Jones bags Baja
By TMX Archives on 30th Aug 07
LLANIDLOES rider, Rowan Jones, only lives a few miles from the Hafren and Tarenig forest complexes and made sure that his knowledge of local for-estry paid dividends by sealing a dominant victory in Baja GB 2007. Jones rode his 450 Yamaha to the fastest time on five of the six special stages in the damp, treacherous mid-Wales forests.
Derrick Edmondson managed to win the final Tarenig stage on KTM's newEXC-R, but he finished a distant second, seven minutes 56 secondsbehind the Welshman, but well clear of third-placed BMW X Challengerider Craig Bounds.
For the second year, Britain's international Baja-type eventpermitted bikes and quads to bolster its car entry, attracting 25 bikesand four quads, including the defending champion Lee Edmondson, hisbrother Derrick and Dakar Rally regulars Patsy Quick, Clive Town andNick Plumb.
The youngest competitor in the field was 17-year-old Yorkshire rookie Naomi Ridley on a Yamaha Raptor.
The Welsh Assembly and Forestry Commission Wales had spent 100,000on improving the forest tracks in the Hafren, Myherin and Tarenig andBaja GB organisers benefited from an improved forest route and acentralised servicing and camping site at Sweet Lamb MotorsportComplex, near Llangurig.
Two-wheel action was centred around the forests over the Saturday and Sunday.
Baja GB 2007
Hafren and Tarenig Forests, Wales
Overall: Bikes/ Quads: 1 Rowan Jones (Yamaha 450) 4:27:21, 2 DerrickEdmondson (KTM EXC-R) 4:35:17, 3 Craig Bounds (BMW X Challenge)4:41:14, 4 Daniel Upton (Bombardier Renegade) 5:10:57, 5 Clive Town(KTM 525 Rallye) 5:13:03, 6 Adam Evans (KTM 520 MXC) 5:17:04, 7 LeeWalters (BMW 650) 5:19:36, 8 Paul Howard (KTM 525 MC) 5:28:36, 9 AndrewBarlow (KTM 450 EXC) 5:29:34, 10 Steve Holland (KTM Enduro 450)5:31:14, 11 Gordon McPherson (KTM 450 EXC) 5:32:07, 12 Chris Bickerton(KTM 525MXC) 5:40:28, 13 David Dickinson (KTM 525 XC) 5:47:03, 14 MarkCalzoni (Yamaha Raptor) 5:51:39, 15 Lee Peck (KTM) 5:53:57, 16 NaomiRidley (Yamaha Raptor) 6:03:24, 17 Laurence Barber (KTM 525) 6:16:45,18 Paul Blezard (KTM 450) 6:21:52, 19 Tony Brooks (Honda XR400R)6:34:56, 20 Neil Tanner (Sherco 4.5i 450) 6:46:18, 21 Patsy Quick (KTM950 Super Enduro) 6:46:49.
For full story and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, August 31, 2007.
