Hot pace at Round One

GP Originals made a grand entrance to 2022 last weekend at the amphitheatre that is Brands Hatch. Our opening round was hosted by the superb Thundersport GB and the weather rallied just in time to bring glorious sunshine ready for the Friday test day. The entry list had peaked at 35 but with few ‘bike-not-ready’ cancellations we arrived with a strong list of 31 riders. 

Quali-flying

Our 15 minutes timed qualifying in the sunshine enabled some to notch up as many as 15 laps, 309 total laps completed between us all. Mark Edge crashed out at Paddock Hill sadly putting an end to his weekend. Gary Vines looked serious from the outset and banged in a 51.575 on his Uggly & Co TZ250L to secure pole – this is the outright fastest GP Originals lap at Brands Hatch to date, regardless of cc. Second on the timing sheet and fastest 350 was Phil Atkinson at 52.641 with Jamie Edwards completing the front row at 53.323. Our fastest 250 and 350 riders, both 2021 class Champions, each secured the £50 Motopole Reward by Motocarb.

Nick Williamson, Roy Chapman and Grant Goodings came through as the fastest of our CBG Contractors Masters field, all within the top 10 on-the-road.

Racing gets underway

As the first race after lunch we were on the grid without a moments delay. Mike Russell wheeled out the stunning Exactweld but in his exuberance to start racing managed to collect a jump start penalty! Vines capitalised on his pole position to take the lead with TRT Racing’s Edwards moving into 2nd and Rose MOT rider Atkinson in 3rd. The South African knew he could not let Vines get away and was soon hot on his heels. Vines and Atkinson picked up £50 apiece for the Redline Motorcycles 250 and 350 fastest laps with 52.360 and 52.173 respectively.

The 250/350 pair remained glued to each other race long in an exciting and extremely close battle that ended a mere 0.275 between them in favour of Atkinson to also take 1st of the AD Modular 350 class. Dan Jackson was the 2nd 350 through followed by Jamie O’Brien who produced a superb run through the field from last on the grid, this performance secured 3rd 350 and fifth on-the-road.

Another fast 250 piloted by FW Developments rider Phil Stead, pushed through by lap four into 3rd overall. Steady held his position to the flag showing strong pace at 52.884 and 2nd of the Maxton Suspension supported 250s. Michael Grigson managed to keep Drew Peacock Racing’s Mark Linton at bay to take 3rd 250.

The Masters, once again proved to be a cut-throat affair with Williamson and Chapman split by just 0.084 with Goodings breathing down their necks. Chapman notched up a new Masters lap record at 53.504.

250 vs 350 as Phil and Gary gave a demonstration of close combat.
Roberto Keller on the 250H.
Grant Goodings and Jamie O’Brien.
Michael Grigson, Mark Linton and Andy Green.

More sunshine, more laps 

The second of Saturday’s 12 lappers began in much the same way as the first with Vines taking an early lead. Atkinson took over at the front and the pair again raced wheel-to-wheel. With only 1.2 miles to circulate and long races it meant lapping riders became an integral part of the race. Both riders made their way through safely as Atkinson took the win with just over four seconds breathing space this time around. Phil Stead showed the agile 250s pace by putting in the fastest overall lap of the race at 52.411.

Vines bagged another maximum points haul for the 250s from Phil Stead and Mike Russell. Jamie Edwards enjoyed taking 2nd of the 350s after a lost footrest scuppered his first race. New Dad George Thomas showed impressive form to take 3rd and a healthy 6th on-the-road.

Masters 2021 Champ Nick Williamson again took the big points for the over-55s as Goodings and Chapman rounded out the top three Masters. 

What a difference a day makes 

Sunday dawned foggy and damp with chilly temperatures. Few took advantage of the warm-up session and we waited for the mist to lift before racing got underway. Our scheduled 14 lap races were reformatted to 10 laps (perhaps to the relief of some!). With astonishing Thundersport efficiency our 2nd race of the day was reinstated to 14 laps as they managed to regain all the time lost in the gloom and even get ahead of schedule. Where else would you get that?

The highs and lows 

Using Thundersport’s Megalaps system the grid was arranged using the best lap produced by each rider across Saturday’s track time including qualifying. Vines was back on pole with Atkinson and Stead for company. Edwards and two fast Masters, Williamson and Chapman, making up row two.

Disaster struck as the lights went out. A promising new rider at GP Originals, Andrew Taylor found himself taking too much brake to avoid colliding with a rider ahead. He went down heavily and was collected by a luckless Andy Glasgow, Nick Bedford and Brazilian rider Roberto Keller. A bike was alight as the pack streamed through Paddock Hill, some riders expected a red flag but the incident was rapidly cleared, very prominent waved yellows demanded caution for the first couple of circuits but soon all was well underway again. Nick Bedford suffered a broken collarbone, Andy’s 2021 broken leg thankfully held up well but he now has a broken toe to add to the collection. Bob Keller took his 11 hour flight home uninjured but with a rather sorrowful 250H making its way back to France. Andy Taylor has some straightening to do but is adamant he’ll be back out for Round Two at Oulton. We send our best wishes to all involved.

Back at it 

The race chimed back into rhythm as Atkinson and Vines duked it out again. 0.096 split over the line gave Atkinson another win and Vines fastest lap of the race… what a start to a super-competitive season.

O’Brien used his improved grid position to take 2nd 350 and 3rd on-the-road from Nick Williamson just 0.009 seconds in O’Brien’s wake. A worthy mention goes to Chris Moore who had been racing with NGRRC at Oulton on Saturday therefore had a back of the grid start. He arrived at the flag tucked in just 0.538 behind Dan Jackson and 6th place overall.

Grant Goodings took 2nd Master with Roy Chapman just 0.081 in his slipstream. Half of the total finishers crossed the line within 10ths of seconds from the competitor they were chasing – close racing for everyone!

1. The ex-Gary Noel Exactweld 250L ridden by Mike Russell.
2. George Thomas, Jamie Edwards, Mike Russell, Nick Williamson and Grant Goodings.
3. A busy piece of tarmac full of post-classic 250s and 350s at Druids.

The finale

Track conditions were looking pretty good, air temperature around 11°. The final race would go down to the wire between the 250 and 350 GP bikes of Vines and Atkinson.

The lights went out and the hoarde streamed around Paddock Hill bend, up the steep rise towards Druids. Roy Chapman lost the front and went down, bringing Dan Jackson with him; as the pair slid out to the gravel Chapman’s machine caught fire. We’ve never experienced fires at GP Originals and now two in one day – thankfully a rare and very unusual sequence of events. Both riders were uninjured.

The race proceeded and Vines lit his own fire leading each of the 14 laps. The race victory came at last as the green plated 250 took the flag 5.506 seconds clear of Atkinson and another fastest lap of 52.481. In Parc Ferme Gary’s rear tyre was almost flat!

Jamie Edwards picked up another podium as 2nd 350 with Nick Williamson 3rd of the blue plates. It was good to see the rare Exactweld machine of Mike Russell in 2nd 250 spot with Michael Grigson enjoying a successful weekend in 3rd. With Chapman out of the race and Williamson the clear Masters leader it was another strong 2nd Masters finish for Grant Goodings. Dean Mitchell on the Eddie Roberts prepared TZ enjoyed his first GP Originals experience and collected 3rd of the Masters contenders in the final race which earned him the aggregate 3rd Master of the weekend.

We were all delighted to welcome several new faces at GP Originals, Dean Mitchell, Ian Longstaff, Steven Colville, Ian Hutchman, Roberto Keller and Andrew Taylor. We’d like to thank them for getting their bikes ready and taking on a new challenge! There are even more new arrivals entered for Oulton Park in April.

Cash prizes and further rewards

Our excellent prize fund package for our main championships has been generously provided by:  Maxton Suspension • AD Modular • CBG Contractors

Each top three finisher across 250cc, 350cc and Masters receives a bottle of Crankshaft Brewery GP Originals Premix beer.

Maxton Suspension 250cc results

• £50 Motocarb Motopole 250cc: Gary Vines
• £50 Redline Motorcycles 250cc fastest lap (0:52.360): Gary Vines
• £200 1st 250cc: Gary Vines
• £150 2nd 250cc: Mike Russell
• £100 3rd 250cc: Michael Grigson
• £75 4th 250cc: Mark Linton
• £50 5th 250cc: Phil Stead
• NGK Spark Plugs voucher 6th 250cc: Ian Longstaff
• Ragged Edge voucher 7th 250cc: Siân Brooks

AD Modular 350cc results

• £50 Motocarb Motopole 350cc: Phil Atkinson
• £50 Redline Motorcycles 350cc fastest lap (0:52.173): Phil Atkinson
• £200 1st 350cc: Phil Atkinson
• £150 2nd 350cc: Nick Williamson
• £100 3rd 350cc: Jamie O’Brien
• £75 4th 350cc: Jamie Edwards
• £50 5th 350cc: Dan Jackson
• NGK Spark Plugs voucher 6th 350cc: George Thomas
• Ragged Edge voucher 7th 350cc: Grant Goodings

CBG Contractors Masters (over-55s) results

• £75 1st placed Master: Nick Williamson
• £50 2nd placed Master: Grant Goodings
• £30 3rd placed Master: Dean Mitchell

Awards throughout the field

• Tony Green Racing special achievement: Roberto Keller
• Avon Tyre draw: Ian Longstaff, Mark Linton
• Dennis Trollope Regina Race chain draw: Jamie Edwards
• Uggly & Co early entry rewards: x20 riders
• Gin Raffle supported by Minster Mills of Biddulph : Lea Gourlay

Uggly & Co supplied 20 early entry rewards which included GP Originals branded beanies and bobble hats! The Uggly bunch were delighted with their supported rider, Gary Vines’ results.

Thank you to all those who helped

The winter period this year has been very difficult for the team with broken bones, surgeries, bereavement and exhausting time commitments to contend with. Despite this we’ve managed to pull it off again! This weekend several riders and team members pulled together to deliver more of the very best two-stroke Series around.

We’d like to thank Steve and Michelle for last minute whirlwind support. Tony and Louise for their presentation skills and being on-hand to pick up on tasks. Team Rose MOT and Roy Chapman for getting Bob Keller fuelled and ready to race. Carol Glasgow for early entry and raffle support. Richard Freeman, Steve Pond and Nick Williamson for sorting the assembly area rollers. Jemma Hannaford for making a special trip to do the points. Dave Cooper for eligibility services. Ian Longstaff for turning up early and helping to mark out our paddock area. The much-loved Reg and Jean Squire for scrutineering all our bikes and clothing with such efficiency.

All graphic design, web design and illustrations by Spyre Limited ©spyre2021