Andrew Tasker

Andrew has won the coveted Ken Redfern Trophy at the Croft meeting of the North East Motorcycle meeting. The picture shows him with his 2015 Scottish Championship & NEMCRC open championship trophies.















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teamDRAPER - SILVERSTONE

The two teamDRAPER riders, Aaron Clarke and Tommy Philp completed their respective races at Silverstone safely in the first rounds of the British Supersport and Superstock 600 championships on Sunday.

Aaron Clarke qualified in 27th place and made a start to his 10 lap race in the National Superstock 600 class from the ninth row of the grid. He made good progress after a flying start and after one lap was up to 23rd position. He continued to forge ahead and became embroiled in an eight rider scrap for 15th place. He made his way through to head the group in 16th position mid race but began to suffer from arm pump which hindered his progress.

But the 20 year old rider from Kirton in Lincolnshire persevered and although he lost ground he completed his race in 20th position. He said: " I was really disappointed with my qualifying position. I was running eighth at the beginning of the session and came in to make some changes as I felt we could improve but we went the wrong way with the settings so missed out on a quicker time.

"But for the arm pump I was looking at a points finish which would have been good. I had a mega race and was fighting for places throughout the 10 laps, I really enjoyed it and was pleased with my lap times. The draperRACING Yamaha is a lovely bike to ride and I cannot wait till we get to Oulton Park for the next round."

Meanwhile Tommy Philp who is living at East Kirkby after relocating from Slough, qualified in 17th place to start the first of his two races in the British Supersport championship from the sixth row.

The track was wet and slippery from a heavy shower of rain on Saturday making conditions treacherous for the start of the sprint race which was set to run over 10 laps of the Northamptonshire circuit. At the start Tommy moved up into 15th position and was beginning to settle into the race when the red flag brought things to a halt on the third lap because the rain returned. At the restart which was now classed as a wet race they had hardly got underway before a rider crashed with his bike leaking fluid onto the track resulting in another red flag. On the warm up for the restart more riders fell and race control decided to abandon proceedings altogether.

With the sprint race abandoned Tommy was short on track time but lined up on the grid for the start of the feature race on Sunday in dry conditions.  This time the race got underway with no problems and Tommy settled into 16th place taking it steady until his tyres had some warmth in them. He then began to make his move forward and was up into 14th position on lap five of 12. He became involved in a four way battle for position which lasted for the remainder of the race but he made up another place to cross the finish line in 13th place to pick up three championship points.

Tommy commented: "It is a shame the sprint race was cancelled because I was riding well without any problem. But riders were dropping their bikes at almost every corner and it was just getting silly. The race will be run at another track later in the year. My draperRACING Yamaha was running very well and I was pleased to finish the feature race in the points. It's a good start to the season and we can build on this next time out."



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EHA RACE REPORT - ROUND ONE - SILVERSTONE

We are absolutely delighted with the performance for all our riders today in the British Supersbike Championship at Silverstone, it was a very positive first round and a great starting point for our championships. Thanks to all our team for all their hard work, we have a great crew and really appreciate the commitment and effort they put in.

Special thanks to our sponsors for your support this season. Ben Wilson on board the Aprilia RSV4rf racing in the Pirelli Superstock 1000 only had two test days on the bike before this weekend, which makes his 7th place finish an even more amazing achievement.

Ben qualified an impressive 6th position but unfortunately the bike spun up and traction control kicked in on the start meaning Ben ended up last going into the first corner, not one to be put off Ben put his head down and worked his way up to his 7th position by the chequered flag.

In the Dickies Supersport 600 class all three boys had great rides. Unfortunately in the Saturday Sprint race our results didn't stand as they cancelled the race due to the weather conditions so for the Sunday we had to start back in our qualifying positions of Ross-21st, David-22nd and Sam-32nd which were disappointing, as we knew they could do so much better and these positions just gave them a lot of ground to make up. For Ross this was his first time racing a Supersport bike, so his 4th place finish was a fantastic result. He started well and made some good passes early on to get on the back of the front group. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a better qualifying session. David managed to make it up to 7th which again was a great result from his qualifying position, he didn't have a great run through the field but he kept plugging away and made some good ground.

This was Sam’s first ever race at a BSB Championship and Silverstone was a new track for him so to get a 16th finish was a great result, unfortunately he just missed out on points but that will be our aim at the next round to get within the top 15 which he is well capable of.



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TEAM DRAPER RACING - SILVERSTONE PREVIEW

Aaron Clarke and Tommy Philp head to Silverstone in Northamptonshire at the weekend for their debut in the 2016 Supersport and Superstock 600 championships for their new team, Draper Racing.

Both riders were at Donington last week to take part in the British Superbike test day where they made final preparations to their respective bikes prior to the first race of the season.

Aaron from Kirton nr Boston has switched machinery to Yamaha this year and is posting times faster than ever before. He is happy with the set up and is anxious to get his season underway at the weekend. He said: "I have settled well to the new Yamaha and have made some big steps forward while testing today. This will be my third season in the Superstock 600 class and I am setting my sights on some good results this year. I have to thank Drapervent for their input this year and also Tommy and Bill Philp for their help."

Tommy Philp is campaigning the British Supersport championship this season and after moving house to East Kirkby is relishing the chance to prove his worth in the class. He has made good progress with the new bike at the Donington test and is itching to get his season underway at Silverstone. He said: "I am pleased with the way the test has gone today, the bike is running well and apart from a bit of discomfort with my shoulder that was injured a few weeks ago I am looking forward to my first race for the new team."



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Double for Farquhar at Mid-Antrim

Ryan Farquhar opened his Irish National road race season on Saturday with a double victory at the Mid Antrim 150 road races. The Dungannon rider took the wins in the Lightweight 450 and Supertwin races to extend his record total of Irish road racing victories to 208.

Ryan arrived at the Mid Antrim battered and bruised after a spill at the infamous Craner Curves at Donington Park on Easter Sunday and with Friday evening’s practice session hit by bad weather, it looked at one stage as if the races weren’t going to take place. However, the organisers did a fantastic job in getting the 3.53-mile Clough circuit prepared and the racing went ahead on Saturday as planned.

First up for Ryan was the Lightweight race where he was out on his 450cc Kawasaki with the 400s and 450s mixed in with the 250cc machines. It proved to be a comfortable race for Ryan and with the race ending early after just three laps, he got the verdict in the 400/450 section by over nine seconds from Michael Sweeney. He was also fourth overall.

Next up was the 5-lap Superbike race where Ryan was in action on the IEG BMW and a good start saw him lead the race in the early stages. However, having had very little track time on the all-new BMW and Metzeler tyres, Ryan found that the set-up and handling weren’t quite where they needed to be and he eased the pace slightly, eventually crossing the line in fourth place.

His third race was the Supertwin encounter and with the SGS International/KMR Kawasaki machine having been rebuilt after the Donington crash he found himself in a battle royale with last year’s Senior Manx Grand Prix winner Malachi Mitchell-Thomas. There was little between the two 650cc Kawasaki riders but Ryan utilised all of his experience and knowledge to edge out the youngster for his 208th Irish road race win although it was one of his closest with just 0.078s between them at the end of the six laps.

With the set up on the BMW not quite where it needed to be and with rain beginning to fall, Ryan looked at the bigger picture for the season and with some big meetings in the not too distant future, most notably the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, he opted out of the Grand Final.

Ryan Farquhar: “The crash at Donington left me feeling very second hand and it was probably the fastest crash I’ve ever had so I was definitely on the back foot when I arrived at the Mid Antrim and the wet weather on Friday didn’t help matters. The bad weather turned the paddock into a quagmire and a lot of mud got dragged onto the road but the organisers did a fantastic job under the circumstances and it was good to be back racing at the Mid Antrim as it’s a really enjoyable course and event.”

“The Lightweight 450 race was enjoyable and finishing fourth overall was pleasing whilst I had a great battle with Malachi Mitchell-Thomas in the Supertwin race. It was close all the way but I managed to get the better of him for another win. With the crash at Donington, I’d had very little time on the IEG BMW and although I led for a lap the set-up wasn’t quite right so I played with the traction control a bit to try and help the bike over the bumps and jumps. The bike’s very powerful, it turns well and stops well so once we get some good track time and get the stability sorted, I’m confident we’ll be able to make a great fist of things.”



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Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing sign Hickman for the TT

JOHN Burrows has pulled off a major coup by signing rising BSB and road racing star Peter Hickman to ride one of the Cookstown Burrows Engineering 650 Kawasaki Supertwins at this year's Isle of Man TT.

Louth's Hickman is one of the hottest properties in British racing at present and his road racing career has progressed in leaps and bounds. Last year he won one of the UGP Superbike races and the Macau Grand Prix while in 2014 he knocked Josh Brookes from the top of the Fastest TT Newcomers list when he recorded a fantastic average speed of 129.10 mph for the 37.73 miles Mountain Circuit.

Burrows said: "I've been really impressed with Peter Hickman since he came into road racing and I almost had him racing our CBR600 RR at last year's Ulster GP but he eventually opted for a MV Agusta ride. "However, I've got my man this time. As soon as Peter showed an interest in riding one of our two Kawasaki 650 Supertwins machines I had no hesitation in putting a deal together and I'm delighted he has signed to do the Lightweight TT race for Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing. He's a potential winner of the race and whatever the result he will be a great ambassador for the team and our sponsors."

Hickman, now the eighth fastest man in TT history, was enthusiastic about his first venture into the Supertwins class: "I spoke to the TT's Paul Phillips about a ride for the Lightweight race and he recommended, and put me in touch with, John Burrows. John and I quickly came to an agreement.

"I think that the Cookstown Burrows Engineering Kawasaki and I will be a strong combination, one that can get close to the rostrum if not on it. This year will be my third at the TT and I've already proved how fast I can be and John's machinery is always competitive and TT proven. "Of course the Supertwin will be new to me but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to and I'll also welcome the extra track time it will give me."

An announcement about the team's NW200 Supertwins plans will be made in due course but expect more exciting news shortly. Meanwhile, Cookstown Burrows Engineering teamsters Malachi Mitchell-Thomas and Derek Sheils have just completed their first laps of 2016 on 1000cc machinery at Kirkistown.

Team owner Burrows was impressed with what he saw: "Derek rode the ex-TAS Suzuki Superbike while Malachi gave our new Suzuki Superstocker an airing. Despite the long winter lay-off both men got very close to lap record pace and the whole team is now buzzing with anticipation and we can't wait for the racing to begin."



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draperRACING OULTON PARK

Both Aaron Clarke and Tommy Philp recorded 14th place in their respective races at Oulton Park to bring some valuable points home to draperRACING at the weekend.

Tommy Philp from East Kirkby began his campaign in the British Supersport championship from a sixth row grid position in sixteenth place for the start of his first race on Sunday. He lost a couple of places in the early laps but fought back to 15th mid race and began to reel in Jamie Perrin some way ahead. He caught and passed him on the penultimate lap and crossed the finish line in 14th place to pick up two championship points.

Philp was awarded a seventh row start to the 16 lap feature race on Monday but his progress was halted when the safety car was brought out for a crash on the first lap. By the time the car left the track they were on lap four and Tommy was able to begin his move forward. He was up to 19th and looking to make a move on the rider ahead when the red flag brought the race to an early end. But one of the front running riders crashed just a fraction of a second before the red flag which gave Philp a finishing position of 19th.

No points this time but the two gained in the sprint race see Philp move to 19th position in the rider standings on five points.

Meanwhile Aaron Clarke was having the best weekend of his career; in the second qualifying session of the Superstock 600 championship round he was running in second place for a while but eventually ended the session in fifth place. When the times were added to the first qualifying times Aaron was placed sixth and was to start his race on Monday from the second row.

The Lincolnshire rider from Kirton near Boston was over the moon with his result and said: "I saw the positions on my board every lap and thought it must be wrong, I didn't think I was as fast as that, it's amazing."

But by the time the riders took up their grid positions the track was fully wet from yet another heavy rain shower. The race was delayed for over half an hour as rivers of rain were running across the track. The rain stopped and the riders did a two lap warm up to see what conditions were like and then came under orders.. The race was cut from 14 to nine laps and Aaron was a little cautious in the tricky conditions taking it steady on the first lap and losing ground to 13th place. By lap three he was in 14th and one lap later down to 15th. But as the race progressed he gained in confidence and moved back up to 14th on lap six of the shortened race. He held station to the chequered flag to pick up two championship points, his first ever points in the series.

Aaron commented: "I have only been racing for four years and six months of that I was out injured. I am really happy today to have scored my first points in the series, the first of many I hope! Thanks to my team for all their hard work over this difficult weekend. Also many thanks to Paul Draper of DraperVENT title sponsor of draperRACING."

Aaron is now 18th in the rider standings with the two points gained at Oulton Park and will be anxious to add to this at Brands Hatch in round three on May 22.



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EHA RACING - RACE REPORT - ROUND TWO - OULTON PARK

Round two of the British Championship saw us at Oulton Park with a mainly wet weekend. There was the odd occasion when the sun came out and the track dried but it only made tyre decisions tricky as the rain was never far away.

Ben in the Superstock class onboard the Aprilia managed to have one of the few all dry sessions for Qualifying 1 and finished 7th which was the position he held as the Qualifying 2 session was wet and no one improved their time. The race was inbetween conditions in which Ben decided on a dry rear tyre and a wet front, unfortunately this turned out to the wrong decision as a dry line formed round the track and the front runners were on an all dry set-up. Ben ended up finishing the race in 8th position and although he is disappointed we have to look at the positives and remember the bike is still very new to him and we are still trying to get the right set-up and with the weather being very mixed and changeable it is proving difficult.

We only had Ross and David racing in the Supersport class this weekend as our satellite rider Sam Wilford discovered he had a broken scaphoid last week, he has already had an operation and is hoping to be out racing at the next round in Brands Hatch if his recovery goes to plan.

Ross was very strong all weekend, he got a good set-up early on and managed to qualify 6th and finish 6th in the sprint race on Sunday. For the feature race on Monday he got a good start and had got himself as far up as 3rd, he was in 5th still with the leading pack and a very strong possibility of a podium finish, when a high side unfortunately put an end to his race, thankfully Ross was not injured and is raring to get back out at the next round.

David struggled to get at one with the bike which saw him qualify in 14th for the sprint race and finish in 13th with a disappointing time that put him down in 17th for the start of the feature race. Although he really made things hard for himself having to start so far back he managed to come through the field really well to finish an impressive 6th.

Ben Wilson - “I was disappointed with my race result today, unfortunately I made the wrong tyre choice and it cost me some positions. I really enjoy riding the Aprilia and every time I go out on it I am feeling more comfortable. Thanks to the team for their hard work we are getting there and I feel confident we will be at the front very soon! ”

Ross Twyman - “I started off strong in both free practices and had a good set-up for qualifying, giving a great starting position of 6th for the sprint race. In a mixed condition sprint race I was happy to finish in 6th and also post the 6th quickest time giving me the same starting position for the feature race. In todays race I got a good start and found myself in 3rd for a few laps but had dropped back to 5th still hanging with the leading pack but unfortunately crashed out on lap 7, I think I had the pace to battle for a podium. Just want to say sorry to the team and also a massive thank you to everyone in EHA Racing for their hard work throughout and we will come back stronger at Brands Hatch in a few weeks. Also a massive thanks to my personal sponsor Brinkman Engineering.”

David Allingham - “I really struggled at the start of the weekend, I just couldn't get a good feel with the bike, I qualified in 14th for the sprint race and was really disappointed to come away with a 13th in the race and a slower lap time leaving me in 17th position for the main race on Monday. Thankfully I turned things round and made good progress through the field giving me a 6th place finish. Hopefully next round I will get things working better for me early on. Big thanks to my team and all my sponsors.”



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Record-breaking hat-trick for Farquhar at Tandragee

Ryan Farquhar became the most successful rider in the history of the Tandragee 100 road races at the weekend when his hat-trick of wins moved him onto a career total of 20, overhauling Joey Dunlop’s long standing total of 18.

Riding the IEG BMW, Ryan’s first win came in the Open race although it wasn’t without controversy. The first attempt at running the race was ended early as a number of jump starts took place and when it was restarted, Dan Kneen and Derek Sheils, were adjudged to have done the same again. It wasn’t until after the race that a protest was made and although Ryan crossed the line in third place behind the aforementioned riders, they were later docked a minute in time relegating them to tenth and 11th respectively. That all meant the officials awarded Ryan the win.

There were no such problems in Ryan’s next race, the Supertwin race, but this time he was locked in battle once more with Malachi Mitchell-Thomas. Riding the SGS International/KMR Kawasaki, Ryan sat behind his younger rival until he made a mistake and so took over at the head of the field earlier than he had planned. Mitchell-Thomas attempted a final lap manoeuvre but Ryan had it covered and got the verdict over the line by exactly a second setting a new lap record on the final lap at 103.694mph.

Next up was the the Lightweight race, and he enjoyed a terrific race long battle with Czech rider Michal Dokoupil. The duo were never more than a few tenths apart and whilst Dokoupil took the win in the 400cc class, Ryan did likewise in the Moto 450 category, also setting a new lap record of 96.857mph.

That just left the Grand Final but with a new set of leathers for the meeting, Ryan had been experiencing arm pump throughout the day and had to ease his pace slightly. He used the race as more practice on the Superstock-spec BMW and brought the bike home for a solid sixth place.

Ryan Farquhar: “It’s been a very good weekend for me and although there was a bit of controversy over the first big bike race, it was one of those where I didn’t feel it was fair for anyone that an advantage had been gained. A protest was made and whilst I didn’t win the race, having crossed the line in third, I was awarded the victory – not necessarily the way you want to get a win but rules are rules. It’s unfortunate but these things happen occasionally.”

“I had a good battle with Malachi in the Supertwin race and when he was in the lead, I decided to sit behind him and make my move on the last lap. His mistake changed that and he tried to do to me what I was planning to do to him but couldn’t get the bike stopped. I’d been experiencing arm pump during the day though due to the new leathers, something I haven’t experienced before, so I just concentrated on getting a finish in the Grand Final. I was really pleased with my lap times and although we’re still fine tuning the BMW, it’s beginning to feel like my bike now. I’m still getting used to the Metzeler tyres so we’re continually making little tweaks here and there and I’m really impressed with the whole package.”



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Successful start to 2016 season for Devitt RC Express Racing

The Devitt RC Express Racing team had a successful start to their 2016 season this weekend with Ivan Lintin and Alan Bonner both recording excellent results at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough despite challenging conditions.

The highlight over the course of the two days was Lintin’s victory in Saturday’s Super Lightweight race whilst he backed this up with podiums in Sunday’s Senior and 600cc races. Bonner, meanwhile, was making just his second appearance at Oliver’s Mount and rode excellently to take sixth and seventh place finishes in the two Senior races.

Conditions at the North Yorkshire venue were at their worst on Saturday with persistent rain and cold temperatures resulting in a distinct lack of grip around the 2.43-mile circuit and Ivan opened the Bristol-based team’s account for the weekend with a steady fourth in the opening Supersport 600cc race. He then recorded a dominant win in the Super Lightweight race, taking victory by over eight seconds on the new-for-2016 ER6 650cc Kawasaki.

The final race of the day for the team was the Senior which again saw Ivan take the chequered flag in fourth. Alan had his only outing of the day and put in a measured ride to bring the Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock home in a fine seventh place.

Sunday saw a lot better weather and although the track remained damp in places conditions were a lot more agreeable for all concerned. The second Senior race got proceedings underway and Ivan was in contention for victory all the way as no less than two seconds covered the leading group of four. He moved up to second at half race distance for another podium finish with Alan’s lap times being similar to the leading riders as he rode superbly to come through the field for sixth.

Ivan then took another second place in the Supersport race which was followed by the feature Bob Smith Spring Cup Open race. However, the race was only two laps old when Lee Johnston crashed at the Memorial which brought the red flag out. It was restarted only to be stopped with less than half a lap completed after another crash, this time involving Billy Redmayne and Dave Hewson and with medical services having left the circuit, the remainder of the meeting had to be cancelled.

Ivan Lintin: “It’s been a successful weekend and I’ve got to be happy with how the two days have gone. The Supertwin is a brand new machine for this season and it’s certainly ticking all the boxes whilst I’m confident of giving a good account of myself on the 600 especially when we have a faster engine fitted for the North West 200 and TT. It wasn’t ideal weather to have my first run out on the 2016 Kawasaki stocker but it feels like an absolute weapon and I’m just looking forward to some dry track time on it. We plan to get some track days done over the next couple of weeks so when we arrive at the North West we can hit the ground running.”

Alan Bonner: “I only got a handful of laps in on my debut last year so the track’s really new to me and the conditions were a shame for everyone this weekend. With the weather on Saturday being so poor, I qualified down the field which made it hard coming through the pack but we made progress in many areas this weekend and I feel really comfortable on the Superstock bike. It was very slippery out there so you couldn’t be aggressive but to take sixth and seventh is very pleasing given where I started. It was good to get back into the flow of racing and I’m really looking forward to the North West 200 now.”

Ben Constable, Team Co-owner: “It’s been an impressive weekend all round for the team despite the challenging conditions. It was Alan’s first proper outing at the circuit and his first competitive outing with the team and with horrendous conditions in qualifying, it was tough going. But that makes his race results even more impressive as coming through the pack and overtaking at Scarborough isn’t easy. He got better and better with each outing and in Sunday’s race his lap times weren’t that far away from the leaders so we’re very happy.”

“Ivan put in his now customary Oliver’s Mount performances with plenty of podiums and it was great to get a win on the Supertwin. It was the first time the bike had turned a wheel and he’s already really happy with the bike so that bodes well. He was also out on the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock for the first time and although conditions made it difficult, he learnt a lot with the bike and is confident that with some good, dry track time, he’ll be well to the fore come the Internationals.”



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