Silverstone report from Barry Nutley
Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:45 am
Stevens and Charlwood nail it at Silverstone to claim the 2015 title.
Race One – from pole position, Andy Peach and Charlie Richardson were all set to fire the L&W Racing Kawasaki ahead, and did so on the run down to turn one. From second on the grid, Tim Reeves/Greg Cluze (Team E-Aide Motorsport Remse Yamaha) thundered behind and eventually alongside with a brave move at Becketts. Series leaders Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood knew what they had to do and got stuck in behind Peach. Moments later after Reeves had established a lead he was out with a mechanical problem, as out came the red flag for a capsized Blue Machinery’s Ben Bygrave and Justin Sharp. A five-lap restart saw Stevens hit the front and eventually win by over five seconds from Peach/Richardson. Tony Brown and Manxman Lee Cain completed the podium for Paymundo.com with Ben Holland/Lee Watson (Finning Cat Kawasaki) in fourth. A strong ride by the Birchall Brothers saw them bring their 600cc LCR home in sixth as a wild-card ride. A spate of retirements prevailed, with only fourteen finishers declared. Major retirements included a returning Sean Hegarty/James Neave, and fourth in the championship Roger Lovelock/Aki Aalto. A one-off ride by seventeen times TT winner Dave Molyneux, partnered by Dan Sayle, resulted in twelfth place on his outpaced 600cc Suzuki TT outfit.
Race Result - 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/Peach/Richardson, 3/ Brown/Cain, 4/Holland/Watson, 5/John Holden/Stuart Ramsey (Silicolene Engineering/Barnes Racing Suzuki), 6/ Ben/Tom Birchall (Mitchells of Mansfield Honda), 7/ Gary Horspole/James Connell (Suzuki) 8/ Rupert Archer/Steve Thomas (Suzuki) 9/ Brian Gray/Ben Ransley (BGR Powerbiking), 10/ Ian Drowne/Jed Pilmoor-Brady (MRR)
Race Two – Glorious weather greeted the charioteers at the end of a long Silverstone weekend, with Stevens needing just a handful of points to put the title out of reach ahead of Brands. Andy Peach knew his task and rocketed off the line ahead of his rivals. Neither crew however, made the lightning start like Tony Brown/Lee Cain. They drew alongside Peach/Richardson and became locked together, as Stevens threaded his way through the melee. The resultant impact ripped off the L&W Contractor’s Kawasaki wheel arch, and Peach’s race was effectively over. Tim Reeves/Greg Cluze made a fight of it at the front, and had a good scrap with the AOS pair, until the Remse Racing Yamaha once again expired. Sean Hegarty/James Neave were looking more like the team we know, chasing hard in third, and good for a podium, until they too retired with gremlins. All this time, John Holden and Stuart Ramsey were holding a strong front end position, having their best ride of the season to eventually bring it home in second spot. In the ensuing retirement-fest, Lovelock and Aalto claimed a steady third a further ten seconds back. Fourteen finishers again gave everyone who crossed the line valuable points. Tony Brown recovered his composure to nail fourth place ahead of the incredibly quick 600cc powered Birchall pairing. A disgruntled Peach, having re-joined with a borrowed wheel-arch, played catch-up for twelfth place at the flag. A fourteen second winning margin confirmed Stevens and Charlwood as victors and new champions.
Race Result – 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/ Holden/Ramsey, 3/ Lovelock/Alto, 4/ Brown/Cain, 5/ Birchall/Birchall, 6/ Ian Guy/Dan Evanson (L&W Racing), 7/Horspole/Connell, 8/ Archer/Thomas.
Championship Standings – Stevens/Charlwood 355 (Champions), Peach/Richardson 248.5, Kershaw/Wilson 180.5, Brown/Cain 155.5, Lovelock/Aalto 153, Holland/Watson 129, Horspole/Connell, 125, Guy/Evanson 96.5, Drowne/Pilmoor-Brady 88, Archer/Thomas 71
The final round will be at Brands Hatch 16-18th October with double points for the two Saturday races.
www.rkbf1-sidecars.com
Race One – from pole position, Andy Peach and Charlie Richardson were all set to fire the L&W Racing Kawasaki ahead, and did so on the run down to turn one. From second on the grid, Tim Reeves/Greg Cluze (Team E-Aide Motorsport Remse Yamaha) thundered behind and eventually alongside with a brave move at Becketts. Series leaders Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood knew what they had to do and got stuck in behind Peach. Moments later after Reeves had established a lead he was out with a mechanical problem, as out came the red flag for a capsized Blue Machinery’s Ben Bygrave and Justin Sharp. A five-lap restart saw Stevens hit the front and eventually win by over five seconds from Peach/Richardson. Tony Brown and Manxman Lee Cain completed the podium for Paymundo.com with Ben Holland/Lee Watson (Finning Cat Kawasaki) in fourth. A strong ride by the Birchall Brothers saw them bring their 600cc LCR home in sixth as a wild-card ride. A spate of retirements prevailed, with only fourteen finishers declared. Major retirements included a returning Sean Hegarty/James Neave, and fourth in the championship Roger Lovelock/Aki Aalto. A one-off ride by seventeen times TT winner Dave Molyneux, partnered by Dan Sayle, resulted in twelfth place on his outpaced 600cc Suzuki TT outfit.
Race Result - 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/Peach/Richardson, 3/ Brown/Cain, 4/Holland/Watson, 5/John Holden/Stuart Ramsey (Silicolene Engineering/Barnes Racing Suzuki), 6/ Ben/Tom Birchall (Mitchells of Mansfield Honda), 7/ Gary Horspole/James Connell (Suzuki) 8/ Rupert Archer/Steve Thomas (Suzuki) 9/ Brian Gray/Ben Ransley (BGR Powerbiking), 10/ Ian Drowne/Jed Pilmoor-Brady (MRR)
Race Two – Glorious weather greeted the charioteers at the end of a long Silverstone weekend, with Stevens needing just a handful of points to put the title out of reach ahead of Brands. Andy Peach knew his task and rocketed off the line ahead of his rivals. Neither crew however, made the lightning start like Tony Brown/Lee Cain. They drew alongside Peach/Richardson and became locked together, as Stevens threaded his way through the melee. The resultant impact ripped off the L&W Contractor’s Kawasaki wheel arch, and Peach’s race was effectively over. Tim Reeves/Greg Cluze made a fight of it at the front, and had a good scrap with the AOS pair, until the Remse Racing Yamaha once again expired. Sean Hegarty/James Neave were looking more like the team we know, chasing hard in third, and good for a podium, until they too retired with gremlins. All this time, John Holden and Stuart Ramsey were holding a strong front end position, having their best ride of the season to eventually bring it home in second spot. In the ensuing retirement-fest, Lovelock and Aalto claimed a steady third a further ten seconds back. Fourteen finishers again gave everyone who crossed the line valuable points. Tony Brown recovered his composure to nail fourth place ahead of the incredibly quick 600cc powered Birchall pairing. A disgruntled Peach, having re-joined with a borrowed wheel-arch, played catch-up for twelfth place at the flag. A fourteen second winning margin confirmed Stevens and Charlwood as victors and new champions.
Race Result – 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/ Holden/Ramsey, 3/ Lovelock/Alto, 4/ Brown/Cain, 5/ Birchall/Birchall, 6/ Ian Guy/Dan Evanson (L&W Racing), 7/Horspole/Connell, 8/ Archer/Thomas.
Championship Standings – Stevens/Charlwood 355 (Champions), Peach/Richardson 248.5, Kershaw/Wilson 180.5, Brown/Cain 155.5, Lovelock/Aalto 153, Holland/Watson 129, Horspole/Connell, 125, Guy/Evanson 96.5, Drowne/Pilmoor-Brady 88, Archer/Thomas 71
The final round will be at Brands Hatch 16-18th October with double points for the two Saturday races.
www.rkbf1-sidecars.com