BMC Racing: April 2009

Leon's in the paper again!

The latest edition of BikeSport News has a great write-up of Leon's amazing day at Mallory last time out. When the headline reads 'FIVE WINS FROM SIX STARTS FOR IN-FORM JEACOCK' you know it's always going to be a good read. Here is what it says:

'Leon Jeacock was in superb form on his BMC Yamaha as he won five of his six starts and set his personal fastest lap of Mallory Park to vindicate his economics influenced decision to travel the shorter distance there from his Nuneaton home rather than defend his Thundersport GB Superstock 600 series lead at Cadwell Park.

Dominating the EMRA Superstock 600 races, Jeacock simply rode away from the field in both 10 lap events to record victories of 18.505 and 16.539 seconds respectively to now head that championship's standings...'

'...It has been a long time since Richard Wardle was lapped in a club race, but after a near high-side at the Esses on the opening circuit and traveling to Shaw's Hairpin on the grass with his boot trapped against the rear wheel of his Hawk/Manakin Services Kawasaki, he finished two laps behind Jeacock after a pit stop...'

'...Jeacock was also a double-winner in the Formula 600 races to now lead that series, too, but those victories were harder earned.

Race one again saw Jeacock at the front throughout, while after overhauling third place finisher Gary Arden (Suzuki) on lap three, impressive newcomer Jody Lees (Midland VW Yamaha), whose efforts earned him the 'Novice of the Meeting' award, took up the chase to finish 3.654 seconds behind.

Following the same script, race two again saw Jeacock setting the pace, but with him struggling for grip on a wrecked tyre and Lees passing Arden on the second run around Gerard's, this contest between the pair was much closer.

Making his move at Edwina's on the final lap, Lees got his Yamaha to the front, before incorrectly believing he had made his pass under a yellow flag, so he immediately sat up to let Jeacock by and was then unable to mount another challenge in the run to the finish...'

'...Also contesting the Buildbase Mallory Trophy, Jeacock successfully mixed it with the 1000cc machines to run out the winner of the balloted grid heat from Mark Littler (Laser Process/Marfab Kawasaki), who despite setting the fastest lap of the race on the final circuit, was unable to get on terms with the determined 20-year-old.

The pair were again at the sharp-end in the final, but after leading on the opening circuit, an error at Edwina's on lap two, where he ran straight on after out-braking himself trying to hold off Littler, meant it was Jeacock who had to do the chasing this time.

A thrilling finale saw the pair pass each other at Devil's Elbow on lap nine and on the Kirkby Straight, at Gerard's and the Esses on lap ten, before Littler was declared the winner.'

Pretty good I think you'll all agree...

(It's a shame there wasn't a photo too!)

Last weekend saw the BMC Racing team gather at Mallory Park for round two of the EMRA championships. And, yet again, it didn't disappoint. The weather was cloudy, with a few sprinklings of rain which continually threatened to be much worse than they actually turned out to be.

Qualifying was a mixed bag. In the 400's Mike did his usual and stuck his RVF on the front row on grid two. Freddie stuck it on row three, with me alongside him. And Mark was just behind us on row four. Leon was out in three classes again - Superstock 600, Formula 600 and the Buildbase Mallory Trophy. Picking up where he left off in round one, Leon stuck his BMC R6 on pole in the Superstock 600's. In the Formula 600's the conditions were getting tricky with the rain lightly falling, but Leon rode sensibly and stuck it on row two to leave himself a bit of work to do in the race. And the times for the Buildbase Trophy are taken from your in-class sessions, this again put Leon on row two with a bit of work to do in the qualifying race.

So, with qualifying all done, it was the Formula 400's up first. The rain was still lightly falling so it messed with the head a little. Mike made the decision to stick a wet front on too...this could have been a genius move as heavy rain seemed imminent. However, it became clear on the sighting lap that the track wasn't wet enough for wet tyres, so Mike was going to have a fight on his hands. We all got away well and the whole pack seemed to bunch up for the first couple of laps as everyone sussed out the conditions. I could see Mike up ahead dropping a place or two as he fought his way round each corner. But he managed an incredible 3rd place finish even though he had the wrong front tyre on...and get this, he set the fastest lap of the race too! A lesson for us all. Freddie was straight back in to his stride having missed round one and finished a fantastic 6th. Mark and I had our usual battle, but it was Mark who came out on top finishing just ahead of me in 13th place. Very well done Mark, not bad at all for your second ever race event!

Race two was dry, and so the tyre choice was simple. This made the racing a little more predictable too. Mike was very quickly up to 2nd, hot on Richard Saunders heels and maintained his position for the entire race. This now leaves Mike firmly in 2nd place in the championship. Freddie was again putting together some great lap times to finish 7th. Mark and I started alongside each other and seemed to get away reasonably well, I tucked in behind Mark but soon found ourselves being passed by about three other riders. I made my usual errors round Gerrards and found myself losing the tow on Mark and three other riders. I managed to keep in touch (just) but was about eight seconds down on Mark by the end. Mark rode a solid race and has quickly sorted some very smooth lines round Mallory, he finished a credible 16th. I was 17th. I need to now pull my finger out and try to keep with Mark as he seems to be quickly progressing and won't be long before he's a regular top ten finisher if not better.

So now on to Leon and the qualifying race for the Buildbase Mallory Trophy. This was special! Leon was starting from row two, but very quickly fought his way through to the lead before a red flag. So back they went again leaving Leon to do all the hard work again. And boy did he do it! He put in some incredibly quick and consistent lap times to win the race just ahead of Mark Littler on his 1000cc Laser Kawasaki. It was a fantastic ride and put Leon on pole for the main Buildbase Mallory Trophy race.

The main race was always going to be a tough affair with Littler starting alongside. But Leon very much rose to the occasion by taking the early initiative, and lead the race until a slight mishap in Edwinas let Littler through. Leon pushed hard again and was looking very much for another victory until back-markers gave the advantage to Littler. Still, it was an incredible race to watch with both riders putting in some awesome lap times (Leon making a 54.801). And to finish second in this event, on a Superstock 600 bike, just tells you how well Leon rode!

Now to the Superstock 600's. With leon starting on pole, and no Steve Tomes around, it seemed that two race victories were within grasp. And they certainly were! Leon rode so well in both Superstock races that he made it look easy , he even finished over 18 seconds ahead in race one. This again was a joy to watch, and no doubt left the rest of the field wondering what they have to do to keep up. This firmly puts Leon top of the pile in the championship table. Great work Leon!

And so to the Formula 600's. Starting from row two was again going to make things tricky for Leon, but today Leon was really on a mi55ion! And before we knew it Leon was leading the way in race one. He was being closely followed by Jody Lees for most of the race but Leon's consistent lap times made him able to ease out a gap of nearly 4 seconds by the end. Terrific riding! Race two was a different matter...Leon again shot out in front and pulled an early gap. But it was clear that his rear tyre was wearing and things had become difficult for Leon out there, it was evident particularly round Edwinas where we could see Leon's rear end spinning up quite a bit. This enabled Jody to close the gap and take advantage of Leon's near highside and take the lead. But, with true tenacity and shear dete rmination, Leon dug very deep and refused to accept 2nd place. And it wasn't long before he had retaken the lead to win the race with a gap of just over a second. It was a great spectacle! Well done Leon! He now leads this championship too...marvelous!

So, there you have it...a great days racing...