The IHRO races at the fabulous Gedinne circuit in the Ardennes were a bit of a mixed bag in terms of entries and weather.

There was torrential rain in the days before the meeting which left the paddock area very wet, but despite that, the hard working members of the CRMB together with a large number of dedicated riders, had the circuit looking pristine and very well protected with huge quantities of large straw bales in all the danger spots. The CRMB crew worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to ensure that the meeting continued to be the huge success that it has become over the last 5 years.

For the most part, the weather was kind to the actual practicing and races, but with the F1 cars racing at nearby Spa, it was almost inevitable that, midway through Sunday afternoon it turned bad, unfortunately part way through the second IHRO1 race of the meeting !.

First practice for IHRO was for IHRO2 which was combined with the CRMB 750cc and Post classic 2 stroke classes. here is was shown very clearly that the machine and rider combinations which are present at the top of the IHRO classes were significantly faster than the other classes, with Peter Branton who looked in a very determined mood on his Seeley G50, some 8 seconds faster than the first 750 and TZ, Hans de Witt on his Konig was second IHRO2 rider with local rider Phill Sharp on Tony Dunnell’s Manx, close behind.

The first IHRO1 practice was even closer, with Ives Glauser staking his claim to pole position just a second ahead of Branton, with Nigel Palmer on his Ducati 0.1 seconds adrift in third. Fastest 350 was Manx resident Richard Hawkins on his Ducati leading Martin Hudson on his Seeley 7R who was just ahead of James Walker on Dennis Gaskins’s Aermacchi. Des Wootton was the only, and therefore fastest 250.

First race was the combined IHRO2-750-post classic. It was Branton who lead from the start with Sharp in his slipstream, and these two battled for the win throughout the entire race, with Sharp managing to out drag Branton on the run down to the flag to win by just 0.3 seconds, these two were nearly 20 seconds ahead of first TZ rider Nigel Palmer, further emphasising their abilities and those of their machines. Paul De Doncker on his Honda continued his recent good run of results in third place.

The first IHRO1 race was another excellent race, this time it was Sharp with the hole shot, but Branton fought hard and took the lead on the second lap where he stayed until wily Sharp got him back on the last lap again to win by 1.2 seconds. After a steady start, Glauser powered through on the last few laps to take third place some 5 seconds ahead of Ton Groot on his Tickle Manx. The 350 class saw another excellent battle, this time between Hudson, Walker, Hawkins and Marc Michot on his Aermacchi, Hudson led for 2 laps till Michot got past as Walker started to drop down the grid, eventually retiring on lap 4, Hawkins finished a fine second to Michot with a slowing Hudson in third.

Sunday brought the forecast of rain, but despite a shower first thing the weather stayed good for practice. As on Saturday, it was IHRO machines and riders which dominated this practice with Branton and Sharp the leading duo. Third was Mathias Weichel on his Benelli, having another guest ride after Oschersleben.

IHRO1 practice was again led by Glauser from Branton, Sharp having retired on the first lap, Palmer was a close third. Hawkins was again fastest 350, well clear of close qualifying Hudson and Walker.

In the combined IHRO2 race, it was again the Branton Sharp show, and as in the first race it was Sharp who had the advantage on the last lap by 0.2 seconds, Weichel was a good third.

The Sunday IHRO1 race had its start delayed while the debris from the previous sidecar race was cleared from the track, this was to prove crucial to the overall race as midway through the second lap the heavens opened and half the grid retired, deeming conditions too dangerous to continue. This spoiled what had promised to be a good race, Sharp, after having to start from the back of the grid due to not qualifying in the morning practice, left the line in a determined manner, riding down the grass edge to be in 4th place as they went up the hill on the far side of the paddock and third as they crossed the line for the first time. Branton had got the lead at the start but was quickly passed by Glauser on lap 2 and Sharp appeared to be sat back watching the scrap until the rain started, initially on the furthest part of the track, but soon sweeping across the entire circuit, this was a torrential downpour, and many riders decided to pull into the paddock rather than risk themselves and their machines in the conditions. Glauser and Branton stayed out but Branton was black-flagged for a loose fairing on lap 4, allowing Glauser, who rode sensibly in the conditions to take the win 11 seconds ahead of Palmer with Hawkins in third. It was a shame that the race was spoiled after all the promise at the start.

The IHRO Continental Circus now moves north to Djursland in Denmark for the final event of the 2010 season.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 11:41 am and is filed under Results. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.