Report:Enduroland - Mud, Sweat & Gears
By TMX Archives on 6th Jan 17
Endurolands season got off to the best possible start with a full entry, great weather conditions and an excellent venue.
The Mud, Sweat & Gears event was in memory of Nik Fisk, a great friend and long-time supporter of Enduroland. It was held at the superb Deepdale Quarry venue, which was in great shape despite heavy rain throughout New Years Day. Aylesbury Husqvarna supported the event along with Acerbis.
The sand-based quarry had just a couple of wet patches to start with but as racing progressed the course improved to near perfect condition. The quarry floor and start straight were tricky at beginning but improved throughout the day, as did the tight and technical woodland section and the hill sections linking the two areas.
A terrific turnout of young riders saw more than 40 take to the start line for the first race of the day and, despite the initial tricky going, the youngsters were soon banging in fast laps around a slightly shorter course than the adults – the woodland section and tricky hills were not included in this race – but it was plenty tough enough, especially for 50cc Auto riders and some Junior 65cc racers.
Ethan Etheridge took the overall win and the 125cc Rookie class posting ten-laps – the only youth race rider to reach double figures. Jude Morris was second overall and had a terrific race on a SW85cc machine. BW85cc rider Charlie Selleck was third overall.
Finley Thompson was second placed 125cc Rookie with Olivia Avis third in class. In the SW85cc Harvey Cashmore followed Jude Morris home with Tyler Etheridge taking third spot. Archie Date and Travis Field completed the BW85 top three.
Jack Sandland continued his 2016 good form into 2017 with a win in the Junior 65cc class ahead of Jack Davis and Josh Knight.
A special mention must go to Harley O'Callaghan who managed to clock seven laps as the only Auto 50cc rider in the race, quite an achievement considering the number of 65cc and 85cc riders that didn't quite manage that many laps.
The Adult race was extremely well supported with near 150 riders filling the start line for 2.5-hours of fast and furious fun.
They faced a long drag race to the first corner over a sodden grassy and muddy surface, but in reality that was the wettest part of the course, although it did make for quite a few slides and slithers, watched with great interest by crowds of spectators on the hillside behind the start.
The Clubman Plus riders were first away and Dan Boam nailed the holeshot and seemed to be getting away from the competition but a sudden surge by Sam Nunn saw Boam demoted to second as the pack disappeared towards the woodland.
Boam was back in the lead by the time the first riders reached lap-scoring, he had the edge in the twisty woodland section, while Nunn was faster around the quarry floor area.
Dan Boam retired after five laps, a series of small crashes gave him a reality check and he thought it was only a matter of time before one of them would really hurt, so called it a day.
Nunn roared into the lead unopposed. With so many riders on track it was hard to follow who was where, but it was always clear that Nunn was in the lead.
What was not clear was that Jordan Wright was only 12-seconds behind him, much closer than imagined; even more of a surprise was that Brad Lilburn was in third place just four seconds behind Wright.
Matt Maxted headed the Clubman charge to the line, just ahead of Barney Thurgood and Tim Hammond, while early leader James Palmer slipped to fourth.
The Master class always provides great entertainment and this event was no exception.
Mick Belcher didn't know where he was (as usual) and was shocked to find he had won the class with a great ride of 11 laps, a cracking performance overshadowed slightly by the fact that he struggled to get onto the top step of the podium.
Belcher was a lap up on Richard Wright in second spot. Dave Lote matched Wright on laps but was just a slight way adrift to take third.
Justin Carter had a terrific ride in the Veteran class, taking the win in his final season before qualifying for the Masters class. Darren Bedford and Andy Sykes battled for second and third with Bedford just grabbing second as time ran out.
Matt Taylor and Terry Lewis enjoyed a great scrap in the Sportsman matching each other lap after lap but Taylor eventually came out as class winner with Lewis second, both a lap ahead of third placed, Ross Higgins.
In the Youth 12-16 class Chris Bailey took the honours, two laps clear of Will Gorringe. It was hard going for these young riders, but the both held up very well among a large entry of experienced riders.
The whole event was a terrific start to the 2017 season. The venue provided a variety of terrains and challenges on a day made for good racing.
Well done Nigel Wheatley and the Enduroland crew.
Results
Rookie 125cc: 1 Ethan Etheridge, 2 Finley Thompson, 3 Olivia Avis.
SW85: 1 Jude Morris, 2 Harvey Cashmore, 3 Tyler Etheridge.
BW85: 1 Charlie Selleck, 2 Archie Date, 3 Travis Field.
Junior 65cc: 1 Jack Sandland, 2 Jack Davis, 3 Josh Knight.
Clubman Plus: 1 Sam Nunn, 2 Jordan Wright, 3 Brad Lilburn.
Clubman: 1 Matt Maxted, 2 Barney Thurgood, 3 Tim Hammond.
Master: 1 Mick Belcher, 2 Richard Wright, 3 Dave Lote.
Veteran: 1 Justin Carter, 2 Darren Bedford, 3 Andy Sykes.
Sportsman: 1 Matt taylor, 2 Terry Lewis, 3 Ross Higgins.
Youth: 1 Chris Bailey, 2 William Gorringe.
