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The Real Cycle People
44 George Street, Perth

SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT

TEAM KRP's frustrating season continued with more disappointing results at rounds eight and nine of the British 125GP Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire and Mallory Park in Leicestershire.

A solid sixth place finish for the team's Irish teenager Nikki Coates was the highlight of a wet and dreary meeting at Oulton Park and the Belfast rider's well-earned second podium of the season was the only bright spot in an otherwise truly horrible weekend at chicane blighted Mallory Park a week later. The tragic death of the much loved young Superbike rider Ollie Bridewell in practice on Friday 20 July brought great sadness to the whole BSB paddock at the midlands track.

KRP team boss Mark Keen said: "Ollie was a cracking kid who enjoyed life and loved having fun. He always had a grin on his face and wherever he went, laughter would follow. He came up through 125s and his death has hit everyone who knew him. It's made us start to question the sport, why we're here and what it's all about. But in the end we have to carry on and Ollie wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

Oulton Park

All four KRP riders were confident of gaining good results at Oulton Park but while Coates and Tom Hayward rode to steady finishes in the rain-lashed race, Robbie Stewart and Anthony Rogers crashed out of proceedings and failed to add to their championship points tallies.

Much workshop time had been spent on Rogers' machine after the previous round at Knockhill and the effort looked to be paying off when the Norfolk youngster surged into a strong lead on the first lap. But the teenager lost the rear end at Druids and failed to complete the opening circuit.

Stewart made a poor start and took a while to find his rhythm in the difficult conditions but eventually began to move through the pack. Then an off track excursion at Cascades dropped him back down the field. Undeterred, the Scottish rider immediately began passing people again but another mistake resulted in a highside at Shell Oils hairpin just as the race reached two-thirds distance and was red flagged. Unable to ride the bike back to parc ferme, Stewart was excluded from the results.

Mallory Park

The Mallory Park weekend began with an understandably subdued wet opening free practice session on Saturday afternoon, but all KRP's youngsters bounced back to post quick times in the dry session on Sunday morning. The 20 lap race, which was brought forward to accommodate television schedules, was also run in dry conditions.

While his team-mates made good starts, Stewart lofted the front wheel and had to roll off, losing several places in the process. But he soon established a strong claim to be the best rider in the race by catching and passing riders with ease and breaking his own lap record on lap 11.

Stewart moved into the lead on lap 17 but back-markers prevented him making a break and when Kev Coghlan folded the front end on the entry to Gerrards chicane in a desperate attempt to get back in front, Stewart was skittled by Coghlan's machine and was sent crashing to the tarmac. Stewart remounted but could only finish 12th.

Keen said: "Robbie showed he was a class act. He was very smooth and it would have taken something very special to beat him if he hadn't been knocked off. It was the best I've seen him ride all season."

Coates rode another strong race and beat veteran former champion Mick Wilcox to the last podium spot after a good tussle and Hayward was a solid sixth, continuing his record of scoring points in every round in which he has competed. Caught out on the bumps on the way into Edwina's chicane, Rogers crashed out on lap ten while holding fifth and hunting down championship leader Luke Jones.

The next round of the British 125GP Championship is at Croft on August 12. "We'll go away and regroup during this short break," said Keen. "Then we'll come back and try to win some races at the last four BSB rounds and we're also looking forward to the Spanish Championship. The British title looks to have got away from us this year, unless Luke Jones has some very bad luck, but there's still plenty left to aim for."

Reports from other rounds.

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