Jamie Coward was the man of the meeting at the Pre-TT Classic, clocking up three wins as well as new outright lap and race records for the event.
But it certainly wasn’t all plain sailing for the Hebden Bridge man.
A luckless Alan Oversby pushed Coward hard in both the 350cc and 500cc races before being forced to retire, while Coward could also argue that he was on for even more possible successes in two other races when he was beset by mechanical issues.
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Enjoying some of the best conditions of the TT festival, the seven solo races in the Blackfords Financial Services-sponsored meeting all took place on the Bank Holiday Monday.
Jeff Ward, of Sandbach, finally won the 250cc Lightweight on Jeff Carbutt’s Suzuki twin after finishing third in the previous three editions.
Pole-setter and the first away, he was initially pressed hard by 2017 and 2018 winner Mike Hose on the Ariel Arrow, but the Suzuki was more than three seconds clear after the first lap. He later admitted that he had misjudged the gearing in the wind.
Unable to engage top gear, he ultimately nursed the bike home third behind Ward and Ulsterman Brian Mateer on a similar Suzuki.
First-timer Richard Ford rode well on Bob Jackson’s Suzuki, only to retire at |mid-distance. Mateer moved ahead of Hose on lap two and continued to extend his advantage, but he had no answer to Ward’s pace at the front.
The latter won by some 10sec, with Mateer 14sec ahead of Hose. Keith Shannon was another 22sec astern in fourth, while Barry Davidson and Geoff Bates completed the top six.
Read more and view more images in the September/October 2019 issue of CR – on sale now!
