Dave knows the Ropes!
By TMX Archives on 8th Dec 06
THE Llanthony Classic Club has been running winter scrambles for four or five years and the weatherman has usually been kind. Last Sunday, at the club's Hilltop Scramble at Bettws Newydd, near Usk, in South Wales, all that looked set to change. Very heavy rain in the days leading up to the meeting, and again on Saturday night, made the ground waterlogged and super-soft. In scenes reminiscent of the TV scrambles of yesteryear, nearly everyone had to be towed in and even more had to be towed out at the end, although there was comparatively little rain on the day.
Where it matters, out on the track, there was very little dramatic, close racing. Lap scoring was a bit of a lottery and some riders found it difficult to stay upright and maintain forward motion.
Probably the best race of the day was the first leg of the Pre-68 class which had James Newstead and Paul Evans scrapping for the lead. James led until the last lap but was caught and passed by Paul, who is quickly getting to grips with his new Cheney Jawa. Later, James told me his kick-start spline had sheared, causing a premature end to his day, which was just a tad disappointing since he had come all the way from Norfolk.
LLANTHONY CLASSIC HILLTOP SCRAMBLE
Bettws Newydd, South Wales
(Llanthony Classic MCC)
Rickman Motorcycles British Bike Championship: 1 Dave Roper (500 Triumph Metisse), 2 Rob Griffiths (500 MRD Harris), 3 Phil Gittins (250 Rudge).
Pre-84 Sidecars: 1 Paul Harker/ Derrick Bodfish (850 Norton Wasp), 2 Andy and Leigh Carter (920 EML Norton), 3 Dave and Steve Burdge (880 Yamaha Wasp).
Pre-74 Unlimited: 1 Keith Barnes (500 CCM), 2 Gerrard Copping (250 CZ), 3 Martyn Randell.
Pre-60 and Metisse: 1 Dave Roper (500 triumph Metisse), 2 Steve Beckett (500 BSA Metisse), 3 Luigi Farinaccio (650 Tribsa), 4 Ian Webster (500 Jawa Metisse).
Pre-65 up to 350cc: 1 Steve Dent (350 Faber BSA), 2 Paul Jones (350 BSA), 3 Mike Davies (350 BSA).
Pre-68 Unlimited: 1 Paul Evans (500 Cheney Jawa), 2 Nick thorne (500 Harris Jawa), 3 Steve Thorne (441 BSA Metisse).
Two-stroke: 1 David Smith (380 CZ), 2 Gerard Copping (250 CZ), 3 Phil Keen (250 CZ), 4 Tim Jones (380 CZ).
Four-stoke: 1 Paul Evans (500 Cheney Jawa), 2 Dave Roper (500 Triumph Metisse), 3 Keith Barnes (500 CCM), 4 Steve Dent (350 Faber BSA).
Grand Slam: 1 Steve Dent (350 Faber BSA), 2 Steve Thorne (441 BSA Metisse), 3 Nick Thorne (500 Harris Jawa), 4 Paul Jones (350 BSA), 5 Jason Hatch (500 BSA B50), 6 Simon Jones (380 CZ).
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, December 8, 2006