By There was in total five new solo Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough winners at the 68th Scarborough Gold Cup. They were Supersport C class winners Justin Collins and Richard Telford, Supersport B race 2 victor Daniel Forbes and 125/Moto 3/400 Race 2 pace setter Mark Purslow.
According to Team ILR’s Twitter page, Ian Lougher now has an incredible 140 victories! at Oliver’s Mount.
Nearest challenger to Lougher’s remarkable all time wins total at North Yorkshire’s ‘Mini TT’, is seven times Duke Road Race Rankings Champion Ryan Farquhar, who has triumphed on 109 occasions at England’s sole closed roads circuit.
Victories wise in 2019 at Scarborough, it’s recently crowned Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup winner Lee Johnston who leads the way, recording five wins from five starts on the Ashcourt Racing Yamaha.
Johnston’s Gold Cup success takes his tally of International Road Race successes into almost double figures, with the happy go lucky, hugely popular racer now having acquired nine International Roads victories.
He is also just the third racer from Northern Ireland to win the prestigious Gold Cup after Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop’s respective triumphs in 2011 and 2013.
Quickest Scarborough newcomer from the weekend’s competition was Paul Jordan, who’s maiden Yorkshire roads tenure saw him record a best lap time of 1 minute 57.017 seconds.
In total six nations were represented at this year’s Gold Cup meeting including Swedish courtesy of event debutant, eventual top 10 finisher in the Ultra Lightweight class, Anders Richnau.
Overall 25 solo racers claimed at least a top three finish, whilst five three wheeling crews banked top three finishes including last minute entrants Michael Kirkup/Arlo Brown and Ian Bell Trophy winners Lee Crawford/Scott Hardie.
Non finishers within the opening Sidecars race, Crawford/Hardie who emerged victorious in the remaining three wheeling encounters, are unbeaten this year at the ‘Mount’.
This year’s Gold Cup meet marked forty years since Barry Sheene completed a hat trick of Gold Cup victories plus thirty years since four times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty added the Gold Cup to his illustrious racing CV.
Words by Stevie Rial
