Diss was a cracking enduro
By TMX Archives on 2nd Mar 07
DISS MCC's event in Thetford Forest at the weekend was new - though in name only. The Muntjac Enduro, named after the species of deer in the local forests, had a wealth of experience behind it. Formerly known as the Banks Enduro, Diss MCC's organisational skills were honed to perfection as the event ran as smoothly as winner Paul Edmondson's riding skills.
Edmondson, on his 250 Maximum Solutions Suzuki, won the event by a narrow nine-second margin over Si Wakely on a 250 MPS Husky. Check times were tight and only four of the Championship class riders stayed clean on time so as usual it came down to the three special tests.
A full-house entry of 250-riders lined up to take on the 18-mile lap. Championship riders faced a gruelling six laps and three special tests while the Experts got off a little more lightly with five laps and two tests while the Clubman class had four laps and two special tests to complete.
The course ran through the forest's sandy terrain and only a few small muddy sections slowed riders from virtually flat out racing. The course did develop a few bumps, as was the nature of the ground and the single bomb hole climb provided plenty of entertainment for those willing to make the long walk to it. Three routes up the steep bank gave riders a choice of grass, roots or a deep rut and although the section wasn't hard, many riders made it so by their indecision at the base of the climb.
Many Clubmen and a few Experts decided to change route halfway up and this invariably ended in disaster.
The event started bang on time with the first Special Test. ‘Special' Greg Evans ripped it up on his 250 KTM 4T, to take a two-second lead over Paul Edmondson, who had a slight spill, and Si Wakely in third. Just 0.04 of a second separated second and third place. D3 Racing's Tom Sagar made a silly mistake - according to him - and crashed. However, he still posted fourth fastest time - half a second behind Wakely.
NATIONAL MUNTJAC ENDURO
Thetford Forest (Diss MCC)
Championship Class: 1 Paul Edmondson (Maximum Solutions Suzuki) 900.83 penalty points, 2 Simon Wakely (MPS Racing Husky) 909.34, 3 Tom Sagar (D3 Racing KTM) 927.23, 4 Richard Hay (125 KTM) 956.16, 5 Edward Jones (ET James KTM) 995.23, 6 Chris Hockey (250 Huskysport Husqvarna) 1015.06, 7 Andrew Edwards (One11 MX KTM) 1032.94, 8 Greg Evans (250 KTM) 1122.32, 9 Ashley Wood (PAR Honda) 1205.06, 10 Jamie Roper (PAR Honda) 1267.77.
Expert: 1 Darren Carter (250F PAR Honda) 658.25, 2 Gavin Houson (125 MPS Husqvarna) 681.74, 3 Gethin Price (250 Yamaha) 682.39, 4 David Brick (125 ???) 685.34, 5 Adam Smith (450 Husaberg) 696.88, 6 Stuart Houlston (250F Honda) 705.30, 7 James Jackman (250 Husqvarna) 705.77, 8 Jon Hinam (250F KTM) 723.43, 9 Jamie Paget (250 KTM) 743.34, 10 Mark Houson (200 KTM) 764.56, 11 Bradley King (125 Kawasaki) 813.48, 12 Daniel Field (250 KTM) 817.68, 13 Daz Hughes (250 Yamaha) 867.57, 14 Chris Nunn (450F Honda) 889.83, 15 Adam Ranson (450F Honda) 891.77, 16 Paul Chatham (125 Honda) 926.57, 17 Peter Clark (250F Honda) 951.78, 18 Paul Spurgeon (300 KTM) 952.90, 19 Wayne Johnstone (200 KTM) 955.29, 20 Dave Eggleton (250 Honda 4T) 956.06.
Clubman: 1 Mike Bailey (125 Yamaha) 698.57, 2 Tony Gush (125 Husqvarna) 720.61, 3 Jason Naruszewicz (450F KTM) 738.20, 4 Simon Stebbings (250 KTM) 738.62, 5 Freddie Broadway (300 Gas Gas) 779.62, 6 Phil Maltby (250 Husqvarna) 794.35, 7 James Giddings (125 Husqvarna) 802.33, 8 Stephen Parry (300 KTM) 812.93, 9 David Grimshaw (480F Honda) 824.00, 10 Paul Hempkins (250 Yamaha) 828.18, 11 Jack Berry (125 KTM) 871.01, 12 Andrew Greenwell (125 Husqvarna) 876.14, 13 David King (250F Honda) 877.67, 14 Paul Wallis (125 KTM) 881.44, 15 Campbell Chatham (250F Honda) 928.91, 16 Neil Parry (200 KTM) 951.88, 17 Steve Eggleton (125 Yamaha) 1008.60, 18 Ian Shuttleworth (250F Yamaha) 1009.09, 19 Darren Nicolaou (125 KTM) 1018.32, 20 Matt Stroud (250 Kawasaki) 1026.25.
Team Awards: 1 REME Yamaha A, 2 Royal Engineers.
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, March 2, 2007.