Furber secures podium on return to Oliver's Mount

The return of action at England's only road racing circuit also proved fruitful for newcomer Alun Brooks, who secured two top six finishes on his debut in Scarborough.

Tens of thousands of race fans made the pilgrimage for the Gold Cup following a year-long hiatus after organisers decided to add extra safety measures, after competitors crashed through fencing at an event in September 2017, injuring 12 fans.

The accidents showed the dangerous nature of the course but nevertheless the draw of the tight, 2.4-mile circuit enticed Shropshire's finest road racers to compete once more late last month.

Furber and the rest of the field had to deal with tricky conditions during qualifying but it actually helped the 'Bishop's Castle Bullet' as it made the Classic Superbike race a more level playing field.

"It dried up in the afternoon but the fact the track was quite damp helped me because I was on a Suzuki GSXR750cc machine against some 1000cc bikes," he said.

After qualifying third on the grid, he eventually finished fifth as the track continued to dry but the bike, provided by former Manx GP rider Gary Gittins, also from Bishop's Castle, went well and Furber was happy to get a top five the first time he had ridden the Suzuki.

"I also took my 600cc too but because they no longer run the main superbike races it meant the grid was packed, with about 75 riders being split into three groups.

"I qualified for the A-race and finished 12th, which was not too bad against some of the best riders in the business.

"Both races on the Saturday were pretty dry and it was great there were so many people watching and we were able to put on a decent show.

"Sunday was a bit different to say the least. We were supposed to go for about 9am but nothing happened until 12.30pm when the rain finally started to ease off a bit.

"The organisers did really well and managed to get most of the races in and again it helped me about in the classic race."

Starting on the second row for the second Classic Superbike race, by the third corner Furber was in first place place.

He held the position until the final lap when suddenly his visor started steaming up.

"I couldn't see a thing and was opening and closing the visor as I was going round, which gave another rider the chance to catch me up and eventually beat me," he said.

"I was happy to get second but it could easily have been a win, especially as I had a four second gap at one stage.

"It was my fourth time at the track and it was great to back there after 12 months.

"The track was in a good condition and they had made some safety improvements – thankfully I didn't notice any of them because that only happens when you crash!

"I then qualified for the main Gold Cup but after the first lap I couldn't see where I was going again so I just pulled in.

"Over the jumps on the fastest section of the track you can be topping 140mph so when you can't see where the corner starts it makes sense not to carry on."

Welshpool's Brooks began his race weekend with a track walk, getting to grips with the layout, before heading out for his first speed-controlled lap in wet conditions.

"I go well in those under conditions, so I was happy with that, but I realised it was going to take some time to hit the correct lines around the track," he said.

Brooks then went out on a practice lap for the supersport and supertwin classes, having been provided with a Kawasaki ER650 by Nige Humphreys of Heattech Ltd, of the Isle Of Man.

"Having never ridden a supertwin before, I felt I got settled into it pretty quick," said Brooks.

"During qualifying for the supersport race, it was still a damp track but I managed to qualify in 12th on the grid in the B-race, as well as ninth in the supertwin class."

Following a great start in the supersport class, Brooks was soon circulating with the front five and rose as high as third by the end of the first lap.

But heading into lap three, he was out-braked by another rider on the first corner and, heading into Esses, soon realised he was going in "a bit hot".

"With the outside of the track still damp I had to stand the bike up and go off circuit," he said.

"I knew I wasn't going to stop before the barriers so I had to lay the bike down and jump off. Luckily neither myself nor the bike had taken any big impacts."

There was no time to reflect as Brooks was soon out for the opening supertwin race and after losing six positions he managed to finish 11th.

Starting from 16th for the Sunday's second supersport race, he managed to climb up to fifth at the chequered flag while matching the lap times of the race winner.

He then started 12th for the second supertwin race but had already reeled in two riders by the first corner.

After settling into the race, Brooks continued to pick off riders every lap, eventually finishing sixth.