Hope and glory
By TMX Archives on 2nd Oct 08
THE RideOffRoadUK team headed to Norwood, near Teversal, in Nottinghamshire, for the final round of its Summer Enduro Series. Norwood was venue for many televised scrambles during the 1960s and '70s and was last used for motocross over ten-years ago. Wayne Braybrook and his team spent the week prior to the event plotting an entirely new lap which saw all riders having the chance to compete in perfect conditions for a full 2-5-hours at this fantastic venue.
First away were the Expert and Over 40 classes. During the rider briefing all riders had been informed of the greasy conditions due to some morning drizzle that had thankfully swept through the Midlands area and moved eastwards.
At the end of the first lap Mark Godfrey had taken notice of the advice from the clerk of the course and came through the lap scoring area in the lead, closely followed by Richard Elwood and Lee Sampson, with Harry Hillas looking in determined mood after his usual steady start.
With the course drying by the minute and its clay base layer ensuring no ruts would develop all the Experts circulated at a pace far quicker than was originally anticipated.
Godfrey had an excursion into the trees on lap two or three and lost the front mudguard off his KTM. Thankfully with very little mud around he was able to continue without too many problems.
Hillas, meanwhile, was upping his pace and the two swapped places up to the last couple of laps when Godfrey stopped for fuel, giving Hillas the breather he needed. Harry then stamped his authority, proving he can come up with the goods when needed.
Trials ace Lee Sampson took a credible third place with local rider Jon Birchall only one lap down on the leaders at the end.
Richard Elwood's Honda suffered overheating problems forcing him to retire at the 1-hour 40-min mark which robbed him of a potential top three finish.
The Over 40 class battle was one of pride. Steve Poulsom only had to finish in the points to take the series class overall, his methodical approach saw him cruise round for a 21-lap tally and fifth place. This was enough to take home the Summer Series Overall and a brand new pair of Gaerne boots for his efforts.
Class winner on the day was Simon Critchley, completing 22 laps. Second went to John Bowden who missed the win by just over a minute. David Baldwin rounded out the podium ahead of Darren Purdy.
There were many new faces in the Clubman class, leaving points leader, Lee Smith, with work to do to ensure he came away with the overall class win.
Ben Hamilton was in a position to spoil the party and had an outside chance of taking the overall in the Clubman class with a good result. Also stepping up to the challenge were a crew from Motobrox in Derby. All regular motocrossers, they decided to give the multi-lap enduro scene a go. After a show of controlled riding, Jason Hope took the win completing an impressive 24-lap tally. Second was Chris Neesam, with Josh Taylor overcoming mechanical problems to round out the podium.
Lee Smith used all the experience gained at Red Bull Romaniacs to dig deep and secure fourth place and the overall Clubman title. Ben Hamilton's charge for the glory suffered a nasty blow when he twisted his knee in a crash. He was unable to continue.
Once again the Sportsman class proved to be the most competitive, with any one of seven riders able to take the overall series honours.
After a 2.5-hour display of calculated riding, Thomas Healey took a well deserved class win and overall title. Second on the day was Matt Strong, who continued his recent run of form. Shaun Redmond was third, completing 22-laps.
There was a new Trials class, which threw up a few surprises. Local rider, Rob Bunting, took victory notching up 22 laps. Second was John Steeples ahead of Martin Stanistreet.
The overall winner of each class receives a brand new pair of Gaerne boots, courtesy of UK Importers Malcolm Rathmell Sport.
Work now begins on the five-round Winter series, running through to February 2009 details will be posted on the website.
Massive thanks to all the hard working marshals. Thanks and well done to all riders who competed with Rideoffroaduk during this season.
RESULTS
Clubman: 1 Jason Hope 24 laps - 1:57.0 time penalties, 2 Chris Neesam 24 - 2:05.0, 3 Josh Taylor 24 - 5:49.8, 4 Lee Smith 23 - 56.0, 5 Joe Severn 23 - 1:38.8, 6 Grant Marsden 23 - 4:22.3.
Expert: 1 Harry Hillas 25 - 2:15.0, 2 Mark Godfrey 25 - 4:13.7, 3 Lee Sampson 25 - 4:18.2, 4 Jon Birchall 24 - 4:51.1.
Over 40: 1 Simon Critchley 22 - 19.3, 2 John Bowden 22 - 1:33.7, 3 David Baldwin 22 - 2:59.8, 4 Darren Purdy 22 - 3:22.8, 5 Steve Poulsom 21 - 30.1, 6 Barry Swain 21 - 7:17.1.
Sportsman: 1 Thomas Healey 23 - 2:37.2, 2 Matt Strong 22 - 1:27.0, 3 Shawn Redmond 22 - 6:21.1, 4 Simon Walsh 21 - 15.7, 5 William Hillas 21 - 2:39.7, 6 Pete Middleton 21 - 3:51.4.
Trials: 1 Robert Bunting 22 - 37.6, 2 John Steeples 21 - 4:15.8, 3 Martin Stanistreet 21 - 5:46.4, 4 Simon Foulke 20 - 5:45.2.