Thomas makes his mark
By TMX Archives on 21st Jun 07
TORRENTIAL rain on Saturday certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the Youth enduro riders waiting to take on the challenge of a Welsh forest with its fast flowing road sections, two steam crossings, and hills that would put a good Adult rider to the test, at the Castle Farm venue, Usk, where Wyre Forest Off-Road hosted the third round of the IOPD British Junior Enduro Champs.
First away was the 50cc Auto class with a shorterthan normal lap but this was to turn out to be the longest one-mile lapthey could wish to race on. In parts, the mud was deeper than thewheels but this didn't deter the riders, they just got on with it, andpushed their bikes to the absolute limit!
Thomas Marks made short work of fighting his waythrough to take on the lead which he hung on to, finishing just infront of Bradley Sullivan.
The second race of the day saw the remaining Quadclasses take on an extended four-mile loop in the forest which wasdesigned to challenge all levels.
As the track dried, the mud started to stick tothe bikes and the corners started to polish up, making an alreadydifficult track even harder. The two water crossings had their fairshare of mechanical casualties with numerous quads towed back to thepits for a quick dose of WD40 and an air filter change.
Liam Ryland smashed Ben James' Blaster class winstreak by setting a punishing pace from the off. Ben just couldn't makeup any time after an early mistake and finished nearly four minutesbehind. After a long period away from the race scene, Iorath Williamstook third place.
Danny Lloyd won the Auto Quad Over 10 group justin front of the super fast Ameelie Miller, with Jak Griffiths onlyseconds behind in third.
Elliot Downes took his third win of the series in the Under 10 Auto Quad with Jack Naylor second.
It was then time for the four solo classes to takeall that the woods had to throw at them. A few track changes during yetanother downpour meant they had a slightly shorter lap, but made moredifficult because of the Quad race.
It wasn't long before the rain came again and thestream crossings started to rise, the mud got deeper and the hillsbecame even more slippery.
Early leader, Nathan Etheridge, made a mistake inone of the technical sections and went the wrong way, leaving TomHirons unbeaten as he took first spot while Nathan had to settle forsecond.
Jonathan Jones left the opposition in his wake totake the Over 13 85cc class. Alex Davies and Jordan Pugh claimed theminor placings.
Bradley York topped Under 13 85cc class while Jordan Pyne continued to dominate the Youth 65cc class.
Rd 3 - IOPD British Junior Enduro Champs Castle Farm, Usk (Wyre Forest Off-Road)
Auto 50cc: 1 Thomas Marks, 2 Bradley Sullivan, 3 Ross Jones, 4 Ben Coleman, 5 Joe Gwyther.
Blaster: 1 Liam Ryland, 2 Ben James, 3 Iorath Williams, 4 Thomas Claireaux, 5 Jim Jones.
Auto Quad Over 10: 1 Danny Lloyd, 2 Ameelie Miller, 3 Jak Griffiths, 4 Jamie Morgan, 5 Harry Brennan.
Auto Quad Under 10: 1 Elliot Downes, 2 Jack Naylor, 3 Matthew Smith, 4 Jamie Bone, 5 Calum Owen.
Youth 125cc: 1 Tom Hirons, 2 Nathan Etheridge, 3 Kingsley Bower, 4 Arran Wells, 5 Nathan Holtby.
Youth 85cc Over 13: 1 Jonathon Jones, 2 Alex Davies, 3 Jordan Pugh, 4 Liam Garbett, 5 Cameron York.
Youth 85cc Under 13: 1 Bradley York, 2 Ashley Bowden, 3 Josh Smith, 4 Andrew Bull, 5 Hywel Mills.
Youth 65cc: 1 Jordan Pyne, 2 Daniel Neale, 3 Robert Yates, 4 Jack Staines, 5 Charlie Sclater.