Excitement a racing certainty
CLUB, national and international championships will be on offer at Anglesey Circuit this week- end.
Saturday and Sunday bring the third Wirral 100 Motor Club motorcycling race meeting at Trac Mon this year.
This event brings together quality club racing, the cream of Formula 2 sidecar competitors competing for British titles and, for the first time in Anglesey, the UK round of the worldfamous International Classic Grand Prix series.
Once again the spectacular coastal circuit is going to be busy.
Wirral 100 Motor Club Championships
With three of the five rounds now complete, things are now beginning to take shape but, as always, there could be a few surprises along the way over the final two meetings of the club’s season.
Johnny Blackshaw has again been in excellent form in the AS Racing Powerbikes class, and has built up a significant championship lead, but his planned absence this weekend will shake things up considerably.
Second-place man Jamie Harris of Anglesey may also not have recovered from a knee operation in time to compete, so the likelihood is that David Jones of Colwyn Bay, who won three of the four races here five weeks ago, could well go one better and move from third to first ahead of the final round in September.
The Paul Bland Motorsport Formula 600 class will again have approaching 40 riders and the expectation was that Jones and Harris would again be locked together at the front. However, as in the big bikes class, if Harris’s knee problem prevents him riding, then Jones will be going all out to take full advantage.
Chris Eden, Chris Jones, Josh Williams and Glenn Walker will all be seeking to move up in the standings.
In the 650 Twins championship, the two leading contenders, Mike Bampton and Tim Sayers, have been superb all season but David Evans has always been in contention and, no doubt, will be there or thereabouts this weekend. The return of Barry Lee Evans should also add to the mix.
ACU / FSRA British F2 Sidecar Championship
The fourth round of this event first visited Anglesey Circuit in 2007 and has been used every year since.
Reigning champions Founds/ Walmsley hold a 30-point lead.
The pair have only achieved two wins from six starts, but hold a big lead because they have secured four second-place finishes behind Crawford/ Hardie, who have four wins from six races but unfortunately did not finish two. International Classic Grand Prix The Wirral 100 and Anglesey Circuit are delighted to be hosting the UK round of the 2018 International Classic Grand Prix.
This series is for 250cc and 350cc Grand Prix machines built between 1974 and 1984. It is a five-round championship. The two rounds that have so far taken place this year were at Paul Ricard (France) and Vallelunga (Italy) while those at Hockenheim (Germany) and Interlagos (Brazil) will follow.
It is a privilege for Anglesey to be added to this list of iconic circuits.
In the 350cc class this year, there is a strong UK presence with two former top British ‘stars’ Mike ‘Spike’ Edwards and Ian Simpson to the fore.
Edwards’ successes included several British championship wins, victories at Macau and the North West and second place at the iconic Bol d’Or endurance race.
Scotsman Simpson has also won several British championships, three TT’s, and three at the North West before a serious leg injury forced his retirement from full-time racing.
After two rounds, however, it is the classic specialist Ant Hart who heads the standings, but Edwards’ two wins and Simpson’s two second places at Vallelunga is perhaps an indication of what to expect at Anglesey.
In the 250cc class, Brexit has come early for most of the Brits and the first five in the championship are from overseas – Germany’s Stefan Tennstadt leads from Belgium’s Yves Hecq.
Qualifying practice for ICGP takes place on Saturday and there will be two, no doubt, hectic 18-lap races on Sunday. For those with an interest in this great era of motorcycling racing, they should be worth watching.