By Stuart Williams
August 15 2005

The SM1 rivalry between Iddon and Winstanley is proving to be one of the highlights of this year’s Vivaldi British Supermoto Championship and, following on from some heated moments at Rockingham, the two were at it again in the second SM1 race of the day which proved to be an absolute thriller.

The pair were embroiled in a tense battle for much of the race, after Warren was overtaken early on by Winstanley. The KTM rider was then relegated to second after a clash with Iddon on the final turn, followed by a near miss on the start-finish straight. Iddon went on to take the win despite broken bones in his wrist and hand, sustained after a fall in the first SM1 race.

It didn’t go all their way though, with Warren stealing Winstanley’s thunder in the opening SM2 race - picking up his first win of the season following on from a pole in SM1 Fiorentino kept them honest virtually claiming the third podium step as his own, with up-and-comers James Addy and Matt Gordon forcing their way into the top five in the SM2 class.

SM1 Qualifying
Sam Warren was on it for SM1 qualifying, posting his first pole of the season by just a few hundredths of a second over Matt Winstanley, with Christian Iddon almost half a second further back.
1 Sam Warren; 2 Matt Winstanley; 3 Christian Iddon

SM2 Qualifying
Matt Winstanley was the only rider in the SM2 class to record a time in the 1 minute 10s, with Sam Warren continuing his strong form to place second. Fred Fiorentino was third, with a welcome return to the front row for Rob Cross in fourth.
1 Matt Winstanley; 2 Sam Warren; 3 Fred Fiorentino

(SM2 Race 1) Maiden win for Warren
Matt Winstanley took the holeshot in the first race of the day, but wasn’t able to hold the lead for long after a low speed fall dropped him to eighth. This allowed Sam Warren to snatch the lead on the first lap, and promoted Rob Cross to second, which he held for most of the race before a fall in the dirt section denied him of his first podium.

Warren was able to maintain the lead for the entire race, despite some very close attention from Cross then newcomer James Addy who, following a tough round at Rockingham, found some form and finished the race in a commendable fourth place. Fiorentino as always was lurking in the lead bunch, and a hard charging Winstanley fought his way back through the pack to finish second. Warren though wasn’t going to be denied and he took the chequered flag for a well deserved first win of the season.
1 Sam Warren; 2 Matt Winstanley; 3 Fred Fiorentino

(SM1 Race 1) Winstanley wins battle with Warren
Warren was in the thick of it once again in the SM1 race, taking the holeshot and holding the lead position for half the race, over Winstanley and Iddon. Iddon got past Matt on the first lap to take second, before he went down in the dirt section on lap four, breaking bones in his wrist and hand, which allowed Winstanley and Fiorentino through.

Winstanley eventually got past Warren, who was then caught by Fiorentino, who had a bad start, and finally Iddon on the second last lap. Speaking after the race Winstanley said the first SM1 race was a reasonably straight forward affair.
“I messed up in the first SM2 race and went a little hot into the corner. The track was still a bit cold and I lost the front-end, letting Sam through. In the SM1 race Christian got past me at the start, but then he fell and I got around Sam by the middle of the race. The only job then was to avoid the back-markers.”
1 Matt Winstanley; 2 Fred Fiorentino; 3 Christian Iddon

(SM2 Race 2) Winstanley back to the fore
After something of an upset in the first SM2 race, Winstanley returned to his winning ways in the second outing of the day, taking a relatively easy win. Warren though was out to keep him honest, and pushed him as hard as he could, finishing seven seconds in arrears. He was though a little lucky to get to the grid after trouble starting his bike in pit lane. Fred Fiorentino once again rounded out the podium with another fine third place finish.

Rob Cross’ bad luck continued, following a storming start which saw him hold down fourth place in the early part of the race, before another DNF prematurely ended his day. This elevated Matt Gordon to fourth at the finish, which capped off his fifth in the first SM2 race. Warren said that it had been a really good day.
“It’s been a good day out. Picking up my first win of the season is great, plus a pole position in SM1 was a real bonus. I pushed Matt as hard as I could in that race and kept him honest.”
1 Matt Winstanley; 2 Sam Warren; 3 Fred Fiorentino

(SM1 Race 2) Iddon wins a cracker
The two great protagonists put on a fantastic show for the final race of the day, with Warren and Fiorentino in the mix to make a freight train of four riders making many a back-marker rather nervous. It was Warren who drew first blood, taking the holeshot, and held the lead for the first couple of laps. Winstanley eventually got past him and then a coming together on the final turn allowed Iddon to take the lead. This was followed by the two nearly clashing again on the start-finish straight.

With everyone holding their breath, the Husaberg and KTM riders fought tooth and nail for the remainder of the race. Completely oblivious to the goings on behind them, Fiorentino and Warren closed in, with third place also changing hands a number of times over the last few laps. It was Iddon though in the end who won out, taking the narrowest of wins from Winstanley with Fiorentino third.
1 Christian Iddon; 2 Matt Winstanley; 3 Fred Fiorentino

(SM4) Dichello all class
Gennaro Dichello continues to lead by example in the SM4 class for Juniors, picking up another clean sweep of a pole position and two wins. In fact, his qualifying time on the little 80cc machine would put him on the back row of the grid in both the SM1 and SM2 main events, such is the young rider’s class. Keeping him honest are the two Olivers of Pope and Harrison, with Lewis Cornish coming home third overall on the day.
SM4 Overall: 1 Gennaro Dichello; 2 Oliver Pope; 3 Lewis Cornish

Naturally Best, Rider of the Day
The cheque for the Naturally Best, Rider of the Day has already done some travelling this year, heading over to Belgium in the hands of Fred Fiorentino at the last Sunderland outing. This time its gone West to Ireland, courtesy of Irish Supermoto champion Greg Kinsella. Having very nearly won the award last time out at the Warden Law Motorsport Centre, Greg qualified well in SM1 and had some bad luck in the second SM2 race. He then fought back from 25th to eighth in the final SM1 race.