Revised 2010 Race Calendar

OULTON PARK
1st -3rd May 2010

Oulton Park Circuit is in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, and is accessed from the A54 or A49. From the north take junction 19 off the M6 and follow the A556 towards Chester. From the south leave the M6 at junction 18 and follow the A54. It is about 5 miles from Winsford, 13 miles from Chester city centre, 8 miles from Northwich and 17 miles from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. Regular train services to Crewe and Chester operate on the mainline from London Euston.

It occupies much of the area which was previously known as the Oulton Estate. The track is set in the grounds of Oulton Hall, which were used as an army staging camp by General Patton prior to the Normandy landings. At this time the famous boxer Joe Louis gave exhibition bouts at Oulton Park in the vicinity of the Deer Leap section of the circuit.



KNOCKHILL (HARLEY RACES CANCELLED)
2nd -4th July 2010
Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife is Scotland's national Motorsport centre. The circuit is located in the Fife countryside about 10 miles north of Dunfermline. The track, initially opened in 1974, is 1.27 miles long and 10 metres wide and was created by joining service roads to a nearby disused mineral railway, closed in 1951, which served Lethans Colliery.

The circuit hosts many different events throughout the year, including the British Superbike Championship, Touring cars, stock cars and various trackdays for car and bike enthusiasts. There are also many events which are exclusive to the circuit, such as legend racing and the Scottish Formula Fords. In common with most UK circuits, Knockhill also runs experience sessions.

CADWELL PARK
28th -30th August 2010
Cadwell Park is sited across a steep-sided valley, giving rise to dips and crests. The circuit features sharp changes in gradient, including one section called The Mountain where bikes can become airborne by up to several feet. Its mix of challenging corners has led to its nickname 'the Mini-Nürburgring'.

Located in the Lincolnshire Wolds, Cadwell Park was established in 1934 by Mr Mansfield Wilkinson of Louth. His sons originally used the land for racing their own motorbikes against each other and this evolved into the circuit which it is today. In 1953 the track was lengthened to 1.3 miles, upon the invitation of the 500cc motorcycle-engined Formula 3 to race in a traditional bike meeting. Around 30,000 spectators attended that particular race. The original track grew to the current 2.25 miles layout in 1962 and hosted the British F3 series the next May. Some of the bends are named after family members e.g. Mansfield, Charlie and Chris.

Race Stat.2

Of the 27 riders entered into the XR1200 Series, only six scored points in every race, and Rhys was one of them!

 

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Race Report 1

 

The UK Premiere - A Baptism of Fire

With preparations still not complete on the team bike, we had a last minute offer from Preston Harley-Davidson for Rhys to ride their machine at this opening round of the championship. So, with no testing done prior to this weekend, a 'Baptism of Fire' it was going to be.

This is how the weekend went ....


Free Practice - Sun 2nd May - 2.50pm
With the excited crowds surrounding the Harley-Davidson arena, Rhys safely completed his first laps on the bike and was fairly confident of improving his lap times moving into Monday's qualifying session.

Rhys' fastest lap during Practice - 1:59.620


Qualifying - Mon 3rd May - 9.45am
Having completed 10 laps in free practice, Rhys was looking forward to getting more acquainted with the bike. Unfortunately, there was a technical 'red flag' at the start of qualifying and after a period of time in the pits, the riders returned to the track and after restarting the session on cold tyres, Rhys lost the rear of the bike at Lodge Corner and went down. There was then a problem with the brakes that needed to be solved before race time, so Rhys could not rejoin the session. Therefore, he was unable to complete any further qualifying laps and would be placed at the rear of the gird for the afternoon's race.

No Lap Time Recorded


Race - Mon 3rd May - 1.45pm
From a back row start, Rhys got an impressive getaway and he had climbed four places by the first bend (Old Hall Corner) and lap by lap, his times were getting faster. Changeable weather conditions were making it difficult for Rhys and with a short race distance of only 10 laps, it was always going to be hard for Rhys to catch the race leaders, but in his usual style, Rhys never gave up. Improving his lap times and making more passes on his way, Rhys finished in a pleasing 11th place. With gradual improvement over the weekend, Rhys was awarded five championship points for his efforts.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:55.572

 

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Race Report - Knockhill

 

From One Extreme to Another...

After the heatwave of Mallory Park, the team headed to Scotland for the Knockhill round. We completed free practice and made some changes to the bike's set up before tackling the qualifying session. By the morning, the famous Knockhill weather had struck again and it was looking unlikely that any Harley races would be run. Eventually, as the weather worsened, the decision was made to cancel our two races.


Rhys' fastest lap during Practice - 59.562

Rhys' fastest lap during Qualifying - 58.467

Championship Race 1 Cancelled

Championship Race 2 Cancelled

 

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Race Report 5, 6 & 7

 

The Finale!

The Lincolnshire countryside welcomed the championship for our final three races of the year.

Free Practice - Sat 28th August - 5.45pm
A cloudy evening greeted the riders on Saturday evening, out on track for their first session of the weekend. The bike was working well and Rhys set about getting a good pace around the famous Cadwell circuit. It was obvious that our team bike was lacking some acceleration over the majority of the field, but Rhys completed 11 laps of free practice and managed an 11th fastest time.

Rhys' fastest lap during Practice - 1:45.077



Qualifying - Sun 29th August - 12.40pm
Sunday morning's qualifying passed without incident and on a damp track, Rhys completed just 5 laps and improved on his lap time. With other riders also upping their pace, Rhys remained 11th fastest, giving him a fourth row start in the weekend's races.

Rhys' fastest lap during Qualifying - 1:44.300



Championship Race 5 - Sun 29th August - 6.10pm
The team's first race of the weekend started in the wrong gear (literally)...when Rhys missed a gear getting off the line and found himself in 15th place at the end of lap 1. On a dry track and in the evening sunshine, Rhys set about moving through the field and with one lap to go, had moved up to 8th place. He was having a great battle with Guy Martin, and was finally beaten to the chequered flag..claiming 9th place at the finish.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:42.778

Championship Race 6 - Mon 30th August - 11.00am
Originally intended as an 8 lap sprint, this race was red flagged following the crash of Julian Tillotson and the race distance shortened to 5 laps. In a race full of incident, Rhys made some good passes and from 13th place at the end of lap 2, Rhys had moved up to 9th by lap 3. Finally finishing the race in a very credible 8th place, Rhys climbed to a fantastic 6th position in the overall standings.

Jeremy McWilliams took the race victory, and with Mike 'Spike' Edwards failing to finish, claimed the championship crown with one race still to go.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:41.913

Headliner

The Championship recently came to a close at the Cadwell Park Finale. An action-filled triple header saw Rhys make good progress in the championship standings, at one point climbing to 6th place and eventually finishing the season in 8th overall. Full report below.

 

MALLORY PARK
25th -27th 2010

Mallory Park, known as 'the friendly circuit' is situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley. It is sited in the grounds of a 200 acre ancient estate and is in the rural countryside of Leicestershire. With the full car circuit measuring only 1.35 miles it is amongst the shortest permanent race circuits in the UK. However, chicanes introduced to reduce speeds in motorcycle events mean that the Circuit is slightly longer for our use, at 1.41 miles.

Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, the circuit hosted almost every major British car and bike championship. Famously, the Bay City Rollers played a concert during a BBC-organised 'Fun Day' on May 18th, 1975, on a stage specifically constructed in the middle of the lake. Today the circuit is used for a host of different events, most notably track day's, both public and corporate, and has for the last 25 years been the home of the UK's largest operator of track days.

BRANDS HATCH
6th -8th August 2010

Brands Hatch offers two layout configurations: the shorter 'Indy' layout (1.198 miles) is located entirely within a natural amphitheatre offering spectators views of almost all of the shorter configuration from wherever they watch. The longer 'Grand Prix' layout (2.301 miles) played host to some spectacular Formula One racing over the years; events such as Jo Siffert's duel with Chris Amon in 1968 and future World Champion Nigel Mansell's first win in 1985.

Noise restrictions and the proximity of local residents to the Grand Prix loop mean that the number of race meetings held on the extended circuit are limited to just a few per year (usually for higher-profile series such as A1 Grand Prix and the World Touring Car Championship). The full Grand Prix circuit begins on the Brabham Straight, an off-camber, slightly curved stretch, before plunging into the right-hander at Paddock Hill Bend. Despite the difficulty of the curve, due to the straight that precedes it, it is one of the track's few overtaking spots.

 

Final Championship Standings

Jeremy McWILLIAMS 165 (Champion)
Mike EDWARDS 121
Torquil PATERSON 100
Darren JAMES 61
Ed SMITH 60
James WEBB 58
Dijon COMPTON 51
Rhys BOYD 50
Gary BYRNE 44
Alex GAULT 43
Lea GOURLAY 41
Rob McNEALY 36
Joe MOORE 30
Julian TILLOTSON 26
Gordon GRIGOR 19
Roland SANDS 16
Michael NIBLETT 16
Warren SCOTT 11
Bernie PRICE 9
Matt LAYT 8
John ROBB 6
Paul MOOIJMAN 5
Darren NEAL 4
Alastair FAGAN 3
Bernie PRICE 2
Adam CHILD 1
Randy van der WAL 1

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Race Report 2

 

Hot! Hot! Hot!

That's the only way to describe the Mallory Park weekend.

Free Practice - Sat 26th June - 9.00am
Mallory brought scorching weather conditions and after the early season break, Rhys could only manage a 16th fastest time in practice, leaving himself with plenty to do in the qualifying session.

Rhys' fastest lap during Practice - 1:06.859



Qualifying - Sat 26th June - 4.35pm
Rhys and the team made some changes to the bike's set up prior to qualifying, hoping it would solve some handling problems. Unfortunately, whilst accelerating out of the hairpin, the rear tyre lost grip and down went rider and machine. With no injuries sustained and only minor damage to the bike, Rhys ended this session as 15th fastest.

Rhys' fastest lap during Qualifying - 1:06.082



Race - Sun 27th June - 2.05pm
From the fourth row on the grid, Rhys got a bad start and found himself at the back of the pack going into the first corner. Slowly improving and making a few passes on the way, he got to grips with the big Harley and claimed a 14th place finish at the chequered flag.

Again, Rhys improved his lap times over the course of the weekend and added another two points to his championship tally.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:05.575

 

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Race Report 3 & 4

 

All Fired Up!

'Brands Hatch GP Circuit' and the biggest event of the year so far.

Free Practice - Fri 6th August - 12.40pm
The ghosts of Knockhill were still with us approaching our first session at Brands Hatch. The team bike refused to fire up and after several attempts, it was obvious that we were going to struggle to get any practice laps in before the evening's qualifying. With the usual 'never give up' attitude, Rhys and the team eventually corrected the problem and along with assistance from 'Warrs Racing', got the bike started. Unfortunately, it was too late for the practice session...this had already passed.

No Lap Time Recorded



Qualifying - Fri 6th August - 5.25pm
After an interesting morning of technical faults, Rhys was eager to get some laps under his belt. With no practice laps completed, he quickly got into a rhythm and set about putting in a good qualifying time. With new front forks recently fitted to the bike, Rhys was already noticing a difference to the bikes handling. By the end of qualifying, Rhys found himself in 9th position and therefore would start from the third row of the grid in Saturday's first Harley race.

Rhys' fastest lap during Qualifying - 1:42.021



Championship Race 3 - Sat 7th August - 6.15pm
Due to heavy rain, our first race of the weekend was put back on the schedule and made the last race of the day.

Eventually, the time came for Rhys to take his place on the third row of the grid. A cloudy evening, on a damp track and with a shortened race distance of six laps, it was going to be a slippery sprint to the line. Rhys rode a steady race in the damp conditions and came through to finish in a pleasing 9th place, with high hopes of better things in Sunday's second race.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:45.738

Championship Race 4 - Sun 8th August - 3.15pm
This time in the sunshine and with our guests watching on from their VIP area, Rhys was confident of improving on his placing in Saturday's race and looking forward to pushing the big Harley to its limit.

At the chequered flag, a delighted Rhys claimed 5th place and with shouts of approval from all involved, got his best result of the year so far. From his third row start, he had battled hard and made several exciting passes on his way to an impressive finish. A great weekend for the team and a move up the leaderboard by four places.

Rhys' fastest lap during the race - 1:40.830

 

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A Final Word
Over the course of every race weekend in 2010, Rhys managed to improve his lap times in every session and with it, maintained a high placing in the championship standings.

Well done Rhys!

 

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