Chrissy Rouse dominates again at Cadwell Park
Chrissy Rouse showed his incredible racing talent again at Cadwell Park as he fought his way to the front and took the double win with a gap of four seconds from the rest of the pack.
It has been said by Triumph Triple Challenge (TTC) Race Promoter Tony Scott that Cadwell Park is a circuit for men and it definitely proved itself this weekend. In Race 2 Charlie King rode despite his injury and finished the race second, increasing his lead in the Cup class to 35 points and moving up to third in the main championship.
King had got pole position after demonstrating some great pace in Race 1. As they pulled away it seemed he would struggle though and Spanish rider Aleix Aulestia got the holeshot, followed by Rouse and Tom Ward.
It was clear, Rouse was determined to get both wins again this weekend and took the lead after making a move on Aulestia at the Gooseneck.
On lap two King was giving it his all and passed Ward, putting him in third and closing in on the Spaniard. Ward tried to make a move on him twice but was unable to make it stick both times.
While this was going on, Rouse was storming ahead. By lap three he already had a 1.2 second advantage on Aulestia.
The front runners were still pushing one another, on lap five King attempted an overtake on Aulestia but ran wide allowing him to regain the position. He managed to push the Spaniard wide again though and this time took the advantage. Aulestia was not giving up though and continued to put the pressure on.
On lap eight, Aulestia had a moment and Pett also attempted to pass him but was unable to do so and soon found Phil Atkinson attempting the same move on him. Luckily for Pett, Atkinson was also unable to take the position.
Rouse was on another level, on lap seven he put in the fastest lap of the race. Then on lap eight, he broke the lap record for the TTC at Cadwell Park. He went on to win his eighth TTC race with a lead of almost four seconds.
Unfortunately Ward, who had been running fourth behind Pett, had to pull in on lap six due to a fault with his bike. The wildcard rider was frustrated with the result as he believed he had the pace to win the race and was catching the top three despite riding the 2011 Daytona 675.
The battle to get on the Cup class podium and sixth was going on behind. On lap four Dan Helyer was devastated when he and Tom Oliver made contact, throwing him from his bike at Chris Curve. Helyer was only ten points behind King in the Cup class and looking to consolidate his position, if not take the lead, in Race 2 but is now 35 points behind.
King came second across the line but took the Cup win once again, Aulestia came third. Oliver managed to stay on his bike after the knock with Helyer and finished sixth but second in the Cup class. Next over the line was Scott Pitchers who took advantage of Luke Shelley’s mistake on the last lap and took third from him.
Cup class winner King commented: “It was a really tough race, just riding through the pain barrier the whole way. I just couldn’t compete with Chrissy he was just riding at another level this weekend – and all year really. It’s been a matter of if you can keep up with Chrissy you’re really on the pace this year because he’s just racing so fast but so consistently and smooth. We can give it a go in the last couple of rounds but I think it’s going to be difficult to beat still. I’m physically shattered, I don’t think we could have put more effort into that.”
Race winner Rouse was ecstatic with the way the weekend had gone: 
“It’s been a fantastic weekend for me, my Stratstone Triumph has been perfect the whole time and having a 58 point lead has put me exactly where I wanted to be ahead of Donnington.”
Aulestia was surprised with the result but really happy with how the weekend went:
“Its been a very good weekend for me, especially in this second race. I got the race lines and found that following the leaders meant I could push hard and feel comfortable on the track. But just when I got this solved, the arm pump appeared and I could not keep improving my lap times and Freddy and Phil were pushing hard from behind. Getting on the podium twice was not something I was not expecting after qualifying and we made it despite that the set up was not very good and I had a lot of sliding. Now I’m really motivated for the weekend at Donington!”
Tom Oliver has been improving steadily over the season and got on the Cup podium twice this weekend. He commented:
“It was a really good race, everyone’s really on the pace, it was a quick race. Me and Dan had a bit of a coming together, he sort of ran wide on Park and I saw the gap going round Chris Curve and went for it. I was committed to the move and I think he was committed to the corner as well.”
Pitchers was also please with the result: “I think I need to have a think about how I start the race because it keeps giving me loads of work. It was a good race, I kept trying and pushing on and I was able to pinch third in the Cup on the last lap. I knew I was going to struggle here so that wasn’t too bad, I think the rest of the tracks I’m going to find it easier to get on the pace.”
It was another great race from Shelley who spoke to us about his mistake and narrowly missing out on third: “I just ran wide and Scott Pitchers flicked through. I think we were just as fast as each other and I couldn’t push. I led the battle the whole time so I didn’t see anyone until the last lap when I made a mistake myself!”
The TTC will be back at Donnington Park in two weeks time, for more information head to the website (www.triumphtriplechallenge.co
