Cadwell Park delivers great opener as Kershaw/Charlwood maximise
Race One – In extremely hot conditions the pack streaked away and up the hill.
Blackstock and Rosney got a flier and were quickly immersed in a scrap with the pole men Kershaw/Charlwood.
They stole a march and took the lead, with Ellis then making a play on Kershaw. Ellis and Richardson stuck to the task, and using their Cadwell knowledge to the full, passed Kershaw before taking the lead from Blackstock/Rosney. They looked on target for victory, but it was not to be.
Each of these three crews had their turn at the front, and were circulating in close formation, with Kershaw eventually opening a good lead.
The battle then raged for the remainder of the race between Blackstock and Ellis, with the reigning champions holding onto the runner-up spot by a couple of seconds at the flag.
Sam and Adam Christie were immaculate throughout in fourth, with a battling John Holden retiring at two thirds distance from fifth.
This promoted Ben and Tom Birchall who were happy with their new F2 Honda LCR. The bike had bedded in nicely to reward them with a strong finish.
Phil Bell and Justin Sharpe had an excellent race scoring valuable points. They were to come home in sixth place and a good start to the season.
Not so lucky, with yet another Cadwell dramatic moment, were Martin Kirk and Shelley Smithies. They launched towards the sky ahead of Phil Bell emerging shocked and surprised, albeit with a damaged fairing.
So that’s how they finished, Kershaw’s debut victory with Ryan Charlwood, team-mates Ellis and Richardson in second, with the SBR pairing of Blackstock and Rosney completing the podium.
Race Result – 1/ Kershaw/Charlwood (Santander Salt/Quattro Yamaha),
2/ Ellis/Richardson (Santander Salt Honda), 3/ Blackstock/Rosney (SBR Yamaha),
4/ Christie/Christie ( CES Yamaha), 5/ Birchall/Birchall (Honda LCR), 6/ Bell/Sharpe (Marin Motorsport Yamaha), 7/ Crawford/Hardie ( ARC Suzuki), 8/ Biggs/Schmitz (Express Tyres Yamaha), 9/ Cable/Masters (L&W Yamaha), 10/ Clarke/Anderson (City Lifting Windle).