Alex Rach is a Master 'sport
By TMX Archives on 28th May 09
THE fourth round of the RDH Motorhomes-sponsored National Twin-shock Motocross Champ-ionship took place on Sunday, at Whittas Park, Bassenthwaite, in the Lake District, hosted by Cumbria Twin-shock Club, whose members had done a tremendous job on Saturday, power harrowing and watering the circuit, leaving it looking in pristine condition.Report: GEOFF SHUTTLEWORTHPictures: ANDREW BOARDMAN Sunday dawned with wall to wall sunshine, something the Twin-shock series is not accustomed to and it was the MD Racing Over 50 class which made an early start with evergreen Pete Mathia taking the holeshot in what was to be the first of three faultless start-to-finish victories. Pete Lightfoot came from a fifth place start to take runner-up spot on the final lap of the opener ahead of Martin Snape and Chris Barker.
In the second and third legs Snape rode steady races for two runner-up places ahead of Lightfoot and Barker.
In the MD Racing Over 60 class there was some added spice with the former works CCM pairing of Jimmy Aird and Norman Barrow joining the fray for the first time this season. Aird's lightning start didn't last long as he came to grief exiting the bomb-hole, leaving him with badly bruised ribs.
This left Jack McEwan to romp away with three clean-cut victories, and Barrow's day was spoilt by machine trouble in the second race. Even so he did bag a pair of seconds, but this left ‘Captain' Bill Brown to take second overall in front of Michael May.
Next up was the Wulfsport Masters class where guest rider, Alex Rach, showed everyone how it's done with a hat-trick of victories. Pete Mathia, having a rare outing in the top class, only headed Rach for a single lap. Reigning champion, Roy Wells, managed to stay with Rach in all three legs but just couldn't find a way to pass him. Howard Standfield finished top four all day to take third overall.
Consistency was the order of the day in the CI Sport/ DEP Pipes Intermediates, as race one winner Matt Murphy DNF-ed race two before finishing second in the final moto. It was a similar story for Nigel Sowerby who won races two and three after breaking down when leading the opening race.
So it was left to Robin Cowgill to take the spoils with three third-places, from Carl Hodgson and Sowerby.
Even though the turn out for the Toughsheet Recycling 125cc category was poor, the racing was close and Lee Holland posted a clean sweep for the overall. John Davies got the better of Sean McCrea for the runner up berth by virtue of best position in the final race. Nevertheless, McCrea still leads the title chase.
As usual there were some great battles in the Falcon Shocks 250cc group, but Aaron Jordan got better as the day wore on, recording a 3-2-1 card to claim the overall. Richard Wood won race one, but his retirement from race two, left race two winner, Carl Lillywhite, to take second overall with Andy Holland in third.
With his smooth riding style, Gary Parker once more dominated the Cheshire County Crossers Vets class, although Alan Eaves did get the better of him in the final outing, taking second overall even after a second race mishap. Andy Farr took the final podium position from Robert Dobson again by virtue of final race positions.
Series leader in the LPE Clubman category, Chris Anderton had a fight on his hands as Mike Murphy won the first race, passing Trevor Guy on the final lap, while Anderton finished third. However, Anderton showed his class by coming back to win races two and three ahead of Murphy. The Burrows Haulage Rider of the Meeting award, presented by Dick Do Racing's Chris Houseman, went to a well-deserved Phil Bayman who rode the races of his life to claim third overall.
In the third race there was a nasty crash, which took out several riders. The worst affected were John Kirkham, who unfortunately sustained a badly broken arm and Rupert Hills, who, after riding well all day, suffered burns to his arm from a hot exhaust. We hope they both get well soon.
The final class to the line was the Motolink Yamaha Evolution, and, for once, reigning champion Roy Wells made the long journey worthwhile, getting the better of Gary Parker by winning two of the three races. Parker headed the first race and pushed Wells all the way in the others. There was a three-way tie for third between Mike Smith, Graham Lightfoot and Richard Chinn.
MD Racing Over 50: 1 Pete Mathia, 2 Martin Snape, 3 Pete Lightfoot, 4 Chris Barker, 5 Alan Hardy, 6 Rob Waddington.
MD Racing Over 60: 1 Jack McEwan, 2 Bill Brown, 3 Michael May, 4 Norman Barrow.
Wulfsport Masters: 1 Alex Rach, 2 Roy Wells, 3 Howard Standfield, 4 Alan Eaves, 5 Kieron Jackson, 6 Paul Baldwin.
CI Sport/ DEP Pipes Intermediate: 1 Robin Cowgill, 2 Carl Hodgson, 3 Nigel Sowerby, 4 Matt Murphy, 5 Martin Speak, 6 Ashley Wainwright.
Toughsheet Recycling 125cc: 1 Lee Holland, 2 John Davies, 3 Sean McCrea, 4 Graham Appleton, 5 Adrian Hoskins, 6 Ryan Newbury.
Falcon Shocks 250cc: 1 Aaron Jordan, 2 Carl Lillywhite, 3 Andy Holland, 4 Richard Wood, 5 Chris Woodward, 6 Steve Kitching.
Cheshire County Crossers Veteran: 1 Gary Parker, 2 Alan Eaves, 3 Andy Farr, 4 Robert Dobson, 5 Phil Daley, 6 Steve Ward.
LPE Clubman: 1 Chris Anderton, 2 Mike Murphy, 3 Phil Bayman, 4 Rod Spry, 5 Charlie Gardner, 6 Stuart Hodder.
Motolink Yamaha Evolution: 1 Roy Wells, 2 Gary Parker, 3 Mike Smith, 4 Graham Lightfoot, 5 Richard Chinn, 6 Rob Stringer.
Burrows Haulage ‘Rider of the Meeting': Phil Bayman.
In the Falcon Shocks 250cc class Andy Holland (443) takes the holeshot at Whittas Park, as the riders turn into the first corner, followed by Ryan Newbury (157) and Steve Kitching (211).