Saturday
Ian Hutchinson won his first major Scarborough
trophy at the weekend when he took the feature Cock
o’ the North event, also giving Hawk Kawasaki
their first ever road race wins. There were also victories
for Guy Martin, Ian Lougher, Chris Palmer and Michael
Dunlop over the course of the two days whilst Nigel
Connole and Jamie Winn took both F2 Sidecar races.
However, the meeting was overshadowed by the tragic
death of former TT winner Colin Hardman, who lost his
life after a practice crash on Saturday morning, which
also badly injured his driver Gary Bryan. The duo had
starred at the recent Isle of Man TT races and many
will feel the loss of such a great passenger, the first
sidecar fatality in 60 years of racing at Oliver’s
Mount. As a mark of respect Saturday’s sidecar
races were cancelled and a minute’s silence was
held on Sunday morning in memory of the popular Manxman.
Saturday 8th July
After two Superbike heats had taken place, duly won
by Guy Martin and Ian Lougher, the first 600cc leg got
proceedings under way. The initial race was red flagged
due to Dave Woolams coming to grief and the re-start
took place over a shortened six laps. There was drama
at the start when Guy Martin fell at Mere Hairpin after
a coming together with Mick Goodings and the incident
also wiped out Garry Dickinson, Marc Ramsbotham and
Michael Dunlop. Only Martin and Dunlop were able to
restart albeit near the back of the field.
At the head of the pack it was Ian Hutchinson who held
sway with less than a second separating him, Ian Lougher
and Darran Lindsay whilst there was an equally close
battle for 4th between Dwyer Agnew, Mick Goodings and
Chris Palmer. There was nothing between the top three
whilst Martin was fighting his way through the pack,
already up to ninth at the end of the second lap. There
was no change in the order over the next few laps but
Guy was the fastest man on the track and he was amazingly
up to fourth by lap 4. Agnew was forced to retire whilst
Phil Harvey crashed out at Drury's, injuring his foot
in the process.
It was Hutchinson who held on for the win by just 0.167
seconds from Lougher with Lindsay a further half second
back. Martin got to within 4 seconds of the trio and
if the race had been its original 8-lap distance, I’m
sure he would have been able to get to the front. Goodings
got the better of Palmer for fifth with the top ten
being completed by Mark Buckley, Craig Atkinson, Graham
Oakland and Ross Johnson.
The 350/500 Lansdowne race saw Chris Swallow take a
comfortable victory on his Oliver’s Mount debut.
Riding a 500cc Manx Norton, the Huddersfield youngster
finished 13 seconds ahead of Chas Mortimer, the former
GP winner still looking fast and stylish, Jack Armstrong
and Stuart Tonge. Tim Jackson took the 350cc class ahead
of Raymond Moore and Geoff Leather.
The 250cc race was another class to fall victim to
the red flags, the stoppage coming on lap 3 after Ian
Lougher’s exhaust broke and although he was able
to repair Stewart Smith’s Honda, the organisers
refused to let him into the re-start. Annoyed with the
decision, Lougher opted out of the following Superbike
race in protest. All this allowed Darran Lindsay to
take the six-lap race after getting the better of Chris
Palmer by just under two seconds. Garry Dickinson was
out with clutch trouble and it with Pete Turnbull going
out on the final lap it was Sandy Dranfield who came
through to take third ahead of Chris Barratt and Peter
Wakefield. Mick Goodings was an easy winner of the concurrently
run 400cc class, finishing ahead of Derek Clark and
Alistair Haworth..
Pre-race favourite Paul Coward was an early retirement
in the first leg of the 350cc Sid Barnett Classic race
so it was Peter Wakefield who took the glory on his
250cc Carbutt Suzuki. He finished ten seconds clear
of the evergreen Tony Myers with the top six being completed
by Jack Armstrong, Geoff Hadwin, Mick Rollinson and
Ted Fenwick.
With Lougher failing to take his place on the grid,
fans were denied the opportunity of seeing a three-way
dice in the first Superbike race and at the end of the
opening lap Guy Martin held a 2.4 second lead over Ian
Hutchinson. Mick Goodings overshot Drury’s and
his race was run but all eyes were at the sharp end
and Martin continued to extend his advantage, leading
by over 6 seconds at half race distance. Hutchy was
getting into his stride and, lapping in the 1’46
bracket he began to eat into Guy’s lead. However,
the AIM Racing rider had it all under control and he
took the chequered flag at the end of the eighth lap
by 4.2 seconds.
Ian Armstrong had a strong ride and after overhauling
Darran Lindsay in the early stages he brought his R1
Yamaha home in a fine third place. Lindsay hung on for
fourth, the first of the 600cc machines, whilst a great
scrap for fifth went in the favour of Dwyer Agnew who
got the better of the impressive Bob Collins and Andrew
Bennett on the final lap. Keith Pringle finished in
eighth ahead of Dave Woolams and Bret Crossley.
There was no break for Martin as he immediately jumped
aboard John Sims’ Triumph Trident and the popular
Lincolnshire ran away with the Geoff Barry Classic Superbike
race, eventually taking the chequered flag by over 16
seconds. Chris Palmer hung on in the early stages but
his 500cc Manx Norton proved no match and he settled
for second a long way clear of Trevor Keys on his 350cc
TZ Yamaha. John Macfarlane, Tony Myers and Peter Hindley
completed the top six.
The final race of the day saw Chris Palmer dominate
the first leg of the 125cc race, taking the win by over
18 seconds although his cause was aided by the early
retirement of Darran Lindsay. It was Michael Dunlop
who came through to take second, just getting the better
of Peter Wakefield with Tony Flinton, Paul Hedison,
Pete Turnbull, Sean Leonard and Chris Barratt the rest
of the finishers.
Sunday
Conditions were very blustery on Sunday and a rain
shower soaked the circuit just before racing got underway
at 12pm. The sidecars were first to the line and after
the previous days cancellation, a one minutes silence,
in memory of Colin Hardman, was impeccably observed
by both the competitors and the hundreds of fans who
had turned out in force. Tony Thirkell/Roy King got
the drop when the lights turned green and he led for
the opening two laps. However, Nigel Connole/Jamie Winn,
who had dominated at the May meeting, were not far behind
and on the third lap they found a way through.
There was never much in it but Connole edged away in
the final stages to claim a fine win with Thirkell taking
a comfortable runner-up spot. Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson
finished in a strong third ahead of Greg Lambert/Rick
Long, Mick Harvey/Fiona Baker-Milligan, Steve Ramsden/Paul
Coward and David Hirst/Tony Palacio.
The circuit was still very damp and tricky when the
Superbikes came under starters orders and full wets
were the order of the day. Ian Hutchinson led them into
Mere Hairpin and he had Guy Martin with him for company
as they completed the lap. Ian Lougher closed in on
the duo and then on the second lap, Guy overshot Farm
Bends rejoining in his second place. It looked like
this one would go all the way to the end but on the
next lap, Guy lost it under the footbridge on the approach
to Mountside and crashed out, badly damaging his R1
and also taking a big chunk out of his elbow.
There was no let up at the front though and Hutchy
and Lougher continued to battle it out. In the end,
the Hawk Kawasaki just had that little bit extra and
he was able to hang on for the win by just 0.236 seconds.
Dwyer Agnew had another strong ride into third after
he overtook Mick Goodings on the final lap whilst Mark
Buckley brought his Black Horse Motorcycle Finance Honda
home in fifth. Bob Collins continued to show great form
and style on his way to sixth, clearly enjoying his
debut road race meeting and he was followed home by
Ian Armstrong, Dave Woolams, Paul Gartland and Darran
Lindsay, who was almost dead last away from the line.
A somewhat depleted 125cc race looked like it would
go the way of Chris Palmer once more but Michael Dunlop
had other ideas and he overtook his more experienced
rival on the fifth lap to take his first ever Scarborough
win, the first time the Dunlop name had occupied first
place at Oliver’s Mount since father Robert’s
comeback victory in 1997. The duo were a long way clear
of third place Pete Wakefield with Darran Lindsay, Tony
Flinton, Sean Leonard and Chris Barratt completing the
finishers.
With his 350cc Honda repaired Paul Coward was able
to take an easy victory in the second leg of the Sid
Barnett 350cc Classic, the Hebden Bridge rider taking
the victory by a mammoth 44 seconds. The battle for
second was an awful lot closer and it was Saturday’s
winner Peter Wakefield who prevailed, getting the better
of Tony Myers by just 0.3seconds. Jack Armstrong had
a strong ride into fourth ahead of Geoff Hadwin and
Ted Fenwick.
There was drama on the very first lap of the 600cc
race when Ian Hutchinson blotted his copybook by crashing
out at the Memorial, fortunately without injury. This
created a small split in the field and Ian Lougher and
Guy Martin had broken clear after the first lap. Marc
Ramsbotham was holding onto an excellent third ahead
of Mark Buckley and Craig Atkinson, Darran Lindsay again
having a poor start.
Lougher held a two second lead at one stage but Martin
slowly reeled him in and on the sixth lap made a pass
on the Welshman to move into the lead. He soon opened
up a gap but Lougher never gave up and with the fastest
lap of the race he closed to within half a second at
the chequered flag, the duo entertaining the crowd once
more with a high-speed race. Ramsbotham thoroughly deserved
his third place and he has been very impressive at Scarborough
since his debut in 2005. Lindsay rode a storming race
to come up into fourth, just getting the better of Palmer,
Buckley and Dunlop and the quartet were inches apart
as they flashed across the line. Craig Atkinson, Mark
Cockrem and Garry Dickinson rounded out the top ten.
After being forced to retire in Saturday’s Lansdowne
race, Mark Sharrock made no mistake on Sunday and he
rode his 500cc Manx Norton to a 12 second win. Chris
Swallow had to settle for second on this occasion with
Chas Mortimer taking his second podium of the weekend
in third. Jack Armstrong. Stuart Tonge and Richard Thirkell
completed the top six whilst Tim Jackson again took
the 350cc class from Raymond Moore.
The 250cc race was one of the best of the weekend and
Ian Lougher and Darran Lindsay had a terrific dice throughout
the 8 laps. There was nothing in it at all but try as
he might Lindsay was unable to find a way through and
Lougher was able to take another Scarborough victory
and get ever closer to the 100-win mark. Chris Palmer
was unable to hang onto the flying duo and had to settle
for third whilst Garry Dickinson for once suffered no
ill fortune and he finished in a more than creditable
fourth. Tony Flinton took fifth ahead of Chris Barratt
and Sandy Dranfield, the latter man slowing on the final
lap. Mick Goodings again took the 400cc class ahead
of Derek Clark and Ross Johnson.
Guy Martin made it two out of two on the Triumph Trident
when he took another commanding win in the prestigious
Barry Sheene Classic Superbike race. The 24-year old
was never headed in the 8-laps and he won by the slightly
reduced margin of 10.9 seconds. Trevor Keys got the
better of Chris Palmer on this occasion to ensure his
trip from Ireland was well worth it and the trio were
definitely the class of the field. Paul Coward was in
contention until he retired his 350cc Yamaha on lap
six so it was John Macfarlane who took fourth ahead
of Tony Myers and Peter Hindley.
The final solo race of the day was the 10-lap feature
Cock o’ the North event but Guy Martin’s
chances of success were almost zero as he had to take
to the grid on his 600cc Yamaha. The race got underway
but the red flags were out on the second lap after fourth
placed Ian Armstrong highsided spectacularly on the
exit of Farm Bends, fortunately only being winded in
the heavy spill. The race was cut to seven laps as a
result and it was that man Lougher who led the field
round at the end of the first lap. Darran Lindsay’s
race was over though, the clutch having expired on the
600cc Donut Tree Honda.
Lougher was keeping Hutchinson at bay whilst Martin
was powerless to do anything and occupied third. On
the third lap, Hutchy was through and he began to pull
away, fully utilizing the Superbikes' power compared
to Lougher’s Superstock mount. Guy was over ten
seconds adrift in third with Dwyer Agnew holding onto
fourth. Meanwhile, Dave Woolams and Bob Collins were
early retirements.
Hutchinson extended his lead all the way to the chequered
flag and he wheelied his way across the line for his
first major Scarborough trophy, as Ryan Farquhar waved
the black and white linen. Lougher took second place
with Martin cruising home in a lonely third place. Agnew
finished in fourth ahead of the impressive Andrew Bennett
and Keith Pringle, with the top ten being completed
by Bret Crossley, Craig Atkinson, Damian Gledhill and
Michael Dunlop.
The final race of the day was for the F2 Sidecars and
Connole again ran out a clear winner, the Scunthorpe
driver maintaining his 100% record around the Mount
in 2006. In a repeat of the first race result, Thirkell
took second and Harrison third with the slickly run
meeting finishing at 5pm. On this occasion it was Steve
Ramsden who took fourth with Mick Harvey and Mark Autton
the last of the finishers in fifth and sixth.
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