In what promises to be a busy
weekend of real road racing action, the second event
of the year at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough takes
place on Saturday and Sunday and, despite being so close
to the start of the Southern 100, an excellent line-up
has been attracted to the Yorkshire venue. The two days
will see no less than 20 races with all classes catered
for, both modern and classic, and many of the sports
finest will be out to claim the annual Cock o’
the North trophy.
Heading the line up once more is Guy Martin who will
be having his first road race outing since the TT and
he will be keen to put those disappointments behind
him and retain the trophy he has already won on two
occasions (2003 and 2005). Guy had a disappointing weekend
at the Superstock rounds at Donington but he will look
to celebrate the 4th anniversary of his road race debut
in style. Guy comes with the AIM Racing Superbike and
Supersport machines and will also have a couple of outings
on John Sims’ Triumph Trident.
Arguably the greatest challenge will come from Bingley’s
Ian Hutchinson who has been a star so far in 2006, both
on the roads and on the short circuits where he currently
lies in second overall in the British Superstock Championship.
Such is his rise in stature he has now been loaned the
Hawk Kawasaki Superbike and Supersport machines and
he will be very eager to take his first Scarborough
trophy. It will be his first time at Scarborough on
a Superbike so when he and Guy go toe to toe the lap
record could well be under threat.
Ian Lougher will have something to say about matters
though and he will want to get his name back on the
trophy he last won in 2004. The flying Welshman, who
will be aiming to reach an unbelievable 100 Oliver’s
Mount victories this weekend, brings with him Stewart
Smith’s 250cc Honda, and the Blackhorse Motorcycle
Finance 600cc and 1000cc Honda’s.
It had been hoped that Ryan Farquhar would make his
racing comeback after his Cookstown crash but this will
now most probably come at the Ulster GP although he’ll
still be present at the Mount to lend his support to
the meeting and there are plenty of other riders to
keep your eye on this weekend.
Chris Palmer cannot be ruled out of any of his races
and he is another rider who will campaign both modern
and classic machines over the two days. Palmer once
again enjoyed a profitable TT and, with the absence
of Lougher, he will be the man to beat on the 125cc
Lloyds TSB International Honda. The clash with Lougher
will come in the 250cc races where he will be back on
the Mannin Collections Honda whilst he will also be
a contender on the Solway Slate & Tile 600cc CBR
Honda and 500cc Manx Norton, which he has already taken
to victory at the Pre-TT Classic meeting.
After having a solid meeting in May, Darran Lindsay
returns once more and the Lisburn rider is enjoying
a strong season with a number of victories already under
his belt. He will be hoping for another solid weekend
of racing before heading off to the Southern and he
once again lines up on his 125cc Nibbles Honda, 250cc
Roy Hanna Honda and 600cc Nibbles/Donut Tree Honda.
Ian Armstrong is another rider who went well at the
TT and he makes a welcome return to Oliver’s Mount.
Having lapped at almost 124mph on the second lap of
the Senior TT, the Sowerby Bridge rider is sure to feature
on his 600cc and 1000cc Yamaha’s.
Mark Parrett hasn’t had much joy at recent Scarborough
meetings but he’s back for more and after an excellent
TT, where he scored four top-12 finishes, he’ll
be looking to continue that good form here. The Midhurst
rider has plenty of rides with outings on the 400cc
Intersport Honda and Vixen Racing R1 and R6 Yamaha’s.
The Irish contingent is a little bit thin on the ground
compared to usual but Dwyer Agnew can be relied upon
to perform well whilst Trevor Keys and David Guiney
are sure to feature in the 250cc events. Ian Morrell
is a surprise entry on his 250cc Honda with further
Irish support coming from Paul Gartland, who rode well
on his debut in May, Clifford Hamilton and Davy Black.
The strongest chance of a win though comes in the shape
of Michael Dunlop who is having a great debut season
on the roads. He will probably be Palmer’s closest
rival in the 125cc class but he also has an entry in
the 600cc class and is well worth watching.
Circuit regulars Bret Crossley, Mick Goodings, Dave
Woolams, Phil Harvey, Garry Dickinson, Paul Coward,
Keith Pringle, Sandy Dranfield, Marc Ramsbotham, Pete
Turnbull, Peter Wakefield and Rob I’Anson are
top six contenders in their respective classes whilst
new Martin Bullock signing Craig Atkinson is another
strong name on the entry list. He’ll be riding
his own 600cc Honda whilst good friend Ian Hutchinson
has loaned him his 1000cc Suzuki.
The most surprising name on the entry though is the
exuberant Bob Collins. Having already visited the Isle
of Man in preparation for his 2007 debut, the London
youngster is currently leading the National Superstock
Cup and his all action style will certainly stand out
around the 2.43-mile woodland circuit!
The F2 Sidecars have three races over the course of
the weekend and, once again, an excellent line-up is
assembled. Heading the way is Nigel Connole and Jamie
Winn who dominated proceedings in May but they will
face stiff challenges from Gary Bryan/Colin Hardman,
Greg Lambert/Rick Long, Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson,
Mick Harvey/Fiona Baker-Milligan, Tony Thirkell/Roy
King and Steve Ramsden/Paul Coward. It is also hoped
that both Simon Neary/Stuart Bond and Tony Elmer/Darren
Marshall will make their return to racing, after both
suffered spills at the TT.
The Classic bikes have plenty of races over the course
of the two days with the Barry Sheene, Geoff Barry and
Sid Barnett trophies all up for grabs. The first two
are for the Superbike machines and Guy Martin will start
as clear favourite aboard the John Sims Triumph Trident,
his first outing of the year on the 750cc machine.
Eight times TT winner Chas Mortimer has entered the
meeting on the 500cc Manx Norton and will be sure to
figure as will Luke Notton, Paul Coward, Tony Myers,
Tim Jackson, Mike Attrill, Les Cross and Grant Sellars.
Sunday also marks the first visit to Scarborough of
the Sheene Run and a whole manner of Barry Sheene enthusiasts
from all over the country have been invited on the run,
which will consist of three laps around the Oliver’s
Mount course. Riders on the run will be led by some
of Barry’s good friends, most notably Steve Parrish,
Mick Grant and James Whitham.
With the UK continuing to be bathed in sunshine, the
organising Auto 66 club will be hoping the sun shines
for them over the two days and thousands of real road
race addicts will once again flock to the seaside circuit
to witness the action. The action gets underway at 8.30am
on Saturday and slightly later on Sunday at 9.00am with
10 races on each day.
We would like to wish everyone involved with the meeting
the very best of luck for a safe, and enjoyable, weekend.
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