The Aprilia Dunlop Superteen
Challenge and the Pirelli Superstock 600’s were the two classes representing
Thundersport GB this weekend as the crowds at Donington Park were given an
encore on both days of the World Superbike event.
After a hectic qualifying, young
13-year-old Aussie Matt Davies was again causing his opposition some problems
in the Aprilia Superteens as his lap time that shot him to pole position was
not only two seconds quicker than the time posted by Fraser Rogers last season,
but was a full six tenths faster than second placed Wayne Ryan.
Rounding off the front row of the
grid were Ben Gautrey and pint-sized Lee Jackson, with Championship leader Andy
Reid struggling in the dry conditions back in tenth.
In front of a healthy crowd on
Saturday afternoon, it was Matt Davies and Wayne Ryan that made the break away
from the chasing pack, whilst Lee Jackson had settled into a comfortable third
on circuit.
The Aprilia Dunlop Superteens and the Pirelli Superstock
600’s are the two support classes racing under the Thundersport GB banner at
this weekends World Superbike event at Donington
Park.
Racing for championship points, the riders will be sharing
the Derbyshire circuit with the likes of Spies, Haga, Rea and Cal Crutchlow,
who himself started out in the famous Aprilia Superteen class back in 2000,
going on to win the title in 2001 before moving onto a superstock 600 machine.
Currently leading the Aprilia Dunlop Superteen Championship
is 15-year-old Northern Irish star Andy Reid, whose wins at a washed out Oulton
Park earlier on this month extended his advantage over Connor Tagg who will be
relieved to return to the circuit on which he made his first podium visit in
2008.
Having followed the sun around for the opening three meetings, our luck was bound to run out at some point as the weather forced us all to fish those umbrella's out for the first time and give the wet weather specialists a chance of some valuable points.
15-year-old Northern
Irish star Andy Reid is one of the above and was in the form of his life on Saturday as he stormed to
victory in both Aprilia Dunlop superteen races, extending his Championship lead
to 72 points.Having grabbed pole,
Reid built a 22 second lead in race one without even the slightest challenge
emerging, Newcomer Danny Murphy came home in a strong second and Ben Gautrey
climbed from eighth on the grid to take the final podium spot after Wayne Ryan
and Matt Davies both fell on lap one, leaving the battle for third an open
affair.
Cheshire is the destination as Thundersport GB head to Oulton Park this Saturday 6th June for round seven of the championship. With a record number of entrants attending the event, the series continues to impress the motorcycle racing world and for those planning on visiting us, here are one or two names to look out for.
The Aprilia Dunlop Superteens is one of Britain's proudest classes and is perhaps most famous for creating stars in Casey Stoner, James Toseland, Bradley Smith etc... This year, the superteen races have been better than ever and the series, designed for 12-18 year olds is currently being led by 15-year-old Andy Reid from Northern Ireland. Belfast born Reid, sporting the #17, has been in stunning form since the opening round but is far from running away with it.
Keep an eye on #100 Connor Tagg and #2 Lee Jackson, the pair started the season well and despite a difficult last round at Pembrey in Wales, they're sure to feature at Oulton. Two other youngsters to never count out though are 13-year-old Wayne Ryan #12 and Aussie born #414 Matt Davies. The duo were delighted to take their first wins of 2009 at Pembrey and added thier names to the contenders list.
It's not often you return home from South Wales with a sun tan is it? After an unsure weather forecast had supplied us with the usual mixed forecast for Saturday's qualifying and racing, the sun came out to play on Sunday and was the cherry on top of a superb weekend of racing at Pembrey for rounds five and six of the Championship.
The Aprilia Dunlop Superteens were the first to take to circuit once the racing had commenced and with only four laps of their qualifying session being dry, it was 13-year-old Wayne Ryan who headed the front row alongside championship leader Andy Reid, newcomer Arran Climpson and Aussie Matt Davies.
You'd have to look as far back as row seven to find Connor Tagg and Lee Jackson, who had both suffered from some bad luck and bad timing, leaving the pair with a mountain to climb if they wanted to keep in tow of front runner Andy Reid.
Rob Brown & Erol Ahmet do battle at Pembrey (John Ward)
Points tables up to and including Pembrey are now published in "Download Docs" section under 2009 Dates and Points tab.
After a fantastic weekends racing under sunny skies I'm sure you're looking forward to Steves report, which he is just finalising now.
Three rounds into the 2009 Championship and the common theme from all 3 circuit owners and everyone else who has come into contact with Thundersport GB this year, centres around what great racing and a terrific atmosphere the series generates. That is something for everyone involved in the series to be proud of;- Riders, Teams, Marshals, Scrutineers, Officials and our growing band of travelling supporters. The "buzz" can be felt as an almost tangible thing and makes it so much more than just another race weekend away, it makes every meeting an Event to remember and savour.
The "Buzz" moves on to Oulton Park on 5th & 6th June, make a note in your diary so you don't miss it!
Record numbers attend as Thundersport GB rock Cadwell Park
Thursday, 16 April 2009
www.PLJPHOTO.com
After a blistering start to the season at Mallory Park, Thundersport GB's ever growing grids travelled to the hills of Lincolnshire this weekend for Rounds three and four of the Championships.
With a chill in the air and a circuit that had about as much grip as Torville and Dean's preferred surface, Saturdays' testing was indeed a tricky affair but as Easter approached, the skies just about cleared to give the spectators some fantastic action to view throughout the course of the weekend and even threw up a few surprises along the way.
For the CIA Insurance GP1 class, local rider Phil Crowe stunned his
opponents by snatching pole on the Sunday ahead of a confident Rob
Hoyles and the super quick Martin Buckles. Stuart Hall and another
local rider, Liam Marchant, were fourth and fifth, whilst defending
Champion Gary May was in sixth carrying a painful injury sustained
during Saturday's testing.
Along the task bar at the top of the page you will see a New Section entitled "Articles", which will contain stories, previews and other industry related articles.
Currently, there are 5 new stories to read:- Cadwell Park preview (obviously a preview of next weekends racing), Blurring the Edges (a piece on the current state of the industry), Thundersport GB Shifts Up a Gear (Steves view of how the season will shape up), Trouble at t'Mill (an article by Dave written a few months ago and now surprisingly accurate in its predictions) and Streetfighters (about the variety of machinery eligible for this class).
We will try to ensure that industry news and stories are added regularly for your interest. If there is any aspect of the sport in general you would like us to comment on, or obtain views, please let Steve know
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and he will ask the questions and try to formulate the answers into an interesting article.
Along the task bar at the top of the page you will see a New Section entitled "Articles", which will contain stories, previews and other industry related articles.
Click the Sports Timing Services logo for all 2009 Thundersport GB results
