Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round Five: Knockhill

Filip Backlund finished fifth and his team-mate Victor Cox claimed the last top 15 place in the latest round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Knockhill on Sunday.

Once again, due to the large number of riders battling for a place on the grid, free practice and qualifying saw the riders split into two groups with Victor the first to take to the track. Settling back in after the three week break, Cox finished third in his group and riding strongly in all three sectors.
Paying his first visit to the Fife circuit, Filip also rode well to finish fifth in his group, just 0.31s quicker than his team-mate, and good enough for 7th overall.

First qualifying saw Cox go slightly quicker to finish sixth in his group as Backlund again challenged for top spot in his group. Quickest through the finish line speed trap and fastest in the third sector, he also posted a slightly improved time to finish second in the group and was now fourth quickest in the combined standings. Victor meanwhile was 16th but less than a second off the pace.

Hopes of a further improvement for both riders and a chance for the team to try some different settings in the second qualifying session were dashed however when the infamous Knockhill weather intervened. Spots of rain were reported around the circuit during the preceding Superstock 600 session and by the time the larger bikes were due on track the rain had become more persistent. The organisers announced that the Method B system of qualifying would come into effect with alternate positions from each group in the first session determining the final grid placings. This meant that Filip would start on the front row in third whilst Victor moved up four places to the fourth row in 12th. With little to be achieved on the wet circuit, Victor and Filip took no part in the session.

The early morning dampness that blighted the warm-up session thankfully gave way to drier conditions for the race and it was Backlund, who got a great start as he slotted into second behind race leader Tristan Palmer at the end of the opening lap, just ahead of championship pace-setters Adam Jenkinson and Joe Burns with Cox up one place to eleventh just behind Simon Andrews.

On the second lap it was still Palmer from Backlund, Jenkinson and Burns with Hudson Kennaugh also in the hunt. On the next circuit Jenkinson got ahead of Filip but there was nothing in it as Victor moved up to 10th and a lap later Filip found himself in fifth as Burns and Kennaugh moved up the placings. These five were starting to gradually move clear as further back Victor was now embroiled in a five rider scrap on the tight twisty circuit.

With six laps completed Backlund was now on his own in fifth and well clear of sixth place man Peter Ward, as Cox battled on in what was fast becoming a congested race for a place in the top ten. At half distance the race pattern had been firmly established as Palmer still led by a now reduced margin from Burns, Jenkinson and Kennaugh with Backlund still well clear in fifth, just under a second off fourth. Cox was now 12th and starting to drop back, hampered by suspected bent fork yolks, a legacy of his big crash at Donington Park in the previous round which had involved an overnight rebuild.

With seven laps to go the race was red flagged due to a bike being in a dangerous place on the track at the hairpin and, with over two-thirds of the race completed, a result was declared leaving Filip in fifth and Victor taking the last championship point in 15th.

The result keeps Filip third in the championship, (level on points with Hudson Kennaugh) with Victor in fifth.


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Reeves brothers continue SMT's success as Jenkinson maintains title lead



Fresh from their Isle of Man TT Races campaign, SMT Racing’s successful 2013 season continued at Knockhill at the weekend with Tim and Tristan Reeves winning both of the British F1 Sidecar Championship races to extend their title lead and Adam Jenkinson finishing fourth in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship to do similar.
Heavy rain saw Saturday’s Sidecar race postponed due to large amounts of standing water around the 1.27-mile circuit but conditions were far more favourable on Sunday morning and a perfect start saw Tim and Tristan grab the holeshot from Sean Hegarty/Calum Lawson. The Kent duo promptly pulled away from the rest of the field and for much of the race there was only half a second between them. However, Tim was just biding his time and towards the end of the 10-lap race, he edged clear to run out victor by 2.126s.

It was a similar story in the second, longer race later in the day where the siblings again took the lead at the first corner. Holding a slender advantage over the same Hegarty/Lawson combination in the early stages, they upped the pace in the second half of the race and, aided by a fastest lap of 52.076s, they ran out comfortable winners by three and a half seconds to complete their third double of the season and maintain their 100% winning record from the six races contested.
For Knutsford’s Jenkinson, his qualifying sessions were held in both wet and dry conditions and on the combined times he lined up in fourth and on the second row of the grid. With Tristan Palmer leading the race from start to finish, all eyes fell on the battle for second and Adam was involved from the outset. Battling with Joe Burns, Hudson Kennaugh and Filip Backlund, Adam held second place in the early stages but found himself back in fourth when the race was red flagged at two thirds race distance. With Burns claiming second, it means his title lead has been cut to 14 points but he still leads the way on 91 points to Burns’ 77.

Speaking later, team owner Robin Croft said; “After our TT exploits, it was good to see Tim bounce back from his second race retirement there with a double victory this weekend. It was business as usual for him and Tristan and a double victory was the perfect tonic and extended their title lead so we’re delighted with how the season’s going.”
“Adam did as well as expected and with quite a few of the other riders having previously tested at Knockhill we were up against it a bit and ultimately paid the price. Having said that, fourth certainly isn’t the end of the world and it’s another good, solid result that keeps Adam in the championship lead. Had the red flag not come out we may have sneaked onto the podium but we’ll never know so we’ll come back fighting on all cylinders at Snetterton.”



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Successful TT campaign for KMR Kawasaki

The KMR Kawasaki with Vauxhall (Northern Ireland dealers) team recently returned from a highly successful campaign at the 2013 Isle of Man TT Races, with all team members scoring some excellent results. Highlights included the Lightweight TT race, where Conor Cummins, Jamie Hamilton and Michael Rutter, took third, fifth and sixth places on the 650cc ER6 Kawasakis, as well as the two Supersport races where Hamilton recorded two excellent 12th place finishes.
 
The 3-lap Lightweight race was always the one where the team had their highest hopes with Rutter, Cummins, Hamilton and newcomer Gavin Hunt all mounted on the red, black and white machines. Despite never having seen the bike before practice week, Cummins excelled and a final lap of 117.791mph saw the local hero claim the final podium spot by just 4.2s. Hamilton and Rutter also lapped in excess of 117mph and were only a handful of seconds further back in fifth and sixth whilst Manxman Hunt put in a mature ride to finish in 14th place thus ensuring all four bikes finished inside the top 15, an excellent achievement indeed.
 
Ballyclare's Hamilton was having just his second outing at the TT but it didn't show as he took 12th place in both of the highly competitive 4-lap Supersport races winning two silver replicas and lapping at an excellent 122.358mph on board the ZX-6R Kawasaki. The 22-year old was also in fine form in the 1000cc capacity races, taking a best finish of 16th in the Superbike race where he not only won a bronze replica but also posted a best ever lap of the Mountain Course at 123.986mph.
 
For Brian McCormack, practice week didn't quite go to plan as he tipped off at Laurel Bank during Friday evening's penultimate session but he regrouped in time for Sunday's 6-lap Superbike race to finish in a fine 19th place, winning a bronze replica in the process on the Kawasaki ZX-10R. A day later he improved his result to 17th in the 4-lap Superstock race, adding another bronze replica to his collection, and he duly completed his hat-trick with a career-best 16th in the Senior, where he also lapped at a new personal best of 123.689mph.

The team ended their fortnight with a trip to the Billown course in the south of the island for the Post-TT meeting and Hamilton took a brace of seconds in the Supersport and Lightweight races with James Cowton and Joe Faragher taking fourth and ninth respectively in the latter.
 
Speaking upon his return to Northern Ireland, team owner Ryan Farquhar said; "It's been a good fortnight for the team and I'm really pleased with all of the lads' efforts and results, especially Jamie in his second year at the TT. He rode fantastically well in all of his races, getting some great results and increasing his lap speeds and if it wasn't for a couple of wee problems in the Superstock and Senior races it could have been better still. Brian had a small spill in practice but he bounced back well and with three top 20 finishes, three bronze replicas and a new personal best lap, it was a strong week for him and one he should be pleased with."

 
"The Lightweight race was the one where he had our highest hopes and although the bikes were down a bit on top speed - a problem we've since traced - it was really pleasing to see Conor, Jamie and Michael all finish inside the top six and lap in excess of 117mph. Gavin also did a great job in his first year at the TT and I thoroughly enjoyed working with all of them so I'd love to go back in 2014 with the same riders on the bikes. The race was a great advert for the class and it's very encouraging to see some top class riders and talent emerging. I've said all along it's not all about KMR and we want to see other teams and riders coming to the fore and we saw exactly that at the TT. Mechanical know-how, rather than budget, plays a huge part in the class so I take my hat off to the likes of Dean Harrison and Stewart Smith Racing and Ivan Lintin for their results."
 
"I'd also like to congratulate James Hillier and the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team not just on their win in the Lightweight race but also their results all week as they did a great job. It was fantastic to see a Kawasaki team running at the front in all of the races and they deserved all the plaudits they received."

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Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round Six: Snetterton 300

Filip Backlund kept his championship challenge on track with a battling fifth place finish in the sixth round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at a sun-kissed Snetterton 300 circuit on Sunday. His team-mate Victor Cox claimed 14th place and two championship points to maintain his fifth place the championship.

Free practice saw Cox in 9th position as Backlund spent virtually the whole session in the pits with an oil leak on his Ninja ZX-10R and thus unable to put in a fast lap. The team as always sorted the problem to ensure that Filip's bike would be ready for the first qualifying session later in the day and also made a few small suspension changes to both rider's bikes.

The changes paid off with Victor going over half a second quicker and third fastest through the first sector speed trap, as Filip put down his first marker of the weekend to lap just under half a second slower than his team-mate to finish 13th quickest. Fastest through the Sector 1 speed trap, the second session however saw Cox lap slower to finish the session down in 20th place as Backlund improved by over half a second to post the 9th fastest time in the session.
All this meant that Filip would start the race from the third row of the grid with Victor just behind him on the fourth row.

With the temperatures already well into the 20's and the track temperature reaching 40°C for the morning warm-up session, the race was going to be a challenging one for the riders and this was the case as temperatures soared considerably at the Norfolk circuit as the day went on.

At the end of the opening lap of 14, Filip was up to eighth with Victor getting a slow start and finding himself down in 16th place and on the next lap both riders dropped one place to cross the line in 9th and 17th respectively. On the next lap Josh Day crashed out without injury as the safety car came out.

As the race resumed in earnest on the seventh lap, Dan Stewart found himself black flagged for failing to take a time penalty whilst at the front it was Adam Jenkinson from Tristan Palmer, Hudson Kennaugh, Lee Jackson, Jimmy Storrar, Lee Johnston, James East, Tommy Aquino and Backlund with Cox five places further back.

On the next lap Steve Mercer and Steve Brogan crashed at Montreal Hairpin as Filip became tangled in a battle for 8th place with Aquinio and Joe Burns. Victor meanwhile was embroiled in a large group of riders and still circulating in 14th place. On lap 9 Lee Johnston crashed out of fifth place and with four laps to go Backlund and Cox were still battling gamely for every crucial point as Hudson Kennaugh, who started the race on level points with Filip, took over the race lead.

With two laps to go, Filip moved into 7th position ahead of Aquino and Burns but Victor, who was also now involved in a three rider battle with Peter Ward and Kyle Wilks, suddenly found himself just outside the points in 16th. Like last year's race which was held in similar conditions, there were a high number of non-finishers and on the penultimate lap Jimmy Storrar joined that list as he too crashed out, again at Montreal., 

This moved Backlund up to 6th as Cox got ahead of Wilks and Ward to move into 14th. The final lap saw a close battle at the front with Kennaugh taking the race win from Jenkinson and Jackson as Filip got ahead and moved clear of James East to claim fifth with Victor holding on to 14th as Peter Ward crashed behind him at Murrays.

So a result which sees Filip drop down one place in the championship to fourth and losing some ground to race winner Hudson Kennaugh, but still very much in the mix-up for the championship. Victor meanwhile is one place and 20 points behind his team-mate in the standings, but with this ultra-competitive series only at the halfway point, there is still a lot to race for.

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Successful Skerries meeting for KMR Kawasaki

The KMR Kawasaki team were back in action for the first time since the Isle of Man TT races on Saturday with both Jamie Hamilton and Connor Behan enjoying some excellent results at the Skerries 100 road races.

With superb weather at the 2.92-mile venue, Hamilton's excellent 2013 form continued and he was never out of the top six in any of his four races, going on to take another win in the Supertwins class. In the two 1000cc races he was never far away from a podium position finishing fifth in both the Open race and the Grand Final just 2.2s and 2.5s adrift of third place respectively. He completed a strong day with a fine sixth in the Supersport 600cc race.
 
Team-mate Behan was making his debut at the circuit, situated on the outskirts of Dublin, and his best result came on the 636cc Kawasaki when he finished in second place, just 0.115s off the win, in the Senior Support Championship. Riding the 650cc ER6 Kawasaki, he also took third in the Junior Support Championship race and the results was good enough to move him to the top of the Championship table.
 
Speaking afterwards, a delighted team owner Ryan Farquhar said: "I couldn't be happier with how the day went and I'm really pleased with the results of both riders. Jamie is doing everything we want him to do and by going out and finishing all of his races, he's learning so much and getting the results he deserves. Connor is doing a similar job too and he's really showing his aptitude for the roads. he's learning the circuits quickly and putting in fine performances on both machines. With Jamie maintaining his 100% record in the Supertwins Championship and Connor now leading the Junior Support class, it's been an excellent day for KMR Kawasaki."


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Brilliant Southern 100 double for Reeves and Sayle

The SMT Racing duo of Tim Reeves and Dan Sayle were in sparkling form at a sun-drenched Southern 100 this week and they added the prestigious Championship to the Isle of Man TT win taken earlier this year.

Competing on the 4.25-mile Billown course, the pairing got the week underway in Tuesday evening’s non-Championship race and having won the same race in 2012, Tim and Dan were keen to serve up a repeat performance. And that’s exactly what they did. Holding onto a comfortable lead from Ben and Tom Birchall, the race was stopped early and the result taken at the end of four laps, which meant Tim and Dan took the win by 1.107s.

The 6-lap Championship race took place on Thursday afternoon and with scorching conditions on the island, it was the Birchall brothers who grabbed the holeshot to take an early lead. However, Tim and Dan were biding their time and soon moved into the lead going onto open up some breathing space over the Birchalls and the third placed crew of Ian and Carl Bell. In the closing stages of the race, Tim eased off slightly which allowed the two outfits behind to close up but he had it all under control and took the chequered flag to clinch the Southern 100 Championship.

Speaking afterwards, a delighted Tim said; “Enjoy that! I’m over the moon to add the Southern 100 Championship to our TT win and it’s particularly sweet after being forced to retire from last year’s race. My plan this time was to win at the slowest possible speed so once I’d passed Ben and Tom and got a bit of a gap I just tried to control it as best I could. The pace was still hot with 98mph+ laps but it was a great race and with the double victory it’s been perfect.”

“We worked hard for it and Dan and I went out quite a bit in the car just to study the course and work out where we could improve. It’s only my second time here whilst Dan’s been coming a lot longer and tapping into that experience paid dividends. He’s a really talented lad and we’re having a great season on the roads so thanks to the whole team for all their hard work and efforts this week.”

Sadly, the week was marred by the tragic deaths of three competitors in separate accidents and everyone at SMT Racing would like to extend their deepest condolences to the family and friends of those concerned.



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Southern 100 Report

Ian Lougher continued his racing career encore with another impressive display at his final appearance at the Southern 100 Road Races.
Following on from what was an emotionally charged TT, it was a more relaxed Lougher who returned to the Isle of Man, as the Billown circuit and the event's most successful ever competitor came away from the meeting with another race win and top six finishes in every race he started.

Ian's first outing was in the combined 600/1000cc race and it wasn't long before he was mixing it with Jamie Hamilton, Dan Kneen and Michael Pearson for fourth place. The battle raged for the whole race with Lougher content to let the 'young guns' slug it out just ahead of him. On the fifth lap, Ian put in his fastest lap of the race, and the fastest of the quartet, to apply some pressure on the three riders in front and on the last lap he finally got past Pearson to claim sixth place, just behind Hamilton and Kneen.

The following evening saw Ian out in 3 races, the first of which was the Senior race. 
He got a good start from the middle of the second row of the grid and at the end of the opening lap he had slotted into third behind Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop whilst holding off Dean Harrison. On the second lap Ian found himself relegated to 6th but on the next lap he was back into fourth on the WA Corless Joinery/Jackson Racing machine. Jamie Hamilton and Dan Kneen were now both well back.

Guy Martin still led Michael Dunlop but now by only a tenth of a second with Dean Harrison only 0.8 of a second down in third place and as the riders went on to their fourth lap the positions stayed the same with Ian also remaining in a lonely fourth place and indeed he closed the race out comfortably to finish fourth.

Following a short break, it was yet another top six finish for Lougher in the 600cc race as he finished sixth on the WA Corless/Jackson Racing Supersport bike just ahead of Jamie Coward.

The last race of the evening for combined 125/400/450cc machines was eagerly anticipated by the sun-kissed spectators as it promised to be another exciting encounter between Ian and his regular sparring partner Chris Palmer on the smaller capacity bikes.
For this race Ian was on Matt Jackson's 125, a partnership that has proven successful in the past. The battle between Lougher and Palmer soon developed inside the first few laps and on lap four Ian put in the quickest lap of the 125cc race and the third best lap overall to close right up on Palmer. Another quick lap on the next circuit was enough to put him into the lead and in a frantic last lap Ian had to draw on all his experience to fend off a determined challenge from Palmer and as the two raced for the chequered flag it was Lougher who held on for the win in one of the closest finishes seen at Billown.

The last day of racing would see Ian compete in one race, the Solo Championship race over 8 laps.

Again in perfect conditions it was Michael Dunlop who made a terrific start to lead by over a second at the end of the first lap from Dean Harrison and Guy Martin. Jamie Hamilton, Lougher and Michael Pearson where all in close attendance at the end of the lap in 4th, 5th and 6th positions respectively. 

By the end of the next lap Dunlop led Harrison and Martin by 1.2 seconds whilst Jamie Hamilton continued to hold fourth place from Ian and Russ Mountford. With two laps to go, Ian was in a strong fifth and he remained here as the race entered the last lap.

At the end Guy Martin crossed the line in first place from Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison was third ahead of Jamie Hamilton with Ian holding on to a comfortable fifth place from Russ Mountford.

Due to a serious incident in the following sidecar race, the meeting was subsequently abandoned.

So the curtain has come down on Ian Lougher's Southern 100 appearances and a race win was a pleasing way to bring it all to a close. 

On a sadder note, the thoughts of everyone at Ian Lougher Racing (ILR) are with the families, friends and racing associates of David Jukes, Mark Madsen-Mygdal and Paul Thomas.  



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Busy week sees KMR Kawasaki record more top class results

A busy week of road racing at the recent Southern 100 and Walderstown road races saw the KMR Kawasaki team of Jamie Hamilton, Connor Behan, James Cowton and Joe Faragher record a clutch of top class results with wins and podiums recorded aplenty.

The Southern 100 course on the Isle of Man was bathed in sunshine all week and, making just his second appearance around the 4.25-mile Billown circuit, Hamilton was in fine form throughout. Opening his account with fourth in Tuesday evening’s 1000cc race, this was followed up on the next night with fifth in the second 1000cc race, a win in the first Supertwins outing and another fourth, this time in the Supersport 600cc race. Thursday saw him claim third in the second Supertwins event and fourth in the feature Solo Championship race to wrap up a highly productive week.

Yorkshire’s Cowton and Manxman Faragher joined him in the Supertwins races with the former recording excellent third and fourth place finishes and the latter, having just his second ever road race, acquitting himself well with 13th and 15th in the two races, improving his lap speeds by over 3mph from the previous month’s Post TT races.

There was little respite for Hamilton as he headed straight to Walderstown where he was joined by Northwich rider Behan and the duo were in contention for race wins in each of their outings. A broken fork seal on the Superbike meant Hamilton had to use the Superstock machine for the Open and Grand Final races but he used it to good effect with fourth and fifth respectively. Another win was added in the Supertwins class, maintaining his 100% record in the Irish Championship, whilst he nearly made it two wins, only missing out on the 600cc victory by 0.111s.

Behan, meanwhile, soon got to grips with the 2-mile circuit where he was making his debut and he went on to take second and fourth in the Irish Junior and Senior Support Championship races as well as third in the 750cc non-Championship event.

Speaking at the end of the week, a delighted team boss Ryan Farquhar commented; “All in all it’s been a great week for the team and all of the riders have been in fine form. Jamie rode well all week, finishing all of his races inside the top six and it‘s easy to forget it was only his second time at the Southern. He finished in front of a lot of more experienced riders and although we’ve a bit of work to do on the 650 and 600 to find a bit more speed, he put in some fine performances. Likewise James, and with third and fourth in the two Supertwins races, he did a fantastic job. He’s learning all the time and if we can get the 650 performing as well as we’d like, he’ll be in good shape at the Manx GP.”

“Jamie had to use the Superstock bike at Walderstown but, again, he did a great job. He’s getting more experienced with each and every outing and more than proving he’s fit to run with the front runners week in week out. He maintained his, and the team’s 100% win record in the Supertwins championship and that’s great for all concerned. Connor also had three good races and although he made a couple of wee mistakes and ran wide a few times, with second, third and fourth in his three races I’m very pleased with how he’s progressing.”

“Finally, whilst we’ve all enjoyed some great racing and some fantastic weather these past few days, the meetings were affected by the loss of four competitors, three at the Southern and one at Walderstown, and everyone at KMR Kawasaki is thinking of all the family and friends at this sad time.”



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Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship
Round Seven: Brands Hatch GP

Victor Cox finished 6th and Filip Backlund was 14th as the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship moved to the Brands Hatch GP circuit at the weekend.
The result means both riders remain 4th and 5th in the championship with Cox closing the gap slightly on his team-mate.
Free practice again took the form of two groups, odd and even numbers, and was held over the shorter Indy circuit. It was Cox who posted the best time of the two riders to finish third best in his group and fourth fastest overall as Backlund finished fifth quickest in his group and 11th overall.
First qualifying saw the riders back into one group as the session reverted to the longer and more popular GP circuit to be used for the race. Victor and Filip were second quickest through the first and finish line speed traps respectively, however with track time limited by the damper conditions, Cox would finish well down in 40th as Backlund completed the session in 15th position.
Second qualifying was held in better conditions as the team worked hard on bike set-up for both riders. Again it was Cox who fared the better of the two to go ninth fastest as Filip again finished 15th quickest but only 0.29s slower than Victor.
From the third row of the grid, Victor got a great start in the race and was up to fourth place on the second lap and for the next five laps he was in 5th place just over half a second off a rostrum position.
The top six riders were well clear by the ninth lap with Cox just over half a second adrift of fifth place man Jimmy Storrar, but with two laps to go Victor was right on Storrar's rear wheel with Tristan Palmer also under pressure from the hard charging Trowbridge man.
However Cox had a bit of drama to contend with, as he caught his gear change lever on the ground causing him to hit neutral and nearly resulting in a crash. Thankfully he stayed on board to still finish a strong sixth and regain some momentum in his championship challenge.
Filip meanwhile was down in 21st at the end of the opening lap and in the middle of a large group of riders, by half race distance he had fought his way up to 17th and with five laps to go he was into the points, eventually claiming 14th place and two championship points.

The result keeps both riders well placed in the championship standings, but with series leader Adam Jenkinson crashing out at Paddock Hill on the second lap, Backlund in particular will rue a missed opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table, as Cox climbed purposely back up the points.


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Mixed fortunes at Brands for SMT Racing

SMT Racing suffered mixed fortunes at Brands Hatch over the weekend and whilst Tim and Tristan Reeves were able to complete another emphatic double to extend their lead in the Eastern Airways British F1 Sidecar Championship there was heartache for Adam Jenkinson as he crashed out of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship race.

For the Reeves brothers, there were no such dramas and they opened their account for the weekend with victory in Friday evening’s 10-lap race held on the shorter Indy circuit, coming home ahead of Ben and Tom Birchall by just 0.192s. Moving onto the longer 2.6-mile GP circuit on Sunday, their closest challengers were again the Birchall brothers but once they’d taken over at the front on the second lap they were able to steadily increase their advantage and this time their winning margin was a more comfortable 3.2s as they took ninth victory of the season.

With closest rival Sean Hegarty/Calum Lawson failing to finish the second race, the win also saw their Championship lead increase to 79 points and they now top the table on 245 points compared to Hegarty’s 166.

Speaking later, team owner Robin Croft said; “Describing our weekend as mixed would be a fair assessment. We were extremely confident after qualifying and Adam was riding superbly, his pole lap was superb. The bike and team were working well too but he got caught out in the race and it was such a shame for his race to end like that. His championship lead was also all but wiped out so it’s disappointing but it’s out first DNF of the season and you can’t expect to go through a season without some kind of a hiccup.”



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