BMC Racing: EMRA Rd5 - plenty to smile about!

Well, while I was busy learning all about fatherhood, the rest of the team were back at Mallory Park las weekend for round 5 of the EMRA championships. And it turned out to be quite a day, the weather was perfect and there was some top quality rides to cheer about.

So let's start with qualifying and the Formula 400's. After the unfortunate circumstances of the last round, Mike set his stall out to make amends this time round. And guess what...he went out and blitzed the field to stick himself on pole, and was the only rider under the one minute barrier. Well done Mike! Simon Edmondson was back in action and now running under the BMC Racing banner, with a superb looking tricked-up bike too! And Simon made a great return to the Mallory grid by sticking himself on row two in eighth place. Freddy managed yet another top ten to make row three in ninth place, with Gordon, also returning from a long absence, putting his Honda fifteenth on the grid.

Leon was running the same front tyre for the entire day, so it was never going to be an easy day for him. He would really have to dig deep to get the results that we all know he's capable of. And qualifying seemed to set the tone for the day. Leon put in a succession of superb and consistent lap times to put himself second on the grid for both the Superstock 600 and the Formula 600 classes. He also started second on the grid in the 'Buildbase Mallory Trophy' as they were based on current championship positions.

Now to the races and, starting with the Formula 400's, how did everyone do? Well, the first F400 race got abandoned after a couple of red flag incidents. Mike was leading before the second red flag and was looking to push Richard Saunders all the way. Anyway, the race eventually happened a little later. Everyone got away well and Mike again took the initiative over championship rival Saunders and pushed very hard. Saunders came back strong though and was leading when there was yet another red flag scenario! It was on lap seven so that meant the race was declared a result. Fortunately the rider was ok, but Mike was hot on Saunders heels at the time - the gap of 0.884 seconds just shows you how close it was. So who knows what may have happened. And it was no surprise that they were the only two riders to break the minute barrier, with Mike taking the fastest lap of the race, a fantastic 59.395 seconds. Superb! Simon finished a solid seventh position, pretty good having been out for so long, with Freddy taking the final points position in tenth. Yet more points on the board for Freddy. Gordon improved from his grid position to finish just outside the points in eleventh place, so all-in-all a good race for the BMC Racing team.

Race two was a little more straight forward with no red flags this time. And again it was Mike and Richard Saunders who found themselves out in front fighting it out for the victory, and they were again the only riders to drop below the minute. Saunders again took the honours to extend his lead in the championship. Mike is still well placed for a shot at the title though, so has it all to play for at the final round. Which will no doubt be an exciting and tense affair. I can't wait! As for the rest of the team, it was great to see them all finish in the points. Simon finished eighth with Freddy ninth and Gordon tenth. A fine display all round, well done!

How did Leon do then? First up was the 'Buildbase Mallory Trophy'. Race one, the shorter six lap sprint, saw Leon finish a fantastic sixth position. Not only was he, again, the leading 600cc machine, but his lap time of 55.187 was the third fastest of the race. A great effort in amongst the 1000cc machines. Brilliant! Race two followed a similar path with Leon finishing a very credible seventh place, and in doing so edged out Lee Statham on his 1000cc Suzuki by just 0.001 seconds! This served to further underline the class and natural ability that Leon obviously has in abundance. Well done Leon, I'm sure you made a few people sit up and take note with that result!

Moving on to the Superstock 600's, and race one saw Leon in a brief tussle with Dean Brown before taking the lead on lap three. He then lead convincingly from the front to take victory by a gap of 2.246 seconds. And, of course, the fastest lap of the race which was just outside the Superstock lap record! Race two was a very similar story, only this time Leon took the lead over Richard Wardle on lap four to then go on and take victory and maximum points for the day. And again he had the fastest lap of the race - 55.024 seconds which gets ever closer to that lap record! Leon moves on to 138 points which is some 34 points ahead of Richard Wardle on 104 points, and a monstrous 96 points ahead of Dean Brown in third place on 42 points! Very mpressive stuff indeed!

And finally we have the Formula 600's. Well, what a couple of rides these turned out to be. Race one saw Leon fly off the line to take an early lead. He then put in some very consistent lap times to bring home the R6 to yet another race victory. Leon was also the only rider to break the 55 second barrier which, considering Leon was on the same front tyre all day, is simply exceptional! The gap at the finish was almost 6 seconds - there was no doubt about who was going to win this one! Race two was probably the best race of the day. Leon found himself in a scrap with Jody lees who had taken the early initiative. Midway through the race Leon got baulked at the hairpin which allowed Jody to pull out a gap. Leon then stuck his head down and got stuck in. Lap by lap Leon kept closing the gap until on lap nine he was close enough to make a move. And between the 'Hairpin' and the 'Bus Stop' on lap nine Leon made his move and took the lead. He then went on to take the victory by just 0.337 seconds! And he got the fastest lap of the race again. But get this - his lap time of 54.776 seconds would have smashed the Superstock 600 lap record! Still, it was a truly amazing victory that had the crowd on their feet. And it was Leon's fourth victory of the day which was enough to earn him the 'Rider of the Day' award. A thoroughly justified and superb result. Oh, and his very impressive total race time of 9:18.442 is the best he's ever raced over ten laps...well done Leon!

Leon now has a handsome lead in the Formula 600's too. He now has 142 points, ahead of Jody Lees who has 94 points. An unbelievable lead of 48 points to take in to the final round of the championship. Gary Arden lies a distant third place with just 60 points. Supreme!

So there you have it, what a day! Sorry there's no video footage this time, but here are some fantastic photography courtesy of 'Dave The Paint' and Steve Lawrence. Thank you guys, some great shots, and here's a link to Steve's work: http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.smlphotography.zenfolio.com