There's no doubting Thomas
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 09
BADEN Hall, near Stafford, once again proved popular as the penultimate round of the Putoline XC Championship series packed the paddock on Sunday despite a very poor weather forecast and torrential rain in the early hours.The Fast Eddy race crew set out a fast and flowing course with no real stoppers' for what can only be described as an excellent entry of riders who didn't seem phased by the weather report.The venue offered a variety of challenges with fast and flowing woodland sections, wide enough for faster riders to pass back-markers without risk and a number of field sections dotted with steep banks, an excellent mix of sections and very popular with both riders and spectators.
The opening race of the day saw the Youth competitors take to the line in very wet conditions but the large entry charged the course head-on despite the slippery going.
The Junior 65cc class had the nightmare scenario of two riders with the same name, Ben Clarke! As if by destiny Ben Clarke took first in class with Ben Clarke second and Charlie Barnwell third.
Oli Benton took the Small-wheel 85cc class by 20-seconds from Harrison Bell with Adam James in third while Jack Edmondson definitely had an off day – finishing fourth!
Aaron Edwards was both overall race winner and clear class winner in Youth 125/250F, ahead of second placed Liam Cottrill and Jon Hill in third. Charlie Nichols chased Edwards hard for the duration and took second overall on his way to the Big-wheel 85/150cc victory ahead of Andrew Bull and Rhian George.
Conditions had improved slightly as the adult race began. The rain had stopped and the course was drying although the first few laps proved to be very tricky in places.
‘Biff Smith' lined up in the Experts, next to Lincoln Brewster, and looked set to give the KB Racing rider a real run for his money but one row back saw a quality bunch in the shape of the Expert Veterans.
Mark Houson, on Aston Bird's MPS Husqvarna had already made his excuses before rolling to the line, he was just testing Aston's bike for the day and test it he did! Sitting on the line during the engine warm-up his rear brake disc shattered into four pieces and fell from the bike, without Houson realising what had happened.
As the riders charged away Houson admitted later that the first downhill section proved to be "...very interesting”. When the realisation hit home he simply shrugged his shoulders and carried on regardless, taking a very well earned fourth in Expert Veteran.
Peter Clarke made the most of Houson's misfortune and rode hard to take the class win ahead of Tony Crow and Wyn Hope. Allan Hopwood had been up with the leaders initially but a big ‘off' saw him on the way to hospital with suspected back injuries.
Brewster and Smith dominated the Expert class. Smith seemed very much at home in the conditions and led the race initially but as the course dried Brewster battled his way to the front to pull a four-minute lead by the time two and a half hours had elapsed and the chequered flag was waved.
Joe Jones' ride to third place shouldn't be overlooked. In a very talented field he did extremely well to push Gary Daniels into fourth and James Jackman to fifth. Lewis Belfield – usually a front runner – crashed hard into a tree and retired following a kick from a rider he was passing, a very unusual occurrence at this type of event.
PUTOLINE X-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 6 – Baden Hall, Staffs (fasteddyracing.com)
Expert: 1 Lincoln Brewster, 2 Biff Smith, 3 Joe Jones.
Expert Veteran: 1 Peter Clarke, 2 Tony Crow, 3 Wyn Hope.
Clubman: 1 Tom Healy, 2 Sean O'Neil, 3 Lee Taylor.
Sportsman: 1 Chris Pryce, 2 Alex West, 3 Danny Morris.
Veteran: 1 Dave Selkeld, 2 Simon Bastow, 3 Lee Carpenter.
Novice: 1 Luke Thomas, 2 Richard Rudge, 3 Richard Bates.
YOUTH CLASSES
Junior 65cc: 1 Ben Clarke, 2 Ben Clarke, 3 Charlie Barnwell.
Small-wheel 85cc: 1 Oli Benton, 2 Harrison Bell, 3 Adam James.
Big-wheel 85/150cc: 1 Charlie Nichols, 2 Andrew Bull, 3 Rhian George.
Youth 125/250F: 1 Aaron Edwards, 2 Liam Cottrill, 3 Jon Hill.
FOR FULL, REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009
Biff Smith led the Expert class until the course started drying out.