a machine problem kept Ivan out of the two Supersport 600cc races.

Ivan Lintin: "You can't fault Dean at the moment, he's on fire, but I didn't quailify well which didn't help me. Starting from the second row in four of the five races meant that by the time I'd worked my way up to second, he'd gone - and when I did start from the front row in the Cock o' the North race, I fluffed the start and ended up about sixth on the first lap! The Kawasaki ZX-10R was flying though and to set my fastest ever lap on a Kawasaki at Scarborough bodes well for the Gold Cup later in the year. The little Twin was flying and it hadn't been touched since the TT so we wheeled it out, complete with the flies on it, and took it to two wins so, overall, a good weekend."

Alan Bonner: "It was a really positive weekend for me at Scarborough with the Devitt RC Express Racing team as it was only my second proper outing at Oliver's Mount with the first one being hit by bad weather. I made good progress over the weekend, getting faster in each race and it was very pleasing to get fourth in the feature Cock o' the North race. I put in some good lap times too so I've got to be pleased. I'm really looking forward now to getting out on the Kawasaki ZX-10R at one of my local races in Ireland, the Skerries 100, and then on to the Southern 100. I've got to say big thanks to the Devitt RC Express Racing team and all of my personal sponsors for putting such a great package underneath me this year."

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “Dean’s proving to be unstoppable around Scarborough at the moment but we’ve got be happy with how our weekend went with finishes in all of the races we started. Unfortunately, the 600cc bike expired whilst we were warming it up on Saturday – so we did well to finish the TT – but, apart from that, it was a very smooth two days of racing.”

“Ivan’s got the Twin really dialled in now and is flying on that whilst he did everything he could in the 1000cc races. He set his own personal best lap on a Kawasaki around Oliver’s Mount whilst Alan was on it all weekend. The more laps he does, the more he gets to grips with the circuit and the key for him is that he’s enjoying it now too. We know he’s a fast rider and he doesn’t have to impress anyone; we all know what he can do and we saw that in his results.”

New rider for Superstock 1000

We are very pleased to announce that former Grand Prix winner Jeremy McWilliams is our new rider onboard the Aprilia RSV4RF in the BSB Superstock 1000 class. We are obviously really disappointed to be in the situation to have to recruit another rider to replace Ben but we are absolutely delighted that Jeremy has agreed to join our team until Ben is back to full fitness. Jeremy has a wealth of experience and will be a real asset to our team, we can't wait to start working with him!! Below is a picture of Jeremy onboard an Aprilia back in 2001 (picture credit Gold and Goose Photography) McWilliams said: “I’m delighted to be standing in for Ben until he has fully recovered. It will be my first time back at a BSB round since I competed in the Harley-Davidson series in 2010 and I expect very tough opposition. It will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to testing with the team and going forward from there.”

RACE REPORT - ROUND FIVE - SNETTERTON

This weekend saw us at Snetterton in Norfolk and we were back to four riders, David, Ross and Sam in the Dickies British Supersport and Jeremy McWilliams on the Aprilia in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 class. We are absolutely delighted to say that we achieved our first podium of the 2016 season!!! David finished 3rd in the Supersport sprint race on Saturday afternoon, which is really fantastic and we hope it is the first of many more podiums to come for our team. It was a great weekend all round for David as he qualified 8th and 5th for each of the races, then obviously his 3rd on Saturday and a 6th in the feature race on Sunday. This has really helped his Championship as he has now moved up to 7th. Ross had a mixed weekend he didn’t have a great qualifying session which saw him start the sprint race in 17th but he rode really well to come through to finish 7th and with a good lap time in that race he started Sundays race from 6th on the grid but unfortunately he crashed out of the race after 7 laps, having a knock on effect to his championship dropping him to 11th.

Sam had his best weekend of the season, he started Saturdays race from 28th on the grid after a crash in his qualifying session but rode great to finish 16th, putting in a good lap time during the race moved him up to 15th for the start of Sundays race, Sam kept things consistent finishing another 16th just missing out on championship points by one position.

It was Jeremy’s first BSB race with us and having very little bike time prior to this weekend we knew we were going to be on the back foot against our competitors regarding bike set-up. We feel our wet weather set-up was better than our dry weather set-up and this certainly showed in qualifying when during the dry session on Friday Jeremy finished 22nd but in the wet session on Saturday he was 4th quickest. With the times on Friday being quicker it was 22nd on the grid that Jeremy had to start Sundays race. He made a good start in the race moving up as far as 14th but after five laps another rider clipped Jeremy’s handlebar causing him to crash out which was a disappointing end to an otherwise positive progressive weekend, we look forward to progressing more in the next round at Thruxton in two weeks time.

After our first podium of the season I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the team for their hard work in making this podium possible and also our sponsors for their valuable input, it really is very much appreciated!!

David Allingham - “Great weekend at Snetterton. The team worked excellent as always to get me my first podium, I knew myself and the bike were strong enough to battle inside the top five this weeeknd. I’m feeling so happy and I would like to thank all my sponsors, my Dad, Gail, Adrian, Ruairi and Colin and the rest of the team aswell as all my supporters, couldn’t do it without you all, lets keep it rolling for Thruxton!”

Ross Twyman - “This weekend at Snetterton started good with us being competitive in both free practice sessions. Qualifying didn't go to plan as I had pulled into the pits to make a change early on so I missed putting in a good lap at the start of the session before the rain became very heavy, I ended up 17th with a lot of work to do in the sprint race. I got a decent start and within a few laps I was inside the top 10. I managed to get through to 7th which I was pretty pleased with and my lap time put me 6th on the grid for the feature race. Today I got a good start and managed to stay on the back of the front group, I felt really comfortable and knew I had more in the bag but then with 7 laps to go I tucked the front at turn 2! Sorry to the team once again! I will continue to work hard and repay them with a good result! Just want to say a massive thanks to the whole team for their belief in me! Big thanks my personal sponsors too, roll on Thruxton! ”

Sam Wilford - “Good solid weekend at Snetterton. Despite a small off in qualifying we managed to pull back two 16th place finishes. It’s nice to have a good weekend to build our confidence for upcoming races! I would like to say a big thanks to the whole team and especially my mechanic Dave! Also thanks to my personal sponsors IDWE, Nitro and 151s.”

Jeremy McWilliams - “I was looking forward to getting back on to an Aprilia and to get racing back in the BSB paddock but I knew it was going to be difficult and set-up was going to be a challenge with so little bike time. We have made good progress especially with our wet weather set-up but dry weather is heading in the right direction too so I’m looking forward to the next round to progress more. Today I was unlucky in the race to have another rider hit my handle bar and cause me to crash I would really have liked to have got a finish. Thanks to the team for their hard work in getting me out there and also to my personal sponsors.”

Strong Southern 100 meeting for Devitt RC Express Racing

The Devitt RC Express Racing Kawasaki team returned to the Isle of Man this week for the annual Southern 100 road races and it proved to be a highly successful meeting for the Bristol-based team with Ivan Lintin taking six podiums from seven starts, including two wins, and Alan Bonner securing two newcomer's awards in his two finishes.

However, the latter was an innocent victim of another rider's error in Thursday's Senior race and unfortunately crashed out suffering a broken wrist and hand.

Aside from the incident. the two team-mates had been in the thick of the action, which commenced on Tuesday evening with the Senior race. The initial race was red flagged after Dean Harrison crashed out, fortunately without injury, but when it was restarted, Ivan took an excellent second place behind Michael Dunlop with Alan an equally excellent sixth on his circuit debut.

Moving onto Wednesday and it was a lot busier night for Ivan with three races in store, the evening also being a lot busier for the team as rain fell making tyre choice difficult. In the opening Senior race, Ivan had to settle for third on this occasion behind Dunlop and Dan Kneen whilst Alan took ninth, a few changes to the bike not working out as he'd hoped although he was again comfortably the first newcomer to finish. Ivan then took a dominant win in the Supertwins race before enjoying a race long battle with Harrison in the Supersport 600cc race. A last corner overtaking maneouvre looked like it had given Ivan the win but Harrison outdragged him to the line and won by the miniscule margin of 0.037s.

Thursday saw perfect weather conditions on the island and all round the 4.25-mile course but in the opening Senior race, Alan crashed out after a rider in front of him missed a gear leaving him nowhere to go. The race was stopped as Alan was attended to, eventually being taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with the aforementioned broken arm and wrist.

That meant Ivan's first race of the day was the Supersport race but on the first lap he overshot a corner and dropped all the way outside the top 15. However, lapping at a similar pace to race winner Harrison, he tore through the field to finish an excellent fourth and then went back out on track for the Supertwins race where he took yet another win. That just left the feature Southern 100 Solo Championship and although Dunlop proved unstoppable, Ivan took an exellent third place behind Harrison and with it recorded his best ever lap of the circuit at 111.980mph.

The team also had another Superstock bike out at the meeting with Jamie Coward on board and the Yorkshire rider had a great week, taking fourth and fifth in his two finishes, also lapping at a best ever 111.007mph.

Ivan Lintin: "I can't fault the week at all and to come away with six podiums from seven starts and three fastest laps is excellent - if I'd have been offered that at the beginning of the week, I'd certainly have took it. It was my own error that prevented it being seven podiums but I just got into Cross Four Ways a bit deep and had to run on. Michael was on fire in the big bike races and none of us could get near him but I was pleased with my riding and to set my best ever lap was also pleasing. The Twin races were relatively straightforward and my plan of getting to the front early on and controlling the race from there worked out on both occasions. Like I say, it's been a brilliant week and another great Southern 100 meeting."

Alan Bonner: "I'm absolutely gutted the week ended how it did as I was having such a great time. I loved the circuit and was pleased with my results, especially the opening night when I took sixth and lapped at almost 110mph. We changed a few things on the bike for Wednesday's race which didn't quite work but we changed things again for Thursday and straightaway it felt better. I was looking forward to a strong ride but, unfortunately, a rider in front of me missed a gear coming out of Cross Four Ways and I ploughed into the back of him at about 70-80mph, slamming into the ground. My injuries could have been a lot worse but I'm just gutted not just for myself but also the team who've given me so much support this season. Hopefully, I'll heal quickly and be back on the bike as soon as possible."

Ben Constable, Team Owner: "It's been a mint week here at the Southern 100 and in the very first race, we took second, fourth and sixth place finishes which set the tone for the rest of the week. Ivan's a different rider this year to last and he rode brilliantly in all of his races, especially the 600 which surprised us a little bit not because of Ivan but because of how well the bike performed. It was the best it had been all year and that bodes well for the Ulster GP and Scarborough Gold Cup. He set his best ever laps on the big bikes to get some great results behind Michael and Dean and he had two great rides on the Twin so we couldn't be happier with his set of results."

"Alan was making his debut here at what's recognised a tricky circuit but to get sixth first time out on Tuesday and lap at the speeds he did was mega. He loved the circuit and was impressing everyone so it's a real shame what happened on Thursday. It was a racing incident but no fault at all of Alan's and we're all gutted for him that he's injured. Obviously it could have been a lot worse but it's cruel luck for him and whilst we don't know at this stage how long he'll be out for, the bikes will all be ready for him at the Ulster next month."

Reeves and Farrance take Southern 100 Championship

Reeves and Farrance take Southern 100 Championship For the second successive year, Tim Reeves took victory in the Southern 100 Sidecar Championship and, together with Patrick Farrance, set a new outright lap record on Thursday afternoon of 100.749mph around the challenging Billown circuit.

The Team Klaffi Honda/F13K Cancer duo were part of a superb four-way battle for the lead with fellow World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall, John Holden/Andy Winkle and Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle and although the latter retired at the end of lap three, the remaining three crews fought for supremacy.

It was Tim and Patrick who led initially as less than a second covered the quartet in the opening laps but when Molyneux dropped out, they, along with the Birchalls edged away slightly. The Nottinghamshire brothers took over at the head of the field on lap three and on lap six history was made as the first ever 100mph lap was recorded by a sidecar outfit around the 4.25-mile course.

Birchall lapped at 100.682 and Holden at 100.179 but it was Tim and Patrick who were quickest at 100.749mph to claim the new lap record. It put them nose to tail with the Birchalls and when they drifted wide fractionally at Ballakeighan at the start of the final lap, Tim seized his opportunity. With better drive out of the corner, he nosed ahead going into Iron Gate and eventually took the win by just over a second to clinch his third, and Patrick's first, Southern 100 Championship.

To crown a perfect week, Tim and Patrick had also won the previous nights Sidecar race, which was held in tricky, damp conditions. The duo made the perfect start and led the pack at the end of the first lap. The Birchalls slotted into second with Holden/Winkle third as Molyneux made his way through from a bad start. The Manxman moved up to second as the quartet again fought tooth and nail despite the inclement weather. However, a red flag on the fifth lap brought an early end to proceedings thus denying the crowd a grandstand finish. It was delight for Tim and Patrick though as they were awarded the win.

Tim Reeves: "What can I say, it's been a brilliant week at the Southern 100 and to win two races and retain the Championship title is superb - I'm absolutely over the moon. The Championship race on Thursday was probably the best race I've had in my life too as it was nip and tuck the whole way. Ben was driving fantastically well and it was good to have two good, close battles with him this week."

"He knew I was right with him in the Championship race but he was very strong into the first corner so that made me have to work hard to try and pass him. He was really on it but on the last lap he drifted slightly wide so I took my chance and got the drive out of the corner all way down to Iron Gate where I finally got by. Patrick hasn't been here for a long time but it was like he'd never been away so we can't fault the week at all. It's been strange though not battling with Ian Bell and I'd like to dedicate the win to him, he's sadly missed."

RACE REPORT - ROUND SIX - THRUXTON

Another good weekend for all the EHA Racing boys at Thruxton circuit near Andover in Hampshire. The result of the weekend has to go to Sam for his 10th place finish in todays feature race. Sam has consistently been getting better and better and gaining confidence every round, all weekend he looked good and after a 17th in Saturdays race it was a great improvement to come away with a 10th today and his first championship points of the season. David again had a very strong weekend getting an 8th yesterday and a 6th today, his consistency now sees him in a credible 6th in the overall Championship Standings.

Although it was reported in all our social media reports that David had a 7th in the race today there were two riders disqualified in an after race inspection enabling David to move up the rankings to 6th and Sam and Ross gaining two positions.

Ross was left feeling a little disappointed with his results of 10th yesterday and 11th today, although they are decent results he knew he was capable of higher finishes but just struggled with getting the lap times he needed for a good starting position, which always left him a lot of work to do but he needs to look at the positives we finished both races and he rode hard having to make a lot of passes to get up the field for the results he achieved.

Jeremy’s weekends are difficult at the moment because he is trying to get a bike set-up for himself with such little track time. The team are trying out lots of different things and sometimes we head in the right direction and sometimes not but we will keep trying and we know we will get the solutions we are looking for.

Sam Wilford - “Great weekend at Thruxton! I haven’t ridden there before so was a step behind everyone else having to learn the track in free practice. We improved up the field in every session and I was happy enough with 17th in race one knowing I had a lot more left for race two. Then I finally got my first ever points and also a top ten finish in my first year on a 600 which I am over the moon with especially after my injuries! I would like to thank the whole EHA Racing team for their hard work and my personal sponsors IDWE, Nitro and 151’s!!”

David Allingham - “I rode hard today but felt that luck wasn't on my side, every time I made progress in the race I seemed to get pushed wide or made a small mistake which allowed the riders I already passed back though, all in all I gave it my best and I will be back stronger more focused and ready for Brands Hatch! Big thanks to my team as usual my dad, Gail, Adrian, Ruairi, my girlfriend and all my sponsors. I’m getting more confident every round and I will always give it 100%.”

Ross Tywman - “This weekend at Thruxton I felt good on the bike from the off, we were working a lot on set-up and I felt confident going into qualifying however I didn’t seem to put in a good enough lap time causing me to start in 16th place with a lot of work to do. In the sprint race I got a bit bogged down in the first few laps and couldn't make any progress but then I managed to get passing and moved forward although I finished 10th unfortunately I had used my tyre so yet again I didn’t put in a good lap time so was going to be starting 21st on the grid in Sundays race! With even more work to do I managed to come through to 15th in lap one but had lost the tow to the front 10 so ended up in a battle for 11th, I was struggling with rear grip so finished 13th (later promoted to 11th) which I am disappointed with but we will be back much stronger for Brands Hatch, sorry to the team as they work so so hard to get me to the front and couldn’t do it without everyone at EHA Racing and my personal sponsors. Roll on Brands!”

Jeremy McWilliams - “Initially we made progress agin this weekend at Thruxton, understanding areas that we need to improve in, unfortunately the track time is very limited and we would have benefited from more time on the Aprilia. We started Sunday confident that we would at worst score points for EHA Racing, even from a poor starting position. I started well but by mid race something happened and we lost stability and momentum, it was a struggle and I’m disappointed for everyone involved.”