Knockhill report for front of site from Barry Nutley

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Stevens and Charlwood do the double for AOS/Be Wiser at Knockhill
Unpredictably stormy weather north of the border made for an interesting fifth round, but by the time the grid formed for race one, strong wind had dried the track, and a good crowd witnessed very close race action. The Scots love their sidecar action, and on a circuit where local hero, the late Jock Taylor cut his teeth on his way to a World title, they were not disappointed.
Race One – Andy Peach/Charlie Richardson (L&W Kawasaki) flew off the line from pole position, and set a scorching pace ahead of the AOS Be Wiser pair, and series leaders Ricky Stevens/Ryan Charlwood. At a rate just outside the lap record, these two crews set the standard ahead of a terrific scrap lead by Tony Brown/Ashley Hawes (Paymundo.com Kawasaki, and local favourites Steve Kershaw/Rob Wilson (Express Tyres/Blinkbonny Kawasaki, with an ever-improving Finning Cat Kawasaki crewed by Ben Holland/Lee Watson nibbling away. Meanwhile, Roger Lovelock/Aki Aalto (BB Bikeshop BMW) were eating up the field from the back of the grid. By half distance they were up to seventh and closing. A very rapid Ben Bygrave, with local boy Stuart Clarke was forced to retire on lap two with a broken gear lever. Their luck goes from bad to worse, but they showed their pace before they stopped. At just over half race distance, Stevens made his move on Peach and went ahead. The pair kept at it, but Peach’s attempt to reclaim the lead on the final lap was thwarted by back-markers. This was a fantastic battle rating as one of the closest races of the season. Meanwhile, Holland was on a misfiring Kershaw’s case and made a move with two laps remaining to claim another podium. Tony Brown succumbed to Lovelock as he struggled with a race-long chain problem, and Ian Guy/Dan Evanson were torpedoed at the hairpin by Ian Drowne/Jed Pilmoor-Brady running out of stopping power. Retirements totalled six crews, with eleventh place and five points going to Martin Kirk/Ben Hughes on their LCR Suzuki.
Result – 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/Peach/Richardson, 3/ Holland/Watson, 4/ Kershaw/Wilson, 5/ Lovelock Aalto, 6/ Brown/Hawes, 7/ Gary Horspole/Jimmy Connell (LCR Suzuki), 8/ Gary Bryan/Jamie Winn (Santander Salt Kawasaki, 9/ Andy/Phil Sloane (LCR Suzuki) 10/ Brian Gray/Ben Ransley (BGR Powerbiking Yamaha)
Race Two – Another flier by Peach/Richardson saw them get their heads down in an effort to break away. The conditions were perfect for the fifteen lap race, and we were treated to more top-class action. Stevens/Charlwood made a dramatic passing move at Duffus Dip on lap three to assume control. After this, they were never headed, and brought it home with a one second cushion. The Finning Cat duo of Holland/Watson were riding like men inspired and at one point passed Peach for second place. Tony Brown and Ashley Hawes had a terrific scrap with the BMW mounted Lovelock Aalto, but eventually had to give best to the charging Wiltshireman and his Finnish passenger. Also worthy of a strong finish were the Blue Machinery Suzuki mounted Ben Bygrave/Stuart Clarke who had obviously cured their gear linkage problem. They had fought free of Ian Guy/Dan Evanson and Gary Horspole/Jimmy Connell to claim sixth, and ten points at the flag.
Result – 1/ Stevens/Charlwood, 2/ Peach/Richardson, 3/ Lovelock/Aalto, 4/ Holland/Watson, 5/ Brown/Hawes, 6/ Bygrave/Clark, 7/ Guy/Evanson, 8/ Horspole/Connell, 9/ Bryan/Winn, 10/ Drowne/Pilmoor-Brady

Standings – Stevens/Charlwood 160, Peach/Richardson 127.5, Lovelock/Aalto 94, Kershaw/Wilson 87.5, Holland/Watson 77, Brown/Hawes, 64.5, Guy/Evanson 57.5, Birchall/Birchall 50.
The next round comes from Brands Hatch in two weeks, July 17/18/19th