Three on the trot for cup-hunting duo

The sun gods provided perfect conditions for some hot action at Knockhill last weekend as Kershaw Racing tried to retain hold of the prestigious Jock Taylor Trophy.
Steve Kershaw, left, and Stuart ClarkSteve Kershaw, left, and Stuart Clark
Steve Kershaw, left, and Stuart Clark

Held annually in honour of Scotland’s only sidecar world champion, from Pentcaitland, 11 other crews from Scotland, England and Northern Ireland arrived to master the reverse direction circuit and try to take the silverware from Steve Kershaw and Stuart Clark.

Saturday saw two races and the Lauder pairing immediately demoralised the opposition in Fife by demolishing the field by 21 seconds in race one, and 43 seconds in race two.

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By contrast, the fight for second place was a close run affair, with Shand/Belsey pipping Irishmen O’Neill/Butlar by under half a second in the first outing, and Berwick’s Amos/Mayhew fighting off Stainton/Stainton by a similar margin in the second.

Sunday’s race one had Steve and Stuart opting to start at the back of the grid to give the others a sporting chance.

But, but by lap three, they were already leading and won again by 46 seconds from O’Neill/Butlar, who came out on top of a pitched battle with Shand/Belsey by half a second.

Race two was the main event and again Kershaw held back off the start but quickly carved through the traffic and set the fastest lap of the weekend, only 3/10ths of a second off their own lap record set last year with the 1000cc motor.

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In the end, it was a formality but, behind, O’Neill threw away runner-up spot on the last lap at the hairpin, allowing both Shand and a delighted Amos through to take the remaining podium places.

“We were trying out a fresh engine this weekend but it was bang on right from the word ‘go’ and to get so close to the lap record was amazing,” said Steve.

“It’s great to come here and win the trophy again, as it’s so different on the reverse circuit compared to anywhere else we race.

Stuart added: “It’s unusual to race in this heat anywhere in Britain, let alone Fife. That was cooking.”

The next outing is the annual overseas adventure to Holland for round eight of the British sidecar race series at Assen.