Michelin Power Cup – Pembrey August 10 and 11

Greg Allsop (Yamaha 1000) won all three Michelin Power Cup 1000 races and cut the lead of series leader, Tony Keilty (Kawasaki 1000), to 68 points.

Allsop was not fastest big bike in qualifying, though. That was

Dominic De-Leon (Kawasaki 1000),  who was second quickest overall, less than seven tenths of a second behind pole-setter Richard Charlton on his Yamaha 600.

Qualifying was close. Less than a second covered the fastest five.

Charlton was quickest, ahead of De-Leon. William White (Triumph 675) was third fastest, one hundredth of a second ahead of Allsop, with Wayne Humble (Yamaha 600) next best.  

Once again it was the 600s who dominated proceedings.

Charlton led Saturday’s 15-lap Superpole from start-to finish.

Humble could not match the pace of the race leader and gradually drifted back to finish second, almost ten seconds back.

Allsop was third overall and first big bike, less than two seconds adrift.

Steve Bridle (Suzuki 600) made a good start and held second place on the opening lap.

Humble went by him a lap later and Allsop moved up to third four laps from home.

Bridle hung onto fourth place, holding off Keilty by just one tenth of a second at the line.

Rookie Mark Walmsley (Yamaha 600) had a great ride to take sixth position.

De-Leon was seventh, the third 1000cc class man.

The unlucky White did not race because his machine failed to start in the paddock.

Race two, on Sunday, was stopped and restarted after an incident. Charlton won the shortened, six-lap race two on Sunday, but only after Humble’s brake lever fell off.

Humble had led over the line for the first five laps, but Charlton was challenging strongly throughout.

Charlton won in the end by nearly two seconds.

William White was third home, one and half seconds further back. He had had to start at the back of the grid, because of the problems in Superpole and despite a broken bone in his gear change foot; a legacy of a spill in the previous round had climbed to second before the red flags came out.

Bridle, continuing his good weekend was fourth, just under four seconds down.

Rookie Richard Telford (Kawasaki 600) was an impressive fifth, with Allsop the first big bike home in sixth spot.

Another Rookie, Jordan Greenshields (Yamaha 600) was seventh, with Keilty and De-Leon eighth and ninth, second and third in the big bike class.

Charlton led the third race, taking the lead from Humble on lap nine, till he slid off two laps from home.

Humble went on to win almost eight seconds from Bridle, who had White breathing down his neck.

Allsop wrapped up his big-bike hat trick in fourth place, less than two fifths of a second behind Bridle and White.

De-Leon was next home, taking second in the 1000 class by two fifths of a second from Keilty.

There was a blanket finish for seventh, eighth and ninth places, with Greenshields heading home Damian Tierney (Yamaha 1000) and Kevin Allen (Honda 1000), with three fifths of a second covering the trio.

The hat trick for Allsop has resurrected his slender hopes of winning the 1000cc title.

Keilty has 338 points, Allsop 270, De-Leon up to third on 189 one more than Allen.

Andrew Robert was absent, but still tops the 1000cc Rookies well clear of the opposition.

Humble moved to the top of the Michelin Power Cup 600 championship after his good weekend.

He has 313 points eight ahead of White and ten clear of Charlton.

Bridle is up to fourth after a good meeting at what is his local track. It is only 165 miles from his home in Exeter!

Telford took over at the top of the 600 Rookies standings, after rival Greenshields failed to finish in his first race.

Telford has 328 points, five more than Greenshields.