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| 06.05.2009 |
| Race report from round 3 of the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup |
| The third round of the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup took place this weekend at Oulton Park, Cheshire, alongside the British Superbike Championship. |
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Two glorious days of sunshine for the practice and qualifying sessions saw some awesome lap times which would have been very competitive in the Superstock class and the top time was in fact good enough to be second last on the grid for the main BSB races!
Following an internal technical investigation at Brands Hatch, last years 990 Super Duke Champion Dave Wood lost his maximum points haul, leaving him 50 points behind the series leader Kelvin Reilly. Wood arrived at Oulton Park with fierce determination and put in a stunning qualifying time of 1’43.3, a clear margin ahead of the rest of the front row of Pauli Pekkanen (In Moto Corse), Kelvin Reilly (In Moto Corse) and Ed Smith (Redline KTM).
Race day weather conditions were very indifferent and after being held on the grid for some minutes, riders and teams were given the opportunity to fit wet tyres as rain was falling on certain parts of the circuit. Following the delay, tyre temperatures had dropped and in an unfortunate warm up lap incident, Dave Wood lost the rear end of his bike and crashed out of the day’s race in dramatic style.
The rest of the grid formed and as the lights went out James Edmeades (Redline KTM) made a fantastic start to jump from 5th position to take the lead on the first corner, followed by Kelvin Reilly and his team-mate, Pauli Pekkanen. Also making a great start was Junior Championship rider Taryn Skinner (CarCrac Racing) who moved up 5 places from 10th to 5th in the first lap.
James Edmeades held the lead until lap 5 when Kelvin Reilly made a great overtaking manoeuvre and moved into first place. It was then Pekkanens turn to pressure Edmeades for second place, eventually taking the position on lap 8.
Edmeades was then caught up in a very entertaining battle for third position between his team-mate Ed Smith and Jon Pearson who was riding the press bike on behalf of Superbike Magazine. Edmeades’ determination for third saw him get the final podium position back on the final lap, with Pekkanen second and Reilly taking maximum points.
Rounds 4 and 5 of the Focused Event KTM RC8 Super Cup will take place at Donington Park over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend of the 23-25th May.
Results
Race 3 – Monday 5th May
1st Kelvin Reilly – In Moto Corse
2nd Pauli Pekkanen – In Moto Corse
3rd James Edmeades – Redline KTM
4th Ed Smith – Redline KTM
5th Jon Pearson – Superbike Magazine
Championship standings after Round 3
75pts Kelvin Reilly – In Moto Corse
53pts Ed Smith – Redline KTM
42pts James Edmeades - Redline KTM
38pts Francis Williamson – SJ Racing / Bracken Motorcycles
32pts Pauli Pekkanen – In Moto Corse
Junior Championship standings after Round 3
61pts Jon Railton – Ducks X Racing
58pts Sam Bishop – Kester Cunningham John / Sam Bishop Racing
57pts Adam Foster – Fozzy Racing
46pts Taryn Skinner – CarCrac Racing
22pts Jon Paine – Jon Paine Racing |
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 | | Kelvin Reilly
|  | | Pauli Pekkanen
|  | | Podium celebrations |
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