26 events are set to form a part of the 2018 Duke Road Race Rankings Championship, which is anticipated to include the newly reincarnated Eppynt Welsh Road Races.
The 16th running of the prestigious series will start next April, at Oliver’s Mount for the Bob Smith Spring Cup National Road Races, which will include the re running of this years Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup.
Newly crowned series champion for a second successive year, Bradford’s Dean Harrison has proven the dominant Duke Road Race Rankings force of recent times.
Photo by Nick Wheeler
In between the Silicone Engineering racers stellar display’s, the likes of twice Lightweight TT winner Ivan Lintin, McAdoo Kawasaki’s James Cowton, Derek McGee and Derek Sheils have all consistently been in contention for one of pure road racing’s most prestigious titles.
Overall almost 500 riders scored championship points throughout 2017, a stat that firmly showcases the growing popularity of roads competition within the UK, mainland Europe and worldwide.
The top 20 finishers in the 2017 Duke Road Race Rankings championship, are as follows:
1 Dean Harrison 2506
2 James Cowton 1761
3 Ivan Lintin 1394
4 Jamie Coward 1328
5 Derek McGee 1288
6 Michael Dunlop 1268
7 Derek Sheils 1241
8 Joe Thompson 1202
9 Joe Loughlin 1010
10 Adam McLean 988
11 Peter Hickman 985
12 Daley Mathison 881
13 Michael Sweeney 835
14 Barry Davidson 775
15 Michael Rutter 763
16 William Dunlop 732
17 Dan Kneen 676
18 Darryl Tweed 638
19 David Howard 587
20 Paul Gartland 564
Words by Stevie Rial