Biting the dust
By TMX Archives on 27th Apr 07
IT was a hot day for the riders in the fourth round of the Hampshire Motocross Club championship, held at Swanmore, with dust threatening to halt proceeding.
The track was maintained with plenty of water although, for riders and marshals alike, the air became very dusty and gritty.
In the Junior quads, Jeff Evans got off to a flying start, leading the pack into the first corner. However, disaster struck later on with a three quad pile-up which took its toll on his machine, ending any chances of a better placing than the sixth overall.
Nick Grant saw sparks after stalling on the start line in the third race. Grant rode hard to tail Neil Watson all the way but had to settle for fifth as a final result.
Chris Vowells' Suzuki was battling it out with Dean Turner's Honda TRX 450. Dean rode a good hard and fast three races. Vowell had an off and still managed a very respectable third place overall, behind Dean's very deserving second. Phil Kemp had a cracking first two races, coming in at the top spot, only to be pipped at the post on the third race by the hard fighting Turner. Kemp took full points for a very satisfying overall win in the Junior class.
The Pro Quads saw some excellent, no holds barred, racing. Greg Fisher was always quick to take the lead and holeshot two of the three races with Carl Bunce hot on his heels. Carl went on to win the first two races but failed to finish in the final due to bike gremlins and came away with a disappointing sixth overall. Joe Challen kept up the pace in the first race, giving John Pilbrow a few battles, yet backed off with arm pump from the rutted circuit in races two and three.
Danny Smith started out with promise in race one, yet race two he suffered, only finishing tenth. However, Smith pulled back in the third to gain a final fourth place overall. Richard Willcock rode progressively well, coming up from tenth in race one to gain fourth in race two, going all out in the last race to come second for third place overall.
John Pilbrow was very consistent in all three races, but there were moments when he gave Greg Fisher a few challenges and the pressure was on!
As the dust settled and the final flag flew, Greg Fisher raced to glory once again with two second places and a first under his belt.
RESULTS:
Junior: 1 Phil Kemp, 2 Dean Turner, 3 Chris Vowell, 4 Neil Watson, 5 Nick Grant, 6 Jeff Evans.
Pro: 1 Greg Fisher, 2 John Pilbrow, 3 Richard Willcock, 4 Danny Smith, 5 Joe Challen, 6 Carl Bunce.