So, the 17th May saw the third round of the EMRA Championships, and the BMC Racing crew were out to give it their all. And it turned out to be quite a day...
Let's start with qualifying then...early on in the day the conditions were dry, but there was always the constant threat of rain. So it wasn't ideal. The 400's was a familiar story with Mike sticking it on the front row yet again alongside Mark Hornsey and James Simpson. Mark went well to put his BMC Honda on row four. I was behind Mark on row five. And Freddy unfortunaltely forgot to attach his transponder so had it all to do from the back of the grid.
By the time Leon go to his sessions the rain was falling, and considering he had highsided at Pembrey only a week earlier, this could have been a tough day for him. But this all didn't seem to stop Leon from writing his familiar story too though. In the Superstock 600's he was on top form and stuck his R6 on pole - a second quicker than anyone else. Brilliant! The Formula 600's was again a great showing from Leon...with a strong grid to contend with he managed another front row...and his times were good enough to put him second (alongside Mark Littler) in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy and a triplet of front rows...great stuff!
And so to the racing...first up were the Formula 400's. Race one was a very wet one, and the first trip round Gerrards was like sitting in a car wash with the windows down...it was torrential! But guess who rose to the occasion? Correct, Mike 'Vermeulen' Dorey! He got away well and settled in to second place behind a flying Steve Tomes. This seemed to be the order of the day until half way through Steve dropped it at Gerrards. This left Mike leading the race, and with his smooth and consistent wet weather riding found himself taking his first F400 victory by nearly half a minute over Tim Bradley. This really is a fantastic result...to be that far ahead of Tim, one of the finest F400 riders around, and who has also won this championship previously is amazing. Very well done Mike indeed, a fine victory! Freddy came through from the back of the pack to take eleventh place - I remember him passing me down the 'Devils Elbow' on a mission. I tried to stay with him but he was flying. Mark rode an excellent first wet race too to finish thirteenth. I followed him for a few laps but he was simply quicker round Gerrards and soon pulled a gap on me. Well done! And I brought up the rear of the pack in fifteenth...having said that, there seemed to be alot of DNF's so to have finished the race at all seemed to be an achievement.
Race two was a similar affair. Again Mike tucked in behind Steve Tomes in second place. Only this time, Steve rode within the (very) wet conditions to bring home the victory ahead of Mike in second, and Tim Bradley in third...a quality wet weather podium indeed! Freddy upped his game for this race and, considering he doesn't really like the wet, finished a fantastic eighth place. Mark continued his improvement and finished twelfth. I didn't really see much of him in this race though, I tried hard to keep up but it wasn't long before I found myself on my own for the rest of the race (until Steve, Mike and Tim came round that is). So, well done again to Mark, who will now be riding his own 'fresh out of the box' bike in the future. We'd just like to say that you've flown the BMC Racing flag brilliantly, and we wish you all the best. I finished fourteenth (no, not last) and was pleased to have finished a tricky wet days racing upright!
Oh, and get this...Mike won the 'Paul Vincent Trophy'! Blimey! This really was the icing on the cake. And with Richard Saunders having a problem in qualifying and not able to race, this now means that Mike leads the Formula 400 championship by five points. Result!
Now to Leon...and first up was the 'Buildbase Mallory Trophy' six lapper. Starting from the front row Leon seemed to get away well. But the conditions were tricky and Leon soon found himself down amongst the traffic in seventh place. And although his wet suspension settings weren't ideal, he held this position to the end of the race ahead of most of the 1000cc's. Race two was a ten lap race, and Leon would start on grid number seven. Again it was wet, so it was always going to be tricky, but Leon got away well and was up to fifth by the time they entered Edwinas. He pushed hard for the entire race and had held sixth position for most of the race until a strong challenge from Gary Arden. It was a close finish (just 0.216 secs) and another seventh place finish for Leon.
The Superstock 600's first race turned out to be a dry race. It was touch and go though and this uncertainty mean't that there wasn't time to change to a dry front tyre. But, as expected, Leon got stuck right in and immediately lead the race. However, the wet front made it difficult to hold off the challenges from the two riders behind him, with Leon soon finding himself in third place where he stayed for the rest of the race. Still, he managed to stay in touch with the guys in front and, in doing so, pull out a massive 20 second gap over the fourth place finisher. A terrific result considering the circumstances! The weather really kept us on edge all day, but race two was a wet one. Starting from the front row on grid three, Leon soon pushed his way to the front on lap two. And with some very smooth and consistent riding, this is where he stayed for the rest of the race. Leon now leads the Superstock championship by 26 points. Marvelous!
And so to the Formula 600's, and race one had its drama! Leon flew off the line and was leading as he approached the end of lap one. But, just as Leon came down the 'Elbow' for the first time, the R6 seemed to step out on him to cause a rather 'squeaky bum' moment. We all looked on, holding our breathe, as Leon wrestled with the tank-slapper. Luckily it all seemed to calm down just as quickly as it had started, and he avoided going off the track. Leon then re-grouped and carried on. It was amusing to watch him glance over at us immediately afterwards though, as he flew passed us all watching him from the viewing tower. Anyway, undeterred Leon quickly tucked back in and set about the two riders who had just passed him. And what a race he rode! It wasn't long before the near highside was a distance memory and Leon was looking at picking off the riders in front. With a little bit of patience and a lot of determination Leon soon took the lead and started to pull out a gap. A red flag brought the race to a conclusion a lap or two earlier, but by that point Leon had easily done enough to win the race...an impressive victory! Race two began very wet, but the sun was out to play by the end of it. Leon took the early initiative and lead well for most of the race, but got passed by a couple of riders towards the end to take his fourth podium of the day. Leon now leads this championship by a massive 36 points too!
And get this...not to be outdone by Mike, Leon won the 'Tony Bouncer Trophy' too. I make that a very impressive eight trophies and two garlands in total...a terrific showing from the BMC Racing team I'm sure you'll agree. And as usual video footage will follow soon...
(BMC Racing's dream team!)
(One happy Jeacock family!)
(Mark Allsopp, from Manbat, joins in the fun with wife Karenand sons Dean and Joshua. Seen here with Brian.)
(Thank you again for all the support)
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