WMRC Round Three of the 2002 BC Road Race Series
by Lorne Vogt
Click here to go to round three photo pages
Round three of the BC Road Race Series at Mission Raceway began under cloudy skies, much the same as the day before. During the second practice session, however, ten minutes of drizzle wet down the track and officials halted the practice sessions in order to let the track dry. The delay impacted the morning's activities and qualifying races were shortened to three laps. The clouds stuck around for the rest of the day, but the rain never returned. Racing and spectating were more comfortable overall than round two with the cooler conditions, but the mosquitoes from the nearby swamp remained just as fierce.
ROUND 3 QUALIFYING
- The qualifying race for Lightweight Superbike turned out to be one of the more exciting events of the day, with #50 John Parker getting off the line first, only to be passed in turn one by #245 Jamie Emery. #61 Laurence Owen took the lead briefly in the second lap on turn two, but Parker took the lead back in turn four. Emery eventually took back the lead and won the race ahead of Parker and Owen.
- #5 Scott Borthwick got up to second place in Open Supersport but crashed out of the second lap. #2 Steve Dick got to turn one first and to the finish line first. #3 Mark Kruger initially ran in second place but drifted back to third by race's end, behind #74 Mike Sullivan in second place.
- #67 Jeremy Leduc led from the second lap and won the Novice A qualifying race, and #8 Leon Drzewiecki also pulled a big lead by lap two and earned pole position for Novice B.
- #286 Ken Botham dominated the Middleweight Superbike qualifier and powered away for the win.
- #77 Mick Hart grabbed a brilliant holeshot (again) and won his qualifier, but was almost taken out when another Vintage competitor silenced the critics of drum brakes with a front-wheel lock-up demonstration on the approach to turn one in the second lap... such pretty sparks! Vintage magnesium, perhaps?
- #5 Scott Borthwick got to turn one first in the 600 Supersport qualifier, but #2 Steve Dick got to the front before turn three. The ugliest crash of the weekend occurred between turns five and six when one competitor highsided, only to be struck by the following bike. The restart from the red flag was won by (who else?) #2 Steve Dick.
- #286 Ken Botham won the 650 Supersport Twins qualifier, and #99 Andy Bishop took pole for Open Twins.
- To finish the morning, Steve Dick took the lead in Open Superbike qualifying, built a huge lead by the second lap, and won the qualifier.
ROUND 3 LUNCH BREAK
Lunch break provided entertaining Super Motard demonstrations, although the stunt riders that showed their stuff during round two took the day off.
ROUND 3 RACES
The final events for round three started a bit late, but the exciting racing was worth the wait.
John Parker didn't start the Lightweight Superbike final. #245 Jamie Emery on his Harris/DR750 took the early lead. Laurence Owen bided his time and chose his place to pass on his Honda 125, stretched out his lead, and won the race. #128 Graham Buck on another Honda 125 passed #777 Glen Nixon's Yamaha WR400F on the penultimate lap to take third.
A late-arriving #74 Mike Sullivan on the warm-up lap was followed by confusion on the start grid of the Open Supersport race. #2 Steve Dick was first into turn one, later was first into the backmarkers, and then first to the checkers. Sullivan finished second, with #3 Mark Kruger in third. Note that the podium consisted of riders on three different kinds of 600s.
The Novice Race saw #67 Jeremy Leduc run away for the win. Not many crashers again for round three. #518 Ross Bryant finished in solid second place on a GSX-R750 and #7 Oliver Spilborough finished third. The novices are really learning quickly by not crashing much and using the same kind of bike as Steve Dick to take first, third, and fifth in this class.
#286 Ken Botham circulated for a few laps of Middleweight Supersport before passing for the lead. At the halfway mark, the procession was finalized, with Botham taking the win with #611 Daryl Wichern in second and #38 in third. This class is heavily dominated by SV650s.
The Vintage guys really outfoxed the other classes. In round one, only five guys showed up, so 60% of them got on the podium. Round three was run in conjunction with the vintage series, so there were really three vintage races in one, which means that nine of fifteen riders (or 60%) got on the podium. 60% is pretty good odds for a finish...
#77 Mick Hart had a big lead on everybody after one lap, which meant that he won the Unlimited Vintage class, ahead of #131 Jeff Pearce in second, and #424 John Martin in third on his 750 Norton. #58 Paul Brodie won the 500cc Vintage class on a 350 Aermacchi, with #32 Swiss in second on a BSA, and #18 Conrad Krytenburg third on a CB450. Lightweight Vintage was swept by old Hondas, with #87 Rick Richter holding bragging honours on a 175, ahead of #455 Rick Levert on another 175, while third place went to #219 Tim Fowler on a CB160.
600 Supersport had #3 Mark Kruger winning the scrap to the first corner, but #2 Steve Dick took command after a lap or so. 600 SS was another Steve show, and Kruger gave up second place to #74 Mike Sullivan and had to settle for third.
In the Twins races, #99 Andy Bishop took a commanding lead on the RC51, but Ken Botham beat him to the flag. Botham was disqualified anyways. #611 Daryl Wichern won the 650 Twins class, with #887 Misti Hurst in second and #841 David Cook in third. #99 Andy Bishop won the Open Twins class, ahead of #814 Rande Hillard-Martin.
The last race of the season was a strange one. It beagn after a long delay to deal with oil on the track, especially in turn one. A two lap warm-up with a ten lap main saw #80 Toby Peter get to the first corner first on a GSX-R1000. Nonetheless, #2 Steve Dick was leading by the end of lap one, ahead of #3 Mark Kruger and Toby Peter. #74 Mike Sullivan had a difficult time trying to get past Toby's 1000. A red flag stopped the race after an incident in the back section. Apparently, there was a huge crash in turn six, and, since the crash seemed very serious, the riders elected to not restart. The results were set back to the end of the last lap completed, and #2 Steve Dick took the win, with #3 Mark Kruger in second, and #80 Toby Peter in third.
Steve Dick won all six races that he entered for the weekend. By doing so, he won the reinstated Tom Walther Memorial Trophy for his achievement of becoming class champion of Open Superbike. Steve was also the first winner of this award... fifteen years ago in 1987! You don't get to be 47 years old for nothing, you know...
Finally, special congratulations go out to Ken Botham and his wife, who celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary during the doubleheader weekend. Note that Mrs. Botham has been Ken's only pit crew for all that time!
Big thanks go to everyone who made the doubleheader weekend such a success! Bernie Ryan gets a special mention for somehow managing to get everyone lined up on the grid by leaping about with arcane gesticulations, and Andii Adamick of MotoEvents kept everything running smooth. Andii even promised that MotoEvents is working to make 2003 bigger and better... Hip hip hooray!
Click here to read the report on round two
Click here to go to the round three photo pages
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