Biffster pens in another win
By TMX Archives on 2nd Apr 08
ROUND THREE of the National Putoline Hare Scramble Championship was held at Nord Vue, near Penrith, at the weekend. The venue proved a good choice, holding up well and providing good car parking despite two-days of driving rain.
With a full entry, the weekend got underway on Saturday with a DirtBike-Traxs academy/ training day instructed, hosted by Graham Jarvis. This was well attended and was enjoyed by all who took part.
The Nord Vue track comprises of a sandstone quarry with its technical climbs and descents plus two large areas of fell-side which are set out in a motocross style. Both fell areas are based on sandstone with only a shallow covering of soil, and are well suited to wintry or wet conditions.
After heavy overnight rain, Sunday was a better day with the rain holding off and the sun eventually breaking through.
The Youths and Ladies were first away and at 9.30am the large entry of youth riders set off around the impressive course which had been suitably shortened for the youth classes.
Three classes were in action during the first race Senior B, Junior and Ladies.
In Senior B, Aryton Aldridge, Robert Johnson, Luke Flack and Edward Field were in the leading pack before Johnson snatched the lead and started to pull ahead.
Johnson was revelling in the conditions and eventually claimed victory by a lap from Aldridge with Field finishing third.
Michael Tatham dominated the Junior class, winning by a lap from Michael Gilby and Harrison Bell.
In the Ladies class, Molly Howe topped the results from Deborah Kerr and Georgina Bewlay third.
Congratulations to all the youth riders who finished, especially the riders on the 65cc and Auto machines whose small wheels struggled in the conditions.
At 12 noon the massed ranks of the main race of riders were assembled, filling the large quarry floor. When the start signal was given, Expert Craig Reynolds took the hole-shot.
As the Experts made their way up onto the fell-side, Adam Smith took the lead and over the first lap he increased his lead.
However, by the second lap, Biff Smith had found his rhythm and moved into the lead. Andrew Hackett was busy putting the nightmare of his last few DBT events to rest by holding a comfortable second spot.
Craig Reynolds burnt out his clutch while trying to battle through a group of stranded riders on 'Bear Bank'
As the race moved into the closing stages, Harry Hillas had progressed through the Expert ranks into third spot.
The 'Biffster' took victory by four-minutes over Hackett, with Harry Hillas in third, all completing ten-laps.
In the Clubman classes, Gary Daniels topped E1 but was chased hard by a trio of 125 Husqvarnas with Joe Deakin taking second, Josh Bendell, third, and Billy Robinson, fourth. In Clubman Open, Dave Wilson took victory from David Appleyard with only 17-seconds separating the pair at the finish.
Largest category of the day was Sportsman, where Dave Wilson took the Open win while Matthew Ward was best in Sportsman E1. Joshua Lockup made the long drive from Hull worthwhile by winning Senior A Youth despite nursing an injured hand sustained at the previous round ahead of Jordan Johns and Adam Taylor respectively
As the riders filtered back to their vehicles it was clear that despite the best efforts of the wet weather over the previous days, the event had been a great success.
As at all DBT events, every thing ran on time and full results were available within minutes of the last rider finishing the course. A well-attended presentation finished the day off nicely with 31 of the 33 awards on offer being presented.
The championship moves to North Yorkshire over the weekend of April 19/20 with a brand new venue near Settle.
NATIONAL PUTOLINE HARE SCRAMBLE CHAMPS
Rd 3 Nord Vue, nr Penrith (DirtBike-Traxs)
MAIN RACE (2-hours)
Expert: 1 Biff Smith 10 laps - 4:37 time penalties, 2 Andrew Hackett 10 - 9:17, 3 Harry Hillas 10 - 12:44, 4 David Myers 10 - 17:04, 5 Adam Smith 10 - 18:59, 6 Jason Crossland 9 - 7:50, 7 Mark Barton 9 - 12:11, 8 Paul McSorley 9 - 16:02.
Clubman E1: 1 Gary Daniels 9 - 5:19, 2 Joe Deakin 9 - 15:09, 3 Josh Bendell 8 - 4:52, 4 Billy Robinson 8 - 6:38, 5 Niki Walker 8 - 10:06, 6 Dom Garnham 8 - 10:28.
Clubman Open: 1 Dave Wilson 9 - 6:56, 2 David Appleyard 9 - 7:14, 3 Simon Cartwright 9 - 7:38, 4 Levi Johnson 9 - 12:05, 5 Marcus Firth 8 - 2:55, 6 Mick Wilson 8 - 3:01.
Over 40: 1 Anthony Crowe 9 - 15:41, 2 John Burrow 8 - 2:06, 3 Michael Alty 8 - 6:59, 4 Bill Howe 8 - 10:32, 5 John Hedley 8 - 10:59, 6 Alan Mugglestone 8 - 19:17.
Sportsman E1: 1 Matthew Ward 8 - 8:08, 2 Robin Aspden 8 - 14:36, 3 Andrew Brass 7 - 5:38, 4 Chris Perry 7 - 10:29, 5 Paul Jackson 7 - 11:46, 6 Sean Massey 7 - 13:09.
Sportsman Open: 1 Richard Spencer 8 - 16:02, 2 Neil Sharp 7 - 2:43, 3 Stephen Thornton 7 - 3:05, 4 Gareth Lodge 7 - 5:06, 5 Richard Birkitt 7 - 5:10, 6 Richard Pickering 7 - 5:33.
Novice: 1 Stuart Ross 6 - 6:33, 2 Gary Court 5 - 0:00, 3 Scott Marshall 5 - 12:35, 4 Brendan Beer 5 - 17:55, 5 Clifford Dunning 4 - 0:00, 6 Jim Cunningham 4 - 5:24.
Senior A: 1 Joshua Luckup 6 - 1:33, 2 Jordan Johns 6 - 9:15, 3 Adam Taylor 6 - 15:25, 4 Jane Daniels 5 - 12:20, 5 Josh Nellis 5 - 16:44, 6 Jamie Whitehead 4 - 15:33.
Youth RACE (1.5-Hours)
Senior A: 1 Robert Johnson 11 - 3:02, 2 Ayrton Aldridge 10 - 2:21, 3 Edward Field 10 - 6:52, 4 Luke Gorse 9 - 2:09, 5 Luke Flack 8 - 1:34, 6 Billy Steinman 8 - 4:17.
Junior: 1 Michael Tatham 9 - 5:42, 2 Michael Gilby 8 - 4:36, 3 Harrison Bell 8 - 9:00, 4 Ben Turner 7 - 15:55, 5 Justin Marvin Stalpe 7 - 18:46, 6 Dan Bewlay 6 - 7:43.
Girl Power: 1 Molly Howe 6 - 3:18, 2 Deborah Kerr 5 - 10:39, 3 Gina Bewlay 5 - 13:36.
For full pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, April 4, 2008