Scooters only BSSO Three Sisters, July 2
No pesky motorcycles – just a full day of thrills and spills at the spiritual home of scooter racing, Three Sisters
Most riders have a love/hate relationship with Three Sisters, but it’s certainly a circuit that can bring out the street fighter; here, talent matters more than power. Overnight heavy rain fell, leading to a few anxious looks, but by the time the track action started at a leisurely 10am the sun was coming through and we had an (almost) dry track.
With three full sequences of races for each stock and supers grid, punctuated by spectator parade laps, it was clear that the riders were going to work hard for our viewing entertainment with the majority actually riding on both grids.
Whether it was the technical nature of the track or some tiredness creeping in, there were certainly a lot of thrills and spills, with a couple being rather spectacular. Some would say if you haven’t fallen off at Three Sisters then you’ve not raced and a good few certainly hit the deck. These included scooter sidecar legend Jem Booth, who managed his tumble on a spectator parade! Nikita McNally dropped the proddy Lambretta at Luna, giving her dad, Macca, some paint touch-up work to do! Graham Tatton dropped it at the same bend while leading on the last lap, Tom Shaw threw his bike down on the infield but the fastest and nastiest looking spill involved team-mates Darren Conneely and Phil Hallam, who found themselves embedded in the tyre wall at the fastest part of the circuit, prompting red flag stoppage. Meanwhile Harry Smith had a far less spectacular tumble but did share his crash on video! Although there were plenty of bruises, fortunately there were no real injuries, other than to pride.
Super Scooter
As always John the Greek was spectacular in Group 5 and took two dominant wins from the three races, only losing out in the second due to the rear wheel coming off. Not even John can ride around that issue! But it was brilliant to see the highly anticipated battles between John, Steve Wright, Tom Shaw and Darren Conneely for the overall race, and they certainly gave a brilliant show.
In the Group 6 geared specials, after the first race stoppage caused by the Conneely/ Hallam off, Steve Wright was promoted to the race win and took the remaining races of the day after Conneely’s bike was too damaged to continue. Wright has won every race so far in Group 6 other than one! Behind him a battered Graham Tatton took a trio of 2nd places and Scotsman Drew Duncan a trio of 3rds. Despite riding a Production Class machine, Simon Palmer really took to the Three Sisters circuit and managed a full set of 4th places. Despite being a bit battered and bruised, Phil Hallam borrowed the Replay Racing Group 4 scoot to ride in the final race.
In Group 6A the Wilkinson Racing big auto with pilot Tom Shaw dominated but DTC Racing’s Nikita McNally was snapping at his heels and super quick on this demanding circuit. She took a full set of 2nd places for the day and won the bragging rights in her sibling rivalry with brother Jimi. I’m sure Nikita won’t mention that... much.
Open Class saw Dave Bristow out to play on the Hornet Endurance bike, getting in some track and setup time ahead of the next Endurance race.
Stock Classes
Production class saw John the Greek power away to a clean sweep and as always doing so in spectacular style. He even popped wheelies taking the chequered flag! Behind him the Lambretta proddy bikes were fighting for glory with Stephen Hamilton, Steve Wright and Simon Palmer sharing the honours, with each taking a first Lambretta home. Nikita McNally was at Three Sisters on a Lambretta for the first time but it didn’t take long for her to be getting to grips and getting a knee down. A little off spoiled her day a little, but she was definitely 100% committed.
Group 4
The sole bike in this category was Darren Conneely, who was on top form as always and despite being battered from his crash took the fastest lap of the weekend.
Group 4e
This class continues to be hotly contested. In race one Graham Tatton frustratingly threw away a win on the last bend, giving boss Darren Scott and his team plenty of work to fix the bike for race two. Tom Shaw took the first win for Wilkinson Racing, but veteran Stuart Day took the remaining two wins, in the process showing that he still has it . Tatton managed to nurse himself around to two 2nd places in the remaining races. Jimi McNally had a solid weekend on the second Wilkinson Racing 4e and took home two 2nds and two 4th places.
Racing was completed with the poignant BSSO Memorial Race which is always keenly contested. Tom Shaw got off to a strong start but it was Darren Conneely who reeled him in and then pulled away to take a dominant win, lapping so smoothly and quickly as only he can do.
So overall a great day’s scooter racing at this brilliant spectators’ circuit, where a good number of road-going scooters and families turned up to spectate. The riders worked hard due to the sheer number of races, and many were left nursing bumps and bruises.
For full results and championship details check out www.BSSO.co.uk
Words and images: Paul Green