Well 'worth the trip for Williams
By TMX Archives on 2nd Nov 07
DEVON Classic Club's rearranged date to avoid a clash with the Weston Beach races paid off on Sunday, with a good quality entry enjoying a very full programme of races.
Yes it rained, mostly just a light drizzle but Brian Chidley's land overlooking the South Devon coast, stood up well in the circumstances and the day ran efficiently with no major delays.
The strong local entry were confronted with the daunting challenge of Richard Williams, riding a brace of Ken Bayliss' Championship winning Wrayram Cheney BSAs and fellow Welsh borders expert, Phil Edwards, on his Cheney Tribsa.
Needless to say, the pair dominated much of the racing but not without strong competition from, in particular, Steve Adams, plus young guns Tim Dallaway and Luke Hickie, backed up by their respective dads!
Richard Williams' day started badly when having established a substantial lead in the very first race, Pre-65s Up to 350cc, the transmission let go as he started his last lap and although not investigated on the day, it sounded like a primary chain problem. Thereafter resorting to just the remaining 500, he experienced another problem while leading the first Pre-69 Unlimited leg, when an electrical gremlin put him out of the race.
Although Williams won the three remaining legs, Phil Edwards took the overall win with a first and three second places. Consolation came by way of the Pre-74 class with Richard winning all four legs but not without a strong challenge from regular class winner, Steve Adams, on his CZ.
Richard's day was completed with a runaway victory in the Grand Slam, to bring his total number of race wins to eight. It is a daunting thought that it could have been 12 if the 350cc machine had kept going.
With Williams sidelined, the 350cc class went to Tim Dallaway, challenged hard by Steve Slade and a consistent Steve Sinclair. Twin-shock B developed into a battle for supremacy bet-ween regular front runners, Mike Popperwell and Kelvin Vincent, with Stuart George winning the first leg and snapping at their heels in the remaining three.
In addition to his usual impressive rides on his CZ, Steve Adams took Twin-shock D by surprise when he wheeled out a 410 Maico that has languished in his shed since 1978! He proceeded to dominate, only Kristian Marshall and Tim Carter coming close.
Unfortunately Steve had to miss the second leg due to arm pump - the result of so many rides in consecutive races. He also had a problem while leading race three, when his goggles filled in with flying mud and he temporarily relinquished the lead. With the shorter daylight hours the club did well to complete 21 races (from a proposed 22) programme and Bill Stuart, Frank Macauley and the rest of the thin on the ground Devon Classic team should be congratulated on their efforts during the 2007 season.
DEVON CLASSIC SCRAMBLE Widworth, Devon (Devon Classic MCC)
Pre-65 Up to 350cc - Race One: 1 Tim Dallaway (BSA), 2 Steve Slade (Cotton), 3 Chris Collins (BSA).
Race Two: 1 Slade, 2 Dallaway, 3 Collins, 4 John Dallaway (BSA).
Race Three: 1 T Dallaway, 2 Steve Sinclair (BSA), 3 Slade, 4 J Dallaway.
Race Four: 1 T Dallaway, 2 Sinclair, 3 Nick Edgeler (BSA), 4 J Dallaway.
Twin-shock Up to 250cc - Race One: 1 Stuart George (Honda), 2 Mike Popperwell (Maico), 3 Kelvin Vincent (Honda).
Race Two: 1 Popperwell, 2 Vincent, 3 George, 4 Robbie Saville (Cagiva).
Race Three: 1 Vincent, 2 Popperwell, 3 George, 4 Saville.
Race Four: 1 Popperwell, 2 Vincent, 3 George, 4 Graham Brown (Husqvarna).
Pre-69 Unlimited - Race One: 1 Phil Edwards (Cheney Tribsa), 2 Luke Hickie (Jawa), 3 Colin Hickie (Jawa).
Race Two: 1 Richard Williams (Cheney BSA), 2 Edwards, 3 C Hickie, 4 A White (BSA).
Race Three: 1 Williams, 2 Edwards, 3 Shaun Lovegrove (Cheney BSA), 4 C Hickie.
Race Four: 1 Williams, 2 Edwards, 3 Lovegrove, 4 Richard Teghill (Triumph Metisse).
Twin-shock Over 250cc - Race One: 1 Steve Adams (Maico), 2 Tim Carter (Husqvarna), 3 Kristian Marshall (Maico).
Race Two: 1 Marshall, 2 Carter, 3 Kevin Edolls (Maico), 4 Richard Carter.
Race Three: 1 Adams, 2 Marshall, 3 Richard Hall (CZ) 40 R Carter.
Race Four: 1 Adams, 2 Marshall, 3 Hall, 4 T Carter (Maico).
Pre-74 - Race One: 1 R Williams (BSA), 2 S Adams (CZ), 3 G Brown (CZ).
Race Two: 1 Williams, 2 P Edwards (Cheney Tribsa), 3 all, 10 10 Edward Jones 9, 11 Chris Matthews 2 12 Gareth, Williams 1.
See T+MX News, Friday, November 2, 2007 for full report and pictures.