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Keyton Consolidates NGR Championship Advantage

Lee Keyton extended his points advantage at the head of the Over 30’s class, and opened a small gap over nearest rival Dave Whitehead in the overall NGR championship standings, with a set of consistent leaderboard finishes at round 9 of the series at Lyng on August 1^st.  But it was non championship registered rider Jack Delaney who took the honours as he powered to three victories on his 250cc Kawasaki.

In the opening NGR race it was Whitehead that took the holeshot and headed the pack into the bombhole on the opening lap. As the race developed Keyton forced his way to the front, before succumbing to Delaney who was making up for a poor start. It stayed this way to the chequered flag, with Adam Leeks, Matthew Eley and Kevin Gore fighting it out for the lower leaderboard positions.

In the second outing it was Whitehead who once again got the drop but he was quickly overhauled by Eley who opened up a sizeable advantage on the chasing pack. Delaney worked his way through the field and set about closing in on Eley, which he did at two thirds race distance and moved through to take a lead he was in no mood to relinquish. Keyton made up for a disappointing opening lap by grabbing third from Whitehead, and Leeks got the better of Mark Sandle as the pair battled it out for fifth and sixth.

The final NGR championship race was once again a comfortable victory for Delaney, with Whitehead second, Eley third and Keyton holding off Sandle and Shane Harvey for fourth place at the flag. 

Despite crashing out when challenging for the lead on the opening lap of the first Experts race it was Luke Benstead who proved to be the fastest man around the Cadders Hill track. The 450cc Suzuki rider rejoined the race behind the leaders on lap two but managed to unlap himself before the end of the 18 minute plus two lap race distance. Benstead’s misfortune left Chris Bastick (photo right) with a reasonably straightforward cruise to victory, but it was all action for the lower podium positions. Benjamin Talbott enjoyed a few laps in second spot before getting embroiled in a four way scrap with Steve Bixby, Jason Bouttell and Jason Morland. As the race headed for the closing stages something had to give and it was Bixby and Boutell that pinched second and third after Morland and Talbott were unceremoniously relegated to fourth and fifth.

Reigning Eastern Centre Experts champion, Syd Bales was also caught in the first race, opening lap crash and suffered the same ignominious exit from race two as he crashed out after less than half a lap. This left his GH/G&B Finch team mate Bastick to set the early pace, before once again having to give best to the on fire Benstead. Boutell was forced to work hard for another third place, just ahead of Morland and Talbott, with Sam Arbon coming through to take sixth.

Benstead it was who took the honours again in the third Experts race, with Bastick second and Boutell making it a hat trick of lower step podium finishes. Talbott managed to get the better of Morland, while Stuart Dyerson overcame Tom Crittenden for sixth.

With an entry of over 100 Juniors there were three qualifying heats in the pre-lunch race schedule to sort out the three Groups for the main races in the afternoon. Wayne Goodlad, Luke Parker, and Daniel Norman took the victories in the heats, with the top 13 from each race making it through to Group A, 14^th – 26^th to Group B, and the remainder to Group C.

Race seven on the fifteen race programme saw the first of two encounters for the Group A Juniors. And it was Will Beevor on his 250cc Kawasaki that wrestled his way through to take first place. He did it the hard way after a difficult start saw him just at the tail of the leading group at the end of lap one. Wayne Goodlad was the early pacesetter along with Shaun Southgate, but the pair had to settle for second and third, with Luke Parker and Daniel Norman working hard to force their way into contention for fourth and fifth, and Billy Peet rounded out the top six. Beevor crashed and retired after setting a ferocious pace as he tried to work his way through the pack following a poor start which left him in the middle of rush hour traffic at the end of lap one.

Southgate made no mistakes in the second race and rode to a gate to flag victory, while Parker, Graham Lee, and Goodlad fought over the next three positions. It was parker that came through to grab second, with Lee third and Goodlad edged out to fourth. Adam Reeve rode his 250 HRG Honda to fifth, with Jack Edwards sixth on his return to competitive action after a long injury lay off. Beevor crashed and retired after setting a ferocious pace as he tried to work his way through the pack following a poor start which left him in the middle of rush hour traffic at the end of lap one.

William King looked impressive in Group B as he seemingly cruised to a brace of  wins, ahead of Michael Long in the initial race, and David Bavin at the second time of asking. Jake Morphey took his 250 Yamaha to third in the opener, with Amy Goodlad fourth, Bavin fifth, and Ben Holmes in sixth.

Second time out for Group B and it was Long who claimed third, with Holmes going two better for fourth at the expense of Goodlad and Aaron Smith who slipped back to sixth after leading the early charge.

Lewis Joyce was the man to grab the holeshot in both Group C races, but he had to settle for fourth and fifth places after being caught and passed by the very determined Robert Glynn, John Cole and Joe Fisher. Glynn tasted victory in race 10, just ahead of Cole with a fast closing Fisher claiming the last podium place. Behind Joyce was Will Nice, with Edward Pooley sixth.

In the final race of the afternoon, and with the perfectly prepared track starting to show signs of a hard day’s punishment, Fisher showed that his earlier race pace was no fluke as he took an impressive win. Glynn was second, Cole third, and Scott Aspinall managed to get ahead of Joyce for fourth, with Nice rounding out the top six.

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