North Kelsey sidecar duo preserve GB Championship lead

The pair won race two in the Netherlands after finishing second in the first race to keep their 30-point lead in the Molson British Sidecar Championship intact with two rounds to go.

Ellis and Richardson completed their qualifying in third place to secure a second-row start for the opening race.

They got away to a good start and settled into second behind world championship leaders Tim Reeves and Mark Wilks who were riding as wildcards and unable to score points in the British championship.

This meant Ellis/Richardson were in effect leading the race.

On lap four, teammates and arch rivals Kershaw and Clark made a pass stick, leaving Ellis and Richardson to follow them home in second place.

This allowed Kershaw and Clark to close to within 25 points of the leaders.

Starting the second race from the fourth row, Ellis and Richardson made a brilliant start and took the lead at the first corner.

They were overtaken by Reeves and Wilks, who went on to take their second win of the weekend,

Their result was disregarded in the points, and Ellis and Richardson remained in control to take the 25 points that were awarded for the race win.

Kershaw and Clark were second which meant the five points they gained over the championship leaders from the first race were wiped out, while Ellis and Richardson left Assen with their 30-point lead in the championship intact.

Fellow North Kelsey racers Gary Bryan and Phil Hyde rode to a ninth and 10th place, dropping them down to fourth in the overall rider standings.

Meanwhile, further downfield, Bryan and Hyde began Saturday’s first race from the seventh row.

They got a good start and moved up into ninth position on the first lap where they remained throughout the 10 laps to claim seven championship points.

Starting the second race from the sixth row, Bryan and Hyde held 11th place for the first three laps before moving forward to 10th on the fourth lap.

But their progress was short-lived when they were forced back to 12th.

In a dramatic turn of events there was a coming together with another outfit resulting in some damage to the wheel arch fairing and Bryan did well to keep the outfit on track.

The pair recovered well and went on to complete the race in 10th position to pick up six more championship points, but just not enough to maintain their third position in the rider standings.

They drop a place to fourth on 154 points, but only six adrift of third place.

The penultimate round of the championship is at Donington Park from October 4 to 6.