Frosty the show man
By TMX Archives on 12th Dec 07
IF ever there was a weekend when animals should consider going in two by two, it was the weekend of December 9 when the Southern Counties Enduro Club held its final round of the year at Somerley Park, near Ringwood, Hampshire, and this event would decide the 2007 championship standings.
Somehow, the rain was nowhere near as heavy as it had been for countless days leading up to the event, but needless to say the course was very demanding and required careful line-selection. This became very clear as the race progressed.
The marshals were out in force helping to keep riders moving, but as soon as one bike was removed, another was waiting to take its place in exactly the same spot. Sometime ago, I was told that Enduro could be a thinking man's game and this proved true in the wet conditions with the leading riders had to plot a course around the buried bikes – one of which was submerged so deeply in the opening stages that it remained in place for a further five hours until it could be dug out!
The Championship class looked to be going Andy Frost's way from the early stages and this was reinforced as the race progressed with the retirement of the usual top-runners such as Mark Cornick, Danny Hall, Jeff Goss and Wayne Player. From here Frost was unchallenged and proceeded to build an insurmountable lead, so much so, that when I was (briefly) following Frost, he came across a rider trapped beneath his bike at the bottom of a steep descent. Andy took the time to lift the bike off of him – made sure he was ok and then re-mount to still finish with a two-lap lead over Phil Studley and John Leigh, who finished second and third respectively.
SOUTHERN COUNTIES EC CHAMPS
Final Round – Somerley Park, Hampshire.
Championship: 1 Andy Frost, 2 Phil Studley, 3 John Leigh.
Expert: 1 Gary McCoy, 2 Steve Harding, 3 Chris Salt.
E1 Clubman (up to 125cc 2-stroke, 250cc 4-stroke): 1 Ian Shuttleworth, 2 Darren Morgan, 3 Richard Tucker.
E2 Clubman (over 125cc 2-stroke, 250cc 4-stroke): 1 Tyson Mayton-Jones, 2 Terry Beecham, 3 James Courtenay.
Over 40: 1 Mark Tucker, 2 Dave Salkeld, 3 Peter Archer.
Sportsman: 1 Nik Rowbotham, 2 Pete Fry, 3 Nigel Perring.
2007 SCEC CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS:
Championship: 1 Andy Frost, 2 Gary Wright, 3 Mark Cornick.
Expert: 1 Gary McCoy, 2 Dave Nuttal, 3 Lee Wheatley.
E1 Clubman (up to 125cc 2-stroke, 250cc 4-stroke): 1 Ian Shuttleworth, 2 Richard Middleton, 3 Gareth Thurgood.
E2 Clubman (over 125cc 2-stroke, 250cc 4-stroke): 1 Matt Guppy, 2 Tyson Mayton-Jones, 3 James Courtenay.
Over 40: 1 Peter Archer, 2 Patrick Wills, 3 Paul Hart.
Sportsman: 1 Pete Fry, 2 Mike Owen, 3 Nigel Perring.
For full report and pictures see T+MX News, Friday, December 14, 2007