Gary beats rain to Trophy glory
The afternoon rain failed to dampen the spirits for Gary Thwaites in the second of the 500cc events; the A&D Christie Classic race for the 30th annual running of the ‘Bob McIntyre Memorial Trophy.’ The Kendal rider eased his G50 around the soaked circuit to a well judged win from the Manx Nortons of Colin Daly and Richard Lambourne in the title race of the weekend. McIntyre’s daughter Eleanor looked very proud as she presented the trophy in the evening, having been in attendance in 1985 at the first ‘Bob Mac’.
Swallow swoops back
Prior to the rain Anglesey rider Meredydd Owen (Seeley 7R) had held off Bill Swallow and Thomas Moore’s Aermacchis in the 350 Singles class; all changed when Swallow swooped to take the win on Sunday from Moore and Owen. Lambourne (Honda K4) beat Harley Rushton and Derek Wilson to take top spot in the 350 Twins class but on Sunday lost out to Rushton by a decisive margin though keeping head of Andy Lawson. Lawson, Lambourne and Rushton shared the three Mixed Class races; Lawson taking the Michael Ambler Memorial race, the other two sharing wins and second spots in the Mickey Oates sponsored races.
It’s a Shaw 205 thing
Suzuki T20 rider, Hexham’s Philip Shaw, took three wins and two second places in the 250cc Class with John Davidson’s TD1C Yamaha spoiling a perfect run. Tom Jackson from Kendal was a close contender throughout, his Suzuki only just losing out on two occasions. Mervyn Stratford might need a little more poke from the Rudge to pip the two strokes, but it sounds fabulous.
Gary and George level
Unlimited Classics rider Gary Thwaites shared top points over the weekend with George Hogton-Russling, (both with Rob North Triumphs, two no-shows, two wins and two 2nd places each) only losing out when GH-R posted the fastest lap of the weekend, knocking John McFarlane’s 2010 Unlimited Post Classic record off the sheet by 0.757 of a second in the process. John Lovett’s 1040cc BMW picked up the odd win of the five races, with Grant Farquharson (Laurie Trident) and Dave Brough (Honda CB500) the only other finisher in a rain lashed race.
Mike dominates post-classics
Mike Cooper was a runaway victor in the Kirkcaldy & District Motor Club sponsored Post Classics Junior class with four out of five wins on his 350cc Manx, all by a plus 20 second margin and posting a new class fastest lap at 85.795mph in the Alpha Stairs sponsored race, but although Richard Charlton -the ‘Flying Coalman’ - needed a little more fire in his TT2 Ducati he scored 4 seconds and a first - when Cooper went missing – to pinch the top points.
But for a race two DNF George Hogton-Rushton (TZ350 Yamaha) might have given the engraver more work on the Post Classic Seniors trophy and deprived Andy Lawson of top points over five races, but three wins and two runner up spots ensured that the trophies would be heading to Lawson's home town of Arbroath. Adrian McCarthy used local knowledge to ride consistently with 4 third places and a close second.
Mike Cooper took the first 500cc Classics race win from Gary Thwaites G50 and Harley Rushton’s Manx in a race which, if seen and heard in black and white, could easily have been mistaken for a late ‘60’s Continental Circus Classic. His non appearance in further 500cc races left Thwaites, Rushton and Yorkshire’s Rob Walker (Velo Venom Special) to dispute the top spot in race two.
Rain reduced lap speeds in race 3 and Thwaites, Colin Dally (499 Manx), Lambourne and Walker tiptoed around to the flag to complete the ‘Bob McIntyre Memorial Trophy’ race in conditions Bob himself would have savoured.Sunday’s ‘Jingly Jangly’ sponsored race went to Rushton by a big margin, Walker and evergreen Wattie Brown (500 Norton) heading the 17 strong field around a spotlessly clean and sun bathed track. Thwaites joined the DNF’s never to reappear. Rushton and Walker were joined by Bob Owen (Seeley G50) on the race 4 podium, Lambourne taking third spot in the final 500cc Classic race.
Lewis chairs it
The Scottish/Belgian Classic Sidecar pairing of Colin Lewis and Sebastian Barr took their BMW outfit to decisive wins on both days showing their ability in dry or wet conditions, taking top spot in the ‘Camathias Cup’ race where only eight sidecars entered the Scottish round of the European Classic Sidecar Challenge series. Originally 23 European crews were listed as taking part in the series….is Scotland a bridge too far for the crews?
Those who did race had a fantastic time, giving praise for the organisation, circuit layout and friendliness of all in the paddock. Lewis/Barr gave best to Eddy Wright/Keiran Clark (BMW) in only one of five races over the weekend and were followed home by dad Alistair Lewis and passenger Patti Reid (Windle Nourish) in race 4. The Vincent big wheeler of Martin and Danny Quirk gave the crowd some entertainment by waggling a wheel at every opportunity, and posted three thirds, a fourth sixth place. Hard to catch and tricky to pass; the perfect combination!
