The Easter Bank Holiday Weekend saw some amazing racing at Round 1 of the new format British Supermoto Championship, held at Three Sisters Race Circuit near Wigan and with a different winner in each of the three races, the scene has been set for a very exciting 2007 series. The inaugural ‘Qualifying Day’ saw 64 top British riders, plus competitors from Australia, Ireland and South Africa fighting for the right, to ride in the top level series. Only 28 riders ultimately made the grade as permanent championship riders for 2007, but the resultant entry list, promises action at every single race in 2007.
The following day, the qualifying session for grid positions saw a titanic battle between the riders with Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia) just pipping fellow Aprilia rider Sam Warren (SR Off Road Aprilia) for the Pole position honours, these two, an amazing full second faster than the rest of the field.
After the unseasonable warm weather of Saturday & Sunday, Bank Holiday Monday was disappointingly grey and overcast with worse weather to follow.
Race one was declared a wet race and was unusual in that seven competitors started from the pit lane after missing the cut for the starting grid, due to last minute tyre changes. The weather alternated throughout the race and despite setting the second fastest lap David Jackson (Halsion Lincoln Aprilia) fell midway through the session and retired. Sam Warren took full advantage of his front row start, led the race and won convincingly, leaving Matt Winstanley (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM) on cut slicks to claim second place points, followed by Christian Iddon (Factory Aprilia) who started from the pit lane, in third. Andy Mitchell (DCR Husaberg) who had previously held third spot also succumbed to the rain and retired after a fall. In the battle of the 450’s, slippery conditions expert David McKee (TAS Suzuki) had a busy race, fending off Chris Hodgson (Robinsons of Rochdale KTM) and Ricky Higgs (Aprilia) whilst also attempting to stop Iddon on his charge from the back of the grid. The Ulsterman proved once again that whilst qualifying may not be his strong point, racing certainly is.
By race two, the weather conditions had got worse and Ady Smith (KTM UK) made the most of his experience to clinch second position behind clear winner Christian Iddon who was making up for his pit lane start in race one. Matt Winstanley had an uneventful race to claim third position ahead of Greg Kinsella (DCR Husaberg) in fourth. In the unofficial ‘crowd pleasing’ stunts category, Alan Bott (Pemberton Tyres Honda) showed great tenacity as he crashed on the pit straight on the last lap, but managed to direct his crash across the finish line to finish the race without losing a position! Back to the 450 class and once again McKee mastered the tricky conditions to claim the win, with Hodgson once again hounding him throughout the race. David Jackson recovered from his race one crash to finish an eventual third 450 and seventh overall.
Going into race three, dry lines were becoming more prominent on the track, but Ady Smith’s experience (and pre-race investigations on his mountain bike!) saw him select a slick rear tyre giving him the grip required to claim the holeshot. Although Iddon (on a wet rear tyre) was able to close towards the end of the race, he ultimately had to take second position. Another wise tyre choice coupled with determination allowed Greg Kinsella to take third place. David Jackson made up for his race one disappointment with the 450 win in race three with Hodgson literally on his back mudguard at the finish. McKee took it slightly easier to claim third knowing he had done enough to claim the overall 450 category win.
Overall Aggregated Results after three races at round 1:British Supermoto Championship Open Class: 1st Christian Iddon,
2ndAdy Smith,
3rd Matt Winstanley
British Supermoto Championship 450 Class: 1st David McKee,
2nd Chris Hodgson,
3rd Lee Jones
The next race in the series is Round 2 at Lydd International Raceway in Kent over the weekend of Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th May 2007.
2007 British Supermoto Championship Entry List:No - Name - Machine - CC - Class2. Ady Smith - KTM - 630 - Open
3. Lee Jones - Aprilia - 450 - 450
4. Keith Farmer - Aprilia - 450 - 450
5. Paul Haigh - Honda - 450 - 450
6. Scott Woodacre - Aprilia - 450 - 450
8. Shane Parkin - Honda - 450 - 450
9. Matt Winstanley - KTM - 610 - Open
10. Rob McNealy - Husqvarna - 450 - 450
11. SamuelWarren - Aprilia - 550 - Open
17. Ricky Higgs - Aprilia - 450 - 450
21. Christian Iddon - Aprilia - 550 - Open
22. GeorgeClements - Honda - 450 - 450
33. David McKee - Suzuki - 450 - 450
34. Matthew Pope - KTM - 560 - Open
45. Alan Bott - Honda - 450 - 450
54. RichardBlakeman - KTM - 450 - 450
55. Greg Kinsella- Husaberg - 700 - Open
61. Andy Mitchell - Husaberg - 650 - Open
69. Chris Hodgson - KTM - 450 - 450
71. Craig Venske - KTM - 610 - Open
77. Philip Smithson - Husaberg - 650 - Open
100. Carl Shield - Husqvarna - 610 - Open
148. DavidHartley - KTM - 550 - Open
156. DavidJackson - Aprilia - 450 - 450
211. Gennaro Dichello - KTM - 450 - 450
522. Lee Cunliffe - KTM - 450 - 450
700. Richard Darlington - KTM - 450 - 450
717. Nigel Scott - Husqvarna - 530 - Open
Related Linkswww.motogb.netwww.rocketcentre.co.ukAction photo courtesy of Rocket Centre.
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