Round-Up: 6 Wins for dominant Harrison at Southern 100
FUCHS Silkolene Backed Dean Harrison dominates Southern 100 with Six wins
FUCHS Silkolene sponsored Dean Harrison (Pictured) has dominated the 2019 Southern 100 with six victories, including the Solo Championship race.
The IOMTT winner won all six races he entered at the Billown circuit, with a dominant display in the final contest netting him his third-successive S100 Championship title.
Racing began on Wednesday evening with Harrison guiding his Silicone Engineering Kawasaki to victory in the opening Superbike race by 11 seconds.
Harrison doubled up on Wednesday with a win in the first Supersport race of the meeting, though he had to fight for that one.
Harrison's stranglehold on the 2019 event continued with yet another win on Thursday in the SSP race.
Morris eyes happy return
Ashleigh Morris returns to action in the Celtic Speed Scottish MINI Cooper Cup this weekend determined to pick up where she left off.
The talented youngster is returning to Knockhill after impressing at the same track in her last outing.
A tightly-bunched qualifying session saw the majority of the field separated by less than one second, with Ashleigh sealing 14thplace on the grid for race one.
A strong drive was enough for Ashleigh to rise up to seventh, sealing the Leading Lady trophy at the same time.
Ashleigh remained seventh at the end of race two after a fantastic battle with Ian Munro and capped a fine weekend with an eighth place finish in the final event of the weekend, extending her lead at the top of the Ladies Championship at the same time.
She said: “It’s now race week again as we move into the second half of the year. We’re itching to go. The team has been pushed hard during our time away from the circuit this time but it is always worth it.”
Snetterton success for ADSS
Snetterton provided a happy hunting ground for ADSS Endurance Racing as they claimed victory in the latest No Limits Racing event.
Starting from P2 on the grid, an exciting battle with Team Fast Bikes saw the lead change hands on several occasions.
Some intriguing pit stops added to the drama and, with 20 minutes left, a tight conclusion looked likely with ADSS holding a 15 second advantage.
But a red flag ensured the action came to a premature end and ADSS were left to celebrate an important triumph.
Brad stars despite crash
Brad Tranter took centre stage for JSR Racing at the Severn Valley All British meeting.
With the MX1 riders having a weekend off, Brad had the chance to shine and took it with both hands.
A win and two second place finishes left him leading the field on Saturday night and, despite a big crash in Sunday’s first race resulting in a DNF, Brad recovered to bounce back with another second spot for sixth overall on the weekend.
Silver for young speedway Lions
Great Britain’s under 21 squad produced an exceptional display to secure a silver medal at the World Speedway Championship final in Manchester.
The promising quintet finished with an excellent 33 points, just eight behind world champions Poland who claimed their sixth consecutive team gold.
Denmark were third on 31 points with Australia fourth on 21.
Team manager Neil Vatcher said: “I’m very emotional. This is my tenth year with the youth set-up and we are really starting to see the effort paying off.
“It’s been a tough journey but I believe in these boys. I’m very proud.”
The Great Britain squad was made up of Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley, Drew Kemp, Kyle Bickley and Leon Flint.
Mousley makes presence felt in Southern 100
Sam Mousley reached the main event at the Southern 100, a fine reward for consistently strong performances.
Positions of 14thand 17thin the two 600 races on Thursday meant Mousley qualified for the main race – consisting of the fastest 30 riders at the meeting, including 1000cc machines – in 24th.
Despite a frustrating race, Mousley advanced to 20th, smashing his fastest lap time with a 104.66mph average lap speed.
Naylor and Joel win through on tough Nicky Grist Stages rally
FUCHS-backed duo Pat Naylor (Mitsubishi Evo 9) and Ian Joel (Ford Escort Cosworth) both enjoyed their results at the end of eight testing stages in the forests of Mid-Wales on the Nicky Grist Stages Rally, the fifth round of the BTRDA Rally Championship.
Naylor, together with regular co-driver Ian Lawrence in the left-hand seat reading the route notes, was a model of speedy consistency throughout the two loops of four stages, split by a midday service halt held in the middle of Builth Wells on the town’s rugby ground.
Naylor achieved times in the top ten on all eight stages and the finishing position of fourth overall was a stunning result in the class N4 standard spec Mitsubishi against a host of specialist, highly tuned and more modern WRC and R5 cars of the type usually found competing in the British Rally Championship.
Ian Joel, in the Ford Escort Cosworth, started fourth out of the 127 starters and immediately found himself on the wrong end of a spin on the very first stage after a wrong tyre choice saw them on still-cold tyres halfway through the stage.
This put the new pairing of Joel and co-driver Shaun Hughes out of the top ten but battling hard through the remaining stages to make up the lost time. Their final finishing position of 12th(and 3rdin the hotly contested B13 class) was testament to the understanding the pair built up during the day’s competitive mileage.
Afterwards, Joel was relieved to have a good finish under his belt to lay his early 2019 gremlins to rest.
He said: “It was hard work all day after that spin on the long Crychan stage but I hadn’t gone hard enough, or sideways enough, to get the tyres up to temperature. After that, we both had a good run, and really enjoyed the event.”
FUCHS Lubricants 1400 Rally Championship
Running at the head of the 127-car field, the 15 FUCHS 1400 competitors led the way into the stages. Chris Powel/Jim Lewis (Talbot Sunbeam) were immediately on the pace, leading second place crew Steve Black/Paul Morris (Suzuki Swift) by 26 seconds after the nine miles of SS1 Crychan.
The Powell/Lewis pairing held this advantage to the end through a canny mixture of speed and consistency, but without trying to push too hard, and finished the day one minute 37 seconds ahead of the Black/Morris pairing.
FUCHS Classic Mini Challenge
The latest round of the FUCHS Classic MINI Challenge takes place in Northern Ireland this weekend.
The event forms part of the popular Down Rally event, with already-crowned champion Rick Ford looking to continue his dominance.
The event will also feature action in the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship and the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship.
