Shield's up in front
By TMX Archives on 11th Sep 08
AFTER the sunshine of Teesside, heavy rain helped shape the track layout for round seven of the Gimoto National Supermoto Championship at the Three Sisters Circuit. The weather was dry for the start of Saturday's racing and with the exception of a light shower, the sun shone. This round was kindly sponsored by Dave Clarke Racing Accessories Ltd.
Oliver Harrison had a commanding lead in the Youth series, and took the first win of the day from Jordan Holliday who just kept in front of Brett Sayer.
In race two Harrison led once again with a strong lead from Holliday, but on this occasion Ben Stafford finished in third spot. The result of the final moto was identical.
Lee Rudd's efforts of racing two championship classes with races back to back all season, could well be rewarded with the 250cc crown, although Lee Cunliffe is likely to stop him especially since Simon Bentley was sidelined through injury.
In the first race, Cunliffe set the fastest lap, and commanded a clear lead over second placed Lewis Cornish and Lee Rudd.
Cunliffe not only won the second race but also led the 450 class over the line with a five second margin. Rudd kept close in second to maximise on points, leaving Cornish in third spot.
Four riders led Group B 450cc. Cunliffe was dominant yet again with another win to extend his championship advantage, and in second place in the final outing was Robert Hartley, taking a trophy on his maiden ride in the series. Rudd claimed the final trophy for the 250cc riders with Cornish proving that he has the skill-set to race in any class.
Andy Mitchell's grand day out included top spot in the Group A 450cc final.
Andy Mitchell headed the opening Group A race. Despite gaining ground, James Addy could not displace Andy from the front spot. Lee Rudd, some way back from the leaders, took third.
In the second race Mitchell had an extensive lead over Addy, and these two went unchallenged. Graeme Norris had to hold off the advances of both Ben Kirkham and Lee Rudd to stay in third.
In the final moto, Addy had an early lead and the win looked a certainty. However, a fall on the penultimate lap left him with too much ground to make up. Mitchell posted the third and final win of the day with Addy in second.
Graeme Norris had an excellent day's racing and despite coming under intense pressure, he held onto third place.
A dry circuit meant fast racing on Sunday for the Open Class.
All Ben Kirkham had to do in the first Group B race was to hold on to the top spot until the line to move up a group for an A group start – which he did!
GIMOTO NATIONAL SUPERMOTO CHAMPS
Rd 7 - Three Sisters Circuit, nr Wigan
(NORASPORT)
Open Group A: 1 Carl Shield, 2 Andy Mitchell, 3 Lee Jones, 4 Chris Babbitt, 5 Scott Woodacre.
Open Group B: 1 Graeme Wiles, 2 David Perry, 3 Andrew Williamson, 4 John Earnshaw, 5 Craig Richardson.
Open Group C: 1 Steve Ellis, 2 Karl Geary, 3 Joe Edwards, 4 Robert Hartley, 5 Ian McCreadie.
Open Group D: 1 Jack Hannath, 2 Grant Cunningham, 3 John Sigworth, 4 Martin Bennett, 5 Jonathan Curry.
Youth: 1 Oliver Harrison, 2 Jordan Holliday, 3 Ben Stafford, 4 Scott Pitchers , 5 Brett Sayers.
450cc Group B: 1 Paul Scott, 2 Gary Paul, 3 Keith Haycock, 4 John Horn, 5 Kris Norris.
450cc Group A: 1 Andy Mitchell, 2 James Addy, 3 Graeme Norris, 4 Chris Walker, 5 Phil Gee.
250cc Class: 1 Lee Cunliffe, 2 Robert Hartley , 3 Lee Rudd, 4 Lewis Cornish, 5 Owen Connell.
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008