Round 6 of the F250 championship brings us back to Mallory for the second of our two visits this season. Following the Saharan conditions at Snetterton two weeks ago all competitors will be hoping for cooler weather.
With the warmer weather the pace is certainly hotting up. The last two meetings at Donington and Snetterton saw F250 lap records being broken and if the sun continues to shine we can expect to see the existing record of 58.12”, set by Alan Armour last year, broken.
Last years champion, current series leader and lone Suzuki rider - Mr Cool - Alan Armour #4 (RGV250) – continues to dominate. Having fitted a larger radiator prior to Snetterton, Alan made the most of a cool engine to comfortably win all four races at the Norfolk circuit. He will be looking to continue his domination of the class here at Mallory - though the competition may be a bit stiffer.
Alan’s main rival and a former champion is veteran Mark Jordan #96 (KR-1S). Mark will be hoping for cooler weather after the high temperatures took their toll at Snetterton. Mark reported his engine running at 110°C when it normally operates at 70° C and believes that the heat was probably responsible for the spark plug and ignition coil failures, as well as the loss of power in the later stages of the races. Needless to say he has been busy sorting out a more effective cooling system!
The Dark Horse and a man Alan will need to keep an eye on is young Ross Searle #100 (RS250). At our first Mallory meeting earlier this year, Ross, who is in his first full road race season, won both races.
At Snetterton Steve Saint’s #44 (RS250) mechanical problems continued as his engine failed him yet again and he didn’t ride at the meeting. Hopefully Steve will have put those woes behind him and will be able to make the best of his local track knowledge to give Alan a run for his money.
Pushing both Ross and Steve hard for the position of top Aprilia rider will be Iain McDonald #189 making the long trek down from Scotland.
Fresh from an excellent ride at Snetterton and newly qualified for Division 1, Dan Bateman (KR-1S) will be looking to cause an upset
The battle for Division II of the F250 series looks to be between John Hawkes #47 (KR-1S) and Andy Slinn #22 (RS250). Andy will be looking to close the points gap to John after missing Sunday’s races at Snetterton following an engine seizure. John also had problems at Snetterton but took advantage of the loan of a spare Team Sparrow engine to rack up the points.
Kevin Tiernan #78 (KR-1S) and Lee White #250 (KR-1S) will be back to continue battling where they left off from Snetterton and last but not least yet another Kawasaki KR-1S mounted rider, Ben Phillips #125. Last time at Mallory, Ben showed good speed in what was his first road race meeting – lets see how he goes this time.
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