Bolton's double top
By TMX Archives on 5th Mar 08
DIRTBIKE Traxs ran its eagerly awaited Husqvarna-sponsored Dirtzberg Extreme Hare Scramble and Power Trial, assisted by trials star Graham Jarvis, at the weekend. The track was set out in the fantastic Nord Vue quarry with its deep gorges, dunes of crushed stone, steep hills, and the adjoining fellside which included the difficult Bear Bank'.
The extreme event was matched by extreme weather as gale-force winds blasted the Carlisle area for three days in the lead up to the event. However, even this was no match for the dedicated DirtBike-Traxs crew who were constantly repairing the tapes.
Race day started at 10am with the Power Trial and a quality expert line-up saw Ben Hemingway take an early lead on his Beta, a lead which he held for the first half of the race.
Ben crashed at half distance and this allowed Team Sandiford rider and Extreme Enduro specialist, Paul Bolton, to move to the front.
Both Bolton and Hemingway were awesome through ‘The Pit', leaping from rock to rock while
lesser riders struggled.
At the end of the 90-minute race, Bolton took a narrow win from Ben Hemingway with Jon Richardson in third spot.
In the Clubman class, Billy Robinson put in a great performance to take victory a lap ahead of second placed Mark Robertson.
At 12.30pm, the Husqvarna-sponsored Dirtzberg Extreme event got underway, with an expert line up that included two of the UK's best Extreme Enduro stars, Paul Bolton (Team Sandiford Honda) and Sherco teamster, Graham Jarvis – so the battle of Hell's Gate was set to continue!
As the riders raced across the fell and hit Bear Bank for the first time, it was Richard Elwood with a narrow lead over Paul Bolton.
Bolton took over the lead when he passed Elwood just before Satan's Steps.
Graham Jarvis had been the last Expert to start and was making good progress through the field on his 450cc enduro machine.
Bear Bank started to cause the majority of the riders major problems, with some riders starting to take the long alternative ‘scenic route' to avoid the steep hill.
Bolton started to find a steady rhythm and his lead started to grow.
Gav Houson (MPS Husqvarna) found ‘The Pit' tricky and had problems there on several laps.
At the half-way point, one hour into he race, Bolton had a four-minute lead over Biff Smith, but Graham Jarvis was moving up
fast and passed Smith in the
quarry.
However, Jarvis could not gain any ground on the effortless Bolton who was stretching his lead at the front and when the two-hour race duration ticked over, Bolton secured a winning margin of a clear lap over Jarvis who himself had completed 14 laps, two laps clear of third placed Smith. Local rider Dave Wood finished in a fine fourth place
Tom Hicks, on his NTB Husqvarna, topped the Clubman class, while Dave Wilson took second. Despite leading the Clubman class for a long period of the race, Joe Deakin eventually finished third after he smashed his exhaust and had to make repairs in order to continue.
The general view of the riders was that Dirtzberg was probably the most extreme Hare Scramble event in the UK so far.
With this in mind, DirtBike-Traxs is now set to improve the event and are looking at a qualifying system so more riders can be part of the extravaganza. The scope for course improvements is endless, and coupled with the brilliant spectator areas will make the next Dirtzberg the event to watch. At the end of the event, DirtBike-Traxs admitted that this was a trial run for a much bigger event later on in the year. ‘‘We were pleased with the outcome today, and this venue has all that is needed for a full Dirtzberg weekend,'' said a spokesman.
DIRTZBERG EXTREME HARE SCRAMBLE & POWER TRIAL
Nord Vue, near Penrith (DirtBike Traxs)
DIRTZBERG EXTREME RACE (2-hrs)
Expert: 1 Paul Bolton 15 - 7:45, 2 Graham Jarvis 14 - 7:26, 3 Biff Smith 12 - 1:38, 4 Dave Wood 12 - 4:19, 5 David Myers 12 - 11:02, 6 John Pearson 12 - 12:40.
Clubman: 1 Tom Hicks 11 - 5:30, 2 Dave Wilson 11 - 12:21, 3 Joe Deakin 10 - 0:18, 4 Craig Parkes 10 - 6:30, 5 Zac Sherwin 10 - 13:16, 6 Adam Brayton 9 - 1:08.
POWER TRIAL (90-mins)
Expert: 1 Paul Bolton 12 laps - 3:36, 2 Ben Hemingway 12 - 7:17, 3 Jon Richardson 11 - 3:39.
Clubman: 1 Billy Robinson 10 - 9:36, 2 Mark Robertson 9 - 2:44, 3 Daz Cowen 9 - 2:48, 4 Alistair Milligan 9 - 2:54, 5 Brian Atkinson 9 - 7:48, 6 Craig Robertson 9 - 8:12.
For full pictures, see T+MX NEWS, Friday, February 29, 2008