In the early hours of Sunday morning, Northwich looked like the set from a horror movie. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled and the rain lashed down in biblical proportions. But it would be illegal to have a Thundersprint without beautiful weather and by dawn, the clouds had cleared and there was a mile long queue to get into Northwich’s very own “Grand Prix in a Car Park”. This year the Thundersprint paddock looked, more than ever, as if MotoGP had come to town. Cal Crutchlow was the star turn, entertaining the crowds on Wigan Yamaha’s MotoGP replica R1. Cal said: “I would never, ever have believed it. No matter how much people tell you about the Thundersprint you have to be here to understand it. “The crowds were huge especially on the Cavalcade and there are such great people. I must have signed a million autographs this weekend and I’ve loved every minute of it.” It was the first time at the Thundersprint for Bennetts, the event’s new title sponsor. Bennetts’ Associate Director Hannah Squirrel said: “Bennetts were proud to support the 2011 Thundersprint which brings the whole community – bikers and non-bikers – together in a truly unique way. We all had a great time with our sponsored rider Scott Redding who spent the whole weekend mingling with fans and thrashing the Bennetts’ R1 round the incredible ‘Grand Prix in Car Park’ track.” Scott came with Bennetts as their brand ambassador and had a great time showing off his tyre destroying skills on Bennetts’ Yamaha R1 whilst BBC TV’s Matt Roberts made his track debut on board a Suzuki GSXR. “Lining up with a grid full of GP stars is not exactly the best way for a novice to start a track career but I’m a definite for next year’s Thundersprint. Lorenzo watch out!” Event Director Frank Melling said: “Without any doubt this was our biggest and best ever Thundersprint. The crowds were even bigger than the huge numbers we had in 2010 and all riders from modern superstars to classic racers put on a great show. “The support we received from Cheshire West and Chester Council and Bennetts, our title sponsor, was completely outstanding and shows not only their commitment to the Thundersprint but their enthusiasm for the event. We could not possibly have better support. “With their help, we are able to offer a world class event with free admission, free parking and free grandstands and this means that the whole community can enjoy one of the great spectacles in motorsport.” If the modern stars were here to entertain the crowds there was some serious racing being done by the classic stars who came from all over Europe to race in what is the world’s most prestigious classic sprint. French ace Alain Marie, riding a fabulous ex-works BMW twin, battled it out with Brit Tony Hudson, and his Honda 4, for honours in the Masterclass whilst six times World Champion Jim Redman screamed another Honda 4 around showing that just celebrating your 80th birthday is no barrier to being fast. But for nail biting excitement, there was no beating the Classic 350 class where Jason Caunce, on board his home built Honda K4, was locked in an epic battle with Jerry Ashton and the fastest MV Agusta twin in the world. The final decision went to Caunce with a time of 20.86 – and an amazing effort which was also faster than all the modern bikes. By 6pm, the crowds were still on site in their tens of thousands enjoying what had been a wonderful day for all that is good about motorcycling. Full results are available on thundersprint.com