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2007 British Supermoto Championships
Round 5 Three Sisters Report
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Date: 30 July, 2007
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Photo Credit: ASP Photoshop
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Round five of the British Supermoto Championship held at Three
Sisters Race Circuit, at last saw some decent weather, with both
the Saturday afternoon qualifying and Sunday’s racing held in
breezy, but otherwise almost perfect sunny conditions.
Saturday qualifying was an amazingly close affair, with several
riders heading the provisional leader board, until Sam Warren
(SR Off-Road Aprilia SXV550) punched in a blinder of a lap just
before the session close, to claim the overnight Pole Position.
Coming on the heels of his overall victory at Teeside at round
4, it appeared that Warren had laid the gauntlet down to the
rest of the field, but in the end, his weekend did not quite go
to plan.
Instead, Matt Winstanley (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610 –
pictured left) dominated Sunday’s racing with 3 wins from 3
races, the Wigan youngster pulling out all the stops at his
‘home’ race weekend. Winstanley didn’t have it easy however; In
race one, a lightning start helped him comfortably lead the
first part of the race, but both Warren and Christian Iddon
(Factory Aprilia SXV550) were hunting the KTM rider down quite
quickly. Warren was almost certainly on track to catch
Winstanley before losing the front at the end of the main
straight in quite spectacular style, he remounted to finish an
uncharacteristic 14th. Iddon recovered from a very poor start,
but couldn’t make up the amount of time lost and finished a
distant 2nd. In race 2 Winstanley again led from the start,
Iddon chased very quickly, but lost time with a brief
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fall on the off-road section whilst Warren crashed
again to retire after 5 laps. In the final race,
Iddon claimed the start, but then lost the lead in
the most spectacular “near-crash without actually
crashing” moment which left the door open for
Winstanley, who didn’t need asking twice. Warren
despite a mighty charge from the back of the grid
was sadly thwarted when the race was red-flagged due
to another rider’s crash after just over 10 minutes.
With all the drama at the front, nobody noticed
rising star David Hartley (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM
550) claim another brilliant 3rd place on the podium
much to the chagrin of some of his more experienced
team mates.
Top 5 Open Class Championship Positions after Round
5
Christian Iddon 446 points, Matt Winstanley 411
points, Sam Warren 374 points, Ady Smith 361 points,
David Hartley 335 points
In the smaller engined 450 class, things were spiced
up for the weekend by wildcard rider Baptiste Rheims
(Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 450) who after a cautious
start on Saturday, set the paddock buzzing with his
highly creditable performances on Sunday. Gallic
flair wasn’t enough to stop runaway overall winner
Ricky Higgs (Aprilia SXV450 – pictured left #17)
however, the Staffordshire based ex-motocross rider
bagging a 2nd, 2nd and a win in the 450 class to
keep the title chase wide open. Arch rival Chris
Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 450) kept one
hand on the season’s trophy by recording a 3rd, 3rd
and a 2nd in class with Rheims claiming the final
spot on the podium with a 4th, a win and another 4th
in the final race despite being punted off in a
frenzied first corner melee, which saw several
riders on the floor all of whom however, remounted
and finished.
The British 450 Supermoto Championship battle truly
has been one of variety, with five different winners
at five different rounds and five different
championship leaders to date. With a close points
scoring system and yet another new challenge ahead
of the riders at Silverstone, who will eventually
claim the honours is anybody’s guess.
Final
Race Results 450A Class 1. Bruce Dingle 2. David
Farmer 3. Will Moore
4. Shane Stratton
5. Stephen Booth
Top 5 450 Class Championship Positions prior to
Round 5 this weekend
Chris Hodgson 349 Points, Ricky Higgs 332 points,
Keith Farmer 315 points, George Clements 251 points,
Lee Jones 241 points
For comprehensive results of the 2007 British &
National Supermoto Championships -
Moto GB Website
Round 6, the final round of the series will be held
on the 22nd & 23rd of September at Silverstone
International Race Circuit near Towcester.
Other awards at Three Sisters included:
Aprilia Contingency Awards
1st Lee Jones
2nd David Jackson
3rd Scott Woodacre
KTM Contingency Awards
1st James Addy
2nd Will Moore
3rd Scott Billington
Michelin “Rider of the day” Award – Baptiste Rheims
Michelin “Ouch that hurts award” – Chris “Van Den”
Babbitt
Comprehensive results provided by HS Sports Timing
Ltd will be available very shortly on
www.motogb.net
together with race images, a full weekend’s report
on the National Championship racing and an RSS feed
for updates. |
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2007 British Supermoto Championships
Round 5 Preview
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July 24, 2007
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After two action-packed weekends almost back to back, the
third weekend in the 'Summer of Sliding' takes place this
weekend, the 28th & 29th July at Three Sisters Circuit near
Wigan. Probably THE most decisive weekend in terms of
championship points, Round 5 of the 2007 British Supermoto
Championship looks certain to live up to the previous rounds
in terms of 'no quarter given', bar to bar action whatever
the weather!
After three amazing races at the last round at Teeside, each
run in totally different track conditions, Sam Warren (SR
Off-Road Aprilia SXV550) claimed the overall honours after
current championship leader Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia
SXV550) failed to finish race 3, when the chain guard on his
machine clouted an obstacle and got tangled with the back
wheel thus ending his race. The twoAprilia riders are just
ahead of Matt Winstanley (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610) in
the title chase and the battle for Open Championship honours
is closer than it may appear at first glance, as this year's
series allows competitors (in both classes) to drop the
three worst points scoring races at the end of the season.
Top 5 Open Class Championship Positions prior to Round 5
this weekend
Christian Iddon 356 points, Sam Warren 325 points, Matt
Winstanley 315 points, Ady Smith 280 points, Craig Venske
257 points
In the smaller engined 450 class, things are no less
exciting with young Irish rider Keith Farmer (SMRacing
Rocket Centre Aprilia UK SXV450) just ahead of European
Championship regular Chris Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale
KTM 450) and Ricky Higgs (Aprilia UK SXV450). Previous
series leader Lee Jones (Buff Aprilia SXV450) was a
spectator at Teeside after a particularly nasty crash at
Lydden Hill, but the Wirral based rider is set to return
this weekend at his 'home' venue to try and re-establish his
grip on the series.
Top 5 450 Class Championship Positions prior to Round 5
this weekend
Keith Farmer 278 points, Chris Hodgson 275 Points, Ricky
Higgs 250 points, Lee Jones 191 points, George Clements 188
points.
Current championship positions for all classes in both
series, can be found by following the 'Results' tab on the
main menu on the series website:
www.motogb.net
Providing fantastic support to the British Championship
once again this weekend, is the NORA Sport National
Supermoto Championship featuring Solos (Youth, 450 & Open
classes), Quads and the superbly entertaining Superlites.
The diversity and excitement in the various classes of the
National Supermoto Championship is certainly on a par with
the main British series, especially in the up and coming
Youth class which has seen some fantastic battles at the
last two rounds between current series leader Lewis Cornish
and second placed Oliver Harrison (pictured left).
Quads, 450 class solos and Youth class solos all race on
Saturday 28th July with Superlites and Open class solos
racing on Sunday 29th July alongside the British
Championship races.
Three Sisters Racing Circuit is located on Three Sisters
Road, off Lockett Road, off Bryn Road (B5207), which is just
off the A49 in Ashton in Makerfield, near Wigan.
The post code for Sat Nav users is: WN4 8DD. The circuit
telephone number is 01942 270230 and the website is:
www.three-sisters.co.uk
Admission charges are payable directly to the circuit at
the gate on the day, contact the circuit for full details.
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2007 British Supermotard Championships
Round 4 Report
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Date: 16 July, 2007
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Teeside Autodrome near Middlesbrough
was the setting for round 4 of the
British Supermoto Championship, the
North East motor sport venue looking
forward to hosting a round of one of
2007’s most hotly contested motorcycle
racing series. Despite several forced
alterations to the original proposed
track layout just before the event, the
circuit still presented a new and
challenging venue for riders in this
year’s series. During Saturday
afternoon’s sunny timed qualifying
sessions, Christian Iddon (Factory
Aprilia SXV550) led the way, but only
just, as Matt Winstanley (Robinsons of
Rochdale KTM 610) set a time just
7/100ths of a second behind him to claim
second place on the grid. Outside the
leading two riders, perhaps the
performance most notable of all was
Winstanley’s team mate, David Hartley
(Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 550) who’s
ever increasing pace allowed him to grab
3rd spot ahead of the rest of the pack.
On Sunday, race one was run in perfect
conditions, but the heavens opened just
before the start of race two, which
required a tyre change delay.
The rain continued for the rest of the
afternoon and race three was run in
exceptionally wet conditions with some
tricky standing water patches due to the
level of precipitation.
Open Championship In the Open
Championship title race, Sam Warren (SR
Off-Road Aprilia SXV550) recovered from
a slightly off-par qualifying
performance and claimed the overall
honours with a fantastic display of
riding ability. He netted two second
places (inraces one and two) and the
third race win to claim a very healthy
92 points for his day’s hard work. Race
two was a particularly epic battle and
probably the best race British Supermoto
has seen for a long time as Warren and
Iddon swapped places on a number of
occasions, before a touch just 300 yards
from the flag resulted in Iddon wobbling
but staying on whilst Warren slid off
but remounted in record time, to hang on
to second place. Iddon’s claim for the
overall victory came to nothing however,
after his Aprilia chain guard clouted
something immovable on the track in race
three and bent completely out of shape
bringing his rear wheel to an immediate
stop and his race progress to a
standstill. Meanwhile Winstanley’s day
was heavily compromised as early as race
one, when another rider hit him from
behind in the off-road section, which
stalled his machine. Over a minute of
sweaty kick-starting was required before
the big KTM powered back into life and
Winstanley set off to salvage some
points. His refusal to give in was
rewarded as he very nearly claimed a win
in the final race just missing out to
Warren. After his initial impressive
showing, Hartley continued the form with
a 3rd overall, recording third, sixth
and fifth in the three races
respectively. Elsewhere Greg Kinsella
(DCR Husaberg 650), Andy Mitchell (DCR
Husaberg 650) and super fast veteran Ady
Smith (KTM UK 610) all rode brilliantly
with Smith’s experience and wet weather
prowess coming to the fore as he claimed
2nd place overall on the day.
Top 5 Open Class Championship Positions
after 4 rounds;
Christian Iddon 356 points, Sam Warren
325 points, Matt Winstanley 315 points,
Ady Smith 280 points, Craig Venske 257
points
450 Championship Keith Farmer (SMRacing
Rocket Centre Aprilia UK SXV450) was the
man of the moment at Teeside as he
claimed the overall 450 class win at
Teeside and inched ahead of all his
rivals to lead the British 450cc title
chase. Farmer’s determined riding style
and ever increasing confidence on his
new for 2007 Aprilia made his successful
weekend all the more sweeter. He didn’t
have it all his own way though as Ricky
Higgs (Aprilia UK SXV450) and Chris
Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 450)
made it a very exciting three way battle
during the weekend. Within the 450
class, Farmer won two of the races with
Higgs claiming the third. It was also
pleasing to see a new face mixing it
with the established 450 stars as Shane
Parkin (Suzuki 450) finished 2nd in the
450 class runners in race two whilst
flying the solitary flag for Suzuki due
to David McKee’s demise from the series.
Also absent at Teeside was previous
series leader Lee Jones (Buff Aprilia
SXV450) who was injured at Lydden Hill
and who’s shoulder injury is likely to
make him miss round 5 of the series as
well.
Top 5 450 Class Championship Positions
after 4 rounds;
Keith Farmer 278 points, Chris Hodgson
275 Points, Ricky Higgs 250 points, Lee
Jones 191 points, George Clements 188
points
For comprehensive results of the 2007
British & National Supermoto
Championships -
Moto GB Website.
Round 5 of the series will be held on
the 28th & 29th July at Three Sisters
Circuit near Wigan.
Other awards at Teeside included:
Aprilia Contingency Awards
1st Scott Woodacre
2nd David Jackson
KTM Contingency Awards
1st David Hartley
2nd Richard Blakeman
3rd Matthew Pope
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2007 British Supermotard Championships
Round 4 Preview
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Date: 09 July, 2007
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Following closely in the wheel tracks of the last
event at Lydden Hill just over a week ago, Round 4
of the British Supermoto Championship supported by
Round 5 of the National Supermoto Championship, both
take place this coming weekend; the 14th/15th July,
at Teeside Autodrome near Middlesbrough.
Young Australian hope Joe Harvey aboard a Halsion
Lincoln Aprilia SXV550 is the only wild card
scheduled to join the 28 permanent riders for this
round of the series and Harvey will be hoping that
his second outing as a wildcard will bear more fruit
than his debut at Lydden Hill, which was dogged by
machine troubles and ever-changing, non-Australian
type weather conditions, which never really allowed
the young Aussie charger to get into his stride.
In the Open Championship, Christian Iddon (Factory
Aprilia SXV550) stamped his authority on the Lydden
Hill meeting with three race wins, but endured a
torrid time at the German Grand Prix in the meantime
and is bound to be looking to pick up his game again
as a result. His main challenger Matt Winstanley
(Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610 - pictured left), had
one of the best results of his Grand Prix career in
Germany and will come to Teeside on a high and no
doubt looking to claim the lead of the series from
Iddon. Other top riders including Sam Warren (SR
Off-Road Aprilia SXV550), South African Craig Venske
(Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610) and veteran ex-enduro
rider Ady Smith (UK KTM 610) will also be keen to
ride the new circuit layout at Teeside where the
circuit owners have built a completely new off-road
section in order to accommodate the 2007 series.
The current 1st and 2nd placed riders in the 450
Championship, Chris Hodgson (Robinson of Rochdale
KTM) and Keith Farmer (SMRacing Rocket Centre
Aprilia UK SXV450) also made the long trip to
Germany and will be coming back armed with
additional experience and knowledge as a result,
which they will be looking to apply at Teeside. With
three races at each meeting and a points system that
is unforgiving of errors, they will need all of this
and more, to stay in front of the charging Lee Jones
(Buff Aprilia SXV450) and Ricky Higgs (Aprilia UK
SXV450). Current championship positions for all
classes in both series, can be found on the series
website; www.motogb.net
Providing fantastic support to the British
Championship once again this weekend, is the NORA
Sport National Supermoto Championship featuring 450,
Open and Youth Solos, Quads and the superbly
entertaining Superlites.
Teeside Autodrome is located just off the main A66
at South Tees Motor Sports Park, Off Dormer Way,
South Bank Road, Middlesbrough. The post code for
Satellite Navigation users is TS6 6XH. The circuit
telephone number is 01642 231117 and the circuit
website is:
www.Teesidekarting.co.uk
Admission charges are payable directly to the
circuit at the gate on the day, contact the circuit
for full details.
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2007 British Supermotard Championships
Round 3 Report
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Date: August 28, 2007
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Round 3 of the British Supermoto
Championship held on 30th June / 1st July
took place at Lydden Hill Circuit in Kent
with every type of weather condition on
offer over the weekend. The regular
permanent riders were joined by three
wildcard riders for this meeting in the form
ex-World Motocross competitor Jochen
Jasinski from Germany (Husaberg 650), young
Aussie hopeful Joe Harvey (Aprilia SXV 450)
and Belgian 2006 national S1 Champion Rob
Simpson (KTM 450).
The Supermoto Circuit at Lydden Hill has
featured a variety of layouts in its short
history and is unusual in that regardless of
which configuration is selected, high speed
tarmac sections and 2 or even 3; off-road
sections are always a feature of the famous
Kent motorsport venue. After some fast laps
during the sunny free practice sessions,
timed qualifying saw a downpour. Matt
Winstanley (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610)
went fastest quite early on and stayed at
the top of the timesheets until near the end
of the session, when Christian Iddon
(Factory Aprilia SXV550) performed a banzai
lap to claim the overnight pole, just before
crashing heavily at Devils Elbow leaving his
team with much overnight repair work to do.
SR Off-road rider Sam Warren (Aprilia UK SXV
550) claimed third position, with the three
ultimately separated by less than a second.
The weather conditions were so bad on
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Photo Credit: SMedir Photo
Graphic Media
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Saturday night, that the track layout
was changed for Sunday's races, which to
everyone's amazement were almost perfect for
racing.
Open Class
Iddon claimed overall Open Class honours,
with a hat trick of wins, a first in this
year's exciting championship. Warren took
another hard fought runner's up spot with
two 3rds and a 2nd and his duels with Iddon
and Winstanley throughout the day were one
of the highlights of the weekend. Ensuring
that the long drive from Germany was worth
the effort, Jochen Jasinski clinched 3rd
overall despite starting the 3rd race from
dead last, after stalling his machine on the
grid - just as he did at Lydd in round 2.
Other Open Class notable performances were
scored by up and coming David Hartley
(Robinsons of Rochdale KTM) who was up to as
high as 3rd overall in race 3 before
tangling with a back marker and dropping
down to 9th. His consistently impressive
pace eventually brought him the Michelin
“Rider of the day” Award. Hartley's team
mate Matt Winstanley's weekend was ruined by
a poor 3rd race result, netting him 5th
overall at this meeting, but still a clear
contender for the Overall title once dropped
race results are factored into the equation.
Top 3 Open Class Championship Positions
after 3 rounds; Iddon 279 points, Winstanley
242 points, Warren 233 points.
450 Class
In the smaller engined 450 class, variety is
the spice as life as yet another different
overall winner stepped up to the plate in
the form of Chris Hodgson (Robinsons of
Rochdale KTM450). Just behind him were the
Aprilia mounted pairing of Keith Farmer (SMRacing
Rocket Centre Aprilia UK SXV450) and Ricky
Higgs (Aprilia UK SXV450) who tied on points
with Farmer, the latter claiming the
runner's up spot on the tie break ruling.
Other 450 riders had mixed fortunes with the
fast Kent track; Championship leader after
Round 2 Lee Jones (Rocket Centre Aprilia
SXV450) found himself battered and bruised
after a high side in Race 1, whilst George
Clements, the leading Japanese machine rider
over the weekend on a Honda, claimed a hard
earned 7th after a poor race 2 result.
Amazing that in today's age, both in the
Open & 450 classes of this year's British
Supermoto Championship, the famous Japanese
marques of Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki all
have a very low profile indeed, whilst
Suzuki single-handedly uphold Oriental
honours with 450 Class, Overall Winner at
Round 1 David McKee, who was unfortunately a
non-starter at this round.
Top 3 450 Class Championship Positions after
3 rounds; Hodgson 212 points, Farmer 203
Points, Jones 191 points.
For comprehensive results of the 2007
British & National Supermoto Championships -
Moto GB Website.
Round 4 of the series will be held on the
14th & 15th July at Teeside Autodrome near
Middlesbrough.
Other awards at Lydden Hill included:
Aprilia Contingency Awards
1st Lee Jones
2nd Scott Woodacre
3rd David Jackson
KTM Contingency Awards
1st David Hartley
2nd Craig Venske
3rd Richard Blakeman
Michelin “Rider of the day” Award – David
Hartley
Michelin “Ouch that hurts award” – Mark Ryan |
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2007 British Supermotard Championships
Round 3 Lydden Hill Preview
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Date: 26 June, 2007
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After two action packed events already this year,
July sees a glut of Supermoto action with no less
than three rounds of this year’s series within four
weeks. To kick off an exciting ‘Summer of Sliding’,
next weekend, 30th June / 1st July sees competitors
making their way to the famous Lydden Hill Circuit
near Canterbury in Kent, for round 3 of the British
and Round 4 of the National Championships
respectively. Teeside Autodrome then follows on the
14th/15th July and the busy Summer period finishes
at Three Sisters on the 28th/29th July with a short
break before events continue in August.
The 28 riders in the British Championship will
again be joined by a few selected wildcard riders
this weekend including; ex-World Motocross
Championship rider Jochen Jasinski from Germany
aboard his 650 Husaberg, young Australian sensation
Joe Harvey aboard a Halsion Lincoln Aprilia SXV550
and 10 times British Motocross Champion Rob Herring,
who will also ride a Halsion Lincoln Aprilia SXV,
albeit a 450cc version.
As both 450 & Open British Championship classes
actually run at the same time within the same race,
the riders, teams and spectators get to enjoy superb
entertainment all the way through the field.
After three breathtaking races at the last round at
Lydd, each with a different winner, Christian Iddon
(Factory Aprilia SXV550 and Lee Jones (SMRacing
Rocket Centre Aprilia SXV450) lead the British
Championship Open and 450 classes respectively, but
with three races at each meeting and a points system
that is unforgiving of errors, literally anybody in
the field could have replaced them by next Sunday
evening! Current championship positions for all
classes in both series, can be found on the series
website;
www.motogb.net
Providing fantastic
support to the British Championship once again
this weekend , is the
NORA Sport National Supermoto Championship featuring
Solos, Quads and the superbly entertaining
Superlites. If you haven’t seen a Superlite race
yet, Lydden Hill is an excellent venue to break your
duck and witness the wildly entertaining spectacle.
Lydden Hill has a noise restriction similar to that
of Oulton Park with no Sunday morning motorised
action, so a heavily modified timetable has been
introduced to ensure all the action is packed into a
day and a half’s running.
You can download the Lydden Hill weekend timetable
from the series website or access it directly via
this link.
Lydden Hill Circuit is located just off the main A2,
approx half way between Canterbury & Dover. The post
code for Satellite Navigation users is CT4 6RX, the
circuit telephone number is 01304 830557 and the
circuit website is:
www.lyddenracecircuit.co.uk
Admission charges are payable directly to the
circuit at the gate on the day, contact the circuit
for full details. |
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2007 British & National Supermoto Championships
Round 2 Lydd Report
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Monday, July 16, 2007
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Round 2 of the British Supermoto
Championship took place at the windswept,
but dry Lydd International Raceway near
Ashford in Kent and what a magnificent
weekend of action packed racing it was. The
28 permanent riders in the British
Championship were slightly down on numbers
as Phil Smithson (Husaberg 650), Shane
Parkin (Suzuki 450) and Gennaro Dichello
(Pope KTM 450) were all unfortunate
non-starters at Round 2. The remaining
regulars were joined however, by three
wildcard riders for this meeting in the form
of ex British Motocross legend Rob Herring (Halsion
Aprilia SXV 450), 2006 Moto GB star and
ex-World Motocross competitor Jochen
Jasinski from Germany (Husaberg 650) plus
2006 Thai National Supermoto Champion,
expatriate Australian Shane Stratton (Halsion
Aprilia SXV 450).
The Supermoto Circuit at Lydd International
Raceway has a very demanding off-road
section, whilst the tarmac itself is
notoriously both slippery and difficult to
pass on, as there are almost no straights.
Consequently, front row grid positions were
much coveted and a very tense
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Credit: SMedir Photo Graphic Media |
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qualifying session saw Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia SXV550)
just claim the overnight pole position from a back on form Matt
Pope (KTM 560) and SR Off-road rider Sam Warren (Aprilia UK SXV
550). All three championship races were very, very closely
contested with a different winner each time and both the 450 &
Open British Championship classes were fought over, inch by inch
around the Kent countryside.
Open Class -
Iddon claimed the Open Class win for the meeting with a 2nd
place in race 1, a win in race 2 and another 2nd place in race
3. Warren claimed second place with a win, a 2nd and a 3rd and
his various duels with Iddon throughout the day were one of the
highlights of the weekend for sure. Matt Winstanley (Robinsons
of Rochdale KTM 610) was third in the Open Class with a 6th, a
3rd and a win. Winstanley’s first race position was particularly
impressive as he fell on the opening lap and remounted with a
very impressive charge through the field from all but dead last
place. Other Open Class notable performances were scored by Andy
Mitchell (DCR Husaberg 650) who led race 1 for a short while and
Wild Card Jochen Jasinski, who rode brilliantly all weekend,
especially in race 3 when he fought back to 8th place, after
giving the whole pack at least 10 seconds start by stalling his
machine on the grid. Finally, South African Craig Venske had a
stellar weekend, especially on the off-road section; to claim
4th place overall, the Michelin ‘Rider of the day’ award and a
£250 KTM contingency voucher – not a bad start to his first
serious British Championship title assault.
Open Class Championship Positions after 2 rounds; Iddon
183 points, Winstanley 170 points, Warren 145 points, Ady Smith
(KTM UK 660) 145 points, Venske 136 points
450 Class -
In the smaller engined, but just as exciting 450 class further
down the overall race order, Lee Jones (SM Racing Rocket Centre
Aprilia SXV450) proved he has recovered from his Round 1 big
crash with a popular overall class win, just ahead of team mate
Keith Farmer (SM Racing Rocket Centre Aprilia UK SXV450) and 3rd
placed Richard Darlington (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM450). Wild
Card rider Rob Herring took to the demanding off-road section
like a duck to water and certainly made the best of his day out
with a fine 7th place in the 450 class, end of day standings and
a high point of 12th overall in race 1. With the exception of
Jones himself, the Lydd 450 class podium (pictured above) didn’t
resemble the Round 1 podium from Three Sisters at all, which
leaves a very interesting championship points situation after
Lydd.
450 Class Championship Positions after 2 rounds; Jones
135 points, Chris Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM450) 132
points, David McKee (TAS Suzuki 450) 128 points, Farmer 127
Points, Ricky Higgs (Aprilia UK 450) 110 points.
Other awards at Lydd included:
- Aprilia Contingency Awards -
1st. Lee Jones, 2nd. Scott Woodacre,
3rd. David Jackson
- KTM Contingency Awards -
1st. Craig Venske, 2nd. Matthew Pope, 3rd.
Richard Darlington
- Michelin “Rider of the day” Award -
Craig Venske
- Michelin “Ouch that hurts award” -
Paul McNamara
Comprehensive results provided by HS
Sports Timing Ltd will be available very shortly on
www.motogb.net
together with race images, a full weekend’s report on
the National Championship racing and an RSS feed for
updates.
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Halsion Lincoln Aprilia Round 2 Report
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Date: 14 May, 2007
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After a good debut weekend for the team at 3 Sisters, the action
moved south for round 2 last weekend to Lydd in Kent.
Rob Herring:
Joining the team this weekend was 10 time British &
Motocross Des Nations Champion Rob Herring, who swapped his
Yamaha for a 450 Halsion Aprilia. After a brief midweek test on
team owner Shane Stratton’s 450, the team were confident that
Rob would be more than competitive enough to garner a result on
his debut and this didn’t end up being far of the mark.
A qualifying position of 19th only half a second adrift
of championship leader Lee Jones on a similar machine, was a
great effort on a new bike at a new venue and Rob backed that up
with a fine 3rd in class in the first race and 12th overall.
With a better start position for race 2, Rob made good
progress until the race was red flagged, and on the restart he
made an even better getaway to run 9th and briefly lead the 450
race until a blown shock hose on the severe dirt section put
paid to his race.Race 3 was a back row start and Rob fought
through to 14th, after a race long battle with Irish star David
McKee.
After impressing the team with his speed &
professionalism, we look forward to the next round at Lydden,
where on a fresher bike, Rob will be out again.
David Jackson:
Fully recovered from his off at the last round, David
was hoping for a decent weekend on the tight Lydd circuit to
claw back some of the points he lost with a DNF last time out.
Qualifying 14th, David made progress in race 1 but a mistake
cost him a number of places mid-race dropping him from out of
the top 10 to finish 14th.
Race 2 again saw David lose places having tangled with
another rider, and then after a big crash on the double jump,
David was hit by a following rider as he got up and suffered a
mild concussion as well as back and pelvic injuries.
Fortunately, although it was a big off, none of the injuries
were major and David was released after an overnight stay in
hospital. We wish him a speedy recovery and thank the medical
crew at the track who looked after him.
Shane Stratton:
With a good performance in the 450 series last time
Shane stepped up to the championship class as a wildcard this
weekend, but an off early in qualifying put his effort on the
back foot with him re-injuring the knee that caused so many
problems at 3 Sisters. After a night of exercise to regain some
movement, Shane to took to the track anyway and made a good
start from the back of the grid running in the top 20 until lap
4 when a crash in the dirt left him with no front brake.
Race 2 saw a repeat of race 1, with Shane getting in the
mix again but a mistake in the dirt followed by a low side on
the tarmac after clipping the kerb on the last chicane left him
unable to continue, and the tough Aussie parked for the final
race.
With a two month break before round 3 and a newly
purchased 450 SXV waiting for him at home in Thailand, Shane
will be better prepared for the next outing where he should not
only be free from jet lag but also have some meaningful bike
time between races, which at this level is a must.
Phil Gee:
Running in the NORA national Open series, Phil qualified 15th
after a ‘safe’ tyre choice and was again hoping to run top 10
but a lackluster ride in race 1, saw Phil struggling to make
progress on the difficult to pass track, which meant that any
repeat of the good results of last time were unlikely and after
having a rider fall in front of him at the start of race 2 it
looked like it was going to be a bad day. Aggressive riding on
the dirt section and some confidence on the bike meant a 13th
place finish at the end and a better start position for race 3.
Another crash in turn 1 put paid to a good start and a
15th place at the end was again hard fought on a track that
suited a smaller bike.
With other riders having problems the day was enough to
see Phil up into the top 10 in points, and hopefully with more
bike time between now and 3 Sisters planned, top 10 should be a
possibility.
Thanks to all our sponsors, and we'll see you at the
next one.
Report by: Phil Gee  |
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2007 British & National Supermoto Championships
Round 2 Lydd Preview
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Date: 30 April, 2007
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With the first round of the series already just a
distant memory, Round 2 of the top level British
Supermoto Championship blasts straight back into
consciousness this coming weekend at Lydd International
Raceway, near Ashford in Kent on Saturday 5th and Sunday
6th May.
The 28 riders in the British Championship will be joined
by some wildcard riders this weekend, with the most
notable of those, being 2006 Moto GB star Jochen
Jasinski from Germany aboard his 650 Husaberg. The
ex-World Motocross Championship rider enjoyed competing
in the UK last year and will make the long drive from
Germany to appear at both Lydd and Lydden Hill for
rounds 2 & 3 of the series.
With both 450 & Open British Championship classes
actually running at the same time within the same race,
the riders, teams and spectators, enjoy superb
entertainment all the way through the field. In our
attached image from Round 1, you can see how the classes
are closely mixed, as 450 series leader David McKee (TAS
450 Suzuki) leads Sam Warren (Aprilia UK 550), Christian
Iddon (Factory Aprilia 550), Matt Winstanley (Robinsons
of Rochdale KTM 660) and Chris Hodgson (Robinsons of
Rochdale KTM 450) into the first corner at Three
Sisters.
After a breathtaking first event, where un-forecast rain
caused havoc with many team's tyre choices, Iddon and
McKee lead the Open and 450 classes respectively, but
with three races at each meeting and a points system
that is totally unforgiving of errors, literally anybody
in the field could have replaced them by next Sunday
evening! Current championship positions for all classes
in both series, can be found on the series website:
www.motogb.net.
Providing magnificent support to the British
Championship this weekend is the NORA Sport National
Supermoto Championship featuring Solos, Quads and a
double header meeting for the up and coming Youth class.
Current leader of the Youth series Lewis Cornish (TRM
Honda) will be doing his best to extend his lead as he
chases the generous prize fund provided by class sponsor
Heavy Duty Forklifts, but the demanding off-road section
at Lydd could provide all kinds of surprise results for
the youngsters.
A snapshot of the weekend timetable is:
Lydd International Raceway is located just 30 minutes
from the M25 via Ashford (M20 Junction 10). Follow the
signs to Brenzett/Lydd (A2070-A259).
Just after Lydd airport, drive over the hump back bridge
and take the next left turn. Straight on at the
roundabout, down Robin Hood Lane and at the sharp
right-hander, follow the road straight ahead, past the
terraced houses on the right. The entrance to LIR is on
the right hand side and is clearly signed.
The post code for Sat Nav users is: TN29 9JH. The
circuit telephone number is 01797 321895 and the circuit
website is:
www.heronspark.com
Admission is FREE this weekend although children under
16 must be accompanied by adults. |
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Team Debuts in British Championships
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Date: 12 April, 2007
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Team Halsion Lincoln Aprilia Round 1 Review - This weekend
saw the team in action in anger for the first time at the 3 Sisters Circuit
near Wigan, Lancashire.
The four days, which included a test day, a
qualification day, and two days of racing, was a baptism of fire for the
newly formed team, but the weekend passed without major incident, and gave
an encouraging start to the season for all three riders.
David Jackson:
Having qualified 11er being sixth in free training,
David a fantastic start to the day by turning his third row start into a
top three position by half distance, putting his 450 Halsion Aprilia hot on
the heels of World Championship race winner Matt Winstanley’s open class
KTM, but after small error in the changeable conditions, David hit the
tarmac in front of the packed pit lane after having got the rear wheel onto
the painted kerbing on the exit of the last turn. Too shaken to continue,
after losing a certain podium in his first outing for the team, and posting
the second fastest lap of the race David bounced back to an excellent 7th
in race 2, despite a back row start, and then rounded the day off with an
excellent 4th
in the final race to end the day 6th overall .
At the end of the day
David was very happy with the way things had gone, even with the first race
off, saying ‘ its been a good day, we have the speed, the team works well,
and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season’.
Shane Stratton:
Team owner Shane had a tough start to his UK race
career, a first session crash re-injuring the knee he twisted badly at the
Blyton test, and put him on the back foot for the rest of qualification day.
After remounting, and then finding his bar mount broken, after another bike
hit him, Shane made a respectable showing on his 450 Halsion Aprilia on only
his second visit to the track, that pretty much every other rider rides 4
times a year, but his combined times from the two sessions was outside the
top 28 times needed to make the cut. Missing out on direct qualification
Shane rode the 450 National series and posted a creditable 4th
in his final outing, and more importantly posting
lap times more in line with his true speed, which would have put him on the
grid for the main event, in spite of his injuries. Shane now looks forward
to the next round at Lydd as a wildcard entry and aims to be fully fit to
make his full British series debut.
Phil Gee:
After an 18 month lay-off,
Phil’s return to the track aboard the 550 Halsion Aprilia went pretty well.
With the level of competition being so high, the combined 450/Open series
format meant that only the top open riders would be in with a shout of
making the cut, so chances of qualification for Phil were realistically
pretty slim, but track time being short, and the new bike feeling pretty
good straight away, the decision was made to go for the Qualification & see
what happened. After being just two seconds off in the morning, a good time
in the afternoon was needed to be in with a chance of making the top 28,
but it wasn’t to be, and although Phil posted his fastest ever times on his
first outing on the new bike, it wasn’t enough and so Phil rode in the NORA
National Open series as originally planned, and ended the day 13th
posting a 9th & 12th after a
first race 22nd in the rain on slicks.
Next outing....
The team will be in action again on the May Bank Holiday weekend at
Lydd in Kent.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Halsion Construction, Off-Road Aprilia Lincoln, Alice Racing,
KBC Helmets, POD MX Knee Braces, Beaver International, Buff Clothing, K & N
Filters, Almax Security Chains, TYGA Performance, Rock Oil, RK Chains,
Ferodo, Fro Systems, Alpina Wheels, HEL, Silmoto, AHRS Products
and Motorshack.
Report by Phil Gee
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2007 British & National Supermoto Championships
Round 1 Report
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Date: 12 April, 2007
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Championship Round 1 – Three Sisters Circuit, Wigan
The Easter Bank Holiday Weekend saw some amazing racing
at Round 1 of the new format British Supermoto
Championship, held at Three Sisters Race Circuit near
Wigan and with a different winner in each of the three
races, the scene has been set for a very exciting 2007
series.
Round.
The inaugural ‘Qualifying Day’ saw 64 top British
riders, plus competitors from Australia, Ireland and
South Africa fighting for the right, to ride in the top
level series. Only 28 riders ultimately made the grade
as permanent championship riders for 2007, but the
resultant entry list, promises action at every single
race in 2007.
The following day, the
qualifying session for grid positions saw a titanic
battle between the riders with Christian Iddon (Factory
Aprilia) just pipping fellow Aprilia rider Sam Warren
(SR Off Road Aprilia) for the Pole position honours,
these two, an amazing full second faster than the rest
of the field.
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After the unseasonable warm weather of Saturday &
Sunday, Bank Holiday Monday was disappointingly grey and
overcast with worse weather to follow.
Race one was declared a wet race and was unusual in that
seven competitors started from the pit lane after
missing the cut for the starting grid, due to last
minute tyre changes. The weather alternated throughout
the race and despite setting the second fastest lap
David Jackson (Halsion Lincoln Aprilia) fell midway
through the session and retired. Sam Warren took full
advantage of his front row start, led the race and won
convincingly, leaving Matt Winstanley (Robinsons of
Rochdale KTM) on cut slicks to claim second place
points, followed by Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia)
who started from the pit lane, in third. Andy Mitchell
(DCR Husaberg) who had previously held third spot also
succumbed to the rain and retired after a fall. In the
battle of the 450’s, slippery conditions expert David
McKee (TAS Suzuki) had a busy race, fending off Chris
Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM) and Ricky Higgs (Aprilia)
whilst also attempting to stop Iddon on his charge from
the back of the grid. The Ulsterman proved once again
that whilst qualifying may not be his strong point,
racing certainly is.
By race two, the weather conditions had got worse and
Ady Smith (KTM UK) made the most of his experience to
clinch second position behind clear winner Christian
Iddon who was making up for his pit lane start in race
one. Matt Winstanley had an uneventful race to claim
third position ahead of Greg Kinsella (DCR Husaberg) in
fourth. In the unofficial ‘crowd pleasing’ stunts
category, Alan Bott (Pemberton Tyres Honda) showed great
tenacity as he crashed on the pit straight on the last
lap, but managed to direct his crash across the finish
line to finish the race without losing a position! Back
to the 450 class and once again McKee mastered the
tricky conditions to claim the win, with Hodgson once
again hounding him throughout the race. David Jackson
recovered from his race one crash to finish an eventual
third 450 and seventh overall.
Going into race three, dry lines were becoming more
prominent on the track, but Ady Smith’s experience (and
pre-race investigations on his mountain bike!) saw him
select a slick rear tyre giving him the grip required to
claim the holeshot. Although Iddon (on a wet rear tyre)
was able to close towards the end of the race, he
ultimately had to take second position. Another wise
tyre choice coupled with determination allowed Greg
Kinsella to take third place. David Jackson made up for
his race one disappointment with the 450 win in race
three with Hodgson literally on his back mudguard at the
finish. McKee took it slightly easier to claim third
knowing he had done enough to claim the overall 450
category win.
Overall Aggregated Results after three races at round 1:
British Supermoto Championship Open Class: 1st
Christian Iddon, 2nd Ady Smith, 3rd Matt Winstanley
British Supermoto Championship 450 Class: 1st
David McKee, 2nd Chris Hodgson, 3rd Lee Jones
Rider of the day: Ady Smith
Best Crash: David Jackson
KTM Contingency Prize Winners: Craig
Venske, Dave Hartley and Matt Pope
Aprilia Contingency Prize Winner: Lee
Jones
For full results and championship positions, visit the
HS Sports Timing website.
The next race in the series is Round 2 at Lydd
International Raceway in Kent over the weekend of
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th May 2007. |
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2007 British & National Supermoto Championships
Round 1 Preview
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Date: 02 April, 2007
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The Easter Bank Holiday Weekend sees a dramatic upturn
in the fortunes of British Supermoto as Round 1 of the
new format "super series" gets underway at Three Sisters
Race Circuit, near Wigan.
Saturday 7 th
April is the inaugural ‘Qualifying Day’ during which,
over 60 top British riders, plus competitors from
Australia, Ireland and
South Africa
will fight for the right, to ride in the top level
British Supermoto Championship. Only 28 riders will
make the grade, but grid slots are then assured for the
rest of the 2007 season ,
which starts the very next day! Another first for 2007
is both 450 & Open British Championship classes actually
running at the same time within the same race. For the
riders, teams and spectators, this means fantastic
entertainment all the way through the field.
Series organisers Moto GB have worked hard with the ACU,
AMCA and NORA Sport over the winter months to bring
about a single series for British Supermoto and next
weekend promises to underline the success of those
combined efforts.
Providing magnificent support to the British
Championship is the NORA Sport National Supermoto
Championship featuring Solos, Quads and Superlites.
Solo riders not quite making the cut for the new style
British Championship will battle with National
Championship regulars in Britain’s legendary and most
successful Supermoto series, whilst the Quads and
Superlites will provide their now customary crowd
pleasing show.
The Winter agreement to ‘all work together’ and form the
two-tier super series has seen a huge increase in
Supermoto from both competitors, teams and the
motorcycle trade alike. Over 220 competitors have
submitted entries to compete over the Easter Weekend and
the series has contingency programmes, support and
prizes for competitors from over 15 different trade
companies alone.
Just a few of the top entries at the time of going to
press include: Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia SXV
550), Sam Warren (Aprilia UK SXV 550), Matt Winstanley
(KTM UK / Robinsons of Rochdale KTM 610 SMR), Andy
Mitchell (DCR Husaberg 650), Greg Kinsella (DCR Husaberg
700), Carl Shield (Moto Supplies Husqvarna 610), David
McKee (TAS Suz uki
450), Lee Jones (SMRacing / Rocket Centre Aprilia SXV
450), George Clements (TRM Racing Honda CRF 450), Keith
Farmer (SMRacing / Rocket Centre Aprilia UK SXV 450),
Ricky Higgs (Aprilia UK SXV 450) and new convert to
Supermoto and 10 times British Motocross Champion
Rob Herring (Yamaha UK YZ450F).
A snapshot of the weekend timetable is:
Saturday April 7 th - British Championship
‘Qualifying Day’ for solos only - Over 60 riders compete
for the 28 grid slots on offer in 2007
Sunday April 8 th - National Quad, Youth & 450
Solo Championship races plus British Championship free
practice & qualifying for grid position
Monday April 9 th - National Superlite & Open
Solo Championship races plus British Championship races
Three Sisters race Circuit is located off
Lockett Road, which
is off the B5207 in Bryn near Wigan.
The circuit website is
www.three-sisters.co.uk and the telephone
number for enquiries is 01942 270230. Admission each
day is great value at £5.00 for adults with accompanied
children under 16 free.
RSS feed available on
www.motogb.net
for updates |
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