Matts In a Wold of his own!
By TMX Archives on 7th Oct 11
The penultimate round of the 2011 AMCA/Rock Oil Hare and Hound Championship, organised by Cotswold Enduro Club, proved to be very tough as competitors battled against the heat, the course and each other at the superb Wymeswold MX track in Leicestershire.
The Wymeswold venue is undoubtedly MX based but in addition to the impressive track the Hare and Hounds course ran out into the countryside for nearly five miles, giving a lap of over 10 minutes to the fastest riders. The course proved to be quite fast but several of the field sections consisted of large, rolling natural whoops, which saw riders adopt a variety of techniques to get across them quickly.
The MX track had the obligatory jumps but careful planning from the CEC saw the course incorporate some of the huge pipe sections that riders rode through as other competitors were jumping above them. A very unusual sight.
Although the sun was out and the conditions were dry and dusty the dust was not a problem initially as a strong breeze kept the MX track clear but as the breeze dropped an hour into the race the whole area was covered with a fine dust. Visibility was still good and had little or no effect on the racing as riders were well spread out by this point.
Joe Jones took the lead initially with Darren Carter no more than a bike length from him. Carter was riding well, considering he had been out of action with a broken wrist since July, and he battled hard to stay with Jones.
Local rider and AMCA MX star Matt Porter eventually caught and passed the pair, holding his lead to the end of the gruelling three-hour race and taking the Overall Premiere win.
Jones put three minutes between himself and Carter to take the Pro/Championship class win ahead of second placed Carter as Derek Bawn made his way to third. Bawn had run out of fuel at one point and spent 10 minutes pushing his bike, in the hot conditions, to the pits before rejoining the race nearly a lap down on the leaders.
James Paczynski nailed the Expert class by a clear lap over second placed James Berrill. Paczynski held fourth place overall for most of the race and excelled on the MX section of the course. Aaron Edwards kept Berrill in his sights and finally took third place in class.
Martin Kohv edged clear in the Clubman 4T's as Matt Keeling and Ashley Stokes finished within seconds of each other in second and third places. Jack Powell gradually took control of the Clubman 2T class and put four minutes between himself and second placed Darren Thorpe with Mick Reynolds a further three minutes behind in third.
A two-way battled ensued in the Ladies class with Emily Davey taking the honours over Helen Spiers as Eric Shaw won the trail class ahead of Ian Jones.
The Veterans were as competitive as ever, both in the Over 40s and Over 50s.
Jason Hope on his new Edmondson Racing 300XC led the Over 40's initially until a coming together with Dave Selkeld saw the pair change places. Hope found he was using more fuel than usual and had to pit twice to refuel as Selkeld stretched his lead to take the Over 40's win by two minutes with Hope in second place and Martin Jakeman in third spot.
The Over 50's was equally as competitive. All of the top three riders completed 13 tough laps but it was Colin Griffiths who came out ahead of Eddy Tait with 50th Birthday Boy Keith Townsend in third.
The Sportsman class also witnessed a very close finish. Andy Pulfrey took the win by four minutes from Ricky Franklin, who had a one-minute advantage over third placed Nathan Jenkins.
Three hours in hot and dusty conditions at the beginning of October, when riders usually experience mud and rain, proved to be very tough but the course held up well and provided some very close racing across all classes.
The event was very well organised and well run by the Cotswold Enduro Crew with a well though-out course, that suited all classes of riders.
RESULTS
Overall Premiere: Matt Porter.
Pro/ Champ: 1 Joe Jones, 2 Darren Carter, 3 Derek Bawn.
Expert: 1 James Paczynski, 2 James Berrill, 3 Aaron Edwards.
Clubman Four-stroke: 1 Martin Kohv, 2 Matt Keeling, 3 Ashley Stokes.
Clubman Two-stroke:1 Jack Powell, 2 Darren Thorpe, 3 Mick Reynolds.
Ladies: 1 Emily Davey, 2 Helen Spiers.
Trail: 1 Eric Shaw, 2 Ian Jones.
Veteran Over 40: 1 David Salkeld, 2 Jason Hope, 3 Martin Jakeman.
Veteran Over 50: 1 Colin Griffiths, 2 Eddie Tait, 3 Keith Townsend.
Sportsman: 1 Andy Pulfrey, 2 Ricky Franklin, 3 Nathan Jenkins.
