Over the Hill and far away
By TMX Archives on 4th Dec 08
A FREEZING, fog-shrouded Corbetts Hill Raceway greeted riders on Sunday for the second Motul Moto-duro, organised by WOR Events. The ground was perfect and the course easily manageable for all classes of rider, fast and flowing even in the wooded section.
For the end of November the whole place really was in excellent shape, much drier than the previous round. The woodland section was nowhere near as boggy, and included more tighter sections through the trees.
The large field section was in pristine shape and improved lap after lap with good ruts and berms building in all the right places while the woods demanded much more close technical skill and the use of brains not brawn. An excellent balance for both motocross and enduro riders.
Yet again, this type of event proved to be growing in popularity as many new faces were present in the line-up with an obvious increasing interest from motocrossers as their season is now over.
A single one-hour race for the Junior riders, followed by two one-hour races for the Adults saw the whole day wrapped up by 2pm but there was a lot of riding to be done to get to the finish of the second race.
The opening race involved the Junior riders, who faced the toughest conditions. The fog still hung heavily over most of the open field section of the course with some respite in the wooded area. It really was a battle of the elements rather than the terrain but the youngsters soldiered on and Jack Edmondson suffered the freezing conditions better than most to take the Junior 65cc class victory.
Brad Edwards, second, matched him lap-for-lap but Jack ‘Eddy' maintained a lead of almost a minute to take the glory. Jamie Sutton cruised to third place with Ryan Pritchard close behind, both two laps down on the leaders.
Charlie Nichols led the field from start to finish and took the Inter 85cc class with a lap in hand over second placed Harry Nichols who also had a one-lap advantage over the following three riders – Oliver Billingham, Josh Elliot and Glesni Non Jones.
The fog slowly retreated and the sun shone brightly for the start of the first Adult race. A huge line-up saw a welcome return to racing for Rowland Morris who has just signed for KB Racing for the 2009 season.
With a very competitive line-up in the Expert class, Morris had a tough return against a handful of very quick riders but, undeterred, he took victory in the first race ahead of Lincoln Brewster by a close 17-seconds. Jason Thomas was in the mix but suffered from mechanical trouble for the second week running which gave motocrosser Dewi Richie a clear shot at third spot. Aled Bellis, Ben Wootton and Jamie Robinson packed the top spots on ten-laps with only two-minutes between the winner and sixth place.
MOTUL WINTER MOTO-DURO SERIES
Rd 2 – Corbetts Hill Raceway, Shropshire
(WOR Events)
JUNIOR YOUTH RACE
Junior 65cc: 1 Jack Edmondson, 2 Brad Edwards, 3 Jamie Sutton, 4 Ryan Pritchard, 5 Robbie Kirk.
Inter 85cc: 1 Charlie Nichols, 2 Harry Nichols, 3 Oliver Billingham, 4 Josh Elliot, 5 Glesni Non Jones.
ADULT RACE ONE
Expert: 1 Rowland Morris, 2 Lincoln Brewster, 3 Dewi Richie, 4 Aled Bellis, 5 Ben Wootton.
Clubman: 1 Ross Danby, 2 Ryan Faulks, 3 Scott Hughes, 4 Dom Graham, 5 Pete Heywood.
Over 40: 1 Colin Jones, 2 Gareth Lloyd, 3 Gareth Jones, 4 Simon Barstow.
Sportsman: 1 Aaron Tilley, 2 Wayne Collins, 3 Paul Engelen, 4 Wyn Williams, 5 Luke Williams.
Novice: 1 James Corbett, 2 Gavin Beech, 3 Glynn Boughton, 4 Dave Ogden, 5 Paul Minihane.
Youth: 1 Josh Snowden, 2 Jane Daniels, 3 Joe Wootton, 4 Josh Parry, 5 Alex West.
ADULT RACE TWO
Expert: 1 Jason Thomas, 2 Lincoln Brewster, 3 Dewi Richie, 4 Rowland Morris, 5 Gary Daniels.
Clubman: 1 Ross Danby, 2 Ryan Faulks, 3 Scott Hughes, 4 Dom Graham, 5 Pete Heywood.
Over 40: 1 Gareth Lloyd, 2 Colin Jones, 3 Simon Barstow, 4 Chris Simm, 5 Matt Copeland.
Sportsman: 1 Wayne Collins, 2 Aaron Tilley, 3 Luke Williams, 4 Oliver Coop, 5 Paul Engelen.
Novice: 1 Adrian Lumb, 2 Glynn Boughton, 3 Gavin Beech, 4 Elwyn Beedles, 5 James Corbett.
Youth: 1 Joe Wootton, 2 Jane Daniels, 3 Alex West, 4 Dan Edwards, 5 Cole Elliot.
OVERALL
Expert: 1 Rowland Morris 35 points, 2 Lincoln Brewster 34, 3 Dewi Richie 30, 4 Jason Thomas 20, 5 Jamie Robinson 20.
Clubman: 1 Ross Danby 40, 2 Ryan Faulks 34, 3 Scott Hughes 30, 4 Dom Graham 26, 5 Pete Hayward 22.
Over 40: 1 Gareth Lloyd 37, 2 Colin Jones 37, 3 Simon Barstow 28, 4 Gareth Jones 23, 5 Chris Simm 22.
Sportsman: 1 Wayne Collins 37, 2 Aaron Tilley 37, 3 Luke Williams 26, 4 Paul Engelen 26, 5 Oliver Coop 20.
Novice: 1 Glynn Boughton 32, 2 Gavin Beech 32, 3 James Corbett 31, 4 Adrian Lumb 28, 5 Paul Minihane 21.
Youth: 1 Joe Wootton 35, 2 Jane Daniels 34, 3 Alex West 26, 4 Daniel Edwards 22, 5 Josh Snowden 20.
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5
With a win in race two of the Adult Expert classes, Jason Thomas claimed fourth overall on the day.