MOTORSPORT: THREE South Cheshire riders enjoyed plenty of thrills and spills during the latest round of the New Era series at Oulton Park.

Rob Deavall competed in the Supersport 600 class on his Suzuki GSXR600, while Craig Beggs, on a Honda RS250, and Steve Kuenne, on a TSR-Honda 250, took part in the GP 250 class.

In qualifying, the weather was mixed and the local lads had mixed times, with Kuenne quickest through much of his session to finish second on the grid for both his races. Beggs, who found himself blocked and unable to put in a quick lap, found himself down in 17th place.

Both 250 races provided plenty of excitement with Kuenne, the current championship leader, setting the pace at the front.

The Crewe rider, from the Dave Sandlands Racing stable, hung on to take second place in the opening race despite almost being taken out by his main rival, Ian Parkin-Coates, at the new chicane at the Knickerbrook corner on the first lap.

Meanwhile, Beggs suffered a disappointment when his clutch went halfway around the first lap, forcing him to retire.

The second race saw both riders enjoy better fortunes, with Kuenne taking the chequered flag almost two seconds ahead of his nearest challenger while Beggs impressed his sponsors with a gutsy ride through the field to 10th on his repaired machine.

Deavall, featured in the Chronicle for his amazing ability with only one arm, started his first race 27th on the grid after qualifying on compound tyres.

He said: 'I made a good start, only to have a lad stall directly in front, which allowed everyone to pull away. I managed to catch and pass a few but had a few scary moments when my thumb decided it would give up, meaning I did a little grass tracking and missed the chicane on one lap. I finally finished 19th.'

A misunderstanding saw Deavall forced to tag on to the end of the following 600 race, but despite starting 32nd on the grid and suffering more problems with his thumb, he managed to finish 22nd.

'I'd hoped to do better, but I wasn't too disappointed as I went a second a lap quicker each time and stayed on the black stuff,' he said. 'There were no crashes and I picked up a trophy for 'man of the meeting' so, all in all, it was a good weekend.'

* Beggs wishes to thank his sponsors, CPS Building Supplies and Stylish Windows and Facias, both of Northwich, BETA Graphics of Newcastle and Two Wheel Tyres of Middlewich. Deavall would like to thank Joey Singleton of Lonsdale Security, Ray Bruche of The Royal Hotel, Crewe, John Wilson Powder Coating, Shavington, and Eric Flowers and the team for helping!