Jack's Peace of the action
By TMX Archives on 18th Jul 07
THE fifth round of the ACU C&D Youth championship was no cake-walk for either Luke Walker or Dan Peace on Saturday at majestic Victory Quarry, situated north of Buxton, where North Derbyshire Youth Motorcycle Club staged a testing round of the series.
As predicted at the start of the season, Luke Walker will not just walk all over his rivals for the title this year. Iwan Roberts has emerged from Ffestiniog on a mission this year, with two podiums and top six finishes in the four events he has contested. The main threat though comes straight out of the Richmond and Scarborough stables with their strong Youth programmes. Robert Waite was the boy on the attack under clear blue skies, along with Abergavenny winner, Jack Stones, who lost the trial when he slid off the angled slab at the end of the second section. Up to that disaster, Jack was matching Luke on the tricky sections. The other factors were Yeovil's Jack Burch and Scarborough pocket rocket Joe Clements.
In the Class D medium wheel class, Dan Peace had Michael Todd on his case, the same young man that took Danny Boy to a recount at Richmond, and the same youngster that has flanked Dan on the podium at all five events this year. The former TY 80 champion Thomas Minta was the only other rider to keep the top two in reach.
Jack Peace kept his head, albeit with a nasty ankle-twisting spill, in the Small Wheel class while Aldis Blacker gamely struggled with his TY 80 and eight failures, including five on lap one.
Clerk of course, Harvey Lloyd, set the sections out to be safe, bearing in mind the wide differential in skills, and length of young legs. It really was the essence of being line-perfect at just about all the 12 sections.
The Class C lads headed for section one where Lynda and Karen Crabtree were stationed at the top of a run up and down rocks and a slippery grassy climb. It seemed mild but it caught Iwan Roberts, Chris Alford, Sam Beecroft Penny and Jack Price on lap one.
The second was right under the quarry face, 30 yards of scatterered rocks, with grass, mud and, right at the very end, a small angled sloping rock that took marks from Rob Waite, Roberts, Jack Burch, Dec Bullock, and a clean, dab and five from potential winner Jack Stones!
No Class C rider bossed the craggy third, which was hard all day with its layer of mud. Ironically, Jack Stones and cousin James were only single dabbers on lap one but Walker got near with a fleeting touch on lap two. That was as near as it got to cleaning. Nothing moved until six where the left hand exit line took marks from Waite and Jack Stones, but not Walker.
BRITISH YOUTH C&D TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Victory Quarry, Buxton (North Derbyshire YMC)
Youth C: Luke Walker (MRS Sherco) 30, Rob Waite (Beta) 31, Iwan Roberts (Beta) 33, Jack Stones (Beta) 35mc, Jack Burch (Beta) 35, Joe Clements (Beta) 45, Dec Bullock (MRS Sherco) 47, Sam Beecroft-Penny (Sherco) 49, Billy Bolt (Beta) 54, Blair Rodber (RCM Beta) 59, Chris Alford (Repsol Beta) 61, Connor Evans (BS Sherco) 63mc, James Stones (Gas Gas) 63, Jack Price (B+B Beta) 68, Ryan Laughton (Sherco).
Provisional points: Walker 97, Jack Stones 78, Burch 69, Waite 67, Roberts 54, Joe Clements 45, Dec Bullock 38, Alford 36, Beecroft-Penny 32, Rodber 31, Bolt 21, Laughton 20.
Youth D Medium-wheel: Dan Peace (Repsol Beta) 6, Michael Todd (Beta) 9, Thomas Minta (Beta) 15, Leam Fenn (Beta) 44, Curtis Fitzsimmons (Gas Gas) 49, Oliver Hutsby (Beta) 64, Ryan Shanklady (Beta) 69, Liam Swidenbank (Beta) 130.
Provisional points: Dan Peace 100, Todd 85, Minta 75, Fenn 61, Fitzsimmons 58, Hutsby 36, Shacklady 19, Metcalfe 17, Swidenbank 16, Read 11.
Youth D Small-wheel: Jack Peace (Metcalfe Gas Gas) 64, Aldis Blacker (TY 80) 91, James Postlethwaite (TY 80) 115, Ryan Dalton (Beta) 122, Elliott Tickner (Gas Gas) 134, Joe Hiley (TY 80) 140, Joe Dawson (TY 80) 150.
Provisional standings: Jack Peace 97, Blacker 88, Tickner 68, Dawson 54, Dalton 15, Postlethwaite 13, Turner 11, Hiley 11, Bowker 11, Whitehead 10.
For full story and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, July 20, 2007.