The Vivaldi British Supermoto Championships first visit to the Rockingham
Motor Speedway produced some cracking racing and several upsets with a
number of riders struggling to come to terms with the challenging nature of
the circuit. It was the usual suspects of Iddon, Winstanley and Fiorentino
who shone through with Warren hot on their tails and French rider Rolland
Aurelien and veteran Ady Smith the big surprises on the day.
Rockingham polarised opinions among the riders with many really enjoying the
purpose built circuit which had an extensive off-road section which was
tight and twisty, favouring those with a motocross background. Others
though, lamented the shortage of tarmac and over-taking opportunities.
Whatever the viewpoint the circuit acted as a great "leveller" and produced
some of the best racing seen in this year's British Championship.
SM1 Qualifying;
Due to the number of riders, the SM1 and SM2 classes were split into two
groups with the quickest riders in each forming a combined grid. Iddon was
the fastest in the first group with a time of 50.7 with young French rider
Sylvain Bidart on a Honda the best of the second bunch. Winstanley was the
big surprise having arrived at Rockingham late on the Saturday night he had
not ridden on the track until Sunday morning warm-up but still managed the
second quickest time in the first group to put him third on the grid.
- 1. Christian Iddon
- 2. Sylvain Bidart
- 3. Matt Winstanley
SM2 Qualifying;
Winstanley was on a mission in SM2 with the quickest time overall to land
pole position. French rider and part-time British Championship campaigner
Rolland Aurelien created an upset recording the fastest time in the second
group to secure second place on the grid. Sam Warren carried his strong form
in the World Championships through to the Rockingham round to secure third.
- 1. Matt Winstanley
- 2. Rolland Aurelien
- 3. Sam Warren
(SM2 Race 1) Winstanley rules despite lack of track time;
You never would have known that Matt Winstanley managed to miss his ferry
from Ireland on the Saturday and didn't get to the circuit until late that
evening missing practice. He came out on the Sunday and blitzed the field in
SM2 qualifying to secure pole and then took the lead on the opening lap and
gradually built up a comfortable margin to take an easy win in the first
major race.
The surprise was French rider Rolland Aurelien who finished with two podium
finishes in the SM2 class to take second overall on the day. Speaking
through Fred Fiorentino who was acting as his interpreter Rolland said that
his "holiday" to England had gone very well.
"I am not used to this track and this type of riding. It has forced me to
think about the settings on my bike and my riding style. It has definitely
improved my riding, which is good. I am here on holiday and will be back to
do the winter series."
- 1. Matt Winstanley
- 2. Sam Warren
- 3. Rolland Aurelien
(SM1 Race 1) Fiorentino capitalises on front-runner incidents;
Fiorentino made the most of the panel bashing between Iddon and Winstanley
to steal the win in the first SM1 race of the day. After coming together on
the first corner after the start/finish the pair collided again damaging
Winstanley's front-end and putting him out of the race. This allowed
Fiorentino to take the win and heralded the return of veteran Ady Smith on
his KTM with his first podium of the season. He was one of many who really
enjoyed the circuit.
"Personally, I really enjoyed the track. The off-road section is very
technical, tight and twisty. I had a good race to finish third but managed
to have clutch problems in the second race which meant I couldn't challenge
the front runners. All in all it's been a tough year so far, with not much
luck."
- 1. Fred Fiorentino
- 2. Christian Iddon
- 3. Ady Smith
(SM2 Race 2) Winstanley continues winning ways;
Winstanley led from the front once again in the second SM2 race taking the
holeshot on the first corner and holding his nerve all the way through to
the finish to make it two from two. Rolland Aurelien went one better on his
Yamaha to take second from a hard-charging Warren who was less than a second
behind him. Warren said that as the off-road section of the track become
rougher and more rutted it suited him better.
"It's a new circuit and it's the same for everyone. But as more races are
run on the off-road section it is becoming bumpier and more rutted which
suits my style."
- 1. Matt Winstanley
- 2. Rolland Aurelien
- 3. Sam Warren
(SM1 Race 2) Iddon pushes Winstanley to the finish;
In the best race of the day the main SM1 protagonists Iddon and Winstanley
pushed each other all the way to the finish. It was Iddon who took the
holeshot and led the way for half of the race before Winstanley snuck past
to take the lead and hold on to the finish for what was the closest finish
of all the races. Fiorentino lurking back in third waited for the lead two
to take each other out again but it wasn't to be.
Young French rider Sylvain Bidart on a Honda was desperately unlucky not to
finish with at least one podium coming home in fourth. In the first SM1 race
he mounted the fight back of the round when running in second place he
crashed and dropped to sixteenth before some stunning riding brought him
back up to sixth at the finish.
- 1. Matt Winstanley
- 2. Christian Iddon
- 3. Fred Fiorentino
(SM1 Clubman Trophy) Ermolenko clean sweep;
Adam Ermolenko was unlucky to miss the cut for the main event in the SM1
class but made up for it with two convincing wins in the SM1 Clubman Trophy.
He was chased by Shaun Church and Stuart Bridges in the first Clubman's race
and by Rick Bowell and Paul Needham in the second for what were full grid
races. Howard Boylan who was testing a new Husqvarna for Motorcycle News
said that he had a fantastic days racing and was in awe of the
front-runners.
"I'm still buzzing. It's been a fantastic day and great mixing it with the
quick boys. They were so polite, shouting at me to get out of their way and
then thanking me as they went past. The track proved to be good for me and
the bike slowing everyone down to something close to me speed. Finishing
23rd and 15th in the two races was a great result though I think I was
flattered by a number of DNF's."
SM1 Overall:
- 1. Adam Ermolenko
- 2. Shaun Church
- 3. Rick Bowell
(SM2 Clubman Trophy) Hilton takes it to the Hilt;
John Hilton finished with maximum points in the SM2 Clubman races winning
both races convincingly. David Farmer was second overall and Alan Bott third
despite a jumped start and 10 second penalty in the first race. Andy
Phillips was a little unlucky to finish fourth after a second placed finish
in the first race and a non-point scorer in the second. Victor Bull and
Christopher Homer also finished the day on 20 points.
SM2 Overall:
- 1. John Hilton
- 2. David Farmer
- 3. Alan Bott
(SM4) Dichello the dominator;
The SM4 class for kids under 15 continues to go from strength to strength
with the number of starters now into double figures. Following a red flag
incident in the first race it was re-scheduled for a little later in the day
with times aggregated. Gennaro Dichello continued his winning ways making it
two from two with Oliver Pope second in both races and George Gough third.
SM4 Overall:
- 1. Gennaro Dichello
- 2. Oliver Pope
- 3. George Gough
Naturally Best, Rider of the Day;
The Naturally Best, Rider of the Day proved to be another very tough
decision for the panel of judges with Danny Tollett the lucky recipient of
the trophy and cheque for a £1,000. He made up for some poor qualifying in
SM2 charging through the field to finish in seventh place in both races and
had a best result of fifth in the first SM1 race.
