Norasport National Open Championship: Round 7 Three Sisters

A dry circuit meant the racing would be fast on Sunday for the Open Class, and all Ben Kirkham had to do in the first B group race was to hold on to the top spot until the line to move up a group for an A group start, and this he did really well. While David Perry, who had looked for a sure second place finish, lost out on the last laps as the Master of Disaster Mr Jolly pulled off some good moves to take second place.

This meant that David Perry would start on pole for race two with Chris Harrison along side him. Conrad Little had the best of the start for the second race and was followed closely buy Peter Bennett, David Perry had been battling at the front for the whole race but finished in ninth.

Graeme Wiles had a commanding lead in the final race leaving David Perry, Andrew Williamson, Craig Richardson and John the Bong battling for second and third place. The final positions would be Graeme Wiles, David Perry, Andrew Williamson with David Harrison finishing in seventh position from a C group start.

James Addy and Andy Mitchell are only separated by two points in the Open Championship, and Carl Shield was within touch of the top spot, so a win in the first A group race for Carl meant the championship is well and truly open for him. James Addy who had been in second place took a fall and could only regain to tenth spot while Andy Mitchell took second place.

Chris Babbitt rode an excellent race in third place and Scott Woodacre took fourth place from Richard Sharp right at the end of the race After a difficult first lap for some riders in race two Andy Mitchell secured the lead at the end of the lap, with Carl Shield in second place from Scott Woodacre, but after a few mistakes Scott took second place and Chris Babbitt took third place from Carl Shield on the outside of lunar bends.

By the sixth lap the top four had settled a little but Scott was still trying to reel in Andy Mitchell and Carl Shield took back third place from Chris Babbitt. In the final lap Scott Woodacre took the lead from Andy Mitchell but this would be short lived as a mistake into lunar allowed Andy to retake the lead but Scott kept up the pressure right to the line and only a tenth of a second over the line separated the two riders.

Carl Shield finished third and Chris Babbitt hung onto fourth while being pressured by Lee Jones. Chris Walker lost out in his battle with Jack Fay for seventh place, and James Addy had nearly as difficult a race as the two times falling off Lee Cunliffe, both riders would start the final race at the back of the grid.

With the final race underway Carl Shield took the lead from Andy Mitchell and did not come under pressure until the last two laps, but managed to retain the win from Andy in second. Lee Jones had the final trophy position and Chris Babbitt also unchallenged in fourth.

The closest racing was for sixth place as James Addy chased Richard Sharp and Chris Walker, Chris certainly put in the effort to keep hold of the position. Ben Kirkman did a great job in the A group after starting in the B group he finished in ninth position. Chris Babbitt was rewarded for an excellent riding performance with a set of Michelin Tyres.

Final Race Result Open A Group 1. Carl Shield 2. Andy Mitchell 3. Lee Jones 4. Chris Babbitt 5. Scott Woodacre Final Race Result Open B Group 1. Graeme Wiles 2. David Perry 3. Andrew Williamson 4. John Earnshaw 5. Craig Richardson Final Race Result Open C Group 1. Steve Ellis 2. Karl Geary 3. Joe Edwards 4. Robert Hartley 5. Ian McCreadie Final Race Result Open D Group 1. Jack Hannath 2. Grant Cunningham 3. John Sigworth 4. Martin Bennett 5. Jonathan Curry