THE Eastern Airways British Sidecar Championship will go to the last round at Mallory Park in a fortnight after Easingwold's Team Castrol Suzuki ace Steve Webster was forced out whilst leading the second leg at Knockhill yesterday.

After winning a close battle with the ever-improving Team M & M Suzuki's Tim Reeves in the first leg, Webster was on target to repeat his success, but with just two laps to go and the hard work done, he dramatically slowed, gifting the race win to Reeves.

That means Webster's championship points lead - 47 before yesterday - is cut down to 27 points, with 50 left to race for at Mallory.

"We'd had a good race with Reeves in the first leg, and I really wanted to get the second win to wrap up the championship with a round to go. I thought we'd done enough, but then the bike just slowed down. It turned out to be a minor electrical problem but it stopped us," said a disappointed Webster.

However, a 27-point lead going into the last round means that Webster needs to secure 23 points from the remaining 50 to take the title, even if Reeves were to win both races. But because the scoring system gives 25 for a win and 20 for second, Webster really needs to win the first leg at Mallory to put it beyond reach and avoid a nail-biting finale at a meeting that has been renowned for monsoon rains in the last few years.

Frustratingly for Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead, the third race of the day was the non-championship Jock Taylor Memorial Trophy.

After the race-stopping wiring glitch was fixed, they won convincingly, taking a new lap record.

"It was some consolation winning the Jock Taylor Trophy - it means a lot to sidecar racers," said Webster.

Eastern Airways Sidecar Championship

(Round 9 at Knockhill)

Race 1 result (10 laps 12.28 miles): 1 Steve Webster, Castrol Suzuki 9m 18.693 82.929mph, 2 Tim Reeves, M & M Suzuki 9m 19.172, 3 Andy Laidlow, TLF Suzuki 9m 36.191, 4 Derek Brindley, Readymix Suzuki 9m 36.579, 5 Greg Lambert, Dalepak Suzuki 9m 37.983

Race 2 result (10 laps 12.28 miles): 1 Reeves 8m 58.037s 86.113mph, 2 Brindley 9m 03.674, 3 Lambert 9m 12.909, 4 Pedder 9m 17.262, 5 Philp 9m 17.426

Total points after round nine: 1 Steve Webster and Paul Woodhead 291, 2 Tim Reeves and Tristan Reeves M & M Suzuki 264, 3 Derek Brindley and Neil Miller Readymix Suzuki 240, 4 Greg Lambert and James Sirrell Dalepak Suzuki 170, 5 Bill Philp and Rick Long 155 Yamaha 169.

Updated: 09:49 Monday, October 04, 2004