Dull, cool and overcast conditions greeted the eager competitors as they blew away the winter cobwebs with the commencement of practice for the first ‘pure’ road race of the 2008 season.

The Ian Watson Spring Cup National Motorcycle road races organised by the forward thinking Auto 66 Club got their fourteen race one-day programme underway at 12.30pm after what turned out to be an uneventful practice and qualifying period in the morning.

The National ‘B’ Final 1st leg over six laps of the 2.43-mile course got the proceedings underway, with Mike Russell leading the charge into Mere Hairpin and maintained his lead after the first lap, followed by Ivan Lintin and Daniel Freer. A lap later Lintin had taken command at the front of the pack, with Stephen McIlvenna moving to second and Paul Battersby third. Early leader Russell pulled in with a machine problem, as did Daniel Freer.
At half distance Lintin had increased his advantage to 9.7 seconds, with a similar distance between second and third, Battersby.
Another circuit and the gap had decreased slightly to 9.4 seconds with placings remaining the same. A further circuit and the gap had again creased to 11.353 seconds as Russ Johnson moved into third place. Keith Stewart making his return to racing moved up to seventh.
At the flag is was Ivan Lintin, some 11.62 seconds ahead of Stephen McIlvenna and Russ Johnson completing the podium.
Stephen McKnight, Dave Woolams and Keith Stewart completed the top six.

Next up was the first leg of the Sidecar event, again over six laps.
Pole position was with Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson, who held the hole shot into the first Hairpin, followed by British Champions, Simon Neary and Jamie Winn and David Hirst with Paul Lowther in the chair, third.
A lap later Harrison had a one second lead over Neary, as Tony Thirkell and Nigel Barlow took over third place.
A lap later the lead was down to 0.287 of a second, as placing remained the same.
At half distance the gap was back up to 0.575 of a second, with no change in the positions.
The conclusion of the fourth lap Thirkell/Barlow had taken second spot from Neary/Winn. The penultimate lap placings remained the same as the leaders advantage improved to 7.1 seconds.
At the chequered flag it was Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson, followed some 6.9 seconds ahead of Tony Thirkell and Nigel Barlow, 11 seconds ahead of British Champions Simon Neary and Jamie Winn.

Race 3, was the first heat of the Spring Cup, with Mick Goodings and Russ Mountford both taking the hole-shot into Mere Hairpin, with Mountford exiting the bend first. At the end of the opening lap it was Mick Goodings, Russ Mountford, Dwyer Agnew filling the first three places followed by William Dunlop, Keith Pringle and Gary Chalkley filling fourth to sixth. Positions remained the same on the second lap of four.
At the end of the third lap positions remained unchanged and at the flag Mick Goodings advantage was 5.959 seconds over Dwyer Agnew with William Dunlop third.
Fourth to sixth were Russ Mountford, Keith Pringle and Darren Percival.

The second heat of the Spring Cup followed - again over four laps. Andrew Neill was in pole position, but made a pig’s ear of his start and it was Neill Vickers who gained the hole-shot.
At the end of the opening lap it was Ryan Farquhar who had a 2 second lead over Richard Gibson, who in turn had half a second advantage over Neil Vickers in third.
Farquhar’s lead was up to 11 seconds after further 2.43-miles, as Stephen Oates moved into fourth place.
At three-quarters distance Ryan’s lead was now some 19 seconds, whilst positions remained the same.
The chequered flag saw the Harker Kawasaki cross the line 26 seconds ahead of Richard Gibson, with Neill Vickers third, Daniel Freer fourth, Ivan Lintin fifth and Kiaran Hankin sixth.

Race five, the 1st leg of the National 125cc & 400cc classes over six laps, saw Mick Goodings in pole position who held the place into Mere.
The 125’s went off in a separate wave, with Chris Palmer heading the field.
At the end of the opening lap, the 400’s were led by Mick Goodings, Dave Woolams and Tony Flinton.
The 125’s saw Chris Palmer, William Dunlop and Andrew Neill leading the pack.
A lap later, Goodings still held the advantage in the 400 class, but Alistair Haworth moved into second, with Dave Woolams demoted to third.
125 placing remained the same, Palmer, Dunlop and Neill.
Half distance saw Goodings lead up to 18.3 seconds over Haworth, with Woolams still third, as the 125 freight train remained in station, with Palmer’s lead 11 seconds over Dunlop.
Mick Goodings continued on his merry way at three-quarters distance, with an increased lead of 22 seconds over Haworth, as Woolams retained third.
Seventh on the roads, Chris Palmer still led the 125’s, with William Dunlop, who was 12th overall, with Andrew Neill third and behind Dunlop on the roads.
Lap five and the positions in the 400 class remained the same, with the leader adding a further six seconds to his advantage.
Chris Palmer moved into fifth on the roads, as William Dunlop moved up to 11th overall.
At the flag Mick Goodings took the win by 30 seconds over Alistair Haworth and Dave Woolams, as Chris Palmer took the 125 laurels, followed by William Dunlop and Andrew Neill.

The 1st leg of the National 600’s were next up and once again it was Doncaster’s Mick Goodings who took the hole-shot in the eight lap race and still lead at the end of the lap, with Ryan Farquhar now into second with William Dunlop third, as Russ Mountford, Dwyer Agnew and Richard Gibson completed the top six.
A lap later, it was Goodings over Farquhar, but by only two-tenths of a second, as positions remained the same.
Lap three and the places remained the same, as did the gap between the first two.
At half distance, Farquhar had taken the lead and put 1.8 seconds between himself and Goodings, as Dunlop remained in third.
By the end of the fifth lap Farquhar had opened up a lead of 3.20 seconds, with the only change on the leader board being Kiaran Hankin slotting into fifth place ahead of Dwyer Agnew.
Lap six, and race positions remained static, although the leader had added a further second to his advantage.
At the conclusion of the penultimate lap, the lead was now 5.7 seconds and Farquhar took the chequered flag some 7.3 seconds ahead of Goodings with William Dunlop third. Ross Mountford, Kiaran Hankin and Dwyer Agnew completed the top six.

Next race was the second leg of the Formula 2 Sidecars. British Champions Simon Neary and Jamie Winn lead the pack of seven at the end of the opening lap of six.
However a lap later it was Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson who were in the lead, as David Hirst and Paul Lowther settled in third place.
At half distance placings positions were the same, although the leading crew had a 2.222 second advantage over the second place pair.
Greg Lambert and Sally Wilson had taken third place from Hirst and Lowther.
Lap four and five and the status quo prevailed.
At the chequered flag Harrison and Patterson enjoyed a 2.235 second lead over Neary and Winn, with Lambert and Wilson third.

Race eight, the opening leg of the National 250’s and Mini twins.
Dwyer Agnew led at the end of the opening lap of eight, but at the conclusion of the second lap, it was Phil Harvey from Chris Palmer, from Ivan Lintin, followed by David Guiney, Tony Flinton and David O’Leary.
During the third lap, Palmer took over the lead and completed the lap 3.2 seconds ahead of Harvey and Lintin.
On the half distance lap, four the red flags went out after an incident at Memorial and a result declared at the end of the third lap.

Race nine, 1st leg of the Spring Cup, an eight lap event, Mick Goodings got the hole shot, but at the end of the lap it was Ryan Farquhar with a 1.8 second lead over Mick Goodings, with Dwyer Agnew third, followed by Keith Pringle, Richard Gibson and Ross Mountford completing the top six.
Lap two and Farquhar’s advantage was up to 3.6 seconds with no change in the top six, however Daniel Freer moved into seventh ahead of Ivan Lintin.
Lap three and positions for the top ten remained the same, as the leader Farquhar increased his advantage to 5.1 seconds.
At half distance, the increased lead stood at 7.7 seconds as Farquhar set the fastest lap so far. Daniel Freer moved into sixth place, as Stephen Oates slotted into eighth position.
Lap five saw the gap increase to 11 seconds, as Daniel Freer moved up to fifth.
At three-quarters distance the lead had extended to 13.6 seconds with no changes in the first ten.
The penultimate lap saw the lead increase even further, whilst positions remained static and the winner’s advantage at the chequered flag was 20.2 seconds.

Race ten, the second leg of the combined 125cc & 400cc classes, once again over six laps proved to be a repeat of the first legs, with Mick Goodings and Chris Palmer taking the honours.

Race eleven, the second leg of the National 600’s Ross Mountford shot off in the lead but by Mere Hairpin it was Ryan Farquhar who was in front and had pulled out a 1.3 second lead at the end of the opening lap from William Dunlop, with Mountford third. Mick Goodings, Richard Gibson and Paul Gartland made up the top six.
A lap later, Mick Goodings moved into third, whilst Andrew Neill and Keith Pringle took ninth and tenth places.
Lap three, and Farquhar’s advantage was up to 4 seconds, as positions remained the same, as they did on the half distance lap, although the leader’s gap was now 6.9 seconds.
Lap five saw Mick Goodings move into second, as Ross Mountford also moved into third, with Richard Gibson slotting into fourth, Kiaran Hankin fifth and Victor Gilmore sixth.
At three-quarters distance, Farquhar’s lead was 8.695 seconds, as Victor Gilmore moved into fifth.
Lap seven and the pace had quietened down a ‘tad’ and Ryan Farquhar took the chequered flag 8.165 seconds ahead of Mick Goodings, with Ross Mountford third.

Next up was the second leg for the 250’s over eight laps. Phil Harvey got the hole-shot, but at the end of the opening lap of eight it was Chris Palmer, aiming for this fourth win of the day, followed by David Guiney and Harvey. Fourth to sixth was Ivan Lintin, Tony Flinton and Garry Dickinson.
Palmer’s lead was up to 7.868 seconds at the end of the second lap, as Garry Dickinson moved into fifth.
First, second and third places remained the same at the end of the third circuit, but Garry Dickinson continued his climb up the leader board slotting into fourth position.
At half distance Palmer’s advantage was up to 11.888 seconds, but not from Guiney, but from Dickinson, who had moved into second place demoting Guiney to third.
The fifth lap saw the first lap with no changes to the leader board and although Chris Palmer increased the gap between himself and Dickinson to 12.468 seconds he had eased off in his lap time by some two seconds.
At the three-quarters distance, Ivan Lintin moved up to fourth, as Palmer’s advantage decreased to 9.703 seconds.
The penultimate lap saw Garry Dickinson close up on Chris Palmer’s advantage, clawing it back to 8.210 seconds, as positions remained the same.
The chequered flag saw Chris Palmer claim his fourth victory of the day, making 71 victories in all at the Oliver’s Mount circuit by 7.003 seconds from Garry Dickinson, with David Guiney third. Ivan Lintin took fourth, as Phil Harvey moved into fifth and David Bell claimed sixth.

Race Fourteen the second leg of the feature event the Spring Cup, saw Richard Gibson get the hole-shot, but at the end of the opening lap it was Ryan Farquhar who headed the pack, followed by Keith Pringle, Mick Goodings, Richard Gibson, Ivan Lintin and Stephen Oates.
The leader’s advantage was just one second, but by the end of the second circuit it was up to 3 seconds, with no changes in the top six.
Lap three and again no change in positions, but the leading gap had extended to over 7 seconds.
Half distance and the leading gap was just short of ten seconds, although the gap between second and third, Pringle and Goodings was just half a second.
Victor Gilmore moved into fifth.
Lap five saw Mick Goodings move into second place albeit 12.575 seconds behind race leader Farquhar, as Stephen Oates passed Ivan Lintin for sixth spot.
Lap six and no changes in the top six.
The penultimate circuit saw Ryan’s lead extend to 14.934 seconds over Mick Goodings, as placings remained the same.
At the flag it was Ryan Farquhar from Mick Goodings and Keith Pringle.

Ryan took the coveted Ian Watson Trophy.

So to the final race of the programme, the second leg of the National 600’s B Final.
Luke Devanney made the hole-shot but it was Ivan Lintin who led the pack from Victor Gilmore, Dave Woolams, Mike Russell, Jules Croft and Ross Johnson. Just nine seconds separating to top six and only half a second the first two.
A lap later and Gilmore was in the lead, with Dave Woolams moving into second on the third lap.
By the fifth lap Victor’s lead was up to 8.6 seconds, as positions remained the same.
Victor Gilmore took his maiden victory at Oliver’s Mount, to round off an excellent days racing.
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