Teen closing in on Thundersport title

COUNTY Durham teenager Charlie Farrer moved closer to making his mark in history yesterday as he put one hand on the Thundersport GB Superteens Championship trophy at Oulton Park.

Just a few weeks after clinching the Team Green Junior Cup which runs as part of the British Motorcycle Racing Club championship, the 15-year-old now holds the advantage in Superteens too.

And with just one round left at Donington Park next month, the battle is set to go down to the wire.

Farrer, of Easington Colliery, had been leading Matthew Bower by 28 points as they arrived at Oulton Park ahead of yesterday’s one-day race event, the penultimate round on Thundersport’s calendar.

With double points on offer from two races, Farrer needed to ensure he kept his rival behind him if he was to keep his lead in the series.

But he knew it was going to be a tough day, with World Supersport 300 rider Luke Hopkins joining the fray to get some extra testing time in.

Despite having beaten Hopkins on three previous occasions, this weekend Farrer had a much harder job, starting down in seventh place.

In both races, Farrer did what he does best, getting a quick, clean getaway and charging his way through the pack on the opening lap to be in second place as they crossed the line to start the second lap.

But he just couldn’t match the might of Hopkins, whose 300 clearly had a bit of an edge, and after all he could do was watch him vanish into the distance.

But what was important was beating Bower, and Farrer was able to do that, beating him across the line both times.

The results did mean that Farrer has now extended his lead to 44 points over Bower, which makes his championship hopes look a lot stronger.

With 100 points up for grabs at next month’s season finale, Farrer has the luxury of more than a race worth of points in hand.

“They were both hard races but I just wanted to concentrate on keeping Bower behind me,” he said last night.

“On the last lap of the second race he made a move on me down the back straight, but I was able to get back around him at the last corner and take second.

“We came here and did what we set out to do, and that was to extend our lead in the championship so we can go into the final round with the advantage.

“It would’ve been good to beat Luke, but getting the better of Bower is what mattered, and we did that. That’s all that really matters at this point.”