Castle Combe wins send Nev Jones's sidecar team to top of table

Since teaming up with Shrewsbury’s Tom Bryant as passenger in the Lincoln Refrigeration-sponsored LCR Yamaha 1000cc outfit, Jones has gone from strength to strength. And fresh from two wins at Derbyshire’s Darley Moor circuit, the duo made the long journey to the picturesque Wiltshire venue for rounds eight and nine of the championship.

The Saturday qualifying race looked like being held in wet conditions, but the team’s gamble to use slick tyres paid off on a rapidly drying track and they took a flag-to-flag victory by more than seven seconds.

Delays to the programme meant that the same day’s points race was put back to Sunday, so 50 were up for grabs and Jones and Bryant needed to make up ground on the leaders after missing the previous Oulton Park round and dropping to fifth in the title race.

A mediocre start in race one saw them briefly down in third place before they picked up the pace and pulled away from the chasing pack to land another seven-second victory and maximum points.

With the series leaders out of the second race, Jones and Bryant won a battle with another of their main rivals to take the chequered flag by less than two seconds and claim the Ralph Allen Press Trophy.