Fast Eddy digging the Dirt!
By TMX Archives on 11th Nov 11
The Fast Eddy Dirt Bike Show XC Special at Stoneleigh was promoted as a fun event but it snowballed into a real full-blown cracker with great support from Youth, Quad and Adult riders, making the event a real top-notch affair.
A reduced entry fee plus a free ticket to the ‘Dirt Bike Show' for all entrants was an excellent incentive for riders to see the show and race on the same day.
Set a few hundred metres from the main Show Halls, the course was set on an open field and went into surrounding woodlands, which are normally used as a 4x4 course. Although a little limited on space compared to a normal Fast Eddy XC event, the course proved to be perfect for both bikes and quads, Juniors and Adults.
Straight off the start the course wove around the huge field section before disappearing into the woodland areas that held numerous climbs and tight corners, descents and sweeping bends.
On Saturday morning, Youth riders took to the line and although there had been no overnight rain on Friday the course was wet in places especially in the woods where 4x4 ruts had filled with water during the preceding week.
The young competitors rose to the challenge and as the race progressed the course improved dramatically in the early winter sunshine.
As expected, the Big-wheel 85cc/150F riders dominated the opening race with Dylan Bayton taking overall victory in addition to his class win. Ryan Phillips never gave up hope of catching the leader and got within 40-seconds as he took second spot. Dan Mundell posted the same number of laps (16) as the first two on his way to third place.
In the Small-wheel 85cc class, Brandon Sharples as runaway winner by nearly two-minutes over Ben Coleman in second spot, while George Saunders took third, a couple of laps behind.
An on-form Tom Grimshaw headed the Junior 65cc class right from the start and banged in 14 laps on his way to winning this class. Chris Mills and Harry Edmondson battled for the remaining two podium places and Mills managed to stretch a lead to take the runner-up spot with Edmondson third.
As soon as the last Youth rider crossed the line, the quads were ready to roll. Riders revelled in the muddy conditions in one section of the woodland and the open field section really gave them the chance to open the throttle.
Clubman riders Jack Godfrey and Guy Keenan outstripped everyone, even the Experts, as they circulated lap after lap to take first and second places overall, finishing two-minutes apart, with Ryan Walters in third.
In the overall race positions the Youth riders dominated third to fifth places with Matt Branch leading the charge, followed by Miles Woodward and Brandon Holm.
Sean Preson headed the Expert class with Aaron Pole in second spot. Kevin Jones had a lonely ride in the 4x4 class as the only entrant and it is interesting to note that even the Novice riders matched the Experts on laps. Tom Birch topped the Novice ahead of Ray Morgan, on 19 and 18 laps respectively.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX NEWS NOVEMBER 11
Dirt Bike Show Special XC
Stoneleigh Park, nr Coventry (Fast Eddy)
SUNDAY PM RACE
Pro Class: 1 Carl Jones 25 laps - 2:03 time penalties, 2 James Jackman 25 - 2:38, 3 Ady Smith 25 - 3:22, 4 Jack Twentyman 24 - 3:55.
Expert Class: 1 Brad Freeman 25 - 3:21, 2 Ryan Staveley 24 - 1:38, 3 James Paczynski 24 - 4:39, 4 Luke Gorse 23 - 4:24, 5 Alex West 23 - 4:56, 6 Warren Haslett 22 - 0:25.
Clubman Class: 1 Martin Kohv 23 - 0:39, 2 Jon Hill 23 - 0:41, 3 Charlie Nicholls 23 - 1:41, 4 Garrin Rosser 23 - 3:12, 5 Ashley Stokes 23 - 4:26, 6 Richard Cookland 22 - 0:45.
SUNDAY AM RACE
Veteran Class: 1 Jason Crossland 23 laps - 4:47 time penalties, 2 Dave Thomson 23 - 4:59, 3 Jason Hope 22 - 0:19, 4 Martin Jakeman 22 - 1:12, 5 Rob Sewell 22 - 5:39, 6 Carl Critchlow 21 - 2:40.
Sportsman Class: 1 Jon Hunt 22 - 5:24, 2 Darren Thorpe 21 - 1:11, 3 Danny Spencer 21 - 2:21, 4 Sean Wainwright 21 - 3:08, 5 Will Bayman 21 - 5:16, 6 James Allen 20 - 0:12.
Novice Class: 1 Darryl Mead 21 - 5:44, 2 Robert Wisehall 20 - 0:29, 3 Thomas Russell 20 - 4:01, 4 Scott Mead 20 - 4:55, 5 Liam Cottrill 19 - 4:39, 6 Mark Harding 19 - 6:02.
SATURDAY YOUTH RACE
Big-wheel 85cc/150F Class: 1 Dylan Bayton 16 laps - 2:52 time penalties, 2 Ryan Phillips 16 - 3:27, 3 Dan Mundell 16 - 4:26, 4 Oliver Benton 15 - 1:25, 5 George Price 15 - 1:35, 6 Dolton Shannon 14 - 5:48.
Small-wheel 85cc/150F Class: 1 Brandon Sharples 15 - 3:21, 2 Ben Coleman 15 - 5:12, 3 George Saunders 13 - 3:03, 4 Zac Clarke 13 - 6:20, 5 Stefan Kelly 12 - 0:12, 6 Aaron Webb 11 - 1:31.
Junior 65cc Class: 1 Tom Grimshaw 14 - 1:17, 2 Christopher Mills 13 - 0:31, 3 Harry Edmondson 13 - 2:28, 4 Ryan Mundell 12 - 3:45, 5 Joseph Davies 11 - 6:17, 6 James Palmer 10 - 3:55.
SATURDAY QUAD RACE
Clubman Class: 1 Jack Godfrey 21 laps - 2:41 time penalties, 2 Guy Keenan 21 - 4:58, 3 Ryan Walters 20 - 3:52, 4 Luke Davies 17 - 0:20, 5 Stefan Cook 17 - 5:16.
Expert Class: 1 Sean Preson 19 - 2:33, 2 Aaron Pole 17 - 2:59.
Youth Class: 1 Matt Branch 20 - 2:07, 2 Miles Woodward 20 - 3:45, 3 Brandon Holm 19 - 2:13, 4 Mathew Waddoups 18 - 0:33, 5 Jack Harvey 18 - 3:43, 6 Mitch Couzens 14 - 1:13.
Quad 4x4 Class: 1 Kevin Jones 19 - 6:16.
Novice Class: 1 Tom Birch 19 - 0:45, 2 Ray Morgan 18 - 3:32.
