Kirkham Takes Double Honours in Yamaha R1 Cup
Jon Kirkham capped off a dominating performance with his second win of the day in the Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup at Donington Park (26 May).

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Race One Report Jon Kirkham claimed his second win of the season with a dominating performance as the re-scheduled opening round of the debut Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup season took place at Donington Park (26 May). Riders took to the grid in pre-determined qualifying positions from Brands Hatch (5 April). Oulton Park race winner, Sam Warren stole the holeshot ahead of pole man Sean Emmett. Fastest man over the weekend, Jon Kirkham moved through to the lead as the field rounded Goddards for the first time of asking. With clear track ahead, the local rider from Derby pulled clear of the chasing pack producing the fastest lap in the process (1:35.145s). Ben Wilson broke clear, leaving Emmett and Warren to trip themselves up in the battle for third. Newcomer to the series, Richard Cooper faced the toughest task of all riders as he started from the back of the grid. However, by the end of lap one, Cooper had elevated his Co-ordit Yamaha through the congested field to 10th, eventually claiming a further place to finish ninth. Emmett and Warren became embroiled in a tough battle, testing braking potential to the limit. Warren escaped a near massive highside exiting the Foggy Esses on lap 4, allowing Coates and Emmett to build a gap. Adrian Coates, with a renewed determination, took his chance beautifully as he took the outside line around Emmett at Schwantz to propel his Stoneyford Concrete Yamaha into third. The former British 250GP champion didn't look back, putting his head down to ensure his first trip to the podium this season was secure. Warren was on Emmett's heels again by lap 7, momentarily taking fourth only to find the more experienced Emmett force his way past yet again to maintain fourth spot. Behind a lonely sixth placed Gary Mason, James Cox and Jack Kennedy fought tooth and nail throughout the race. Cox finally stole through on lap 8 to claim nine points and his highest placing of the season. The rain of Sunday had cleared overnight to be replaced with hazardous blustery conditions. Adrian Coates narrowly escaped a flying corner marker board as he braked into Goddards on lap 7. As the conditions worsened, safety air fencing around the Redgate corner barriers became dislodged, forcing the race to be red flagged on the tenth lap for fears of rider safety. The result was declared a result from the end of lap 9. Kirkham claimed his second race win ahead of Ben Wilson and Adrian Coates. The grid for the second Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup race will be determined from the finishing results of the Brands Hatch re-run, seeing a front row of Kirkham, Ben Wilson, Coates and Emmett when the riders take to the grid at 14.40. Jon Kirkham: "I'm pleased for another win, it was really treacherous out there due to the strong wind. I've been strong all weekend so was pretty confident that if I got away ahead of the pack I could hold the pace for a win. Hopefully I'll be looking at a double win in the Cup today." Ben Wilson: "It was very windy out there. It was a pretty good race, I could have got a better start, as soon as Jon got past into the lead I just got stuck behind the others a bit till I could get clear of them. I'll up my game a bit and look for the win in the next one this afternoon." Adrian Coates: "I'm just glad we got through that unscathed, that wind was the worst I've ever felt in a race. I nearly got hit by one of the foam marker boards. In the last lap when it got red flagged I was tipping it into Old Hairpin and just got blown away off the apex into the track. I was glad to see the red flags out. I'm really happy to get on the podium and look forward to this afternoon's race." Rob McElnea, Team Principal: "At last, we've had a dry race. Kirkham has been strong all weekend, he has dominated this and Superstock times so we knew he'd be the man. Sam Warren has really impressed in the dry, he is getting more and more experience. It's good to see Coates and Wilson up on the podium, Adrian was chipping away and catching Wilson towards the end there. It all makes for some great racing, fingers crossed for some dry conditions again this afternoon." Race Two Jon Kirkham capped off a dominating performance with his second win of the day in the Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup at Donington Park (26 May). With grid positions determined from the result of the morning's 12-lap race, Jon Kirkham replaced Sean Emmett on pole. Ben Wilson took the holeshot, briefly leading until Kirkham made his move for the lead as the field entered the Old Hairpin for the first time. Wilson would try to keep tabs on the Derby based Kirkham throughout the remainder of the race but would find himself starring at his tail unit for the next eleven and a half laps. Adrian Coates was finally showing the form that has been expected of him. Breathing all over the back of Sean Emmett, Coates moved into third at Redgate at the start of lap three. His confidence on a high after third in the re-scheduled Brands opener earlier in the day, Coates was determined to add another podium finish. Gary Mason, Jack kennedy, Sam Warren and Richard Cooper locked horns throughout the mid-section of the race in solid battle for fifth. Mason eventually broke the tow on lap 8, hunting down the 555 machine of Emmett and an eventual fourth spot finish. As the field became strung out behind race leader Kirkham at the front of the field, it was left to messers Cooper, Warren and Kennedy to fight out the lower order of the top ten. James Cox threw himself into the mix as the trio tripped each other up round the physically demanding 2.5 mile Leicestershire circuit. As Kirham took his second chequered flag of the day, Sam Warren triumphed in the battle for sixth edging just ahead of Kennedy and Cooper over the closing stages. Ben Wilson and Adrian Coates rounded out the first three to make it a repeat podium. Jon Kirkham takes over the lead as the riders head towards the culmination of the Spring Cup in two rounds time. With a two week break, the Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup will reignite its passion over the weekend of 14-15 June at Snetterton in Norfolk. Jon Kirkham: "The wind was a major factor in that race, I nearly got pushed onto the grass by it on the closing laps. I really enjoyed the race, Ben passed me a few times in the opening laps but once I managed to get past him I just had to focus on leading the race. It can be quite hard at times, wondering what's going on behind you. I'm pleased for the wins and can't fault the bike an the tyres." Ben Wilson: "Two seconds for us today is not to bad at all. Jon was quicker than me today, all credit to him he has been running a great pace this weekend. I'd like to thank all my sponsors to be honest, without them we would not be here." Adrian Coates: "I'm gonna have to improve my starts and get away with the leaders, it was a good race and I had some great battles with Sean. I knew that I had the pace over him and just had to get past. Two podiums today, so I can't grumble at that." Joe Henderson, CEO Henderson Insurance: "It's a series that is getting more enjoyable and more competitive round on round. I'm looking forward to the second half of the season where I think that we can expect some more riders. It's been fantastic all the way through, we expect to see some of the characters at the front, there have been some surprises and the lads the whole way through the grid are really enjoying themselves." Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup - Donington Park Race One Result Pos - Rider - Bike - Team - Time 1 - Jon Kirkham - Yamaha - Jon Kirkham Racing - 14:30.0 2 - Ben Wilson - Yamaha - Ben-Wilson-Racing.com - 14:34.7 3 - Adrian Coates - Yamaha - Stoneyford Concrete - 14:38.3 4 - Sean Emmett - Yamaha - Hill Oldridge Racing - 14:42.4 5 - Sam Warren - Yamaha - Mission Racing - 14:42.7 6 - Gary Mason - Yamaha - VTune/ Airmax/ Tamworth Yama - 14:44.7 7 - James Cox - Yamaha - Psycho Racing - 14:48.4 8 - Jack Kennedy - Yamaha - JK Racing - 14:48.7 9 - Richard Cooper - Yamaha - Co-Ordit Racing - 14:52.4 10 - Shannon Etheridge - Yamaha - Shannon Etheridge Racing - 14:54.0 11 - Marty Nutt - Yamaha - Double M Racing / NuttTravel.com - 14:58.7 12 - Brendan Clarke - Yamaha - - 15:01.2 13 - Rod Lynn - Yamaha - Top Fit Tow Bars Ltd - 15:05.0 14 - Charlie Bishop - Yamaha - Team Phoenix / PBM - 15:09.6 15 - Stu Wilson - Yamaha - Wilhall Yamaha - 15:09.8 16 - Michael Neeves - Yamaha - Team MCN - 15:19.8 17 - Kyle Kentish - Yamaha - Deadline Racing - 15:44.7 18 - Steven Cusick - Yamaha - U & I Racing - 15:48.4 19 - Neal Garside - Yamaha - Neal Garside Racing - 15:50.0 Not Classified DNF Robert Kennedy - Yamaha - PMD Racing Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup - Donington Park Race Two Result 1 - Jon Kirkham - Yamaha - Jon Kirkham Racing - 19:18.7 2 - Ben Wilson - Yamaha - Ben-Wilson-Racing.com - 19:24.2 3 - Adrian Coates - Yamaha - Stoneyford Concrete - 19:25.6 4 - Gary Mason - Yamaha - VTune/ Airmax/ Tamworth Yama - 19:27.3 5 - Sean Emmett - Yamaha - Hill Oldridge Racing - 19:32.9 6 - Sam Warren - Yamaha - Mission Racing - 19:34.1 7 - Jack Kennedy - Yamaha - JK Racing - 19:34.3 8 - Richard Cooper - Yamaha - Co-Ordit Racing - 19:35.0 9 - James Cox - Yamaha - Psycho Racing - 19:37.7 10 - Marty Nutt - Yamaha - Double M Racing / NuttTravel.com - 19:43.0 11 - Shannon Etheridge - Yamaha - Shannon Etheridge Racing - 19:49.4 12 - Rod Lynn - Yamaha - Top Fit Tow Bars Ltd - 20:02.7 13 - Charlie Bishop - Yamaha - Team Phoenix / PBM - 20:13.9 14 - Stu Wilson - Yamaha - Wilhall Yamaha - 20:21.6 15 - Michael Neeves - Yamaha - Team MCN - 20:28.2 16 - Robert Kennedy - Yamaha - PMD Racing - 20:45.6 17 - Kyle Kentish - Yamaha - Deadline Racing - 20:48.1 18 - Neal Garside - Yamaha - Neal Garside Racing - 20:48.2 19 - Steven Cusick - Yamaha - U & I Racing - 19:23.1 Not Classified DNF Brendan Clarke Yamaha - 5 Championship Points after race two 1 - John Kirkham - 86 2 - Sean Emmett - 64 3 - Sam Warren - 56 4 - Ben Wilson - 56 5 - Gary Mason - 49 6 - Adrian Coates - 43 7 - Marty Nutt - 37 8 - Jack Kennedy - 35 9 - James Cox - 32 10 - Shannon Etheridge - 22
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