Castlerock’s Marty Nutt was back in action at the weekend, contesting round five of the Ducati 848 Challenge at Oulton Park and it proved to be another profitable two races as a brace of third place finishes extended his lead in the Championship to nine points and maintained his 100% podium record.
Riding the JHP/Nutttravel.com Ducati Coventry machine, Marty took pole position in a shortened qualifying session prior to Saturday’s first 10-lap race and a good start saw him grab the lead on the opening lap. Together with Dennis Hobbs he was able to open up a slight gap over the chasing pack but by half race distance, the gap had closed and the top six riders were separated by just 1.5s. Positions changed hands regularly until Hobbs made the break and Marty had to battle hard for a podium place. Indeed, he crossed the line in fourth place but with Ben Field having overtaken under a yellow flag, the positions were reversed and so Marty was promoted up to third.
With the sixth fastest lap of the race, Marty had to start Sunday’s second race from the second row of the grid but a good start meant he completed the first lap in third, just behind Hobbs and Field. The top six were close together but as the race progressed they became three groups of two with Marty in third battling to keep Leon Morris behind him. The latter pushed him back to fourth on the eighth lap and it looked like Marty would miss out on a podium spot but Field crashed out on the final lap, gifting him third place and with Jonathan Railton back in fifth, his lead extended to nine points, 194 to Railton’s 185.
Speaking later, a satisfied Marty said; “It’s been a tough weekend so to come away with two thirds is pleasing. I knew straightaway that Ben had overtaken under a yellow flag in the first race but it also messed up my line through the chicane, nearly allowing the two riders behind me to overtake. One of those was Jonathan and I nearly crashed in the final few corners trying to keep him at bay so I was relieved not only to make it to the finish but also to see the positions reversed.”
“The bike was flying in qualifying but, for some reason, maybe because of the new tyres, it didn’t feel like ‘mine’ in the race and it was a real wrestling match throughout. I was a bit slack on the brakes as well so third was a good result all things considered. We improved the bike for race two and although not ideal it was better although I was having to ride really hard just to get somewhere close. I ran into a bit of arm pump towards the end so had to dig deep and had a bit of luck when Ben went out but it meant I was able to make it ten podiums from ten races. It’s a shame Jonathan finished behind me in each race but the leads been extended which is the main thing.”
The next round of the series takes place in a month’s time at Donington Park on the weekend of September 6-8.
Photo courtesy of Glynne Lewis.
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