Perched on the cliffs of Anglesey’s rugged coastline and boasting a banked hairpin, fast corners, blind crests and, of course, its very own corkscrew – Anglesey has become a firm favourite on the NGRRC calendar. Rounds 9 and 10 of the Pirelli UK GP45 Championship was sure to provide some exciting racing on Wales’ premier race track.

Saturday 13th August, round nine

Saturday dawned a nervous day for newcomer Ryan Evans, with only one test day at Pembrey under his belt, this was to be his first ever race meeting for the 16 year old from Somerset. Eagerly dressed in race leathers by 7:30am Evans was pleased to get morning warm-up completed without a hitch. At 11:32am the mini-twins, GP45 Super Singles and Super Twins assembled on the start line, the track just about dry from the overnight rain.

Motobits Aprilia Super Twin rider Chris Harrison knew he needed to get a flying start from way back in 29th spot with GP45 Super Single championship leader, Matt Andrew next up in 30th.

At the end of the first timed lap Harrison had pushed through the field up to 4th on-the-road, hunting down the leading mini-twins. Harrison finally claimed 3rd spot and a front row start for the final. The Wedds & Co/Ultiscan Suzuki of Andrew had also made excellent progress, pushing through to 7th overall and heading up the Super Singles. The man responsible for the GP45 kits, Martin Thrower, was having a good day on his gofasterbits.co.uk Aprilia almost cracking the top 10 overall from a grid spot of 31, snapping at his heels just 1.2 seconds behind came an on-form Tony Bridgefoot on the Bluebell Lakes GP45 Honda delighted with his best result to date and 2nd Super Single. Menstrie, Clacks rider Gary Moran and Trevor Pope Racing’s Robbie Robson enjoyed chasing down the 3rd Super Single spot. Ryan Evans was elated to get his first start and race finish out of the way courtesy of the Ashley’s of Yeovil GP45 Kawasaki.

A few minutes before 3pm Chris Harrison found himself back on the front row ready for the final. Matt Andrew now on a much improved 2nd row grid slot the with Super Single of Tony Bridgefoot and the Super Twin of Martin Thrower directly behind him on row three. The other GP45s of Gary Moran, Robbie Robson and newcomer Ryan Evans occupied the inside lines on the remaining rows. Turn one at Anglesey is fast and immediate and a good start is essential. Harrison held his 3rd spot on-the-road lap after lap to the flag with a best lap of 1:15.81. Martin Thrower had a personal best result on his www.gp45.co.uk Aprilia making an impressive drive through the pack from a starting position of 11th. After 12.4 miles of racing Thrower was delighted with a healthy 5th position overall and 2nd of the GP45s beating Matt Andrew on the Wedds & Co/Ultiscan RMZ GP45 Suzuki to the line.

Andrew comfortably took the win for the Super Single class and enjoyed a strong 6th place overall. Tony Bridgefoot, on the Bluebell Lakes Honda, made a promising start by getting himself into the top ten during the opening laps but retired early with a mechanical issue. Next up came Scotsman Gary Moran on his Suzuki RMZ 450 to claim 2nd Super Single spot with Robbie Robson rounding out the top three for the single cylinder class. Ryan Evans notched up another successful start and finish of the day en-route to his first ACU licence signature. As an extra bonus Ryan also entered the Ashley’s of Yeovil GP45 in the April UK 500 and Mini Twins Newcomers race picking up a 2nd place and his first trophy!

Sunday 14th August, round 10

Mid-morning and the sun was out for yet another dry and sunny NGRRC race meeting, the ever-present Menai Straight wind was present but not a concern for the racers, all eager to make laptime improvements in the bright conditions.

Reassembled on the grid, our gaggle of GP45s all had work to do. Harrison again on a mission to join the mini-twin leaders from way back, the superb 450 Aprilia made light work of the pack posting a 6th position first time past the timing beacon. More rivals were quickly dispatched and again Harrison secured another front row start for the afternoon’s final and an impressive 3rd on-the-road finish. Harrison was now taking note of Martin Thrower as the undulating Welsh circuit was providing the Ashley’s of Yeovil General Manager with some impressive improvements over recent outings. Thrower finished well inside the top 10 and would be looking to make further gains come the final.

Matt Andrew was the man to beat yet again for the Super Singles getting himself through to a very impressive 5th position from his 30th grid slot and certainly giving the 650cc mini-twins something to think about. Despite a valiant attempt and some good passes Robbie Robson on the KTM GP45 couldn’t quite catch Gary Moran and settled for one place behind the Suzuki.

The round 10 final arrived to see Harrison take his 8th front row start of the season on the blue Motobits Aprilia, an on-form Thrower found himself on the 2nd row with Super Single Championship leader Andrew a few places to his right, also on row 2. The Trevor Pope Racing KTM of Robbie Robson once again seated side-by-side with Gary Moran ready to do battle. Despite an epic ride the previous day, Tony Bridgefoot was struggling to get his Honda CRF to play ball with another DNF in the qualifier, Tony took up a back row position looking for a good start to get him back in contention.

Despite losing a place on the first timed lap, Harrison pushed through to hold on to 3rd overall and take the GP45 Super Twin win, Thrower made great progress in the opening laps getting the Aprilia past Andrew on the Single and a couple of mini-twins into 5th spot but retired early with a mechanical issue. Matt Andrew was again on good form heading off all of his Super Single rivals and the majority of the mini-twins with another strong 6th on-the-road finish, Andrew’s best lap of 1:18.04 proved to the best Super Single lap of the weekend but not quite enough to conquer last season’s lap record set by Steve Pond of 1:16.09. Gary Moran took the GP45 Suzuki through to claim 2nd Super Single with Tony Bridgefoot was back in the saddle with another excellent ride of the weekend grabbing third in class and a top 15 overall spot from his 6th row start, all this despite an excursion on to the grass to avoid another rider’s incident.

Pirelli UK GP45 Championship standings:

Super Twins: Chris Harrison 225, Martin Thrower 132, Brad Davey 85?Super Singles: Matthew Andrew 215, Robbie Robson 122, Gary Moran 118.

Next round: Pembrey 17th–18th September 2011

Trophies awarded for both classes.