Report: Eddy’s H2O Extreme Classic
By TMX Archives on 17th Aug 16
Factory KTM Extreme rider Jonny Walker rocketed back onto the Hard Enduro scene with a terrific win at Fast Eddys new extreme venue, H2O near Oswestry.
Coming back from injury Walker showed no signs that he had ever been away from the sport as he dominated the two-and-a-half-hour race ahead of Paul Bolton and Billy Bolt, lapping virtually the entire field of riders in the process.
Since organiser Paul Edmondson has been there, H2O has been used in many guises but never before had riders seen it as an extreme venue and there was plenty of choice for sections.
The huge motocross track was untouched as the course concentrated solely on the large woodland hillside and the steep-sided valley adjacent to it – and with support from Michelin and Rock Oil the event really was set to be a classic.
Dipping briefly into the valley off the start the course continued on to an open field section before the tough stuff really began as the woodland section approached.
Once into the woods the twisty track plummeted straight downhill before a U-turn back towards the top of the hillside and into the large rocks.
It continued on to a series of logs which increased in difficulty and finished with a flourish over a waist-high monster, although there was a longer easy route for riders who were just short of enough confidence to take it on.
Then it was back down to the valley floor and up again into the Rock Oil Rocks, a 50-metre boulder-strewn section with at least two relatively straightforward lines across them that gave a 30-second advantage over the slower route further down the slope.
After passing through the heavily-rutted and stumped Arm Pump Alley, riders emerged into the open valley before turning down to the snaking stream section which led to a massive hillclimb, up and down, then towards the finish with another very steep slope to negotiate.
A proper tough and challenging lap!
The optional qualifying run around a short part of the course saw Walker 14 seconds ahead of Eurotek KTM mounted Bolton.
Bolts had a superb feet-up run across the rocks and really made it look easy, while Tom Sagar manhandled his Sherco to third ahead of Bolt.
The race got underway and almost immediately Walker was in control with Bolton and Bolt in pursuit.
Hitting the steep woodland Walker gained a huge advantage as Bolt crashed hard at high speed on the first big downhill and took a few minutes to recover before continuing.
Bolton pushed hard to keep sight of Walker while Tom Sagar held a solid third.
Walker was in his element around H2O and really made every obstacle look easy but it was far from that for the rest of the field.
Only Bolton kept his momentum and followed Walker to the flag as Bolt overcame a huge gap to eventually catch and pass Sagar for third, with Gary Daniels fifth.
Daniels had ridden extremely well and deserved his top-five Pro spot, while only Walker and Bolton managed more than 10 laps, overtaking plenty of very competent riders on the way – there were plenty of lines around the course so passing wasn't a problem.
Keelan Hancock nailed the Expert class, using his considerable trials skills to get around the course, always taking the hard but fast options to beat Brad Williams into second spot by eight minutes.
Ben Wibberley was just under a minute behind Williams, with Damo Butler, spannerman to Graham Jarvis, also putting in an appearance and riding well.Veterans Andrew Reeves and Mick Boam had a great battle throughout.
Boam slightly misjudged the really big log in timed qualifying and wrenched his shoulder but he charged on to finish second in class in the race, with Mark Kirby putting in a great performance for third.
Lee Hattersley headed the Clubman class. after battling throughout with close friend and rival Ryan Armitage and managing to pull it out of the bag in the closing stages.
Ryan Bevan took advantage of Armitage's lack of bike time over the past few months to take second spot.
Tom Widd was triumphant in the Youth class, four laps ahead of his closest rival Mathias Sallin, with Suff Sella a creditable third.
Suff is visiting the UK from Israel and at 13 already has a Romaniacs finish under his belt and despite being somewhat handicapped on a BW85cc he rode bravely and put on a great show.
Andy Harvey managed to hold off Dave Handley in the Sportsman ranks – but there was not much in it by the end of the race, with the pair neck and neck at many points.
Henry Walker claimed third and the turnout of Sportsman riders was very impressive considering it was a Hard Enduro.
Getting the balance of the course right is always a difficult task but Neil Stoksie and his team did it well, with the course very tough for the Sportsman and still challenging for the Pros with plenty of features, all natural terrain and obstacles.
Paul Bolton said it is unusual in the UK to have a hard enduro where there is a choice of lines virtually all way around
