BMC Racing: EMRA Rd1 - Start of the new season...

So, here we are, the start of the new racing season. And last weekends EMRA action was a terrific day out for the BMC racing team. Let's begin with qualifying...Leon was in three events - SS600, F600 and the Buildbase Mallory Trophy. In the SS600 Leon carried on where he left off last season by sticking it on pole, in the F600's he brilliantly stuck it at the front of row two and to top that off he made the front row in the Mallory Trophy event. Amazing! In the 400's we were mixed up with the Earlystocks, so it was a little crowded. But there was another pole position for a BMC rider - I know you're all thinking it was me, but no, it was Mike! He rode a superb qualifying session to top the board ahead of the likes of Mark Hornsey and Richard Saunders. Well done Mike! I found myself on row four alongside new team-mate Mark James, who had qualified with an identical lap time to mine. And it was his first ever race day! Very well done Mark, a terrific qualifying session.

(BMC Racing top the qualifying charts!)

And so to the racing...let's start with the SS600 - Race one had a few incidents which resulted in a restart run over 4 laps. So this was going to be a bit of a sprint. Leon got away well, but soon found himself in a tussle for the lead with veteran racer Steve Tomes. It was a great spectacle with Leon finishing a very close second. Race two was without incidents and managed to run the full ten laps. And it was pretty much a carbon copy of race one with Leon and Steve fighting it out at the front. This time it was even closer at the end with Leon finishing less than a second behind Steve over the line - and Leon got the fastest lap of the race with an incredible time of 55.274. An amazing two rides from Leon which show just how quickly he has improved over the last year.

The F600 races were again the Leon Jeacock versus Steve Tomes show, and race one was the best of them all. Leon made his usual great start (bearing in mind he was on row two of the grid) and by the time they reached 'Edwinas' for the first time it was clear it was going to be between those two riders. Leon was hot on Steve's heels for the first few laps until he pulled a terrific move coming down the 'Devils Elbow' to take the lead. Leon then very much stood his ground for the rest of the race (which got red flagged on lap nine) and took an amazing victory by more than a second. This is a truely awesome win for Leon who just seems to be going from strength to strength. Race two was equally as exciting, again with Leon and Steve fighting it out for the lead. This time Steve came out on top (by less than a second) and whets our appetite for the rest of the season.

(Leon on his way to an incredible victory over Steve Tomes!)

(Four more trophies for the cabinet)

The Buidbase Mallory Trophy saw Leon up against the likes of Mark Littler, Paul Curran and Pete Bradshaw on their 1000cc machines. So this was always going to be tough. But, as expected, Leon got well and truly stuck in to both races. Race one was a six lap sprint, Leon flew off the line and kept in touch with the leaders for the whole race. He finished an excellent 5th place in amongst the bigger bikes and was the leading 600 rider. Race two saw Leon pushing even harder over the ten lap race. He found himself in an exciting fight for third place with Pete Bradshaw, with Pete just pipping Leon by less than half of a second over the line. Well done leon, it was truly a fantastic display and should, in my opinion, have earned you 'Rider of The Day'. But there you go!

And so to the F400s and Earlystocks. Mike made a great start from pole in race one, but soon found himself in a three way fight at the front. He came a close third place just behind mark Hornsey but got the fastest lap of the race with a time of 59.090 - a lap time in the 58's seems to be just a matter of time now. I rode a steady race finishing 17th (13th in class) and was happy that I'd done a lap time in the 1.03's. Mark had a great debut, he got away well and found himself catching me towards the end of the race. A slight mishap coming out of the 'Bus Stop' resulted in him taking a slight detour through the cat litter down the 'Devils Elbow'. But he managed to keep the bike upright and brought it home in a respectable 21st (15th in class). Not bad at all for a first outing. Race two was a little more exciting, as we started our warm-up lap I noticed that Mike was stationary on the grid with some sort of problem. It was a loose fuel line that Mike quickly sorted, but unfortunately had to start from pit-lane. The rest of us got away well, I found myself mid-pack going reasonably well until Mark came flying past me heading down the Stebbe straight. I then tucked in behind him and just as we were heading up into the hairpin I was aware of some fast moving missile on the outside. It was Mike on a mission! He came round the outside of myself, Mark and another unsuspecting rider just as we were tipping in. It was a fantastic move, some very brave late braking full of commitment and focus. It didn't take long for him to disappear off in to the distance as he hunted down the leading pack. He eventually finished in a superb 5th place which just shows how well he rode. All the new lighweight trick bits that Mike, Rod and the gang have developed really seem to have made a huge improvement.

The funny thing was, Mark thought that it was me who had overtaken him back again, and tried his hardest to keep up with me. It wasn't until after the race that he realised it was Mike. I had been following Mark for the whole race trying my best to keep with him round Gerrards (man I need to sort my head out round there) but was happy with how I rode. And it's great to have someone at a similar speed to have some fun with. I finished 17th (13th in class) just behind Mark who had a great race and fantastic debut. I'm sure he'll quickly improve and I'll do well to keep up in the future. He also went well in the novice race sticking an awesome overtaking manoeuvre on Elliot Stevens through the 'Esses' - well done Mark, you should be very proud of yourself.

So, not a bad day out at all. The weather stayed dry, there was lots to shout about and everyone stayed upright. I can't wait til we do it all again in round two!

I had a minor camcorder malfunction, but have managed to put together a small film montage to celebrate Leon's amazing F600 victory. I hope you enjoy it...