Kirkistown, 29 August 2009
Kershaw Extends Lead with Win
Brain Kelly took pole position for the last visit of the year to Kirkistown
from Robbie Allen, Dave O Brien, Stephen Kershaw, Ray Moore, and Dan Polley
and it was the Champion who led away off the line. Kershaw and Polley both
made a place each on the getaway passing O Brien and Moore respectively.
Kershaw then passed both Kelly and Allen on the back straight to grab the
lead. Adam Mcauley from further back also made several places with a good
start. Lloyd Murphy went off at Debtors and was the only casualty of the
opening lap although he rejoined.
Kershaw led the race from a tight group of Kelly, Allen, O Brien, Moore,
Polley and Mcauley however this was reduced when Kelly dropped back and then
clashed with Moore at Colonial. Mcauley had to take avoiding action and the
trio all lost places. Polley the opportunist made three places. The incident
allowed the three leaders to pull a gap and crucially break the tow to the
chasers on the back straight. Javier Pernas had qualified well and was racing
with Jimmy Furlong, and Ger Byrne. Moore caught and passed them a couple of
laps later. There was a tight battle at the rear of the field; two rookies
Damien Murphy and Paddy Cahill were batteling with the two ladies Jessica
Casserly and Paula Moore.
The three leaders were swapping positions between themselves and it looked as
though a classic race was unfolding until O Brien blew out a plug on lap
eight leaving just Kershaw and Allen to fight for the win. Rain started to
fall at this point and the track became very slippery. The pair caught the
battle at the rear of the field in the Chicane and fortune didn't shine on
Allen. Kershaw cleared them in time but Allen was hampered and lost time.
Mcauley had caught Polley at this stage and the pair traded positions for a
couple of laps before Mcauley got a break and pulled a gap. Kelly and Moore
were now not too far behind Polley. Pernas spun at the Hairpin and collected
Furlong on the way around. The car of Furlong jammed in third gear halting
his progress. Morgan McCourt had been going well in a battle with Roy Hanlon
but outbraked himself at Colonial and collected Hanlon on the way off. Both
were out of the race.
The car of Kershaw started to leak oil during the race, which seemed to get
progressively worse as time on. Allen had a coating of it on his visor and
mixed with the rain made visibility poor, his challenge faltered. Mcauley was
now comfortable in third but Polley was coming under pressure from Kelly and
he was passed with a couple of laps to go. Moore replaced Kelly as the chaser
but seemed to lack Kellys pace and he remained behind Polley until the end.
Allen closed the gap to the leader near the end when he could see better but
it was too late to make a serious move. Kershaw held on for his third win of
the season and extended his Champioship lead. Allen in second place is still
a title contender. Mcauley extended his B Championship lead with a class win
and third place overall.
Pernas took top Novice points, seventh place overall and had the fastest race
lap in a good day for the Cork based Spaniard.
Kelly and Polley are now tied for second but 18 points behind Kershaw as the
VEE's head for a title deciding double-header at Mondello Park in two weeks.
The following day there will be the small matter of the Leinster Trophy
