FSRA F350/Post Classic Sidecar Championship Anglesley
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:39 pm
2009 FSRA F350/Post Classic Sidecar Championship
Close racing on Anglesey’s coastal circuit.
The twisting, technical nature of the 1.55 mile long coastal circuit at Anglesey made for some exciting racing on 1st and 2nd of August. Amazingly, after the very mixed recent weather, all races were held in dry and mostly sunny conditions!
In Saturday’s race, Greg Noble showed even more promise than at his Cadwell Park debut by leading the Post Classic class from start to finish. Noble and passenger Craig Hallam built up a good lead by lap 2 and continued to extend it until the flag. Behind the flying Ham Yam, there was a close battle between the TZ Yamaha powered outfits of Stuart Mellor/Mike Fairhurst and Tony Wheatley/Alan Wright plus the big four stroke of Pat Gallagher/Sean Rooney. Mellor eventually took second spot from Gallagher with Wheatley fading to finish fourth.
Dave Tibbles/Wayne Kemp took their big Kawasaki to an uneventful fifth, whilst the 1100 Kawasaki of Chris Fairhurst/Dave Clark succumbed to overheating problems on lap five. Fairhurst decided to miss Sunday’s races rather than risk further damage to the engine.
The hard charging F350 pairing of Steve Brooks/Jan Tyrell made short work of the other 2 strokes in Saturday’s race and were soon mixing it with the Post Classics. Steve’s unopposed win was a great birthday present for him!
Allen Steele/Martin Pither paid the price for helping to solve the ignition problem that cut short practise for Paul Owen/Phil Parkes, with the rival team taking second place off them on lap four. The first three places stayed the same until the flag with Alan Longshaw/John Longbottom, Dave Saunders/Stephen Woolcott and Gordon Jones/Julie Jones finishing 4th, 5th and 6th in the class.
Sunday’s first race was a ten lapper, but the Ham Yam of Noble/Hallam only lasted one lap, as Craig Hallam said “I found myself holding a fuel tank!” Gallagher/Rooney led the Post Classics until lap three when eventual winners Mellor/Fairhurst hit the front. Gallagher/Rooney pulled away from eventual third place finishers Wheatley/Wright who in turn kept well ahead of fifth place Tibbles/Kemp.
In the F350 class, Brooks/Tyrell did their customary disappearing act but the much improved pairing of Owen/Parkes took a strong second place ahead of the Jones outfit. Gordon and Julie did a great job, coming from the back of the field to take third in class.
Allen Steele/Martin Pither lost time through having to avoid a spinning outfit and had to be content with keeping Alan Longshaw/John Longbottom and Dave Saunders/Stephen Woolcott behind them.
In the final race of the weekend, Noble/Hallam and Mellor/Fairhurst had a great scrap, with the Martek outfit of Stuart Mellor making it two wins out of three. Wheatley/Wright settled for third spot, some distance back, with Tibbles/Kemp in fourth.
It was three out of three for Brooks/Tyrell in the 350 class, but this time, Owen/Parkes were much closer in second. The Jones pairing completed a good weekend with a third place finish in front of Longshaw/Longbottom. Saunders/Woolcott looked to be on for a good finish, but a fit of over enthusiasm took them onto the grass on lap 6 and they had to rejoin at the back of the field with no time to attack the 350’s in front of them.
Allen Steele decided to give the final race a miss as he felt out of sorts and as passenger Martin Pither had hurt his back in the emergency stop in the previous race.
Written by John Moulton
Close racing on Anglesey’s coastal circuit.
The twisting, technical nature of the 1.55 mile long coastal circuit at Anglesey made for some exciting racing on 1st and 2nd of August. Amazingly, after the very mixed recent weather, all races were held in dry and mostly sunny conditions!
In Saturday’s race, Greg Noble showed even more promise than at his Cadwell Park debut by leading the Post Classic class from start to finish. Noble and passenger Craig Hallam built up a good lead by lap 2 and continued to extend it until the flag. Behind the flying Ham Yam, there was a close battle between the TZ Yamaha powered outfits of Stuart Mellor/Mike Fairhurst and Tony Wheatley/Alan Wright plus the big four stroke of Pat Gallagher/Sean Rooney. Mellor eventually took second spot from Gallagher with Wheatley fading to finish fourth.
Dave Tibbles/Wayne Kemp took their big Kawasaki to an uneventful fifth, whilst the 1100 Kawasaki of Chris Fairhurst/Dave Clark succumbed to overheating problems on lap five. Fairhurst decided to miss Sunday’s races rather than risk further damage to the engine.
The hard charging F350 pairing of Steve Brooks/Jan Tyrell made short work of the other 2 strokes in Saturday’s race and were soon mixing it with the Post Classics. Steve’s unopposed win was a great birthday present for him!
Allen Steele/Martin Pither paid the price for helping to solve the ignition problem that cut short practise for Paul Owen/Phil Parkes, with the rival team taking second place off them on lap four. The first three places stayed the same until the flag with Alan Longshaw/John Longbottom, Dave Saunders/Stephen Woolcott and Gordon Jones/Julie Jones finishing 4th, 5th and 6th in the class.
Sunday’s first race was a ten lapper, but the Ham Yam of Noble/Hallam only lasted one lap, as Craig Hallam said “I found myself holding a fuel tank!” Gallagher/Rooney led the Post Classics until lap three when eventual winners Mellor/Fairhurst hit the front. Gallagher/Rooney pulled away from eventual third place finishers Wheatley/Wright who in turn kept well ahead of fifth place Tibbles/Kemp.
In the F350 class, Brooks/Tyrell did their customary disappearing act but the much improved pairing of Owen/Parkes took a strong second place ahead of the Jones outfit. Gordon and Julie did a great job, coming from the back of the field to take third in class.
Allen Steele/Martin Pither lost time through having to avoid a spinning outfit and had to be content with keeping Alan Longshaw/John Longbottom and Dave Saunders/Stephen Woolcott behind them.
In the final race of the weekend, Noble/Hallam and Mellor/Fairhurst had a great scrap, with the Martek outfit of Stuart Mellor making it two wins out of three. Wheatley/Wright settled for third spot, some distance back, with Tibbles/Kemp in fourth.
It was three out of three for Brooks/Tyrell in the 350 class, but this time, Owen/Parkes were much closer in second. The Jones pairing completed a good weekend with a third place finish in front of Longshaw/Longbottom. Saunders/Woolcott looked to be on for a good finish, but a fit of over enthusiasm took them onto the grass on lap 6 and they had to rejoin at the back of the field with no time to attack the 350’s in front of them.
Allen Steele decided to give the final race a miss as he felt out of sorts and as passenger Martin Pither had hurt his back in the emergency stop in the previous race.
Written by John Moulton