Scarborough Festival of Speed

The Scarborough Festival of Speed over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend culminated in the second running of the Ian Watson Spring Cup National Road Races.

Run over the 2.43-mile Oliver’s Mount public roads course in North Yorkshire and organised by the Auto 66 Club, the opening meeting of the 2007 season was also the third round of twenty-four of the Duke Road Race Rankings Championship.

Practice got underway at 9am in bright, sunny conditions and were incident free except for one red flag during the Superbikes session when Paul Baleta parted company with his Honda.

The opening race was the first leg of two for the National 600 class.

Marc Ramsbotham got the hole-shot from Mick Goodings, and proceeded to lead an express train of 600cc machines for the ensuing eight laps, taking the chequered flag by some 10.63 seconds from Mick Goodings, with David Bell third.

The only incident during the 19.44-mile race occurred at the end of the opening lap when Alistair Haworth slid off his Suzuki.

The second race of the afternoon was the first of three races for Formula Two Sidecars.

Fastest in practice had been double TT winner Nick Crowe with Daniel Sayle.

The Manx pairing missed out on the hole-shot, as Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson got the better start.

At the end of the first of the six laps, it was Harrison and Patterson ahead of Crowe and Sayle by 0.9 of a second with Nigel Connole and Jamie Winn third.

Crowe and Sayle narrowly led Harrrison and Patterson before the latter pairing retired at Mere Hairpin on lap three. This handed second place to Connole and Winn as Dave Wallis and his new passenger Phil Iremonger inherited third position.

The first Sidecar win went to the Crowe and Sayle by 11.713 seconds, with Connole and Winn taking runner-up spot ahead of Wallis and Iremonger. 

The eight-lap Ian Watson National Superbike event was next with Marc Ramsbotham on pole, but it was Dave Bell who got the advantage with the rest of the pack behind.

On the fourth lap, Ramsbotham took the lead from Bell, as Keith Pringle also displaced Bennett for third.
David Bell was first to the chequered flag by two seconds from Marc Ramsbotham with Keith Pringle in third.

Race four was the first leg for National 400cc machines, over eight laps.

Derek Clark, David Bell and Tony Flinton were the first three at the end of the first lap.

Lap two and Flinton had moved into second spot, just 0.4 of a second behind the race leader before taking the lead a lap later.

At mid-distance, Flinton was still leading by almost a second, but from Mick Goodings, as Dave Bell pulled in, his chain having come off the sprocket. Derek Clark remained in third.

By lap seven, Clark had moved into second and at the finish it was Clark who took the win, from Flinton, with Goodings third.

Race five, the second leg of the National 600 class, saw Marc Ramsbotham take the hole-shot and at the end of the lap had opened up a 1.596 second advantage over Dave Bell, with Mick Goodings third a further half a second back.

Ramsbotham’s lead continued to increase throughout the remaining laps, as positions remained the same for the final 14 and a half miles.

The second leg of the Formula Two Sidecar was next.

Once again it was Harrison and Patterson who was first into Mere Hairpin, followed by the Manx pairing.

Crowe and Sayle completed the first lap in front of the pack, and 2.43 miles later Crowe had increased his lead to 4.6 seconds over Nigel Connole and Jamie Winn, who had the better of Connole and Patterson.

The TT winning crew continued to apply the pressure and with a lap remaining the lead was up to eight seconds and at the flag it was over 12 seconds.

Event seven was the second leg of the Ian Watson National Superbike race, again over eight laps.

Dave Bell again got the hole-shot from Marc Ramsbotham and maintained his advantage through Mere Hairpin.

At the end of lap three Ramsbotham, this time on his 600cc machine was narrowly in the lead ahead of Bell and Keith Pringle.

On the penultimate lap the gap had increased to 1.665 seconds, and the required gap was 2.097 seconds.
Ramsbotham took the win and Ian Watson Trophy over David Bell by a difference of 3.107 seconds, with Keith Pringle third.

The penultimate race of the meeting the second leg of the National 400, the final solo race saw another battle between Mick Goodings and David Bell, for the full race distance of eight laps, with the advantage at the flag going to Mick Goodings by 17 seconds, with Brendan Stone third.

So to the final race of the Ian Watson Spring Cup Road Races, the third leg of the Formula Two Sidecars proved to be a processional benefit for the Manx crew of Nick Crowe and Daniel Sayle.