Welcome To The Yamaha Past Masters Racing Club

Champion Smith

Written by Tony Hoare Sunday, 15 August 2010 22:41

Michael Smith confirmed his YPM championship with two rounds of the season still to go. His fifth clean sweep of the season at Cadwell Park puts him 226 points clear of his nearest challenger, and there are only 200 points left to race for, so he is unassailable in the title race.

Pete Fishwick is now second in the championship after he strung together three seconds and a third place to move ahead of the unlucky Jamie Cooper, who retired from the third race of the weekend with a broken exhaust. The lost points sent him behind Fishwick in the championship race. Dan Wright took three thirds and a second, so the podium belonged exclusively to Smith, Fishwick and Wright.

All four YPM championship winners are now settled, as the Clubman Cup, Rookie Championship and Team Cup leaders are all now out of reach with just one round remaining each. Chris Newbigging wins the Clubman Cup, Marc Prentice has wrapped up the Rookie Championship and the Ginger Nutters of Mike Smith, Adrian Grove and Kev Marshall cannot be caught in the Team Cup.

Full points after the Cadwell Park round are in the '2010 Points' section on the main navigation page

Foursome show from Smith

Written by Tony Hoare Sunday, 25 July 2010 21:46

The return of former YPM front runner Anthony 'AJ' Johnson livened up the racing at Brands Hatch, but he was unable to stop Mike Smith's incredible run of YPM results. Smith won all four races on his YPVS, dipping under 53 seconds on a track that was seriously compromised after a machine in another class left a trail of oil from Surtees to the start-finish line.

The full house of wins makes it 17 out of 18 for Smith and his only defeat came after he saved a highside on the opening lap of a race at Pembrey in round two of the championship. A hat-trick of second places for wildcard rider Johnson only helped extend Smith's lead over his title rivals Jamie Cooper and Pete Fishwick. Dan Wright also falls back in the standings as he withdrew from the meeting after his close friend Craig Jennings was injured in the first attempt to run race one.

Novice Carl Newbigging, on his first appearance at the Brands Indy circuit, took a sixth and three fourths and was first Clubman in all four races, closing the gap in that title after he missed the first three rounds through injury.

Points standings after five rounds of eight are now on the site.

AJ looks to shine

Written by Tony Hoare Sunday, 25 July 2010 06:27

Former YPM race winner Anthony ‘AJ’ Johnson is chasing the top spot of the podium again in today’s races at Brands Hatch. AJ is making a guest appearance on Nick Sanders’ machine and took two podium finishes in Saturday’s races.

AJ ended the second race within half a second of the dominant championship leader Mike Smith, who won both races to further extend his lead in the title chase. Only Smith and Johnson dipped under the 54-second lap mark so today should see close racing between the two. To further liven matters, Brands is currently experiencing rain. This will please wet weather specialist Johnson, whose pit crew are wearing ‘wetter the better’ t-shirts.

Jamie Cooper cemented his second place in the championship with a second and a third while his main rivals both lost out. Pete Fishwick crashed out of the lead in race one and was stuck in traffic after having to start race two from the back of the grid. And Dan Wright missed both races to assist the family of his close friend Craig Jennings, who suffered head injuries after crashing in the first attempt to run race one. Popular YPMer Craig is currently in hospital in Essex and everyone associated with the club wishes him well in his recovery.

YPM Team Cup transfers

Written by Tony Hoare Sunday, 04 July 2010 07:59

Rider changes are now permitted in the new YPM Team Cup, following a request from a competing team to replace one of their riders.

Some of the teams contain riders who are inactive this season, so each is being given the opportunity to make one change throughout the season. Expect to see Team Equipe Rioja make the first change, with a move also expected from Team Gibson.

Teams who want to change should contact championship co-ordinator Marcus Donkersley.

YPM recruitment drive

Written by Keith Roissetter Sunday, 04 July 2010 07:38

The YPM club needs your help. We are looking at ways of swelling our grids, and the club co-ordinators have come up with an idea that you can help with.

The club has secured an agreement from Bemsee that we can send complimentary spectator tickets to anyone who is interested in racing with YPMs. Then we can explain what it’s all about and make their decision to race with us that much easier.

If you're a potential YPM racer, click on 'read more', below. If you're a YPMer who wants to help, get on those forums, speak to your friends. Do whatever it takes to spread the word about this fantastic race series of ours.

We’ve written up a blurb that you can put on your forums, which should have all the details you and our potential recruits will need. Click ‘read more’ for the extra info

Read more: YPM recruitment drive