Weekly Motorsport Round-Up #12

Fresh from his vast success at the Isle of Man TT, SILKOLENE-backed Shropshire sensation Michael Rutter enjoyed an excellent weekend at the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.

Knockhill was the venue for the fifth round of the competition. The Scottish circuit has always been one of Michael’s favourite – and so it proved again.

A lap of 49.416s in qualifying put Michael on the front row in third place.

A decent start saw Michael nicely positioned behind Danny Burchan and Chrissy Rouse. Rouse crashed out at the halfway point, leaving Michael in second position, which he duly held onto for his fourth podium of the season.

Michael started the longer 24-lap race in second and he pushed into pole on the first corner.

A close battle ensued and a safety car did Michael no favours, falling back to fourth. With one lap to go Mason Law pipped Michael, pushing the SILKOLENE ace back to fifth – but the subsequent 31 points meant Michael moved up to third in the championship table.

“It’s been another great weekend and the bike and team were faultless throughout,” said Michael, who is already looking forward to the next round at Snetterton on June 30-July 2.

Still on two wheels, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne clinched two vital P3 finishes in the British Superbike Championship.

Shakey qualified in fourth but after a physical first lap of racing, he found himself back in eighth. The five-time champ regrouped though to force his way onto the podium.

In the second race Shakey dropped to fourth but a concerted effort saw him make the chequered flag again in third. The results put Shakey up to third in the championship with more podium credits under his belt.

Teammate Glenn Irwin, meanwhile, suffered a dislocated arm and shoulder in practice and was ruled out for the weekend. He hopes to be back on the bike for next round at Snetterton next weekend.

Shane said: “We came here looking for two strong results and whilst we’ve all worked incredibly hard as a team to get the results we’ve got, it hasn’t been the greatest of weekends.”

Meanwhile, riders are gearing up for the thrilling Cock O’The North event, which takes place at Oliver’s Mount this weekend.

The races have been likened to a miniature TT by the seaside, with edge of your seat racing, the closest action seen at any race venue.

Importantly for the racers, the 2.43-mile track has always been regarded as a challenging, tight and twisty circuit, which tests their skills to the maximum.

FUCHS SILKOLENE is proud to partner Oliver’s Mount circuit.

Elsewhere, the county’s biggest and most diverse rally, Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, will take place on September 29-30, based in and around the historic East Coast town of Filey. The event will finish with ceremonial awards presentation during the Saturday afternoon.

There is now not long to wait for the FUCHS LUBRICANTS White Rose Classic. The Malton Motor Club event takes place on Sunday July 2nd in Malton. SILKOLENE distributor Pete Dalton has signed up to take part. For information follow http://maltonmc.co.uk/white-rose-classic-rally/

Also, this weekend sees the ‘Sisters of Speed’ Paige and Drew Bellerby travelling to Pembrey in south Wales for the third round of the British Rallycross championship, which will see the debut of the newly designed rallycross layout within the race circuit. Paige is currently the dominant driver in the Super National class, and said ‘I’m really looking forward to competing on a different track, it will test us all to the limit learning to drive the new layout’.