Report: Tom Minta takes Colmore Cup as Dan Thorpe nails S3 points
By Colin Bullock on 11th Mar 20
Round three of the 2020 S3 series was held last Sunday around the usual Colmore area but with a few changes made to the route.
Starting at Mickleton there were no fewer than 14 groups of sections beginning at the local woods and this time finishing with the Meon Hill hazards and a section back at the start.
Most of the Clubman entry and Over 40 class were towards the front with the Expert S3s towards the back of the 120-strong entry. This time there was a change in conditions throughout the day, sometimes the entry draw can be a deal-breaker.
On the Expert route, there was a mix of Championship runners and non-points scoring riders. The best score of the day actually went to Tom Minta who did not qualify for points but he must have been more than happy with the overall result losing 19 marks spread evenly over his morning and afternoon punchcard.
Best S3 went to Dan Thorpe, just two marks adrift of the overall winner. Dan has been here before and, as the 2019 Champion, he is seeking another title to his already impressive list. Just one five at Weston Wood was good going.
Ross Danby and Sam Haslam both suffered maximums at section 10 having conceded nothing up to that point. This sub stopped plenty but Sam Yeomans and Thomas Moss both posted clean rides here.
Cotstone Quarry provided a good spectator vantage point as did Weston Wood. The last one in the Quarry finished with a steep climb and Weston is always slippery.
With Thorpe topping the S3 points, second in the class went to Luke Walker who had a comfortable gap between himself and Chris Pearson in third.
There was a superb entry of Clubman Championship and Over 40 riders and Ian Wakeford posted the best score on this route, but it was close between him and James Gammons, who was only two marks behind at the finish. Both fell foul of the final sub at Railway a newly introduced hazard for 2010.
The final climb was horrible, and threes or fives were the order of the day but Wakeford saw the ends card, many did not. Ian topped the Over 40s, James the S3 Clubman.
Behind these two it was a very tight battle between Kevin Nolan and Miles Jones. Nolan had a two-mark loss on the days final section back at the car park where Jones cleaned the section. It was not quite enough, however.
It had been a cool blustery Colmore but there were fortunately only a few showers. As the club chairman said, the Non-expert route was okay with the Championship a touch harder than anticipated.
Colmore Cup Results
Premier Award: Tom MInta (Scorpa) 19.
Non Championship Experts: Sam Haslam (Montesa) 22, Ross Danby (TRS) 24.
S3 Parts Championship
Experts: Dan Thorpe (GasGas) 21, Luke Walker (Sherco) 36, Chris Pearson (Sherco) 44, Tom Moss (GasGas) 47, Chris Alford (Scorpa) 47, Sam Yeomans (Vertigo) 47.
Clubman: James Gammons (GasGas) 19, Miles Jones (Montesa) 23, Ian Fortune (TRS) 29, Sam Atherton (GasGas) 30, Katy Sunter (GasGas) 30, Simon Hoscock (Beta) 38.
Over 40: Ian Wakeford (GasGas) 17, Kevin Nolan (Scorpa) 22, Steve Swanson (Beta) 25, Phil Houghton (Vertigo) 26, John Cowley (Beta) 27, Jason Galvin (Beta) 27.
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