Jon Wright hits top gear with six of the best
Six wins out of six races and a lap record to boot – Shrewsbury ace Jon Wright returned from one his favourite tracks a very happy racer having finally sorted out his bike problems.
Wright had been struggling during the last few rounds in both the NG Road Racing and Wirral 100 series, which were also hampered by work commitments.
The hours spent in the garage, however, proved to be fruitful as he returned from Anglesey in Wales with a perfect winning record, which moved him into second place in two NG class championships.
“The last few race meetings have been difficult,” said Wright. “We have missed test days due to work commitments and have been plagued with bike troubles, loosing many points to rivals, but somehow we’re still hanging in there.
“With only one Wirral 100 round remaining we are still leading two class championships by small margins, so the titles will go to the wire at the Anglesey Grand in October.
“I’m also contesting two NG racing class championships, with 100 points still up for grabs.
“Currently lying second in both championships, the remaining meetings are at Castle Combe and Oulton Park.
“Historically, I’ve gone well at both venues and it’s quite simple, really – we just need to win every race.
“Clearly that’s not easy so whilst I’m confident and optimistic we have to be realistic and take each race at as it comes.
“Six races at Angelsey, this time in the N G series, in tricky conditions, didn’t stop my return to form.
“Many hours working in the garage fixing unreliable bikes was finally rewarded with six wins and a new lap record.
“A big thanks goes to family and friends who patiently support me.”
The East Midlands Racing Association (EMRA) was also back in at Mallory Park and it saw the return of former championship winner William Shaw.
Shaw has hardly raced at all this year, as he has been busy with wedding plans, but he returned to action with his Honda CB500 and got back to winning ways very quickly.
The EMRA 500 races proved to be very competitive, with constantly-changing weather conditions causing some havoc.
Shaw, from Telford, was straight on the pace, qualifying fourth fastest for the first race, which saw championship leader Martin Radford take the lead followed by Robert Carver.
Shaw settled into fourth and held on until the last two laps found him slowing and dropping back to sixth.
As Radford and Carver fell off at Edwina’s on the final lap, Shaw was promoted back to fourth at the flag.
The second race began with Paul Sawyer ahead of Shaw for the first three laps but on the fourth the Telford rider took a very narrow lead and held off his rival for the remaining three laps, winning by just 0.017 seconds.
Shaw plans to return for the two-day EMRA finals along with his twin brother and fellow former EMRA champion, Matt.
Louis Dawson, from Chelmarsh, near Bridgnorth, took another step towards the Buildbase Mallory Trophy with a third place behind British Superbike racer Bradley Ray and former Buildbase champion Lee Wilson in the first race.
Dawson, returning to action in 2019 following a one-year hiatus, went on to win the second after a race-long battle with Wilson. It means he will go into the final races next month with a 28-point lead.
Dawson is also very much in contention for the Tamworth Yamaha Allcomers championship.
Having started the day five points down on Ryan Oliver, he ended the penultimate meeting in the same position after finishing second behind Oliver in the first race before beating him in race two, while Ashley King finished third in both.
Telford’s Aiden Wells was running second in the Powerslide/Properly Protected rookies championship but his chances of the title have completely gone now after breaking his collarbone in the first race.
Championship leader Luke Burnett added another 50 points to his score with two more wins. Telford’s other rookie racer Shane Payne took sixth and seventh places.
The club racing championships may be drawing to a close but there is still plenty to race for.
The NG Road Racing series heads to Castle Combe, August 31 and September 1, followed by Oulton Park, September 27-28; EMRA will be wrapped up at Mallory Park, September 21-22; and the Wirral 100 ends at Angelsey, October 12-13.
