Ellis/Clement back at Knockhill to challenge Blackstock and Rosney
The Jock Taylor Memorial meeting over the weekend of 2/3 September is a well-supported stand-alone event which will see the “Best of British” go head-to-head for points in the penultimate round of the British Sidecar Championship. It is a true festival of sidecars spanning all classes and ages, including a guest appearance by Steve Webster MBE on his World Championship winning two-stroke outfit. This meeting is supported by the well-known and respected Express Tyre Services organisation, who have a long-standing sidecar racing tradition, and already actively support several of the teams competing at Knockhill.
Since double victory at Thruxton which took them to within fourteen points of series leaders Lewis Blackstock and Paddy Rosney, the Ellis/Clement dynamic duo has been in action in Assen, scoring another double win to go top of the world table in defence of their title.
Blackstock and Rosney (DHR/Express Tyre Services Yamaha) won both races at Knockhill last year in the BSB round, so clearly are at home on the tight track. Given they know Ellis is homing in on them, they will be pulling out all the stops to repeat that performance.
George Holden and Oscar Lawrence have hit a new level and now sit third in the title chase after two strong runner-up spots performances at Thruxton. This must go down as their best result yet on the BSB stage and they now trail Ellis by just twenty-six points.
By virtue of a non-attendance at the previous round, the Beverley based Christie brothers are now cast adrift in fourth with serious work to do if they are to make amends.
Local hero Steve Kershaw with Ryan Charlwood alongside will also be a thorn in the side of Ellis/Clement, having given them a run for their money at every clash home and abroad so far this season.
Phil Bell has a commanding lead in the Cup battle, twenty-seven points clear of Paul/Tom Kirby, and a further nine points advantage over third-placed Brian Gray/Clement Conil.
In the F2’s, Knockhill should attract a decent number of teams eager to challenge joint leaders Founds/Walmsley and Atkinson/Middleton. The showing of short outfits in this series has been disappointing, but with the added kudos of the Jock Taylor title, plus the nature of the Knockhill circuit, we would hope to see more turn out for this round.
A full programme of over sixty sidecar outfits heralds the largest three-wheeled turnout in Scottish history, so it is a “must see event” for all sidecar fans.
We will issue a full report from the event, so stay abreast of the action here on www.britishsidecarchampionship.co.uk.
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