Ian Watson Spring Cup

National Road Races

Sunday 20th April 2008

The Auto66 Club had a break from tradition with the 2008 Ian Watson Spring Cup races, the one day meeting usually being run on the May Day bank holiday was switched to an earlier 20th April date, which had definitely been a step in the right direction, as they’d been over subscribed with entries.

Ryan Farquhar headed the entry, planning a full-scale assault on the roads in 2008 and was hoping to make the perfect start to the new season with a clean sweep of the key 600cc and Superbike classes at the 2.43-mile Oliver’s Mount circuit. He was joined by fellow countryman, William Dunlop, who’d finished fourth in the 2007 September International Gold Cup race and also recorded the seventh fastest ever lap around Scarborough. Also amongst the large contingent of Irish riders making the trip were Dwyer Agnew, Ivan Lintin, Paul Gartland, Victor Gilmore, David Guiney, Andrew Neill and Keith Stewart.

‘Manxie’ Chris Palmer, returned to the parkland circuit to add to his colossal tally of wins and looked like the rider to beat in the two-stroke 125cc and 250cc classes. Other Scarborough regulars sure to be in contention were Mick Goodings, who’d made the 400cc class his own over the past few seasons, Dave Bell was back to thrill the crowds on his Kawasaki Newcastle 650 ER Mini Twin machine and Keith Pringle arrived at the circuit armed with two brand new Suzuki’s on which he would also be contending the North West 200 & Manx Grand Prix during the 2008 season.

Russ Mountford and former Virgin Yamaha R6 competitor, Daniel Frear, had both made impressive Oliver’s Mount debuts during the 2007 season and would no doubt be in the thick of the action. Robbie Silvester’s VRS Performance team had turned out on mass with an awning full of machinery for Craig Atkinson, Garry Dickinson and Keith Stewart.

The three-wheelers were represented by current British Formula Two Champions Simon Neary/Jamie Winn, but could expect regular Scarborough top placed men, Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson, Greg Lambert/Sally Wilson and Tony Thirkell/Nigel Barlow to be snapping at their heels.

The meeting also attracted a healthy influx of newcomers to the parkland circuit : Chris Bradshaw (Tamworth), Daniel Brown (Hull), Russel Brown (Lisburn), Jules Croft (Peel), Luke Devanney (Doncaster), Wayne Hamilton (Portadown), Marie Hodgson (Esex), Derek Jackson (St Helens), Stephen McIlvenna (County Antrim), Stephen McKnight (Dromore), Stephen Oates (Douglas), Noel Patterson (Newtown Abbey), Mike Russell (Northern Ireland), Timmy Turtle (Dungannon), Ian Ward (York), Stephen Wilson (Ballyclare) and Paddy Woodside (Ballynure).

The meeting started promptly at 8.30am with a practice session for the many newcomers, mid-morning a light drizzle of rain dampened the circuit and made conditions tricky for the second 600c qualifying session. Racing commenced at 12.30 pm with a bumper fourteen race programme which also counted as the first round of the 2008 Duke Road Race Rankings Championship.

Race 1 – ‘B’ Final – 1st Leg (6 Laps)

The first real road race of the season got underway with the six-lap first leg of the 600cc ‘B’ final. Lining up on the front row of the grid was former Oliver’s Mount marshal Paul Battersby and three circuit newcomers Luke Devanney, Mike Russell and Stephen McIlvenna. There was drama on the warm-up lap when Garry Dickinson, making his racing comeback after eighteen months, low-sided off the ex-Hutchinson McAdoo Kawasaki at the Esses and then Victor Gilmore didn’t take up his spot on the grid and rode straight thorough to the paddock. As the lights changed Russell went straight to the front and led Battersby and Daniel Frear into Mere Hairpin. Twenty-seven-year-old, RAF man, Russell still led at the end of the opening lap with Linton second, Frear third, Battersby fourth and McIlvenna fifth.

A lap later, Russell was out of the race with machine problems and Lintin had taken command at the front with just over a four second lead. Scunthorpe plant-fitter Frear, overshot Mountside Hairpin also retiring from the race, elevating McIlvenna to second, Battersby third, Ross Johnson fourth and Dave Woolams fifth. At half-distance Lintin had increased his advantage over McIlvenna to 9.7 seconds, while Irish 750cc Support Champion, Stephen McKnight was moving through the pack, the Dromore rider was up from tenth to sixth on the Anglo Irish Racing Kawasaki. On the penultimate lap Lintin’s lead had extended to 11.353 seconds over McIlvenna, with Johnson taking third spot away from Battersby.

Lintin’s 11.62 victory was all the more impressive, considering that the Bardney retained fire-fighter was still suffering from a sore collarbone, broken only three weeks earlier. McIlvenna finished second nearly six seconds ahead of Johnson, McKnight fourth, Woolams fifth and Keith Stewart having his first outing since the 2007 Skerries, completed the top six on the VRS Performance Kawasaki.

Race 2 - Formula Two Sidecars – 1st Leg (6 Laps)

Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson took-up pole position for the first leg of the Formula Two Sidecars, alongside last minute entry, reigning British Formula Two champion Simon Neary, who had Leeds builder Jamie Winn in the chair. Harrison/Patterson scorched away from the line, to lead Neary/Winn and David Hirst/Paul Lowther into Mere hairpin. Greg Lambert with Sally Wilson in the chair, had a dismal start being last away from the grid with a lot of work ahead of them.

At the start of lap two, Harrison/Patterson held a one second lead over Neary/Winn, with Tony Thirkell and passenger Doncaster electrician Nigel Barlow having passed Hirst/Lowther for third. Harrison was under pressure on the third lap, as Neary recorded the fastest lap of the race so far, in 2 mins 03.376 seconds, to move within 0.3 of a second of the Bradford postal worker. Goole publican Brian Alflatt, who lists his employment as ‘liquid engineering !’, pulled off the track at the end of third lap but then turned around to rejoin the race in last place. On the fourth lap the leaders’ advantage dramatically increased after Neary/Winn went down the slip road at Farm Bends, which also moved Thirkell/Barlow up to second spot. Harrison/Patterson went on to take the win 6.9 seconds ahead of Thirkell/Barlow, who in turn were eleven seconds ahead of Neary/Winn.

Race 3 - Spring Cup - Heat 1 (4 Laps)

Race three was the first four-lap qualifying dash, for the Ian Watson Spring Cup, with the top ten finishers and two invited riders going through to the final. Winner of the 2007 Ian Watson Newcomers Trophy, Russ Mountford (600 Yamaha R6), grabbed the hole-shot but took a wide line at Mere Hairpin allowing Mick Goodings (600 Yamaha R6) to seize the advantage, powering up Sheene’s Rise behind them were Dwyer Agnew (1000 Suzuki GSXR), William Dunlop (600 Yamaha R6), Gary Chalkley (600 Honda CBR), Keith Pringle (1000 Suzuki GSXR), Victor Gilmore (600 Yamaha R6) and Craig Atkinson (1000 Honda CBR).

At the end of the opening lap it was Goodings by nearly two seconds from Mountford, Agnew and Dunlop. Keith Pringle had fought his way up to fifth, after having to start from the third row of the grid, when he missed the final Superbike practice qualifying session due to the front wheel pinch bolt seizing solid on his 1000 Suzuki, which had to be cut out and replaced. On the third lap, thirty-nine-year-old Agnew, a fitter from Lurgen in Northern Ireland, making his 26 th appearance at the Oliver’s Mount circuit, forced his way past Mountford into second place. Phil Harvey retired his 250 Honda from the race after losing a foot peg at Mere Hairpin. At the flag, Goodings took a 5.959 second victory from Agnew, Dunlop, Mountford and Pringle.

Race 4 - Spring Cup - Heat 2 (4 Laps)

The second heat of the Spring Cup had twenty-six-year-old mechanic, Andrew Neill, from Newmills near Dungannon, in pole position on the Moira R6 Yamaha, but an untidy wheelie away from the line cost him dearly, dropping him back into the clutches of the chasing pack, while Richard Gibson (600 Yamaha R6) and Neil Vicars (600 Honda CBR-RR) tore away at the front. It didn’t take long for Ryan Farquhar to assert his authority on the race and put his 1000 Harker Kawasaki ZX-10 to the front on the top straight. By the end of the first lap, Farquhar had a 2 second lead over Gibson, who in turn had half-a-second advantage over retained Tadcaster fire-fighter Neil Vickers in third, circuit newcomer Stephen Oates an impressive fourth, Ivan Lintin fifth and Dave Bell sixth on a 1000 Kawasaki ZX10 equipped with a top-yoke and Pro-Taper high bars.

At the end of the second lap Farquhar was dominating with an eleven second lead, while further down field Daniel Frear charged up from tenth to seventh. After being blocked in a first corner incident and then encountering issues with his brakes, Keith Stewart retired to the paddock at the end of the second lap. At three-quarters distance Farquhar’s lead was up to nineteen seconds and Frear had passed Hankin for sixth place. The chequered flag saw Farquhar cross the line 26 seconds ahead of Richard Gibson, with Vickers just holding onto third ahead of the freight train of Frear fourth, Lintin fifth, Kiaran Hankin sixth, Oates seventh and Dave Woolams rounding out the top eight.

Race 5 – 125cc & 400cc – 1st Leg (6 Laps)

Race five was the first leg of the combined 125cc and 400cc classes, run over six laps. The 400cc machines were set off first then a gap of thirty seconds before the 125’s went off in a separate wave. Daniel Frear (400 Honda CBR) led the charge into Mere Hairpin, ahead of class lap record holder and pre-race favourite Mick Goodings (400 Kawasaki ZXR). Frear was still leading at Drury’s Hairpin but was then reported out of the race after having crashed at Mountside Hairpin. Goodings inherited a huge six second lead over Dave Woolams (400 Honda NC28), followed by local rider Tony Flinton (400 Honda CBR), Alistair Haworth (400 Yamaha FZR) and Mike Russell (400 Kawasaki ZXR). Ross Johnson overshot Farm Bends and rejoined the race down in tenth place.

In what is being hinted as his ‘swan-song’ season, Chris Palmer led William Dunlop by nearly four seconds at the end of the opening lap, with addition to the programme Andrew Neill in third, the Newmill’s rider having recently added a 125cc Honda to his stable supplied by Dungannon Haulage contractor N D Wray.

On completion of the second lap, Goodings extended his lead to over twelve seconds, while Cumbrian painter & decorator Haworth had stormed past Flinton and Woolams into second place, similarly Palmer controlled the 125cc race with a seven second lead. At half-distance, Goodings’ lead was up to 18.3 seconds over Haworth, while further downfield Ross Johnson had moved up to sixth place. Palmer was now circulating amongst the 400cc machines with an eleven second advantage over the Paddy Flynn Honda of Dunlop.

Goodings continued to pull away over the final three laps, at a rate of over four seconds a lap, his final winning margin being 30.6 seconds over Haworth. Dave Woolams had been busy during the winter months getting married in Thailand, celebrated once again by completing the podium. Palmer took his 68th Oliver’s Mount victory on the Mannin-backed Honda by a dominant 30.017 seconds ahead of Dunlop with Neill third.

Race 6 – 600cc – 1st Leg (8 laps)

Earlier in the day there had been two 600cc qualifying sessions, the first for competitors numbered 1-60 which had been held in the dry, whilst the unfortunate riders with numbers 60+ had to endure tricky damp conditions after the only rain shower of the day. The dry qualifiers obviously had much quicker times, which showed when the riders lined up on the grid. Ryan Farquhar was allotted 16 th spot, way back on the fifth row of the grid alongside Kiaran Hankin (600 Honda CBR-RR) and Keith Pringle (600 Suzuki GSXR).

Mick Goodings made the most of his pole position and got off to a flier on his R6 Yamaha ahead of Russ Mountford (600 Yamaha R6) with Farquhar charging through the pack on his Harker Kawasaki ZX6 into third spot. Doncaster heavy goods vehicle fitter, Goodings, still led at the end of the opening lap but was being hounded by Farquhar, with just two-tenths of a second separating them. William Dunlop on the Abbaid Construction R6 Yamaha R6 moved into third ahead of Mountford, after he overshot Farm Bends, with Dwyer Agnew (600 Honda CBR) fifth, Richard Gibson (600 Yamaha R6) sixth, Andrew Neill (600 Yamaha R6) seventh and Paul Gartland (675 Triumph) in eighth.

The lead changed on the half-distance lap when Farquhar hit the front and put 1.8 seconds between himself and Goodings, Dunlop remained in third with Mountford fourth. Having started from the fifth row of the grid, Hankin moved up from tenth place on the first lap into fifth place and Pringle also slotted into the top ten.

By the end of the sixth lap, the leader board remained the same with Farquhar opening up a four second lead. Farquhar took the chequered flag 7.3 seconds ahead of Goodings, with Dunlop third, Mountford fourth, Hankin fifth, Agnew sixth, Neill seventh, Gibson eighth, Pringle ninth and Dave Woolams (675 Triumph) completing the top ten.

Race 7 – Formula Two Sidecars – 2nd Leg (6 Laps)

First away from the line in the second leg of the Formula Two Sidecars was Simon Neary/Jamie Winn, they led around the opening lap but were constantly shadowed by the outfit of Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson painted in their familiar colours of St George. Harrison overhauled Leeds Heavy Goods Vehicle driver Simon Neary for the lead on the second lap, wagon driver David Hirst and passenger fork lift truck driver Paul Lowther held third, while Greg Lambert/Sally Wilson dived up the inside of Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth at Mountside Hairpin for third spot.

At half-distance Harrison/Patterson held a 2.222 second advantage over Neary/Winn. Greg Lambert on his self-built Honda-powered outfit took third place away from Hirst/Lowther, who were now coming under pressure from Howard Baker and passenger Lincoln Butcher Mike Killingsworth. On the penultimate lap Neary/Winn looked as if they were inching closer to the leading crew, but at the flag it was Harrison/Patterson who took the win with a 2.235 second advantage, Lambert/Wilson completed the podium. Tony Thirkell/Nigel Barlow never made the start, incurring electrical problems in the holding bay, which could not be resolved in time for the race.

Race 8 – 250cc & Mini Twins – 1st Leg (3 Laps)

Next up was the first leg of the combined 250cc and Mini Twins race. Phil Harvey got off to an absolute flyer in the 250cc category and led Ivan Lintin into Mere Hairpin. An uncharacteristically poor start from Chris Palmer had him down in third with Dwyer Agnew fourth on a borrowed 250 Honda and Scarborough rider Tony Flinton fifth. In the Mini Twins category, Dave Bell also had a diabolical start and seemingly had his work cut out if he was to catch Mike Minns on an almost identical 650 Kawasaki ER6 machine.

Thirty-five-year-old, Goole Business Development Manager, Harvey, started the second lap with a five second lead, while Palmer took over second spot from Linton, but was going to have to pull out all the stops if he was to catch the flying leader. Agnew disappeared out of fourth place up the slip road at Mountside Hairpin and rejoined the race in ninth spot. Chip factory owner Dave Guiney passed Flinton for fifth. In the Mini Twins class, Bell was dramatically closing on Minns with Dungannon-fitter Timmy Turtle circulating in third.

Palmer banged in the fastest lap of the race on the third lap, in 1 min 57.257 seconds, 74.605 mph, to catch and pull out a 3.2 second lead over Harvey, with Bell also getting the better of Minns to lead the Mini Twins. On the half-distance lap, the red flags went out after David O'Leary slid off at Memorial and the race was declared complete with the results being taken from the end of the third lap. This gave Palmer his 69th Oliver’s Mount win ahead of Harvey, Lintin took a lonely third, Guiney fourth, Flinton fifth, Garry Dickinson sixth and Agnew seventh. Bell took his ER6, supplied by Kawasaki Newcastle’s Dave Winfield, to another Mini Twins victory, taking the flag 6.894 seconds ahead of Minns.

Race 9 – Spring Cup – 1st Leg (8 Laps)

Mick Goodings set the pace on his G Smith & Son Haulage Service R6 Yamaha in the first leg of the feature event Ian Watson Spring Cup, but Ryan Farquhar had put his Superstock Kawasaki ahead by the time they’d reached Drury’s Hairpin with Dwyer Agnew third. In a text book late braking manoeuvre Keith Pringle swept underneath Richard Gibson at Mountside Hairpin for fourth place. There was plenty of hectic action from the following pack as they jostled for position around the tight and twisty track.

Farquhar immediately set about opening up a lead and completed the first lap with a 1.8 second margin over Goodings, then followed Agnew, Pringle, Gibson, Russ Mountford, Ivan Lintin, Daniel Frear, Darren Percival and Stephen Oates. On the second lap Farquhar extended his advantage to 3.6 seconds, changes to the top ten included Frear taking Lintin for seventh and Oates passing Percival for ninth. There was no lack of action further downfield with individual battles going on between Alistair Howarth, Paul Gartland, Victor Gilmore and Dave Woolams.

At half-distance, Farquhar’s lead stood at 7.7 seconds, as he set the fastest lap of the race so far. Frear moved ahead of Mountford into sixth and Oates took Lintin for eighth. On lap five, man-on-a-mission Frear was on the move again, out-braking Gibson for fifth place at Mountside Hairpin. The race settled down and leader board positions remained static for the next couple for laps, Gary Chalkley high-sided out of the race at Farm Bends on the penultimate lap.

Farquhar took his second win of the day, 20.2 seconds ahead of Goodings, then a gap of nine seconds to Agnew, Pringle fourth, Frear fifth, Gibson sixth, Mountford seventh and Oates eighth. On the final circuit Woolams passed the McKinstry Racing Superstock GSX-R1000 of Lintin for ninth and Darren Percival was also unfortunately caught out by Farm Bends, the Whitley Bay rider high-siding his flamingo-pink 1000 Suzuki out of eleventh place. Happily both Chalkley and Percival walked away uninjured from their incidents.

Race 10 – 125cc & 400cc – 2nd Leg (6 Laps)

Mick Goodings took another start to finish 400cc win on his Steady Away Racing Kawasaki ZXR, Daniel Frear held second place throughout and marginally closed the leader’s gap down to five seconds at mid distance. On the final lap, Frear dramatically stopped at Farm Bends with mechanical problems, but rather than pushing home for second place the Scunthorpe rider elected to return to the paddock. This handed the runner-up spot to Alistair Haworth nearly 18 seconds ahead of Dave Woolams.

Chris Palmer took an untroubled 125cc win, leading from start to finish, his 70th victory at Oliver’s Mount. William Dunlop initially gave chase but engine problems and a slip-off at Mountside Hairpin on the penultimate lap dropped him down to fourth and Andrew Neill also retired from the running when lying third. Ex-moto crosser Wayne Hamilton, a teenager from Portadown, took over the second spot and crossed the line 43.042 seconds behind Palmer. Sixteen-year-old, Daley Mathison, from Merton near Peterlee, finished a fine third in only his second appearance at Oliver’s Mount.

Race 11 – 600cc – 2nd Leg (8 laps)

The crowd anticipated another action packed 600cc race, especially over the opening laps with Ryan Farquhar having to fight his way through to the front from the third row of the grid. As the lights changed, Farquhar made a lightening start on his 600 Harker Kawasaki and unbelievably led Russ Mountford, William Dunlop and Mick Goodings into Mere Hairpin.

The Killyman rider charged across the line at the end of the opening lap 1.3 seconds ahead of Dunlop, Mountford, Goodings, Richard Gibson, Paul Gartland, Kiaran Hankin, Stephen Oates and Neil Vicars. Goodings moved ahead of Mountford for third at the top of the circuit and both Neill and Keith Pringle climbed into the top ten ahead of Neil Vickers, who was now coming under pressure from back row starter Victor Gilmore.

Flying Farquhar’s advantage was up to four seconds on the third lap, leader board positions remained the same, while 40-year-old construction foreman Gilmore was now up to eleventh. Half-distance, Farquhar’s lead was nearly seven seconds, with no change in the top five, but plenty of activity behind them with Hankin now sixth, Gartland seventh, Pringle eighth, Gilmore ninth and Oates tenth. Dunlop retired on the fifth lap after with a gearbox problem, which elevated Goodings to second, Mountford third, Gibson fourth and Hankin fifth. Gilmore was still charging now up to sixth place ahead of Pringle and Gartland.

At three-quarters distance, Farquhar was clearing off into the distance with an 8.695 second lead over Goodings, Gilmore had taken Hankin’s scalp to move into fifth place, Paul Gartland retired from eighth place with Damian Gledhill and Dave Hewson entering the top ten. Farquhar eased in the final stages taking the chequered flag 8.165 seconds ahead of Goodings, with Mountford third, Gibson fourth and Gilmore a fine fifth.

Race 12 – 250cc & Mini Twins – 2nd Leg (8 Laps)

The twelfth race of the afternoon to come under orders was the second leg of the combined 250cc and Mini Twins, over a scheduled eight laps. Phil Harvey pre-empted the lights perfectly on his Milton House Transport-supported Honda to get the hole-shot ahead of Dave Guiney, but it was business as usual for Palmer and he was leading by the time they reached Drury’s Hairpin.

At the end of the opening lap it was Palmer, Guiney, Harvey, Tony Flinton, Ivan Lintin, Peter Wakefield and Garry Dickinson up to seventh after starting from the back of the grid. Dave Bell was running eighth on the roads but leading the Mini Twins class from Mike Minns.

Second time around and Palmer’s lead was now 7.8 seconds, while Dickinson riding under the VRS Performance banner moved up to fifth. Dickinson was on the move again, having passed Lintin for fourth on the third lap, and was now hounding Harvey. Pete Wakefield retired from seventh place, while Mini Twins leader, Bell, moved ahead of Flinton into sixth place on the roads.

On the half-distance lap, Dickinson demoted Guiney to third and set about closing down the leader’s 11.888 second lead. At three-quarters distance Dickinson had cut Palmer’s advantage to 9.7 seconds, while Lintin had taken Harvey for fourth.

Dickinson, still suffering from an injured leg, pushed himself through the pain barrier to carve another second off Palmer’s advantage on the penultimate lap and then closed the gap to 7.003 seconds at the chequered flag, after fighting off a determined last lap challenge by Guiney. Palmer took his fourth win of the day and 71 st Oliver’s Mount victory, Dickinson jubilant with second after his eighteen month lay-off, Guiney third, Lintin fourth and Harvey completing the top five. Bell took his ‘bog-stock’ Kawasaki ER6, with minor suspension alterations and a Micron exhaust to another dominant win in the Mini Twins category with over a minute-in-hand on Minns and circuit first timer Timmy Turtle third.

Race 14 – Spring Cup – 2nd Leg (8 laps)

Ryan Farquhar (1000 Kawasaki ZX-10), Mick Goodings (600 Yamaha R6) and Richard Gibson (600 Yamaha R6) lined up on the front row for the second leg of the feature Spring Cup event. As the lights changed, all eyes were on Farquhar as he wheelied his Superstock machine away from the line, but it was Keith Pringle (1000 Suzuki GSXR) who came storming through from the third row of the grid into the lead.

The Hetton-le-Hole rider still led at Drury’s Hairpin and had the crowd jumping up and down cheering him on, but Farquhar was biting at his heels. Pringle could not hold off the charging two-times TT winner and Farquhar led at the end of the opening lap, Goodings third, Gibson fourth, Ivan Lintin (1000 Suzuki GSXR) fifth, Craig Atkinson (1000 Honda CBR) sixth, Stephen Oates (1000 Suzuki GSXR) seventh, Victor Gilmore (600 Honda CBR) eighth, Alistair Haworth (600 Suzuki GSXR) ninth and Jules Croft (750 Suzuki GSXR) rounding out the top ten. Farquhar opened up a lead of three seconds over Pringle on the second lap, while Oates moved ahead of Atkinson for sixth. The leader’s gap was up to seven seconds on the third lap, further downfield Gilmore had passed Atkinson for seventh.

Half-distance and Farquhar’s advantage was nearly ten seconds, but the gap between second and third, Pringle and Goodings was down to just half-a-second, Gilmore got the better of Oates for sixth. Goodings grabbed second from Pringle at Mountside Hairpin on the fifth lap, while Gilmore moved up yet another place to fifth ahead of Lintin.

There was no change in the leaders in the closing stages, Farquhar recorded the fastest lap of the meeting at 79.587 mph and extended his lead on the penultimate lap to 14.9 seconds, Dave Woolams retired out of eighth place. Farquar took his fourth win of the day, 18.649 seconds ahead of Goodings, Pringle third, Gibson fourth and Gilmore fifth.

Farquhar was presented the coveted Ian Watson Trophy by Ian Watson's daughters Mandy and Emma, with Goodings second and Pringle third overall. Manxman, 39-year-old Stephen Oates took the award for the best newcomer with his fine sixth place in the Spring Cup. Afterwards Farquhar said that he was “over the moon” with the performance of his Harker Kawasaki’s and couldn’t have asked anymore from his new bikes. Busiest man of the meeting, Mick Goodings, had taken two 400cc wins, four second places in the Spring Cup and 600cc events, along with two fastest laps and led the 2008 Duke Road Race Rankings. It had been an expensive start to the season for Team Pringle and they left the circuit delighted with Keith’s podium position and their change of fortune, looking forward to their first outing at the North West.

Race 15 – 600cc ‘B’ Final – 2 nd Leg (6 Laps)

The final race of the action packed day, was the second leg of the 600cc ‘B’ final. Doncaster machine operator, Luke Devanney (600 Honda CBR), made the hole-shot into Mere Hairpin, but it was first leg winner Ivan Lintin (599 Suzuki GSXR) who led at the end of the first lap ahead of Victor Gilmore (600 Yamaha R6), Dave Woolams (675 Triumph), Mike Russell (599 Suzuki GSXR), Jules Croft (599 Suzuki GSXR), Ross Johnson (600 Honda CBR), Stephen McKnight (600 Kawasaki ZX6), Devanney, Paul Battersby (599 Suzuki GSXR), Daniel Hobson (599 Yamaha R6) with the field being completed by female competitor Maria Hodgson (600 Yamaha R6) making her debut at the Mount.

Gilmore put the Trevor Lindsay-backed Yamaha to the front on the second lap, while Croft moved ahead of Russell into fourth and McKnight passed Johnson for sixth. On the third lap, Gilmore extended his lead to six seconds and Woolams took second place away from Linton, who looked as if he was starting to suffer with his collar bone injury after a full programme of racing. McKnight moved into the top five ahead of Russell, and Hobson powered past Battersby through the start/finish area for eighth place.

By the fifth lap Gilmore’s lead was up to 8.6 seconds with all positions remaining the same. Cheered on by his loyal pit-crew, Gilmore took his maiden victory at Oliver’s Mount, with a 5.5 second advantage over his good friend Woolams, Lintin completed the top three.