Golden Oldies
By TMX Archives on 22nd Aug 13
Last Sunday saw the Nostalgia Scramble take place at Holme Farm, Sedbergh, where the Kendal Classic Club withstood all that the weather gods could throw at it, and a sizeable crowd witnessed a full programme of 26 short, sharp races.
The now customary Saturday night deluge, saw two inches of rain fall, turning the paddock into a muddy mess reminiscent of Glastonbury.
But to the riders' surprise and joy, the grassland track, which was a little greasy, stayed in perfect condition come Sunday morning.
This year's guest of honour was the evergreen Pete Mathia, who came out of the traps to show he has lost none of his natural speed in the Twinshock races.
More than 180 riders took to the line for racing and first up were the Pre-1960 bikes, with Pete Hollinshead imperious, taking three straight wins on the big 650 BSA twin.
Hereford's Andy Carter took runner-up on the Tribsa with a brace of seconds and a fifth, and Scotland's Lewis Bell completed the podium on another Tribsa.
In the Pre-68 up to 350 class there were three different winners, with club member Steve Dent taking race one, despite suffering from flu.
Barry McKie came through the field to claim second and then local rider Ian Stainton capped off 30 years of trying, by taking the third leg and with it a very deserved overall.
Andy Camm finished in the top three all day to take third overall.
There was a full start-gate for the Pre-68 Over 350 class, but there was no stopping reigning British champion Chris Chell, who stormed to three unchallenged wins on his BSA.
The best of the rest saw Lewis Bell snatch the runner-up berth with three solid rides in the top five, and Paul Evans took third on the big Jawa.
Unfortunately Terry Challinor took a nasty fall, when the front end of the mighty 750 Metisse slipped away leaving him out of the action for the remainder of the meeting.
There were fewer Pre-75 up to 250 riders than previous years with local ace Kris Winder on his CZ posting three straight wins to take the overall, after he had disposed of early leader Jamie Reid on the Husky.
Reid took three seconds and Andy Storey came through the field to take third overall.
In the Pre-75 Over 250 class, it was Chell who again reigned supreme, although his shoulder was starting to trouble him in race three where he settled for third.
The overall victory also gave him the Rider of the Meeting award.
Behind Chell there were some great battles with Keith Barnes on the Clewstroka managing to overcome the attentions of Gareth Challinor and Scott Maxwell on the CCM.
The Pre-78 races were all won by Tony Barnes on another CCM from the Heversham factory, but he did not have it all his own way, as in each race John Iddon made up ground to challenge on his CZ to take runner-up.
Dunoon's Grant McClure made the trip worthwhile with third overall from Robin Cowgill on the Suzuki and Keith Mason.
Guest of Honour Pete Mathia missed the start of the first Twin-shock Bandit race, which meant good news for Chris Cannon, as he won the opener, passing quick-starting Jimmy Aird's CCM after three laps.
Mathia made no mistake in the next two races, as he exhibited his smooth riding style in taking two wins each time from Cannon and Ireland's Trevor Calderwood on his JBR Honda.
The Twin-shock Pirates races saw Mark Fulton roll back the years, with three excellent wins on his Stuart Bland prepped Maico.
Mark was really up for this one, but had to be at his best to beat runner-up Dan Hiorns on the Husky, who had two seconds.
Scotland's Paul Chiappa was in the mix with three solid top five finishes and took the final step on the podium, and Mathia joined the action in race three with a brilliant second to Fulton.
Russ Watson had a rare outing and did really well to take fourth.
As usual the club finished with two handicap races for fun and in the five-lap Classic sprint it was a delighted Chris Myers who beat the handicapper with a marvellous win from Mark Sunter and scratch riders Barry McKie and Scott Maxwell.
The seven-lap Twin-shock version was won by Mark Burrows on the Husky, with Danny Blakeley coming from the rear of the field to take second from Alan Bott and Carl Hodgson.
