Shropshire Star

Matt Shaw in pole position to claim title success

Matt Shaw will head into the final Thundersport GB round with a slender five point championship lead following an eventful meeting at Cadwell Park.

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Struggling, along with his twin brother Will, with a bout of 'man flu', the Telford racer picked up an outright third-placed finish and second in the CB500 class in final race – despite a huge crash in front of him – to pick up vital points at the Lincolnshire circuit.

Brother Will, 31, said he was also happy to pick up a podium in the final race despite not 'clicking with the track' to sit second in the 600 Sportsman Elite class.

Will said: "It was eventful. Friday's test day didn't really happen for us because we had to spend the day fixing the gazebo after horrendous winds snapped the legs. Will got one dry session and Matt had two, so it was not ideal.

"I had a nightmare qualifying 13th and didn't managed to get in a single good lap due to a broken gearbox, which kept jumping out of fourth into third.

"Luckily we had a spare, which we got changed in time for his first race, but Matt had a great time in qualifying putting it fourth on the grid in tricky conditions.

"Both of us were struggling with a bout of man flu and although we were over the worse of it we were far from fully fit."

Will admitted he found it hard just to complete the opening 12-lap race but after getting off to a good start he had moved up to eighth only to drop down and finish where he started, in 13th, which was fourth in class, but still went two seconds faster than his last visit posting a 1:34.7.

Matt got caught up in a battle and despite it being good racing for the crowds, he ended up tripping over his rivals to finished ninth overall and second in class.

A good start in race two meant Matt could hold on to the leaders' tails and keep his laps consistent, pulling a gap on his class rival, which saw him crossed the line fifth while winning his class.

Will was back in action on Sunday and after again finishing the opening race fourth in class, his last race ended the round 16th overall and but vitally third in class.

"It was nice to get a podium considering how badly I struggled at the circuit earlier on in the year but still haven't yet clicked with it," he said.

Matt opening Sunday race did not end well as he saw his championship rival pass him into one of the chicanes.

"He couldn't stop and make the corner," he said.

"Consequently, he hit the rider in front, went down and rolled in front of me, leaving me with no where to go.

"I hit him and went down myself. It was a racing incident but main thing was we were both okay and so were the bikes."

Race two was much better as Matt was able to pull away early on after making a good start.

His rival had closed the gap at half-race distance and going into the last lap they crossed the line almost level.

"As we made it round turn one there had been a big crash involving the leaders, so the red flag came out," said Matt.

"I didn't have a clue who'd crossed the line in front and it wasn't until I got back to the holding area I realised I'd missed out by 0.015s.

"It was unlucky but I had another outright podium and picked up second in class."

Shrewsbury's Jon Wright, 44, also topped off another superb round by being selected as 'rider of the day' after breaking his own lap record in the GP1 Classic/Cup class.

"A massive thanks to the marshals who voted for me," he said.

"I was honoured to receive this award along with a generous cash gift. It will take pride of place in the trophy cabinet.

"The pace of the leading trio was awesome again and although I didn’t make the podium this time I was happy to chase with four fourth-places and a personal best during the last race. Thanks to all who help out."

Championships will be decided when Thundersport GB returns for the final round at Snetterton, in Norfolk, October 20-21, with double points on offer.

Meanwhile, the Morgan brothers from Ruyton-XI-Towns, near Shrewsbury, entered the East Midlands Association championship at Mallory Park and used it as testing for next month's final round of the FSRA F2 British Championship, October 6-7.

After qualifying fifth, they quickly made their way to the front of the field, eventually crossing the line 10 seconds ahead of second.

Driver Kevin and passenger Steven also led race two but an electrical problem caused the team to have to pull over and sit out of the remainder of the race.

Kevin said: "There were positives and negatives. We successfully tested a few new parts for the bike which all seems good.

"We need to investigate the electrical problem though as this is not something we have experienced since right at the beginning of the year.

"Hopefully, we can get this resolved before we head to Oulton Park."