NG Road Racing…The story of the 2013 Season

The NG Road Racing team wish to congratulate all the 2013 Championship winners and to thank all the many sponsors, both of the championship series and individual riders, whose generosity is such an important part of making racing possible.

At the beginning of the year I posed a question…. “can anyone beat Bevan….?”. The Bevan in question is Welshman Phil Bevan, and now we have reached the end of the year the answer is an emphatic ….NO !!!. True, Phil only picked up 3 wins this year, but from the 36 finals he reached he was on the podium 17 times, and only outside the top five twice.

In the NG Road Racing premier championship, The Phoenix Open Phil had to take on a whole host of top line BSB competition including Josh Day, Ben Grindrod, Josh Wainwright, Jonathan Railton, Luke Jones and Leon Morris, as well as James Cox, Greg Allsop and Manxman Gavin Hunt. But when the chance of the win wasn’t there Phil just kept on banking the points. It wasn’t all easy going this year though, as Phil was stricken with arm pump for the first time in his 15-year racing career. Despite all this Phil racked up championship wins 12 and 13 by taking the Phoenix Motorcycles Open over Josh Day and Darren Rumley, and the Simon Consulting Powerbikes over again Day but with Liam Murtagh taking the third spot with Powerbikes new boy Ben Marsden in fourth.

With 19-class championship on the schedule at each meeting everybody has a class that suits their machine. Kevin Davies on his NP Mini Twins SV650 found he could run at the front in two classes, and took the rapid little Suzuki to both the MPH Bike Mini Twins title and also the TPC Construction 700cc Pre Injection. Not a bad return really as this year was supposed to be a year off racing… but when the call came from Neil Pearson to ride the SV now that Ben Marsden had moved off the bikes and onto a ZX10, how could he refuse……Kevin had a smile on his face all year, wringing the neck of the little SV !!!!. Still with the TPC Construction Pre Injection, but now the 1300cc class and it was a second championship on the bounce for Tom Palmer on his R1. Although to be honest at mid season it was looking to be a struggle for Tom, but five wins from the last six rounds meant the title was retained over Paul Harlington on his FJ1100.

With three Streetstocks classes supported my Metzeler and Dennis Trollope Racing Spares there is always close racing for the road legal machines. This year saw former BSB 125 top ten man Corey Lewis return after a long lay off on his elderly KR1S 250 Kawasaki to win the 400cc class, proving that if you have talent, you never loose it. Whilst another young talent in the shape of James Harrison lifted the 700cc class on his R6 after a season long tussle with Murray McConnachie. The 1300cc category was nip and tuck until round 11 at Anglesey when Tom Cook and his R1 secured top spot after his nearest rival Paul Dawson destroyed his R1 at the bottom of the infamous Corkscrew.

As ever the newcomers to the sport are catered for and once more backed by Mark King of April UK. Mark Strudwick took the 500 class on his 125 Honda, Sean Montgomery the Mini Twins on an SV and Dave Mackay the open on his very trick KTM RC8. All three or them have already made an impact in the main classes with most notably young Mr Strudwick also taking the 125GP title ahead of BSB 125 rider Joe Thomas, and was rightly voted as the most promising rider of 2013.

Just to prove that there is a lot of young talent in the UK 13 year old Liam Delves has moved up from Mini Motos to an 80cc Metrakit, and despite struggling at some of the higher speed circuits was crowned the Steve Lynham Formula 125 champion just ahead of another mini moto star moving onto the bigger bikes Charlie Nesbitt …. who is just 12 !!!.

Mark Carkeek too his 450 Kawasaki to the Single cylinder GP45 class win whist Martin Thrower made a return to racing to take the twins category on his Aprilia. In the new Fraser’s of Gloucester backed 500cc class Paul Metcalfe racked up the “sea-miles” from Colby in the Isle of Man to take the title over the 450 Aprilia of Keenan Armstrong, and picking up four wins along the way.

Winning championships is never easy but retaining them is often even more difficult. Darren Rumley defended his Peter Hammond Motorcycles Sound of Thunder crown on his KTM fending off Shane Smith and Paul Willis. Whereas Shannon Hale retained her A and R Racing Formula 400 title for a third year despite suffering throughout the year with illness, and not even deciding to go racing on her ZXR400 (…..called Bridgette !!) until a week before the start of the season. The dust-sheet was pulled off…. bike prepped…. and just seven days later she took the double win at Brands to start off her successful defence.

One of the hardest classes to dominate due to such a quality of depth field is the Wayside Garages 600 open. With ten different winners over the fourteen rounds, it came down to a final round shoot out between Nick Anderson and Peter Carr. Nick won the race but Pete on his ZX6R grabbed the points he needed to take the title. Chris Hawkes missed out on his shot at the top spot after his Suzuki dropped a valve at the final round.

2013 has been a year when Sidecars have two dedicated National series to chase, so NG events were often used as testing. The CSC Racing championships went to Simon Gilbert and Jed Pilmoor-Brady for open outfits, whilst last years bridesmaids in the F2 class become the 2013 brides as father and son crew of Tom and Thomas Quaye lifted a hard fought for title on the MRE Suzuki.

So as the season came to an end at Thruxton we can safely say that with a total of 13 class titles Phil Bevan is continuing to rewrite the record books….. the only hope for the opposition is that it is muted that Phil may take on a new challenge and move classes in 2014. At the other end of the experience scale we know that the future is bright as the list of fast teenagers in longer than ever….Mark Strudwick…Joe Thomas…Liam Delves…Charlie Nesbitt to name just a few…….. Roll on 2014, and there are a few changes in the pipeline including a new format for the 250 GP ACU National series and the addition of a SuperTwins class.

250GP ACU National supported by Dunlop and 100% Suspension

Christopher Martin – Dave Dean Honda 250

250 NG Cup

Mark Reeves – Yamaha TZ250

Phoenix Open

Phil Bevan – Phil Bevan Trackdays Yamaha R1

Simon Consulting Powerbikes

Phil Bevan – Phil Bevan Trackdays Yamaha R1

Wayside Garage 600

Peter Carr, Pistol Racing Kawasaki ZX6R

Peter Hammond Sound of Thunder

Darren Rumley – KTM RC8R

MPH Bikes Mini Twins

Kevin Davies, NPMC Minitwin Specialist Suzuki SV 650

Frasers of Gloucester Open 500

Paul Metcalfe Honda RS 250 Colby Isle of Man

A&R Racing Formula 400

Shannon Hale, Black Lion Transport Kawasaki ZXR 400

400 Streetstocks

Corey Lewis, Etass/Lewis Racing Kawasaki Kris 250

Metzeler/DTR 700 Streetstocks

James Harrison, 1st Choice Vehicle Dismantlers Yamaha R6

Metzeler/DTR 1300 Streetstocks

Tom Cook, Ballard BIS Racing Yamaha R1

TPC Construction 700 Pre-Injection

Kevin Davies, NPMC Minitwin Specialist Suzuki SV 650

TPC Construction 1300 Pre-Injection

Tom Palmer, Palmer Plastering Contractors Yamaha R6

GP45 Singles

Mark Carkeek

GP45 Twins

Martin Thrower

125GP

Mark Strudwick

Steve Lynham Formula 125

Liam Delves Metratek 80

CSC Open Sidecars

Simon Gilbert/Jed Pilmoor-Brady LCR Yamaha

CSC Formula 2 Sidecars

Tom Quaye/Thomas Quaye, MRE Suzuki 600

April UK Open Newcomers

Dave Mackay

April UK 500 Newcomers

Mark Strudwick

Mini Twin Newcomers

Sean Montgomery

NG Road racing club Special Awards:

Hambro Flying Start for the most promising rider: Mark Strudwick

Jason P Kash Achievement Award: Shannon Hale

Anderson Award for the Greatest points total: Kevin Davies

Teague Award for the newcomer on a 600cc: Edward Whitehurst

Words by Russ Gardner NG Road Racing Club. Many thanks to EDP Photo News for the use of these ace photos.

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