ACU Supermono Series – Round 2: Mallory Park 14th May 2006

Keen to improve on Round One’s placing Team Tigcraft arrived at Mallory with a job to deliver. Exiting the pit lane side by side riders Glen English and Aria Lane used untimed practice to their own advantage; Aria bedded in the freshly rebuilt motor, and Glen laid rubber around the track from the first bend. Standing behind the tyre wall at Gerrards it was obvious the mid-week practice had not been wasted as Glen maintained a pace few could touch.

Regardless of results untimed practice counts for nothing; timed practice sorts the pack to their ability. Pushing hard for a quick lap time Glen clipped the curb exiting the esses, denting the front rim, but despite this setback secured a front row place on the grid with second fastest time, a mere 0.39 seconds behind pole. Aria Lane was a fraction off the pace, but 8th fastest secured a second row place for the main race.

After a quick wheel change to replace the dented rim, suspension adjustments to the front and rear of Glens bike and final race preparations, chief engineer Chris Cross and the team enjoyed a relaxed lunch, confident that their riders were in strong positions for the race.

With a green light the grid got away clean, with a frantic charge to the first corner. Matching each other wheel-for-wheel the leading riders were pushing hard and the first casualty of the race crashed out at the chicane, slamming into the rear of Glen’s Tigcraft. Glen held on, but the crash split the field and Aria Lane was forced onto the grass to avoid collision. This unplanned detour cost precious seconds while the leading riders English, Hutchinson and George slipped away, setting the pace for the rest of the race.

Swapping the lead on an almost lap-by-lap basis the racing was tight, with neither rider able to pull away and make a break. The battle for no 1 spot carried on until lap 10 when another crash on the far side of the circuit brought out the red flags and the race halted. At this stage it was unclear as to who was leading when the race was stopped, and the riders lined up for a restart.

The planned restart never happened. A delay in making the track safe cooled the slicks and a light shower dampened the track to a point beyond what many riders considered safe to race. A show of hands amongst the riders decided the fate of the race with the majority voting not to continue, and the race was abandoned with just 10 of the 18 laps completed.

Unsure of the placing Team Tigcraft awaited the timekeeper’s judgement, but Glen remained confident he was leading last years champion George and the round 1 winner at Brands on the last lap. This confidence was not misplaced; Glen took the number one spot, and Aria having re-joined the track in 12th place after the incident at Edwina's showed real form to finished just off the podium in 4th position.

Both team boss Dave Pearce and sponsor www.designdatamanager.com were delighted with the results, with Dave promising to fax the timekeeper’s sheet to the other team sponsor California-based bike owner Guy Tolomeo.

Prizes were presented in the Tigcraft marquee with Tigcraft Works rider Glen English first in the water-cooled class and Ivan Porter first in the Air-cooled class on the Tigcraft/Rotax machine rounding off an excellent weekend. But can Team Tigcraft maintain the current success? The next round of the ACU Super Mono series is the 29th of July at Cadwell Park, and expectations are high.

words and photography by www.simonbrownimages.com