IT’S SNOW JOKE!
March 24, 2008
There was only ever going to be one winner this weekend and that was the weather.
As riders awoke to near blizzard conditions and with many roads proving to be near impassable it was unsurprising that attendance this Easter Sunday was poor.
But for the hardy few NSMXC had laid out an ‘old style’ natural terrain MX track at this new venue which was loved by some and hated by others – oh well, you can’t win em all!
Paul Edge obviously loved the track as he took it in his stride and romped away with three emphatic wins. Behind him Ed Linnell kept Michael McClurg at bay for the first two races but an uncharacteristic error late in the 3rd block saw him drop to 5th which handed 2nd overall to McClurg.
In the big wheels it was Jordan Wills who handled the slippery track conditions the best finding grip the others couldn’t; and although he didn’t holeshot the first race he soon took the lead from Daley Couldron and steadily pulled away. A performance he was to repeat twice more for a fine maximum. Ben Huckerby looked set for a good day until his gear shifter jammed in the 2nd race while in a low gear and he was forced to cruise to the finish watching his competitors fly past. This gave much-improved Josh Callis a well-earned 3rd place. Their final race saw Wills romp off to an easy 3rd victory with Daley well back in 2nd and Josh again taking advantage of Ben who struggled in this race on a borrowed machine.
Joe Tobutt used the power and traction of his 4 stroke to fine advantage as he left his competitors for dead in all three of the Small wheels races for a cracking maximum. Even a couple of off’s during the day didn’t faze the lad as his lead was so great he had time to gather himself without losing his advantage. Behind him the minor places were settled more by who fell off the least than who was the quickest! George Hackshall, with two 2nd s and a 5th secured 2nd overall ahead of Luke Wightman.
Eathan Humpries and Callum Bennett had a good tussle with each other in the 65’s with Callum scoring the first win of the day but Eathan struck back in the next two leaving Callum having to accept 2nd overall. Behind these two Jack Evans rode consistently for his trio of 3rd places.
Despite the atrocious weather and resultant track conditions a good sized group of Autos all made the effort and enjoyed some excellent racing and only two of these little brave hearts failed to finish the day! Out in front Ben Kind again showed why he is a force to be reckoned with in this class as he rode to a rock solid maximum. Behind him Dillon Fitzpatrick also held it together and with two 2nd s and a 4th to his credit took to the second step of the podium. JC Verdugo and Jordan Hearn were battling it out for the 3rd spot but it was Jordan who clinched it thanks to better results in the first two races.
In the Schoolboy 125’s Jordan Wright found he had a race meeting on his hands as he fought hard to hold off Chuck Davies. Chuck, frankly, blew it in the first race when he slid out going for the lead and he dropped down the order. He recovered to 5th. In the 2nd block Chuck made his pass stick and he held onto the lead for his only win of the day. He was followed through the flag by Jordan and Ben Rollinson, whose tyre choice, after an appalling first race seemed to have done the job! In the last race of the day Jordan took another victory and his points margin for first overall belied how tough a day he’d actually had. Behind him Chuck finished in 2nd, and 2nd overall but quiet man Darrel Tate pipped Rollinson for 3rd overall by just one point!
Old dog Greg O’Callaghan dragged himself out his pit just in time to miss his allotted practice with the other over 35’s! But this didn’t stop him from showing some old school skills and he led all three of his races from gate to flag for another of the day’s maximums. Behind him Richard Wright rode well for three fine 2nd s and Club Treasurer, John Wills got the low down on Richard Lowe, knocking him into 4th spot in the last two races and securing 3rd overall for himself.
As a tough day drew to a close competitors were able to reflect that at least NSMXC had managed to run 3 full blocks of racing in the face of adversity and all are now able to look forward to round five on April 13th at the awesome Culham Park near Abingdon.
RESULTS:
AUTOS: 1. Ben Kind 2. Dillan Fitzpatrick 3. Jordan Hearn 4. JC Verdugo 5. Lewis Huckerby 6. Sam Chamberlain
JUNIOR 65’S: 1. Eathan Humphries 2. Callum Bennett 3. Jack Evans 4. Thomas Wilkins 5. Ben Coleman 6. Harvey South
SW85’S: 1. Joe Tobutt 2. George Hackshall 3. Luke Wightman 4. Tom Stafford 5. Sam Brinkley 6. Jordan Anderson
BW85’S: 1. Jordan Wills 2. Daley Couldron 3. Josh Callis 4. Ben Huckerby 5. James Redding 6. Lewis Manning
SB125’S: 1. Jordan Wright 2. Chuck Davies 3. Darrel Tate 4. Ben Rollinson 5. Kyle Sheard 6. Gary Barnes
ADULT UNDER 35’S: 1. Paul Edge 2. Michael McClurg 3. Ed Linnell 4. James Allsop 5. Dan Treverson 6. Kristain Wright
ADULT OVER 35’S: 1. Greg O’Callaghan 2. Richard Wright 3. John Wills 4. Richard Lowe 5. Nick Baum
Race Report by MOTO WEB REPORTER Trevor Scott and images by Colin Brister
Send this article to a friend
