Weekly Motorsport Round-Up #17

Super Scott Beaumont made it six 4X National Championships in succession with a fantastic win in muddy Moelfre, North Wales.

The FUCHS SILKOLENE-backed rider put in an impressive performance to take his eighth National Championship title.

“To win the National Championships an eighth time and for the sixth time in a row is very special,” he said.

“I felt very quick all day and in the final rode my fastest lap of the day, making a smart move in turn two to take the win.

“All the hours of training leading up to this moment is what makes it so special.

“It’s time to celebrate and look towards the World Championships in four weeks.”

Meanwhile, Lara Small was back in action in the GBRacing British Military Inter-Services Championship at Rockingham – and she recorded her best results of the season.

Lara was excited to be back on the Knight Road Racing Ducati Supertwin, despite struggling with an angry cold.

After taking some braking tips from race manager Alan Knight, Lara enjoyed a great tussle with Jason Markham in race one, eventually pipping her fellow Army competitor to eighth place.

Having shaved three seconds from her lap time, Lara started the second race with great confidence. The SILKOLENE supremo was delighted to touch her elbow against the tarmac for the first time as well as finishing sixth overall and fourth in class.

The weekend went downhill from there with the footpeg falling off in the military race, forcing Lara to finish early and prepare for race three on Sunday morning.

Lara suffered a slow start but was catching the riders ahead until she fell unceremoniously from her bike. Fortunately, the only injury Lara suffered was a slight winding.

The bike didn’t come off so well and needs some work to be ready for the next round at Donington on August 13th.

The MCE British Superbike Championship heads to Thruxton this weekend, the fastest circuit on the calendar.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne has hit top form in recent races and leads the series following four consecutive victories, while teammate Glenn Irwin continues his battle back to fitness after serious shoulder and elbow injuries.

Onto four wheels and Rob Smith and Alun Cook took their second victory in the FUCHS LUBRICANTS RAC Historic Asphalt Rally Championship on round four, the Harry Flatters Rally.

For the first time this season, the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship and the FUCHS LUBRICANTS R.A.C. Historic Asphalt Championship came together on the same event and a mighty battle for top FUCHS points raged between Smith/Cook and Neil Williams/Sion Jones in their Ford Escort Mk2s. After a tremendous day-long battle on Epynt, Cook took the championship maximum by just five seconds.

“It has been a fantastic dice and the car has been perfect: I’ve not had a battle like that for a long time,” said Williams.

There was another big battle for third among the R.A.C. contenders as Roger Moran/Keaton Williams (BMW M3) headed Guy Woodcock/Dave Williams (Escort Mk2) by five seconds. Moran had a trouble-free day in the crowd-pleasing BMW while Woodcock was settling back in to the Escort after a gap of 10 months.

Close behind Moran and Woodcock came one of the drives of the rally from David Kynaston and Jack Bowen in the mighty Triumph TR7 V8. They pushed hard and set some impressive stage times to finish ahead of the BMW M3 of Paul Smith/Tudor Jenkins and the Escort Mk2 of Barry Stevenson-Wheeler/John Pickavance.

Dick Mauger/Geno Gouveia (Escort Mk2) joined the championship runners for the first time and finished just ahead of another day-long battle as Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) headed Graham Patten/Pauline Hale (Datsun 240Z) by six seconds. Nutt had a clear run while Patten really enjoyed his first Epynt event.

Meanwhile, Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke took an important victory in round six of the 2017 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship.

The result gives Pritchard and Clarke a shot at a third title if they can take maximum points from the remaining three rounds.