Double podium sees Nutt maintain Championship lead A brace of podiums at Assen over the weekend saw Castlerock’s Marty Nutt maintain his Championship lead in the 2013 Ducati Tri-Options 848 Challenge and, with just one round remaining, he now leads season-long rival Jonathan Railton by 12 points. Having qualified in an excellent pole position around the Dutch venue, the Ducati Coventry/JHP/nutttravel.com rider opened his account with a close third place in Saturday’s 12-lap race having battled throughout with Mike Edwards, Leon Morris and Ben Field. Fourth at the end of the opening lap, Marty moved up to third a lap later having found his way past Field but the youngster fought back and it looked like Marty would have to settle for fourth at the chequered flag. However, Field made a mistake on the final lap and, with Railton back in fifth, Marty gleefully took the third place to extend his Championship lead to 21 points. Sunday’s second, shorter 8-lap encounter was an even closer affair with the leading six riders running nose to tail for almost the entire race distance. Running in third place in the early stages of the race, Marty found himself back in fifth with only two laps to go and with Railton taking over the race lead, he needed to ensure he got as close to him as possible to limit his losses. It went right down to the last corner but Marty secured third place at the chicane to maintain his 100% record of finishing on the podium in every race and edge ever closer to securing the title. It’s still close though and his lead over Railton is just 12 points going into the final round at Silverstone in two weeks’ time. Speaking afterwards, Marty said; “It hasn’t been too bad a weekend I guess but both races were extremely tricky as it would have been so easy to have made a mistake. Normally, they’re the kind of battles you’d love to get really stuck into but I was quite cautious as I wanted to stay out of trouble and bag some solid points. Towards the end of Saturday’s race, I could see from my pitboard that Jonathan was only one place behind so had decided that I needed to make a move on Ben as a two-point gain wasn’t that great. As it turned out, he made a mistake, gifting me third, and sitting with a 21-point lead on Saturday evening felt pretty good.” “There were even more riders in the mix in Sunday’s race, so much so that everyone was tripping themselves up. I could carry a lot more corner speed but was having to run wide at some of the corners to avoid hitting the back of someone so it was a bit frustrating and that’s why I was up and down a bit. With Jonathan hitting the front though I knew I needed to do something to get on the podium so instead of 3rd gear, I used 2nd at the final chicane and I was able to get by Leon. A 12-point lead means it’s going to be both nerve-wracking and exciting at the final round but it feels great going into the two races knowing I’ll be fighting it out for the Championship.” The meeting at Silverstone takes place on October 4-6. More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision: EASTON DOUBLE GIVES MARTRAIN YAMAHA THE EDGE AFTER ASSEN Martrain Yamaha’s Stuart Easton pulled the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship title charge back in his direction after scoring his second double win of the year as closest rival Alastair Seeley twice missed out on the podium at Assen last weekend. Seeley continues his recovery from two big crashes at the previous rounds of Cadwell Park and Donington Park and in the Sprint race Easton scored the victory despite a huge battle with Oxford TAG Triumph’s Richard Cooper who had claimed his first pole position of the season. Samsung Honda’s Jason O’Halloran was back on the podium after pushing ahead of the returning Luke Mossey, but Seeley was forced to settle for fifth. Seeley was pushing to make amends in the Feature race, but the Scot again had the pace to break the pack who behind diced intensely for the podium with O’Halloran again coming out on top from Ben Wilson who snatched third from Seeley on the final lap. Easton said: “It was a strong weekend and great to take a double win, but it wasn’t easy by any stretch. For Alastair to be off the podium in both races has helped my championship. We can take one night off then start getting ready for Silverstone, as we need to be strong there to try and make the last round at Brands a little easier. These GP circuits seem to suit me and the Mar-Train Yamaha and the set-up shouldn’t be a million miles away at Silverstone to Assen. I just want to focus on that and be strong. There are only four races left, but you never know what can happen in bike racing.” Motorpoint British Supersport Championship Sprint race result: 1. Stuart Easton (Martrain Yamaha) 2. Richard Cooper (Oxford TAG Triumph) +0.621s 3. Jason O’Halloran (Samsung Honda) + 3.192s 4. Luke Mossey (Techcare Profile Yamaha) +3.506s 5. Alastair Seeley (Gearlink Kawasaki) +5.378s Motorpoint British Supersport Championship, Assen, Feature race result: 1. Stuart Easton (Martrain Yamaha) 2. Jason O’Halloran (Samsung Honda) +1.146s 3. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) +1.551s 4. Alastair Seeley (Gearlink Kawasaki) +1.926s 5. Richard Cooper (Oxford TAG Triumph) +4.696s Motorpoint British Supersport Championship standings after Assen: 1. Stuart Easton (Martrain Yamaha) 376 2. Alastair Seeley (Gearlink Kawasaki) 342 3. Ben Wilson (Gearlink Kawasaki) 279 4. Billy McConnell (Smiths Racing Triumph) 274 5. Graeme Gowland (Appleyard Macadam Racing Yamaha) 217 For more information please visit www.britishsuperbike.com More, from a press release issued by Ace Cafe T3 Racing: Rob Guiver breaks into the top ten Rob Guiver and the Ace Cafe T3 Racing team recorded their first top ten finish of the season at the TT Circuit Assen last weekend (21st – 22nd September 2013) and their best result of the season. The team has been battling through the field this year with the belief they could be in the top ten and it has been fantastic for it to become a reality. The track was one that Guiver had never ridden before so it was unknown going into the weekend how well he would get on with it but from the off the results looked good. Guiver was 16th fastest in qualifying which looked promising. With Dutch riders Kevin Bos, Davy Thoonen and Ivar Doornbos also in the Cup class this weekend it posed a new challenge but Guiver rose to it. He had some good battles with Thoonen and managed to beat him in both races but came second to Bos on the KDG Honda. Guiver was thrilled with the weekend from start to finish: “I got a good start to the first race but I managed to run off at the first corner. That pushed me back to about 18th so I had to battle through the field but that only made coming tenth even better!” Team manager, Ricky Chadwick, was also really pleased with Guiver’s tenth place and said: “It was a great ride from Rob, he dug deep and worked really hard for that result! It’s the result we’ve been looking for. Top ten at this level is a massive achievement for the whole team.” Guiver came 16th overall in Race 2 but he was still pleased with another solid second in the Cup class: “The second race wasn’t as good, I got an average start but still got a good finish and we’re further ahead in the championship now.” The team are now focused on Silverstone in less than two weeks (4th-6th October). Guiver’s plan is to keep scoring strong points and do his best in the two remaining rounds: “As long as we keep doing better than Bjorn now that’s all that matters really!” he commented. For more information and race updates you can go to the T3 Racing (www.t3-racing.co.uk) or Ace Cafe London (www.ace-cafe-london.com) website or find T3 Racing on Facebook or on twitter (@T3Racing). More, from a press release issued by Team WD-40: DUTCH PODIUM LEAVES TEAM WD-40 ON TITLE BRINK Team WD-40 are on the verge of clinching a first major championship in their inaugural year after Joe Francis returned from the only overseas meeting of the British Superbikes campaign with another podium finish. Francis, from Backford near Chester, extended his lead at the top of the Monster Energy Motostar Moto 3 class standings after a huge team effort at Assen in Holland. The 15-year-old claimed second spot in his class to notch another podium finish and move 36 points clear of nearest rival Tarran Mackenzie at the top of the standings. It means just one more podium from the last two meetings – at Silverstone on October 6 or Brands Hatch a fortnight later – would bring title glory for the teenager and Team WD-40. “It was another good result for us and we are doing what is required to defend the championship lead,” said Francis. “The whole team worked exceptionally hard to get the bike right for the race and we were really pleased to increase our lead in the championship. “We are in a fantastic position now and it would be brilliant if we could wrap up the championship at Silverstone and take the pressure off the final meeting of the season. “But we are taking nothing for granted and know there is still a job to do.” Francis began the race in tenth spot on the grid, fourth in his class, after a weekend in which the team worked tirelessly – including through the night – to solve electric and fuel problems with the bike. That huge team effort paid dividends as a blistering start from Francis saw him quickly storm up the field. With none of the riders ahead of him – many of whom were racing in the Dutch championship – a threat to the Francis championship lead and nearest rival Mackenzie behind him, Team WD-40 were content for the youngster to take no risks. And a mature display from Francis helped secure a second place finish in class as he burst through the 200 point barrier in the championship. “As long as we finished ahead of Tarran we knew we would a step closer to winning the championship and that’s what we achieved,” said a delighted Francis. Comments Team WD-40 team manager Brent Gladwin was full of praise of the efforts of Francis and the entire team. “It’s been a long weekend and we have had next to no sleep,” he said. “It was disappointing to have the problems when we did because to be so close to the Dutch riders in free practice in their own backyard was very pleasing. “We had problems through qualifying and the lads worked exceptionally hard to get the bike out there for the race. “Joe then rode an excellent race, doing exactly what he needed by keeping Tarran behind him. “If we are 26 points or more clear after Silverstone we will have won the championship and that’s the aim now. “There’s a lot of hard work to do before Silverstone but we will be ready to try and wrap the championship up.” WD-40 is the new title sponsor of GR Motosport. The company has just launched seven new products specifically for use on motorbikes, under its recently launched WD-40 Specialist Motorbike brand. www.wd40specialistmotorbike.co.uk/ www.teamwd40.com Team Partners: Stauff UK, Cargolink Express, L&A Reinforcements, Carrino access flooring, The Air Con Experts, F&G Commercials, Bennetts Motorcycle Insurance, Kent Holiday Cottages, RS Components, 3 Squared, Signsxtra Technical Partners: Kawasaki, Scorpion Red Power, Dynojet UK, Swinton Motorcycles, R&G, PPG Paint, Goodridge, Pipercross, Solo Motorcycle products, Super B, MG Competition, STIHL, Geo Technology, Sigma More, from a press release issued by Quattro Plant Kawasaki: Dutch delight for Walker and Burrell In what looked like being a tough weekend at Assen ended up being one of the most profitable of the season for the Quattro Plant Kawasaki team as riders Chris Walker and Barry Burrell scored three top ten finishes between them in the latest round of the 2013 British Superbike Championship. Making the trip to the legendary circuit in Holland – dubbed the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing – Walker was hoping to move up the table in the race for the Rider’s Cup but a crash in the final free practice session was followed by a small, technical problem in qualifying. It all meant he had to start the opening 18-lap race from the unusual spot of 19th and the penultimate row of the grid and things looked like they’d turned from bad to worse when he was forced to retire just after half race distance. However, in true ‘Stalker’ style he fought all the way until the end and ensured his weekend ended on a positive note when he took an excellent sixth place in race two later in the afternoon to maintain his standing in the top ten of the Championship. Team-mate Burrell recorded his best qualifying position – 14th – since joining the team last month, and so hopes were high going into the two races. Indeed, the Bishop Auckland rider continued to show his value to the team and worked his way steadily through the field in the opening race to finish in tenth place. Despite feeling unwell, he looked like he’d better that in the second race as he ran as high as eighth at one stage but he ultimately had to settle for another tenth place, albeit less than two seconds adrift of Walker. Pete Extance, Team Manager: “We are really pleased with the outcome of Assen as it looked like being a disastrous weekend for Chris after crashing in practice and subsequently missing the cut in Q1. A small, technical fault – a result of the crash – ended his first race prematurely but he came back brilliantly from 16th on the grid in the second race to take an excellent, and well-deserved, sixth, something I didn’t think was possible after all the problems!” “Barry again improved all weekend and made the most of his grid position to claim tenth in race one. Unfortunately, he began to feel unwell in between races but with the eventful race that unfolded, he still took another tenth place so achieved our goal for him of two top ten finishes. We now need to move on to the last two rounds and continue to push towards the front.” The penultimate round of the series takes place at Silverstone, Northants in two weeks’ time on the weekend of October 4-6.