Oliver’s Mount was one of Barry Sheene’s favourite venues in the UK so it seems fitting that the Auto 66 continue to celebrate his amazing career with their annual festival of racing for both classic and modern bikes and numerous parades of exotic classic machinery. To add to the spectacle Jim Redman, Mick Grant, John Reynolds and Chris Palmer attended morning chat shows which proved to be very popular with the fans.
Dean Harrison put on an amazing performance on Dave Dean’s Steelcote Solutions Kawasaki 750 with a brace of start to finish victories to win the Number 7 Sheene trophy in the wet race on Saturday he finished 52s ahead of nearest rival Dave Bell piloting Graham Turnbull’s Yamaha FZ750, with Kiaran Hankin third. It was almost perfect conditions for Sunday’s race and Deano was on fire watching him snaking and backing the machine into Mere hairpin was simply spectacular he broke the existing lap record on lap five then again on the final lap 1m 50.153s – 79.417mph.
Ryan Farquhar (1100 Yamaha Harris F1) finished 7s adrift in second, with James Cowton third, an excellent result for Cowton stepping in at last minute to pilot the immaculate Team York Suzuki XR69 and keeping up the machines record of never finishing off the podium since it was built!
Marc Coggan won both races and the Denis Parkinson trophy – what a way to celebrate his first ever victory at the 2.43mile woodland circuit.
Gavin Lupton collected the Bob Wood trophy riding one of Bob’s Manx Norton’s, David Webber received the Syd Barnett trophy, Geoff Hadwin the Red Rose silverware and Christain Gunson the Geoff Barry trophy.
The modern bikes out weighted the classic’s in numbers but it was a classic bike in the capable hands of Dean Harrison that took victory in the opening modern Senior race crossing the finish line 22s ahead of James Neesom (Kawasaki ZX10R) with Jay Bellers-Smith third on his Triumph 675.
Ivan Lintin (RC Express Kawasaki) was never headed in the second race, Harrison was second and Mick Goodings a fine third just ahead of his younger brother Mark.
Lintin continued his success taking victory in both the Junior 600 events while Daley Mathison and James Cowton shared the runner’s up spot with good showing again from Neesom with a third and sixth place to his credit.
Lintin won both the Super Lightweight races with James Cowton second, while Rhys Hardisty and Nick Anderson shared the lower podium positions. Hardisty also proved himself a force to be reckoned with in the Lightweight class this time on his Yamaha 250 beating his fellow countryman Paul Owen in the first and Derek Clark in the second race.
