Camier equals record wins
Added on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Camier equals record wins
Race one winner and local hero, Leon Camier stormed to his second win of the weekend and thirteenth this season, in the BSB races from Brands Hatch, equalling Niall Mackenzie’s 1997 record.
Having started from Pole position, as in the opening race, Camier made a hasty getaway, ahead of second place starter Broc Parkes. Parkes tried in vein to emulate his race one performance at the beginning, however his younger rival had other ideas, as he took the outside line, and the lead, into Paddock Hill Bend.
Behind the lead battle, Tommy Hill, powered by his Worx Crescent Suzuki was another strong starter, as was Steve Brogan.
The opening series of laps allowed Camier and Parkes to re-enter their own private battle from the previous race; touring just o.3 seconds apart they pulled clear of the pursuing pack, with Parkes really piling on the pressure to Camier’s Airwaves Yamaha.
Just five laps into the twenty lap distance, the leader’s pace was put on hold, as the Safety Car was deployed; the reason – David Johnson had a big accident at the Druids Hairpin. Despite the severity of the incident, Johnson appeared to be OK, and the race was restarted four laps later.
At the restart, third placed man Stuart Easton tried his best to make an impression on the leaders, putting pressure on both of them. However, despite Parkes’ and Easton’s best attempts, the youngster was able to extend his lead for the remainder of the race, from where he never looked back.
With the front of the field now set in a rhythm all attentions were transferred to the battles behind. Karl Harris soon found himself under pressure by a charging Hill, who was threatening to steal his fourth place away from him; meanwhile, Brogan was being hassled by the second Airwaves Yamaha of James Ellison, who was determined to make ground on his sixth place start. Inches behind, Karl Muggeridge was in an ideal spot to watch these battles unfold, and pick up the pieces at the opportune moment.
That opportune moment finally arrived on lap fourteen, as Brogan, still defending from Ellison, ran wide at Druids, allowing both him and Muggeridge through for position.
As in yesterday’s opening race of the Championship, the heat played a huge part in today’s race. After twenty difficult laps the chequered flag was waved, welcoming 23 year-old Camier to his thirteenth win of the season. In a similar spectacle to Saturday, Parkes followed home in second with Easton three seconds adrift in third.
Hill’s blinding start was just what he needed to make his race, as he crossed the line fourth, while Ellison welcomed fifth, followed by Harris and Muggeridge. After a difficult Saturday at the Kent-based circuit, Sheridan Morais pushed hard to take tenth at the flag. Regardless of a strong early showing, Chris Walker suffered problems on the penultimate lap of the race, forcing him into retirement.
Commenting on his amazing thirteenth win of the season, Camier said: “I’m absolutely made up with that. We’ve still got a hard job to do, still got the race this afternoon, which is going to be really hard again, both physically and mentally, in this heat it’s really, really hard to keep up the momentum. I’m really happy with that, and to equal Niall Mackenzie’s record is pretty amazing.”
Gary Mason took another win in the Mirror.co.uk Cup to extend his lead at the top of the Championship standings.
�
