Sloley does it for Adrian
By TMX Archives on 14th Aug 08
Sloley Park in North Devon was the venue for The Classic MotorCycle' British Classic Scrambles Championship on Sunday. The fifth round in the series brought with it the wind and the rain.It rained continuously on Saturday and two tractors were kept busy towing vehicles into the sloping paddock. Sunday saw the worst of the wet stuff disappear east but there were scuds aplenty and the track resembled a ploughed field in places well before the end. Not that this seemed to worry Andy Roberton and Adrian Cox. In the words of one of their adversaries, they seemed to float over the badly rutted surface. They were the stars of another excellent championship meeting, but there were many heroes amongst the entry of nearly 150 (all Pre-65 and Pre-74).
Opting to ride their 350s in the first of the championship races, they finished in that order after nine gruelling laps of this classic, typically 1960's scrambles circuit. Andy led from start to finish, a fine display of supremacy which must have worked wonders for his form which has flagged once or twice in recent meetings.
With the weather unrelenting, a couple of hours later and with the track now rutting badly in places, the second championship race took place, reduced from 15 minutes to 12 minutes plus a lap. Adrian (now on his 500) turned the tables in
dramatic style.
Andy Roberton led for five of the seven laps, but on the penultimate lap, as they tackled the big hill, out of sight of most spectators, Adrian, who had thrown his goggles away and must have been riding almost blind, overtook Andy and raced to a famous victory and with it the huge Anjou Cup. Scott Hayworth, a distant eighth in the first race and seemingly struggling in the conditions, rallied well in race two to restore his reputation and relegate Guy Winsor to fourth place. Guy, a part-time racer these days, chalked up a fine third place.
Elsewhere in the programme, the Metisse championship was a double victory for Dave Bell. Dave won both legs fairly comfortably but there was some hairy scrapping behind him between John Edwards and Dave Cooper who shared second and third places, with John getting the nod for second place overall with a better second leg
result.
British Classic Scrambles Championship
Rd 5 – Sloley Park, Devon (North Devon (Atlantic) Classic MCC)
Race One: 1 Andy Roberton (350 Cheney BSA), 2 Adrian Cox (350 Cheney BSA), 3 Guy Winsor (500 Cheney Jawa), 4 Tim Manton (500 Wasp Jawa), 5 Paul Lippitt (441 BSA Victor), 6 Dave Bell (500 ABS Jawa Metisse), 7 Shaun Lovegrove (500 Cheney BSA), 8 Scott Hayworth (500 Cheney BSA).
Anjou Cup: Adrian Cox.
Race Two: 1 Adrian Cox (500 Cheney BSA), 2 Andy Roberton, 3 Scott Hayworth, 4 Guy Winsor, 5 Paul Lippitt, 6 Dave Bell, 7 Phil Edwards (650 Cheney Triumph), 8 Shaun Lovegrove.
Rickman Cup (Best Metisse): Dave Bell.
Series standings after 6 rounds: 1 Adrian Cox 176 points, 2 Andy Roberton 162, 3 Scott Hayworth 137, 4 Dave Bell 122, 5 Paul Lippitt 113, 6 Tim Dallaway 94.
Metisse Championship: 1 Dave Bell (500 ABS Jawa Metisse), 2 John Edwards (500 Jawa Metisse), 3 Dave Cooper (650 Triumph Metisse).
Pre-60 Unlimited: 1 Robin Staple, 2 Andy Carter, 3 Steve Gagg (all 650 Tribsa).
Pre-74 Unlimited – Brian Trott Shield: 1 Martin Perrett (500 CCM), 2 Andy White (500 BSA B50), 3 Trevor Dart (500 CCM).
John Wright Memorial Trophy (Best Two-stroke): Ian Stainton (250 Kawasaki).
Pre-65 up to 350cc – John Trible Trophy: 1 Tim Dallaway (350 BSA), 2 Adrian Cox (350 BSA), 3 Steve Slade (250 Cotton) (winner of Sue & Morley Friend Trophy).
Pre-65 over 350cc – Devon Grand National Trophy: 1 Guy Winsor (500 Cheney Jawa), 2 Tim Manton (500 Wasp Jawa), 3 Robin Staple (500 MRD Jawa), 4 John Edwards (500 Jawa Metisse), 5 Tony Sullivan (650 Cheney Triumph), 6 Phil Edwards (650 Cheney Triumph).
Pre-60 Unlimited – Stoley Park Shield: 1 Andy Roberton (420 Cheney BSA), 2 Adrian Cox (500 Cheney BSA), 3 Scott Hayworth (500 Cheney BSA).
Riders up to 44 years: 1 Adrian Cox, 2 Luke Winn (500 Triumph Treeves), 3 Scott Adams (380 CZ).
Riders 44-52: 1 Keith Best (360 Bultaco), 2 Trevor Dart, 3 John Edwards.
Riders Over 53: 1 Phil Edwards, 2 Andy White, 3 Robin Staple.
Grand Slam – Derek Miller Memorial Trophy: 1 Adrian Cox, 2 Martin Perrett, 3 Chris Collins (441 Cheney BSA), 4 Luke Winn, 5 Billy Lovegrove (500 Cheney BSA), 6 Richard Hall (380 CZ).
FOR FULL REPORT, SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
CAPTION: Pre-74 first race and overall winner Martin Perrett (CCM).