EMRA ROADSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 10 MALLORY PARK
THE RACE OF THE YEAR EVENT
NTO racing marked another milestone with rider & now 2006 1300cc Roadstock champion Carl Dodwell setting his fastest laps ever
recorded at Mallory Park on a cold but dry day. Unfortunately due to
time restrictions the final roadstock race scheduled to be a 12 lap
affair had to be reduced to a 6 lap dash for the flag.
Firstly though the team competed in the Alamo trophy final round.
This pitted Carl against the open class riders in EMRAs flagship
race. Carl managed a 12th place finish in a hard fought race. After
starting poorly Carl managed to pass 3 riders to obtain his
position, making passing moves at Shaw’s hairpin & the Edwinas
chicane.
It was a long wait for Carl’s final race of the day & slightly
disappointing that the race was reduced to 6 laps. It was decided to
attempt a win but not take any risks being as the team wished to
compete at Oulton Park in 2 weeks time.
The Roadstock grid was arranged in championship position & so Carl
started from pole. After a reasonable getaway Carl slotted in to 2nd
place but was demoted by the fast improving Marshall Fanthorpe due
to Carl missing a gear at the exit of Edwinas. Carl slotted in
behind Marshall & after Marshall had passed Luke Brackenbury for the
lead on lap 2 Carl decided it was time to get a move on. Carl passed
Luke on the entrance to Edwinas on the 3rd lap but had a 2.5 second
gap to reduce in only 3 laps. Although Carl set the seasons fastest
recorded lap for a roadstock bike he could only close the gap to a
second & had to settle for 2nd place but an even bigger championship
lead over Mark Hornett who finishing in front of Luke Brackenbury
(Bike magazine staff rider) ensured 2nd place in the championship.
Well done Mark
Carl said after the race I am disappointed to have not been able to
deliver a victory on our last race of the season but with the
championship wrapped up & the race being reduced to 6 laps I am
happy to have taken the title & finished the season without any
major upsets. It has been an amazing year; I really did not expect
to win a club championship in only my 2nd years racing. I have met &
raced with some great people this season especially the AMA racing
team. I have to thank all of my sponsors Net25 web solutions, Keith
Brain tyres, Kestrel signs & Sherwood Suzuki for all of the support
they have given me this year. I would also like to thank my mechanic
Stuart Woodall & team photographer Jon Wishart for there outstanding
efforts this season. I also must thank my entourage of supporters &
especially my Wife Helen & daughter Lisa for their unwavering belief
& love.
The NTO team are looking for sponsors to join them in their attempt
to make the jump to the Powerbikes or open classes next season.
BRING IT ON
Dodwell EMRA Roadstock Champion 2006
RD 8 2006 EMRA ROADSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIPS MALLORY PARK
NTO Racing continued there successful campaign in the 2006 East
Midland Racing Association Roadstock championship with Carl Dodwell
taking a double victory & the 2006 Roadstock championship title in a
superb days racing.
Race 1
With Carls bike ( Suzuki GSXR1000K3 ) suffering a fuel injection
fault on Wednesday testing it was feared that the bike would not be
used on race day. However after testing the bike without its
quickshifter & Power Commander it was decided that although down on
power the bike would still be the best option for race day should
the weather be dry over the GSXR750 K1 back up bike.
After warm up Carl was beginning to become accustomed to using the
bike without its quickshifter & was looking good for a top 3 place.
With Mark Hornett 43 points adrift in the championship Carl only
needed to be finishing races to see the championship to a
conclusion, but racers do not like being beaten so the decision was
made to go for victory against the odds. Carl was drawn in 4th place
on the grid for the first race with Mark Hornett in pole position.
Carl made a reasonable getaway & slotted into 3rd place behind Andy
Boulton & Mark Hornett, Carl passed Andy on the first run into
Edwinas with a classic out braking manoeuvre & then set about
chasing down Mark Hornett. Carl passed Mark on the next lap with a
carbon copy of his pass on Tim. Unfortunately the race was then
stopped because Mark ran on at Gerrards crashing heavily but
thankfully unhurt bar a dislocated finger. At the restart Carl took
the lead from Tim once again at Edwinas & never looked back winning
the race with a 3 second lead.
Race 2
Race 2 saw Carl starting from 8th on the grid & only requiring 2
points to confirm himself as 2006 champion. The plan was to take it
steady & secure the necessary points for the championship, however a
racer just wants to race & after getting away well in 4th he pushed
up to the back of the leader Marshall Fanthorpe by lap 2. The next 3
laps saw Carl attempt passes at Edwinas & Gerrards. Carl even ran on
at Edwinas using the slip road to avoid crashing & had to wait for
the leader to pass to prevent being penalised. Once Carl had
rejoined the race he once again found himself in striking distance
of Marshall, however Marshall made a mistake out braking himself at
the notorious Shaws hairpin allowing Carl to take the lead & cruise
to victory & the championship.
A
delighted Carl said after the races. " I am delighted to get the
championship tied up, I feel like a weight has been lifted of my
shoulders. After finishing second in the championship last year only
the title would suffice this season. I would have liked to have
battled it out with Mark a little longer & would have preferred
racing against him rather than him crashing out but now I can relax
& enjoy the rest of the races. To have won 12 of the 16 races so far
is beyond my expectations at the beginning of the season. I must
thank my wife for all of her support this season, my mechanic Stuart
Woodhall & the team photographer Jon Wishart also must come in for
some serious praise. Thanks must also go out to my sponsors Net25
web solutions, Kestrel signs & Sherwood motorcycles for there
assistance over the last two years.
Sponsor a Winning Team
NTO racing are now looking for sponsorship to enable the team to
move on to bigger & better things in 2007,
Click here for more information..
ROUND 7 EMRA ROADSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP MALLORY PARK
The NTO team returned to the picturesque Leicestershire circuit for
round 7 of the championship. The previous round had seen Carl extend
his lead with 2 fine wins to add to his previous 7 wins at earlier
venues. This had taken Carls victories to a total of 9 out of 12
races. The championship was now starting to look like a 2 horse race
with Mark Hornett the AMA team racer taking 2 second places. Mark
was only 32 points adrift from Carl in the championship standings.
Little were they to know the drama which would unfold during round
7.
Roadstock race 1 saw Carl drawn 3rd 0n the grid with Mark Hornett in
8th. Carl led the field at the start into Gerrards for the first
time but a determined Mark saw him pass on the exit of the corner.
Carl immediately switched back to pass the AMA rider on the inside
at Edwinas but lost the front tyre on the brakes crashing. Carl was
immediately up & ran for cover. The race was stopped due to a 4 bike
collision on the run into the same corner directly behind the
championship protagonists. With the race stopped & fortunately Carl
uninjured apart from cuts & bruises & a smashed helmet, Carl
sprinted for the pits to grab his back up bike & he managed to make
the restart on his older GSXR 750. Carl Knew that although his 750
was a superb bike it was giving 30-40 horsepower away to the
GSXR1000s of his rivals, however Carl made a decent getaway &
managed to secure 4th into the first corner. 3rd was attained with a
late braking manoeuvre into Edwinas. Carl then set about chasing
down the leading 2 bikes. He managed to catch them on lap 3 & made a
pass on Mark Hornett at the bus stop chicane & 1 lap later secured
the lead with a pass on Tim Fergus once again on the brakes at
Edwinas. This was no mean feat being as Tim was riding a GSXR1000K5
2005 bike where as Carl was riding his 750 2000 model. Carl was
clearly delighted with his win slapping the tank of the Suzuki as he
crossed the finishing line.
Race 2 saw Carl unfortunately drawn in 20th place on the grid, he
managed to battle his way through to 5th place but ran out of time
to catch the leaders.
All in all Carl managed to stretch his championship lead to 43
points due to Mark Hornett crashing in the first race after Carl had
passed him. Carl now has 186 points with Mark on 143 With 3 rounds
remaining & 90 points available the championship is still in the
balance.
Carl would like to thank his sponsors Sherwood Suzuki, Keith Brain
tyres & Kestrel signs for all there support so far this season.
Carl would also like to thank his mechanics Stuart & Alex Woodhall
for their efforts all race weekend & last but not least his wife
Helen for all her support. None of this could have happened without
her support. The bank account keeps going further overdrawn. Anybody
for sponsorship?
The NTO team would like to wish all the riders involved in the first
race crash a speedy recovery. Get well soon.
See you all in September.
DODWELL DOES THE DOUBLE AT MALLORY
The NTO racing team moved back to its home venue Mallory Park on
June 25th for round 6 of the championship. Round 5 had seen Carls
worst performances in terrible wet conditions at Darley Moor in May.
Carl could only manage a 3rd & 4th place finish after qualifying
went awry due to visibility problems with a steaming up visor.
Machine problems had also caused concerns when the clutch on the
GSXR1000 began slipping under acceleration. However should things
have gone well for Carl he would have had a serious battle on his
hands because Mark Hornet the AMA team racer was on fire & raced to
2 well deserved victories, closing the gap on Carls championship
lead by 12 points.
Round 6 at last saw the chance for some dry racing. With a new
clutch fitted & a changer to Metzeler Racetec tyres Carl was hoping
to regain the form which has seen him win 7 out of the previous 10
races.
Roadstock race 1 saw Carl drawn 12th on the grid & a poor start saw
him in 12th into Gerrards for the first time. A superb first corner
& last ditch braking manoeuvre saw Carl slot himself into 4th after
only half a lap. It took 3 laps to dispense with the 3rd & second
place riders both of whom were passed on the brakes into Gerrards.
This left Mark Hornet leading with Carl 1.5 seconds adrift. Carl
closed the gap & passed Mark into Edwinas on lap 5 only to lose the
lead again on the final lap going into Gerrards. Carl once again
lined up Mark for a pass at Edwinas & squeezed through holding of
Marks ambitious attempt to regain the lead at the bus stop. Carl
crossed the line only a couple of tenths of a second ahead of Mark
punching the air in delight.
Race 2 was a different matter all together. With a front row start
Carl managed to lead from the first corner & stretched out a 3
second advantage by the time the race was completed pulling a couple
of wheelies on the last lap for fun.
NTOs other rider Paul Whiteman had good rides although a fall in
race one marred the day. Paul has taken significant strides forward
with his lap times & now it seems bike development is required to
get him up to the front.
The NTO team would like to thank its sponsors Keith Brain tyres,
Sherwood Suzuki, & Net 25 web solutions for there much needed
support this season.
A
special mention must go out to Andy Wellings who rode to 2 superb
4th place finishes in his first return to racing after a serious
accident at Mallory in the first round of this years championship.
His lap times show he will be a serious threat for the rest of the
season.
2006 EMRA ROADSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP MALLORY PARK ROUND 4
The
NTO racing team returned to its home circuit hoping for better
weather than had previously been encountered this season, but once
again the weather played havoc with preparations & the races. Both
road stock races were wet but Carl managed to once again stretch
his championship lead.
Race 1 was
nervously awaited with the weather once again keeping the team
guessing about tyre selection. The decision was made to kit out
the reserve bike (GSXR 750K1 ) which was last years championship
runner up as the wet machine & keep the new bike (GSXR 1000K3) for
dry conditions. With minutes to go before the race a downpour left
the team in no doubt that the 750 would be the bike to use & Carl
set out for the race having not ridden this bike for 5 months.
The race started
with Carl drawn in a disappointing 17th position on the grid, but a
great start saw him dart into 7th place at the first corner & then
by the end of lap 1 he was already up to 5th. The main
championship rivals Arron Danson & Mark Hornett had both been
drawn ahead of Carl on the grid & had made good starts but after a
few laps Carl was challenging for 3rd place with Arron. Carl
passed Arron on the outside on the Devils Elbow but Arron used the
superior power of his 1000cc bike to full effect & powered back
past on the run into Gerrards. Carl finally made the pass stick at
the notorious Shaws hairpin when Arron outbraked himself. Carl
then set about chasing down Mark Hornett who had a 2 second
advantage. This took Carl a further 2 laps to close down & on lap
8 of the 10 lap race Carl once again used an outbraking manoeuvre
into the hairpin to best effect. The leader Marshall Fanthorpe was
by now 5 seconds in the lead so Carl settled for second place in
the race & an increased championship lead.
Carl was
fortunate to draw pole for the second race & after battling with
Marshall Fanthorpe (who crashed uninjured at the hairpin) took a
well deserved win to end the day.
Paul Whiteman had
awful grid draws for both races starting from 21st & 26th but
managing to fight his way through to 16th in both races. Paul
gained invaluable experience in the tricky conditions, which with
some bike development will steer him towards better results as the
season progresses.
Carl would like
to to thank Keith Brain Tyres for all his assistance with tyre
selection & fitment. Also thanks go to Sherwood Suzuki for their
help with all the motorcycles hardware. Net25 web solutions also
require thanks for keeping the website
www.ntoracing.co.uk up to date.
2006 EMRA ROADSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIPS DARLEY MOOR ROUND 3
Maximum points for NTO
Carl Dodwell &
his NTO racing GSXR1000 Suzuki notched up maximum points at a wet
Darley Moor with 2 hard fought wins in class & a first outright
win at the tricky Derbyshire circuit.
The NTO team were
scheduled to race in 4 events on the day but heavy rain prevented
the team from competing in the first race of the day, which was
the local Stocksport championship race due to the wrong tyre
selection. Although this was not a championship the team intended
contesting for the full season it would have been a good indicator
as to how the team had progressed from last year when Carl could
only manage a 12th place finish on the GSXR750 he took to runner
up spot in the Roadstock championship in 2005.
The first
Roastock race of the day approached fast & with another heavy
downpour just 15 minutes before the race the decision to run full
wets was taken & Carl set of for the grid. Pole position had been
claimed in early morning qualifying in dry conditions so Carl took
his place & waited nervously for the start of the race having
never raced in the wet at this track. A poor start saw him 4th
into the first chicane with 2 local riders taking of in the lead
leaving Carl & Mark Hornett the 3rd placed championship rival
slotting in in front of Carl. It took Carl only ¾ of a lap to take
3rd position back from Mark, getting better drive onto the huge
Pope straight Carl slip streamed his way past & held Mark of on
the brakes into paddock corner & then set about trying to catch
the leaders. Carl settled into the race & mistakenly thought he
had dropped of Mark Hornett taking a look around as he approached
the flag which signalled the final lap was about to start. Mark
had been closely following Carl all race & Carls lack of
concentration was all that he needed to blast past to take 3rd
place back from Carl. This meant Carl had only one lap to pull
back the position which he did with a tough but clean out braking
manoeuvre into the final corner of the race only just holding Mark
of to the line by the length of his front wheel. This effectively
meant that Carl had won the race due to the front 2 riders not
being involved in the championship.
Race2 was a
different story, now that Carl was dialled in to the wet
conditions finishing behind the Darley boys was not going to be
good enough. Carl led the race from the start snatching the lead
into the first chicane & fending of a constant attack from local
rider Adam Bailey on his K5 GSXR1000. Carl used the back markers
on the last lap to great effect, which prevented Adam from making
a lunge at the last corner & Carl was clearly delighted with his
win with a celebratory wheelie or 2 on the slow down lap.
Carl would like
to thank ace mechanic Stuart (slick) Woodhall, his army of
supporters family & friends they know who they are. Also sponsors
Kestrel signs & Net25.
Sherwood Suzuki
of Hall Green must also get a mention for there help with all the
oils, brake pads etc which power & stop the Suzuki GSXR1000K3.
Dodwell maintains 100% record at a wet Mallory Park.
