Weather wreaks havoc at Donington Park
Changeable weather once again reared its ugly head during the penultimate round of the British Superbike series as the region's top riders were hit by crashes.
The Bathams Racing pairing of Michael Rutter and Taylor Mackenzie both succumbed to the damp track, as did British Sidecar racers Tommy Philp and Shrewsbury's Tom Bryant in the second race.
However, the pair had already turned heads finishing a superb sixth in the opening race and were even leading the second before mechanical problems hit at the end of the first lap.
Fellow Bathams Racing rider Harris Beech, from Alveley, also enjoyed his best finish of the year in the British Junior Supersport class – maintaining his title as fastest Yamaha rider on the grid – while there was also a welcome return to sidecar action for Shrewsbury's Rupert Archer and his passenger, Steve Thomas, at Donington Park.
Bridgnorth's Rutter turned his first laps on board the new BMW S1000RR in the National Superstock 1000 class following a successful debut on the bike by team-mate Mackenzie at Oulton Park.
In mixed, drying conditions, he finished both free practice sessions comfortably in the top 10.
Mackenzie then claimed his third pole of the year during qualifying while Rutter struggled to find a rhythm, meaning he would start Sunday's race in 20th position.
Rutter had climbed into the top 10 after one lap and was making strong progress towards the leaders before making a small mistake.
He hit a damp patch while overtaking another competitor and briefly lost control of his BMW. Unable to recover the resulting slide from the rear, he crashed out of the race.
Mackenzie had made a perfect start and led the rest of the field before the safety car was deployed.
Soon after the restart, he suffered a large highside at Coppice corner and had to retire from the race after five of the 15 laps but thankfully both riders avoided any injuries.
Rutter said: “Nothing to say really, other that the crash was 100 per cent my fault and that I'm physically okay.
"Obviously I was in a bit of hurry to get up to the leaders, which was always going to mean taking a few risks after qualifying so low on the grid. That's racing. The highs are really high, and the lows are really low."
Beech's luck finally appeared to take a turn for the better as he secured a 14th, 11th – his highest ever in the class – and 16th, which saw him jump to 25th in the standings.
Philp and Bryant joined Brian Gray and Jason Pitt as the Brian Gray Powerbiking Race Team entered two teams over the weekend.
Philp and Bryant were entered as wildcards again and were hoping to improve on two DNFs at Assen in Holland.
After qualifying 11th, they immediately began showing why they are viewed as a team for the future as they moved through the field eventually bringing their 600 LCR Yamaha home in sixth place on Saturday.
Bad weather moved in during the night and into Sunday morning's warm up but with the track drying out the main race took place in better conditions.
Starting from the third row, Philp and passenger Bryant pulled the plug and were leading into Redgate, starting to pull away at Hollywood.
But as they dropped down to Craner Curves the back end broke loose nearly depositing Bryant on the track.
They shot across the grass spinning several times. Unfortunately, a bent belly pan and broken fairing prevented them from rejoining the race.
Meanwhile, Archer steadily brought his Hannafin Racing machine home in 14th and 16th place.
The final BSB round takes place October 18-20, at the Brands Hatch GP circuit, in Kent.
