Beach boys have a blast at Barmouth
By Beth Hoggarth on 1st Nov 17
In the shadow of mount Cadair Idris a fast, yet technical one-mile track had been created to challenge all abilities.
One of the largest turnouts the Barmouth beach race has ever seen brought in a massive turn out of quads that forced organisers to split the field, setting the scene for two epic races.
Some of the best racing seen in previous years was in the Saturday club, which is usually one of the busiest groups. And this year was no different with a massive entry of 60 riders.
The A Group was top of the programme with another field full of quality riders including Luke Meredith, Gavin Stevenson and Jamie Wainwright, who was in top form after a fifth place at the Weston Beach Race.
The Junior 85/65cc group hit the track first on Saturday morning, making the most of the freshly-prepared track.
One rider stood out from the crowd, as Sam Davies was fast out of the gate in every race, pulling a lead and gapping the field in style.
Five commanding race wins and a massive 225 points haul sealed the overall after an impressive display.
Wilden regular Arai Elcock found it tough going as the track developed over the weekend with the ruts and berms getting deeper with every lap.
A solid three second-place finishes on Saturday made things a little easier come Sunday morning and a further two third places handed him second overall by just two points.
Harvey Matthews filled the final podium spot and his pace throughout the weekend kept him in sight of second but small mistakes during Saturdays races kept him from a higher placing.
The standout rider in the Junior 65cc class was Alfie Davies.
A year ago little Alfie was struggling around trying to finish a lap at Barmouth but this year, he won all five races in the 65cc group, riding like a champ.
Adding to the 65cc field this year was seven-year-old Elvis Totney. He may not be able to touch the floor but that didnt stop him completing all five races and finishing second and an amazing seventh overall, fending off several 85cc riders.
The MX2 Open produced some great clean, open racing, with a mix of two-stroke and four-stroke machinery adding to the excitement as they fired down the seafront on the opening laps.
Returning 85cc champ James Hanscomb was back for another shot but this year on a 125cc machine.
It wouldnt only be the new bike challenging him, though, as Declan Hunter was back and looking as fast as ever in the sand.
Saturday saw the pair share the wins, with Hunter striking first in the opening race and following it up with another win in the third.
Hanscomb made the most of Hunters small mistakes in the second race to pip him to the post.
Sunday morning saw Hunter storming out of the gate for both races wins, stamping his authority all over the class to finish on 220 points and claim to spot on the podium.
Hanscomb managed to hang on for runner-up after struggling out of the gate in both of Sundays races.
The final step of the box was hotly-contested, with Pip Davies, Henry Yardley and Sam Beresford battling it out for most of the weekend.
Davies bagged third overall after a mixed bag of results 3-2-6-2-2 was just enough to give him the final step ahead of fellow TM rider Beresford.
The most varied group of the weekend was by far the Saturday group, with any one of 20 riders having the pace to win races.
But with only the three races it would be a sprint to the flag.
The overall went the way of Dion Lewis whose intense pace saw him command the class with three race wins in impressive style. Henry Partridge came on strong as the track developed, starting his day with a fourth and ending on the box in second, a finish that wrapped up second overall.
Rob Reece and Aaron Nicholls ended the day level on points, with Reece getting the spot on countback.
A further point behind was Andrew Ellis, whose pace deserved more, but a challenging second race knocked him back on the overall standings.
Sam Price and Jack Vincent looked likely to challenge the top 3 with both riders firing out the gate leading in the early stages in every race but pressure from the chasing field drew out mistakes that saw them drop down the standings.
The Adult open field was massively competitive with a mix of enduro and short-track riders.
Two riders stood out over the weekend, with Brad Thornhill and Ben Coleman splitting the wins between them.
Saturday saw Coleman take a double with Thornhill stealing in to claim the second race.
Sunday was looking good for Thornhill as he powered away at the front until a massive off saw him loose not only the lead but his seat and rear fender, damage that would see him score a DNF.
It wasnt over for Thornhill, though, as he bounced back to win the final race of the weekend although sixth overall was the best he could salvage after the disastrous start on Sunday.
With Thornhill crashing out Coleman secured the overall with a 1-2-1-1-2 result over the weekend.
Second overall and top 2-stroke was Matthew Hockwell, who showed consistent pace throughout the weekend.
Just five points behind him was Josh Canton, who had a strong Saturday but fading pace in the final race on Sunday saw him dangerously close to dropping off the podium.
There was another fantastic line-up in the Adult A group and there was nothing between Jamie Wainwright and Gavin Stevenson all weekend as they dominated the class.
Wainwright was in the form of his life after an epic year in the AMCA Championship and a fifth at Weston Beach Race, while Stevenson is always fast in the sand and following a good year in the Maxxis was keen to take the beach race crown.
Saturday saw Wainwright charge out the gate in every moto taking three massive holeshots and he claimed the opening win, with Stevenson having to battle through the quality field.
Wainwright again topped the pile second time out, with Stevenson looking faster with every race.
The final battle on Saturday was the best of the weekend with Wainwright having to work hard to catch Stevenson following a mistake early in the race. With one lap to go it looked a done deal for Stevenson but with just a few corners to go Wainwright was suddenly right with him.
Crossing the line with just a wheel between them both riders collided, ending what was an epic duel.
Sunday was a more straightforward affair for Stevenson as he came out fighting to take both race wins and the overall, with Wainwright again hot on his tail.
Luke Meredith was the best of the rest in third overall just one point clear of Barmouth first-timer Corey Hockey, who recovered well after a massive race three crash on the first corner.
Adam Wells was showing good pace but struggling on Sunday he dropped down the leaderboard into seventh overall.
Adding to the already strong line-up for Sunday was Ray Rowson.
A big off in opening race saw him stone dead last with a lot of work to do but a strong final race of the weekend saw him get onto the box in third.
The Quads had come from all over the country andsdome had even made the trip from Ireland.
The large fields made for exciting racing in both A and B groups with the Bs seeing a dominant performance from Jonny Owen on the Saturday as he took all three race wins.
But after choosing to only race one day he finished well off the podium in 10th.
With Owen out of contention Dave Richards upped his pace on the Sunday ending his weekend with a final race win and the overall.
Harry Grant struggled in the challenging conditions on the Sunday but a strong set of results on the opening day saw him hang on to second overall, just two points clear of Wilden regular Sophie Bosworth.
Strong starts in every race saw her at the sharp end of the field but a massive flip and roll off in the final race hurt her overall.
The A group Quads was full of drama from the outset with defending champ Oli Sansom finding himself at the back of the pack after the first-turn incident.
A determined ride saw him climb through the order only to receive a points penalty for a yellow-flag infringement.
With Sansom struggling, Liam Garbett stepped up the pace taking the opening race ahead of Alex Bethell and Emma McQuaid.
Second time round it was a different story with Sansom firing into turn one with vengeance in his eyes.
After three wins he headed into the final race needing to beat Bethell. The pair were together from the moment the elastic dropped until Bethell suddenly dropped off the pace with steering issues, giving Sansom the points gap he needed to take the overall.
Harry Walker was having bike issues himself throughout the weekend after winning Weston last week.
Sunday was a much a better day for him, especially the final race where he caught and passed Sansom for the win in impressive style.
It wasnt enough to challenge for the overall, though, as that again went the way of Sansom.
Bethell hung on for second overall ahead of a thrilled Luke Davies.
The battle for third had been hard-fought with McQuaid, Davies and James Bevan bumper to bumper.
Garbetts strong Saturday pace was all in vain as a final race DNS left him eighth.
