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| 09.07.2009 |
| Race report from rounds 9 & 10 of the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup |
| Rounds 9 & 10 of the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup took place at the fantastic Knockhill circuit in Scotland, and with two races taking place over the weekend, a good points tally could make or break championship hopes. |
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Fridays practice took place in wet conditions, and gave the riders the chance to learn a track which many don’t race on regularly. Even in the wet conditions the Dunlop wet tyres worked superbly well and lap times were posted as low as 58 seconds, on par with the Superstock 1000’s times.
Qualifying on Saturday was full of incident, and after only four laps Kelvin Reilly (In Moto Corse) crashed out at the hairpin, which resulted in a red flag and a disappointing 12th place qualifying. After the restart only two more laps were completed until Rob McNealy (Bracken KTM) also crashed at the hairpin, leaving him in 16th place on the start grid.
At the other end of the field, Dave Heal (Littlewood Fencing / Dave Heal Racing) put in his best performance of the championship, qualifying on the front row. In front of him was Finnish hopeful Pauli Pekkanen (In Moto Corse), guest rider and Supermoto ace Christian Iddon, with pole position going to David Wood who has been making steady progress catching his championship rivals.
In race one, Pauli Pekkanen made a fantastic start to take the lead by the first corner, the top four battled hard and managed to create a gap over the chasing pack. Both David Wood and Christian Iddon pressured Pekkanen and managed to move in front of him by lap 5.
The chasing pack gave us the closest racing of the weekend, Francis Williamson (SJ Racing / Bracken Motorcycles) and James Edmeades (Redline KTM) fought relentlessly over the distance and were never more that half a second apart. Positions changed constantly and after the 20 laps it was Williamson who took 5th position by a mere 0.002 seconds!
Third and fourth place was also decided by a drag to the finish line, and it was Dave Heal who took the final podium position from Pauli Pekkanen. Although Christian Iddon had pushed hard throughout the race, he simply couldn’t make a pass on David Wood, who took first place and 25 championship points.
Race 2 was almost a carbon copy of race 1, as David Wood and Christian Iddon moved away from the pack, followed by Dave Heal and Pauli Pekkanen. Fifth place went to a very well deserving Jon Railton (Ducks X Racing), who’s performances have improved race by race and who now leads the under 25 cup from Sam Bishop (Kester Cunningham John / Sam Bishop Racing).
Again Francis Williamson and James Edmeades continued their previous battle but this time were caught by Kelvin Reilly on the last lap. In an ambitious move Reilly tried to overtake the pair on the outside at the hairpin, Williamson went wide to cover the line, and Edmeades attempted to hold a tight line, but lost the back end of his bike and crashed out with only the start straight to go to complete the race.
Kelvin Reilly had lead the championship going into Knockhill, but after his crash in qualifying and a DNF in race 1, he lost the chance to keep the pressure on an in-form David Wood, who has now made up the points deficit he faced from a difficult start in the championship. Pauli Pekkanen has also scored consistently and ties on points with his In Moto Corse team-mate Reilly. The top three riders are separated by just one point and the championship is turning into a really fantastic spectacle with only four races to go.
Rounds 11 & 12 of the Focused Events KTM RC8 Super Cup will take place at Brands hatch GP circuit on 7-9 August 2009. For more information on the series, take a look at the dedicated website www.rc8supercup.com
Results
Race 9 – Saturday 4 July
1st David Wood – KTM UK
2nd Christian Iddon – KTM UK
3rd Dave Heal – Littlewood Fencing / Dave Heal Racing
4th Pauli Pekkanen – In Moto Corse
5th Francis Williamson – Bracken KTM
Race 10 – Sunday 5 July
1st David Wood – KTM UK
2nd Christian Iddon – KTM UK
3rd Dave Heal – Littlewood Fencing / Dave Heal Racing
4th Pauli Pekkanen – In Moto Corse
5th Jon Railton – Ducks X Racing
Championship Standings after Round 10
148pts David Wood – KTM UK
147pts Kelvin Reilly – In Moto Corse
147pts Pauli Pekkanen – In Moto Corse
135pts Francis Williamson – SJ Racing / Bracken Motorcycles
108pts James Edmeades - Redline KTM
Junior Championship standings after Round 10
216pts Jon Railton – Ducks X Racing
198pts Sam Bishop – Kester Cunningham John / Sam Bishop Racing
151pts Adam Foster – Fozzy Racing
115pts Taryn Skinner – CarCrac Racing
76pts Jon Paine – Jon Paine Racing
Focused Events Rider of the Day award
Dave Heal – Littlewood Fencing / Dave Heal Racing |
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