
Kettering Tennis Club plans refurbishment of outdoor courts
Four outdoor tennis courts are to be refurbished after a club was served up a £69,000 grant.Kettering Tennis Club said it would use the money to resurface its courts, provide outdoor seating and refurbish a room inside its pavilion.It was awarded by FCC Communities Foundation via North Northamptonshire Council.Club chair Christopher Todd said: "This is an important investment in our club facilities, which will benefit both current and future generations of players."
The club was founded more than 50 years ago by Post Office workers and has won numerous titles across Northamptonshire.It contributed almost £7,500 from its own funds to support the refurbishment scheme.Mr Todd added: "Kettering Tennis Club's goal is to continue to grow our offering to the local community."We hope this project can open doors to further investment in future to more tennis courts for members and the general public, as well as the potential for padel tennis."Helen Howell, the Conservative council's deputy leader, said the money would make a "huge difference" to the facilities."This project will provide a real boost to the people of Kettering and surrounding areas," she added.
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Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Michael Dunlop sets lap record on way to 33rd TT victory: ‘It's a great wee bike'
The Northern Ireland rider's record haul of victories around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course now stands at a staggering 33 wins ahead of today's final Senior race. Dunlop has also won both Supersport races this year and hasn't been off the podium in any race he has started, finishing second in the Superbike race and earning two thirds in the Superstock races. He went into the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin race as the hot favourite following a wide-margin win over Manx rider Michael Evans in the opener. True to form, Dunlop was rarely threatened, opening a lead of 12 seconds over Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgett's Paton) after the first of three laps. He lost a few seconds during his pit-stop to Todd, but Dunlop quickly restored a commanding advantage of 14.5s by the end of the penultimate lap. He blasted the lap record on his final circuit with a speed of 123.056mph to win by 26.77s from Todd, with Dominic Herbertson 20.5s back in third on the Melbray Racing Paton. Afterwards, Dunlop said he was surprised by his lap record feat and felt he had rolled off the pace slightly to nurse his Paton home safely for another TT success. 'Very nice, was that on the last lap?' Dunlop said. 'I'm a bit surprised because I backed off a little bit because I saw I had a bit of a lead. 'It [gap] dropped away down after the pit-stop and came back up again. I said 'I'll get a push on here', and then on the last lap we just nursed it. 'That's three Patons in here and people say it's because I'm on a Paton [wins races]. 'They are a great wee bike and the bike has been mint, that's a double again. 'I'd like to have a lap on my own without any stress to see what I could really do but thanks to everybody. 'My main thing is it's another win under the belt. I'm happy enough and my job is to win the race.' Giving his thoughts on his chances in today's Senior, Dunlop added: 'I'll have and that's four this week already, so it's a bit of an achievement again, so I'm happy. We'll just keep going and see what we're made of.' Runner-up Todd said he gave it his all but claimed his Paton was no match for Dunlop's machine. 'We're never going to compete with that thing, there's absolutely zero chance, but not taking anything away from Michael because he's riding super hard,' said Todd. 'I rode that as hard as I could and I'm super-stoke to get the Milenco by Padgett's team up on the box again. 'Clive [Padgett] bought this Paton here and tried to make the best of it. 'I really struggled in that first race and I think the boys really got their heads together, and Clive's given me a great bike.' Herbertson was toasting his second TT podium after previously finishing on the rostrum in the Supertwin class last year on a Paton for John Burrows' team. 'I'm absolutely over the moon,' he said. 'The team bought a Paton, we've dug in and I don't know what to say. 'Five-and-a-half weeks to turn this around and I cannot thank everyone enough. 'Being number 13 – unlucky for some but not for us.' Manx rider Michael Evans, second in race one, retired on the opening lap, while Rob Hodson from Wigan – third in the opening Supertwin race – dropped out with a problem while lying third. Paul Jordan from Magherafelt came home in fourth on the Jackson Racing Aprilia, 3.1s behind Herbertson, with Mike Browne (KMR/Jack Reid Cars Kawasaki) and Adam McLean (Flitwick Motorcycles Yamaha) from Tobermore completing the top six.


Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Dean Harrison completes Isle of Man TT Superstock double: ‘I can go fast, I've proved that'
Harrison took advantage of Davey Todd's pit-stop woe when the 8TEN Racing rider struggled to restart his BMW machine, losing approximately 12 seconds, while fellow top rival Michael Dunlop had more issues with his MD Racing BMW after an electronics problem in the first race. Harrison won the three-lap Opul Superstock race – delayed from 10:45am until 2:30pm because of damp patches – by 16 seconds from a disappointed Todd, who had 32 seconds in hand over Dunlop. 'Massive thanks to the whole team and Honda, everyone's put a brilliant bike together and it's great to see the Honda Fireblade on P1,' said Harrison. 'We're constantly trying to adapt. Everyone's in the same boat here, really, it's such a difficult place. Trying to set your bike up around here is a bit of a compromise. 'We had a little bit of a stability issue which we've near enough cured now, and it just means that I can ride the bike how I want to ride the bike. 'I can go fast, I've proved that this week; I just need a bit of luck on my side on the day and here we are.' Harrison's wins are his first at the TT since 2019 and the Isle of Man-based Bradford man could not hide his elation in the winners' enclosure. 'Words can't describe it,' he added. 'I'm absolutely over the moon to get two wins in the Superstock race. 'I got off to a real hard start, I read my pit board and I was P1, P2, and P1 over the Mountain. I saw P1 +13 coming out of Glen Helen on lap two, I thought 'Oh'. 'I carried on as hard as I could and thought, 'I'll carry on this lap to try and manage that, if I can keep that lead the same there's no way someone's going to make 13 or 14 seconds on me in a lap'. 'So, I just kept my head down and I got to P1 +20, and I just read my board from there and just managed it and sort of knocked it off a little bit on the last lap and just brought it home.' Todd won last year's only Superstock race but the Saltburn-by-the-Sea man had to settle for the runner-up spot again after finishing second in the opening race. 'Another frustrating one,' Todd said. 'I'm just disappointed. 'I really felt like we could challenge for that win there, made some improvements to the bike. Then it didn't start in the pit-stop – not a clue why. 'I had the same thing last year, for a different reason, but it just wouldn't start. 'I felt like I had a really steady first lap and we were in the mix there. 'I guess I half-gave-up [after the pit stop] because you're not going to reel that time back on someone like Dean [Harrison] when he's riding the way he is.' Dunlop was equally dismayed after struggling on the first lap especially with his BMW, when Dunlop dropped to 20th by Glen Helen after running on at Braddan. 'I don't know what's going on, we tried everything but something's not working for some reason,' he said. 'Then I ran on – I just couldn't get a gear – I ran on at Braddan and then I knew that was the race [over] after that. 'You can't drop time against these boys and it was just damage limitation after that.' Ian Hutchinson had been in the hunt for a podium on the opening lap before retiring on the MLav Racing BMW. Fourth went to James Hillier on the Muc-Off Honda from Conor Cummins on the Burrows/RK Racing BMW, while Australian Josh Brookes rounded out the top six on the Jackson Racing Honda. Brookes' team-mate Paul Jordan was forced out with a problem.


Belfast Telegraph
6 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Davey Todd fends off Michael Dunlop to win delayed Isle of Man TT Superbike race: ‘It was pretty special'
Todd was pushed hard by Dunlop (ROKiT BMW) but held on to win by just under 1.3s after four laps in the first race of the 2025 Isle of Man TT, which was delayed from a planned 10:45am start until 12 noon due to oils spills on the Mountain section and from Bray Hill to Quarterbridge. The 29-year-old was seven seconds up after two laps but a slower pitstop than Dunlop cost him around six seconds. Dunlop began to slash the deficit and was only 0.269s behind at Glen Helen on the final lap, but the Northern Ireland rider lost some ground when he caught Honda Racing's Dean Harrison on the road and also struggled with rear tyre problems. Dunlop still recorded the fastest lap of the race at 135.416mph on the last lap, marginally quicker than Todd's 135.327mph effort. It wasn't enough, though, as Todd held on for his third career victory at the TT, with Harrison taking third, 43.5s further back on Dunlop. 'It's pretty special,' Todd said. 'I don't think there's many guys who can say they've done that. 'I can't take the credit, though, for being team owner. It's the rest of the team who had done the hard miles, and Pete [Peter Hickman] included. 'Pete's worked his butt off to make this happen and I'm gutted for him and I can't wait till he's healed up and back battling with me.' Hickman was ruled out of the TT after crashing in qualifying at Kerrowmoar on Friday evening. Runner-up Dunlop said: 'It was hard. I was really down on the first lap and then started to claw my way back again. 'Then on the last lap I felt good, but I caught Dean at the wrong place and just started dropping seconds. 'Then we blew a hole in the tyre, the tyre's destroyed, so we lost all grip, which is highly disappointing because I knew on the last lap we could have a bit of a second breath and have another go. 'But it's just the way it is. I'm not sure what we can do to cure the issue we've now got. 'We now need to get to change that balance again for Saturday, but the lack of track time hasn't helped.' Manxman Nathan Harrison finished fourth on the H&H Motorcycles Honda ahead of David Johnson (Platinum Club Kawasaki) and James Hillier (Muc-Off Honda), with 23-time winner John McGuinness (Honda Racing) in seventh. Josh Brookes (Jackson Racing Honda) was eighth, with team-mate Paul Jordan 10th behind Michael Evans. Conor Cummins retired on the Burrows/RK Racing BMW and Banbridge man Shaun Anderson crashed out at Joey's on the Mountain, escaping serious injury.