Race Report- Pembrey Saturday 29th Sunday 30th March 2008
“Mixed weather turns form book on it’s head”
The opening meeting of the NG Road Racing season saw challenging conditions all weekend. Saturday had the track surface ranging from wet to very wet, with very strong winds, whereas Sunday dawned cold and icy which soon cleared to give a dry track and better grip…. And better lap times.
Michael Blank on the Gemini Fire Systems GSXR 1000 Suzuki, it is fair to say didn’t shine on Saturday although grabbed solid top six placings in the Phoenix Open and Fraser’s Powerbike. However with the better conditions on Sunday he upped the pace and was the only rider to get under the 1 minute bracket all day, a feat he achieved on a number of laps. This saw him take both powerbike and open wins on Sunday in impressive style. His dominance on Sunday saw him awarded the Rider of the Weekend award.
Joe Symonds got his Fraser’s Powerbike defence off to a good start on Saturday with a win in the red flag foreshortened final as he crossed the line less than a tenth of a second ahead of Charlie Bishop and Chris Pope with James Cox in 4th. Cox was having his first outing in anger after a 20-month layoff due to a horrendous leg injury. His performances this weekend on the Phyco Mini Moto R1 will have made many once again sit up and take notice of the lanky West Contryman. Michael Blank took Sundays win from Cox to gain good points but third place from Symonds was good enough to see him lead the series after the first meeting and get his defence off to a good start.
The inform pair of Cox and Blank shard the wins in the Phoenix Open with this time Darren Neal (Bladegroup CBR) Paul Allen (Slipstream R1) in close attendance. The Open class proved to be a luckless affair for pre season tip Symonds on his Greenday R1. Whilst leading Saturday’s race he lost his visor and dropped down the field as the rain lashed into his helmet to end up out of the points. He grabbed a below par for him 8th on Sunday as the pace hotted up…. Although to be fair he was only 1 second off 4th place but at the back of the rider train as the flag came out. Daniel Frear had a storming ride on Sunday to get his 600 France and Li Asia R6 into 4th ahead of most of the 1000’s.
Johua Day from Cirencester and Graham Frear from Winterton took a win apiece in the George White Superbikes 600 class. There was not much to choose between Day on his R6 and Frear on his CBR RR as the conditions favoured first one, then the other. Daniel Frear, Rich Bearcroft and Christian Hazell had the pace but on the day had to let Josh and Graham take the wins in this very close class.
Pre season tip for the A and R Racing F400 class Chris Beverley certainly lived up to his billing as he took both finals on his France and Li Asia CBR 400 Honda. Tim Bradley and Les Vallender are certainly going to make Beverley work hard for wins though as they battled race long. Vallender set the fastest lap both days on his new True View Ariels and Sat Systems RVF Honda, not bad for his first outing on the 400. NG new boy Josh Leaning had two good rides and could be one to watch as the season moves on.
Maesteg schoolboy Ty Jones won the battle of the teenagers in the Steve Lynham Formula 125 class as he took two hard fought wins over Rowan Miller on Saturday, and Thomas Williams on Sunday. Miller was presented the Newcomer of the Meeting award for his fine rides including that runner up spot in what was his first ever race on the 125 Aprilia.
Showing that the F125’s are a great proving ground for talent the ’07 champ Corey Lewis has now moved up to the 125GP Refined Recruitment series and kicked his campaign off with a fine win backed up with 4th place on Sunday on his new Bushby Plant Hire RS125. Ross Ashman will be pleased that they kept faith in the RS125 Honda over the winter, after considering a switch back to the F125 class as he took two top three spots. Jack Drummond is returning from injury but his comback was hampered on Saturday with electrical problems sidelining him and his Honda. However Sunday saw his 125 in fine fettle and after a race long battle with Luke Hinton took runner up spot just half a bike length adrift of Hinton on his Hinton Racing RS. Freddie Nickless’s title defence got off to a stuttering start as the young Wiltshire man struggled with the conditions to come away with just 6th and 7th placings.
With a slightly depleted Dara Brady Racing 400 grid as many riders are awaiting the start of the 250GP series that kicks off at our next meeting at Brands it was left to Chay Newton to show us his early season form. Chay is another rider that suffered injury in ’07 with a very badly broken arm but the Landscape Gardener but deep (oooo…sorry!) to show us in no uncertain terms that he is back, fit and ready for ’08 on his TZ250. Tony Davies and current class champion Paul Lumb had a good battle for runner up spot on Saturday, but Davies dnf’d on Sunday and Lumb had to watch as the flying 125 of Luke Hinton pushed him back to third. Newton was happy with his comeback, two wins and two fastest laps, however the cash strapped team have been forced to sell the spare bike, so it’s fingers crossed that some cash can come their way during the year to allow Chay to continue his comeback.
Richard Troth and Ben Mardsen shared the wins in the Race Trader UK 400 Streestocks on their Hondas. The Honda either in CBR or RVF form have in the last couple of years taken over from the trusty Kawasaki ZXR as the bike for the class. Judging by this weekend these two are set to battle it out all year.
The Metzeler/DTR Streetstocks classes saw no one rider dominate as the conditions favoured first one rider then another all weekend. Dan Kift with his Protint UK CBR and John Harwood with a ZX10R were top in the 1300 division with a win each with Hilary Philips not too far away on his new Fox Enterprises GSXR. The 700’s also saw the top placings shared as MLF R6 rider Andy Hayes and GSXR 600 mounted Nicholas Andrews claimed a win apiece.
Pembrey saw mixed fortunes for 2008 Team Spidey Sound of Thunder tips for the top as Andy Peck came away with a win and a dnf and Jarrod Withey claimed a third and a dnf. Withey who claimed the 2007 Scrutineers Award for Machine Preparation had the clutch cable break on his SP1 Honda as he sat on the front row. Greg Gibson took his new immaculate JHP Racing 1098 to its first NG win as Andy Peck and the Aprilia Mille fell by the wayside on Sunday. The Aprilias and Ducatis are running scared though as a whole horde of 675 Triumphs are coming into the class following the example set by 2006 trend-setter Adam Tempest. Martin Sharpe, James Parry, Simon Temby, Darren Crisp, Phil Webber and Shaun Wynne all have new 675’s for ’08.
After a traumatic day for defending champ Nigel Wright in the Big C Mini Twins on Saturday as an incorrect tyre choice was allied to a set of new front brake pads that were not compatible with his 800 Ducati’s Discs. It saw him struggle (relativly) home in 4th behind Mark Bulgin, Rhys Davies and an ecstatic first time race winner Stephen Sweetman on his SV650 Suzuki. Normal service was resumed on Sunday with the dry conditions with Wright taking the win from Bulgin and Sweetman. However it does not look like Nigel will have things as easy this year as he did in his all dominating ’07 campaign.
It was a weekend for the Formula 2 sidecars to take charge in the wet conditions on Saturday as Matt Dix and Rob Beere took their first NG win in the Century 2000 F2 Sidecar class on the A and R Baker 600. To boot they also headed home all the Open outfits in the wet conditions in the CSC Open Sidecar class. The open win came as they passed Ian Drowne and Gary Andrews on the final lap. Drowne a former six-time sidecar champ and multiple hill-climb title holder is returning to racing after an 11 year absence, and is still a little race rusty. Sunday had a one-day visit for Phil Dongworth and Stu Castles on the WAS Worcester Ireson Honda, and their class shone through as they won by nearly 10 seconds from Wayne Lockey and Mark Howard and Saturdays winner Matt Dix and Rob Beere.
To round things off Ben Marsden took his CBR 400 to the Louigi Moto 400 Newcomers win and Duncan Knox held back a whole host of bigger machinery in the Gary Vardy Open Newcomers on his 675 Truimph.
We now look forward to the next round at Brands Hatch on 12th and 13th April.
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Russ Gardner
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Keith Hawkes
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