Post-classic, two-stroke racing No images? Click here Runners and riders at the Grand NationalRound three took GP Originals to a new circuit hosted by NG Road Racing for their flagship Castle Combe Grand National event. With spectators now allowed, riders played out their races to a backdrop of bike fans lining the banking. Like many UK circuits, Combe is tight on noise and available track days. With very limited numbers per session and only a.m. or p.m. testing available, many of our field were straight into practice, eager to learn the fast, bumpy layout. Qualifying for the weekendBasking in some very welcome sunshine our riders got themselves dialled-in with a warm-up session in the morning. Timed qualifying at midday saw several riders getting up to nine laps of track time chasing the 250 and 350 Motocarb Motopole £50 cash rewards. Ant Hart proved to be the pace-setter putting in a 1:17.667 on his 350 to head the field. Next up was the 250cc of Phil Stead at 1:17.996, proving that the smaller machine has what it takes to take on the 350s. Dan Jackson’s 350 claimed the last front row slot and Glen English took 3rd of the 350 runners. Nigel Palmer and Gary Vines rounded out the top three 250s. The fastest of our Masters went the way of Nick Williamson, Nigel Palmer and Roy Chapman. Racing beginsThe temperature soared during the afternoon to 25 degrees as 12 rows of two-stroke Grand Prix machines assembled on the grid anticipating 10 scorching laps. The start at Combe is fast! It’s flat out through Avon Rise then eventually arriving bouncing and bumping at Quarry Corner; over-taking opportunities are plentiful. The start provided onlookers with a sensory treat of sounds and smells plus the customary plume of two-stroke smoke momentarily obscuring the launch. Phil Stead made haste, the chance of a win looking positive on the green-plated machine. Regular front runner and current 350 Champion, Phil Atkinson had suffered bike issues and was starting from an unlucky 13th spot on Chris Rose’s other machine. A blast through The Esses and Stead took flight in what the commentator described as the biggest high side he had ever seen! The red flag came out and everyone reassembled for the restart. Ant Hart took charge from the off with English, Jackson, Walling and Palmer all packed in tight. With a South Africa vs Cornwall face-off through lap two English pulled a gap on Atkinson bringing a determined Dan Walling through with him. They were soon joined by Dan Jackson, relegating the Maxton Suspension 350cc Championship leader back to 5th. Hart and English each pulled comfortable gaps to clinch 1st and 2nd 350. This left Atkinson, Walling and Palmer to fight it out, crossing the line less than a second between the three of them. With Stead out of the picture nursing two broken wrists and a shoulder blade, Nigel Palmer took the reigns in the AD Modular 250cc challenge and an impressive 5th on-the-road behind teammate Walling. Siân Brooks’ 250L suffered a broken rear sprocket on the restart and had to watch from the sidelines as Michael Grigson took the 2nd 250cc spot – finding some exceptional form buoyed by the disposal of his orange jacket. Mike McDonnell celebrated his maiden outing on the Derek Skinner TZ250L with a 3rd 250cc place. Our fast CBG Contractors Masters didn’t disappoint once again. Palmer from Williamson from Chapman all within the top 10 overall. Hammerdown for the second raceSunday dawned with a light mist and damp track that soon cleared to leave warmth and high humidity. Some took the opportunity for an early shake-down in readiness for the day’s two races. Race 18 took off for just shy of 15 miles of hectic fun at 12:47. Atkinson now back on his No1 machine took the lead to the finish. Dan Jackson initially took the fight to Ant Hart but succumbed to 3rd spot. Glen English had his race cut short losing a clutch lever after a coming together with Palmer. Dan Walling achieved another strong finish in 4th. Palmer and Williamson went head-to-head for the Masters victory with Williamson just missing out at the line. 2nd 250 across the stripe was Mark Linton, keen to make amends after a DNS in the first race. George Thomas, Mark Linton, Roy Chapman and Dorian Eardley all in close contention. Jamie Edwards was another rider fighting a weekend of machine issues but pushed forwards throughout the proceedings to finish 8th ahead of George Thomas. Another strong performance put in by Michael Grigson to take 3rd 250 spot and 13th overall. Lansdowne rivals Perkin, Bedford and Farrall found themselves enjoying the competition together on their two-strokes! This race delivered the hottest pace as Nigel Palmer put in the fastest 250cc lap of the weekend to claim the Redline Motorcycles £50 cash with a 1:18.767. Phil Atkinson also posted the fastest 350cc lap at 1:15.755 to collect his Redline envelope. Glen English, Dan Walling, Chris Moore and Ant Hart © PK Photomedia The finaleA few dark clouds were looming but the final race stayed dry. The weekend had been difficult for many. Of the original 40 entrants, 29 riders made it to the start line for the final race – still an impressive grid for the 37+ year-old GP machines. English made his customary fast start pushing through to 2nd in the first lap until Walling, followed by Hart, came through. George Thomas pushed on getting into 4th spot. However, by lap four a rejuvenated Jamie Edwards was coming through the field and made the pass. Thomas looked to reclaim his position and the pair clashed through the fast bumps into Quarry and both went down hard. With Atkinson in the lead, Hart was looking for another strong second place, until a gearbox failure spat him off with only a lap to go. Hart later confirmed it had been jumping out of 2nd gear throughout the weekend. Walling took 2nd and added nicely to his points haul over the two days. English rounded out the top three. Nigel Palmer had the 250cc victory in the bag until he attempted an optimistic pass on Chris Moore for 5th overall. The move at the uncompromising, tight final chicane ended his charge on lap seven. Moore picked up his best result of the weekend in 4th. Palmer’s predicament left Mark Linton to claim 1st 250cc whilst locked in a tussle with Roy Chapman. The pair crossed the line just a tenth between them in Chapman’s favour. Fast Master Nick Williamson claimed the over-55s victory from Chapman who was next on-the-road as former Masters’ champ Tony Perkin took third. The remaining 250 podiums were being fought out between Michael Grigson and Siân Brooks, the pair swapping places until the rather over-zealous slippery surface flags began appearing. Youthful confidence prevailed with the uncertainty of the grip and Grigson took 2nd 250cc from Brooks. John Hannaford had switched classes after nipping up the 250 and rolled out the 350 for this race, Mike McDonnall had done the same and was now on Derek Skinner’s 350. Grigson Senior stuck to the 250 Juchem framed TZ he knows so well! Black and orange flags were being shown for a few riders during this race. We are unsure of the reason for some and understand this is very disappointing. A stoppage on Saturday from our race caused a long delay which we know was not to the knowledge of the rider. Another oil leak in our first Sunday race compounded the issue. We can only assume these events caused a zero-tolerance approach for the final race. This is frustrating as we all know our bikes hold very little oil. As a guest class, we must be vigilant with our bike prep, adhere to rules and flags and ride with good conduct, a vital code to ensure future invitations. A weekend of highs and lows, some great results, a warm GPO welcome to another new recruit, Andy Wade. We all wish our injured friends a speedy recovery. Cash prizes and further rewardsOur excellent prize fund package for our main championships has been genorously provided by: AD Modular • Maxton Suspension • CBG Contractors • Xclusiv Group • RM Cycles Each top three finisher across 250cc, 350cc and Masters receives a bottle of Crankshaft Brewery GP Originals Premix beer. AD Modular 250cc results
Maxton Suspension 350cc results
CBG Contractors Masters (over-55s) results
1) Mark Linton and Dorian Eardley. Awards throughout the field
The GP Originals race raffleWith so many amazing supporters onboard for 2021 we’ve had to dream up new ways to share out the rewards. This year we are running a Race Raffle at every round with a selection of prizes to win, the following were won at Castle Combe:
All important thank you…Thank you again to NG Road Racing, marshalls, race office team and especially the medics who took care of several injuries over the weekend. Reg and Jean for handling our scrutineering in intense heat. Paul Korkus for the photos, Steve, Michelle and Carol for organising the tea urn, prizes, raffles and generally being run ragged over the course of the weekend. The usual gang of volunteers who put up and take down the awning whilst also attending to their own busy schedules. An extra special thank you to (mostly the same people) who jumped in to sort out our injured riders’ awnings, vehicles and equipment. Round four – Brands Hatch GPWe all get very little opportunity to race the full GP circuit at Brands Hatch – even less with a dedicated grid of our own special machines. We have been informed that entries will go live at the end of this month. Be sure you are receiving our eshots, this is where we will post the prompt to enter first. Get yourselves registered with Bemsee so that you are ready to get on it 🏁 All graphic design, web design and illustrations by Spyre Limited ©spyre2021 |