During the first weekend of July, and only a few days after competing at Donington Park, Scott Stone was racing at Cadwell Park in the Reactive Parts MRO Powerbikes Championship. Despite a challenging test day, Scott and his crew, Jason and Nigel, prepared the AMCO Yamaha R1 for Saturday’s qualifying and secured seventh on the grid.
Race 1 featured plenty of overtaking action, with Scott finishing fifth and recording a new personal best lap time of 1 minute 33.7 seconds. In Race 2, starting from fifth on the grid, Scott powered the R1 into second place and chased experienced rider Brendan Mallinder for four of the nine laps. Behind, three riders battled for third place until Dawid Krawiecki broke clear. Dawid chased hard over the last two laps, but Scott held on to take second place, setting another personal best of 1.33.4 on the final lap.
Two weeks later, Scott and many of his supporters made the long journey to Anglesey for Round 5 of the No Limits Premier 1000cc Championship. It was Scott’s first time at the North Wales circuit on a big bike and four years since he had last raced there. Testing and qualifying went well, and he started Race 1 from sixth on the grid. A strong start and consistent lap times were not enough to hold off main championship rival Wilf Turner, who eventually made a pass. Scott finished seventh overall and second in class with a new personal best of 1.09.6.
In Race 2, another good start saw Scott battling with Turner once more. Both riders were strongest in different sections of the track, making the class lead hotly contested. Scott mounted a determined challenge for the win through the final sector and sprint to the chequered flag, missing out by just eight hundredths of a second, but setting another personal best of 1.09.4 and finishing sixth overall.
A red flag stoppage on lap four of Race 3 halted Scott’s promising run, which had kept him in touch with the leaders and the class lead. In the re-started race, Turner made a lightning start, but Scott began closing the gap. Pushing hard, he asked too much from the front tyre at the slippery, uphill Peel corner and slid off the track. Fortunately, both rider and bike were unscathed, leaving him to reflect on what might have been.
Overall, it was a weekend of close, exciting racing, consistent lap times, and valuable experience. Scott extends his thanks to his sponsors and supporters.