RETURN OF THE KING
April 21, 2008
The paddock of 150 odd riders at Woodford awoke to a damp cold grey day but the track was perfect and just got better and faster as the day progressed through 3 full blocks of action packed racing.
The Adult overs were first group out and Kevin Finch took 3 laps to make his pass on leader, Mark Gillingham who held onto 2nd place. Tim Bates secured 3rd after Greg O’ Callaghan was docked 10 points for overtaking under a waved yellow flag.
Kevin flew into an early lead in race two and steadily gaped the chasing pack for a convincing win. Greg made a pass for 2nd late in the first lap but could make no impression on the leader and Pete Gilder slipped past Tim Bates for his 3rd around mid distance.
Their last race saw Dale Phillips take the holeshot but again it was that man Kevin Finch who made the early pass for the lead and again he checked out for an easy win and first maximum of the day. Behind him Dale held off Greg for most of the race but the wily old dog picked his spot on the last lap and made his hard but fair pass stick which was good enough for 3rd overall. Tim Bates with another 4th place had done enough for 2nd overall.
Visiting Bryn Clarke and Scott Aldridge both cleared off in the first BW race but it was Bryn who gaped Scott to control the race by mid distance. Behind these two Jack Gardner held off Daley Couldron and Ali Meadows but both these guys eventually came past him with Daley claiming a fine 3rd in this high quality field.
Bryn again got the holeshot in race two but Ali was hard on his tail and on lap three he out jumped Bryn for the lead going into the tight section and held on for the victory. Scott could do nothing but look on from his distant 3rd spot.
Ali got past Bryn earlier in the last race and along with Scott these three gradually pulled away from the following pack that was headed up by Daley.
The Adult unders saw the return of the King, current Adult Club Champion – Darren Ismay who despite his, shall we say, maturity was determined to prove he still had it in this new under 35’s group.
Their first race saw the holeshot go to Steve Marlow followed by Lewis Kerr but he spun out early gifting 2nd to Darren Ismay who then passed Marlow for the lead on lap three. Paul Shires had a go at Steve but binned it and Lewis recovered to move into 2nd and to challenge for the lead. Darren and Lewis swapped the lead a couple of times on the last lap but Darren made the pass that counted for a cracking victory. Behind them Jack Rowland had managed to slip into 3rd place.
Rowland got the jump in race two but he slid out under pressure half a lap later allowing Ismay to snatch the lead and head off the challenge from Kerr and Shires. As Darren secured his 2nd win Shires made the pass for 2nd stick and Kerr had to accept 3rd.
The last race saw Rowland grab the holeshot and a lead he held to the flag. Darren and Lewis Kerr chased him hard but Lewis made an error and Paul Shires charged past both him and Darren for a great 2nd place result. Darren had his sensible head on and he had done the math and knew 3rd place was plenty good enough for his overall victory to be complete.
A much-improved gate in the SW’s saw Joe Collier leap off the line and into a lead he held from gate to flag; but Jack Gregory who never gave up the chase kept him honest. Matt Harrison followed these two home in 3rd.
It was the same story in race two but this time it was Matt Wild who moved past the fast starting Mitchell Meadows for 3rd place around half distance a long way behind the leaders Joe and Jack.
Joe Tobutt was the surprise early leader of the final race. He shot out the gate like a scolded cat and rode above himself for much of the race to hold off Jack Gregory; but he eventually made the pass for a fine win. Meanwhile behind them Joe Collier made a number of mistakes which saw him hit the deck twice before he finally reeled in Joe Tobutt who he rode around the outside of for 2nd place two corners from the flag!
Rob Yates snatched the holeshot in race one of the 65’s but it was a short lived lead as he made a mistake and allowed both Ryan Snaith and Danny Lanfear to slip past him. Danny made his pass on Ryan stick a lap later and not to be outdone both Robert and Greg Hyett also passed Ryan on the next lap to secure 2nd and 3rd places.
Rob Yates again took the holeshot and early lead in race two. Lanfear was hard on his tail though in 2nd. On the last lap Snaith had a spin and couldn’t restart gifting 3rd spot to Hyett. The two leaders collided as Lanfear tried to make the overtake but Yates recovered first and took a hard won victory.
Lanfear led from gate to flag in the last block and Yates’ challenge faded as a misfire saw him drop down the order. Ryan Snaith managed to hold off Hyett this time for his 2nd place and this was enough to give him 3rd overall by just one point.
Ben Kind simply checked out in all 3 of his Auto races scoring 3 dominant start to finish victories for his maximum.
Behind him things were a little tighter but Lewis Huckerby proved to be the 2nd best rider on the day as he held off first Dillon Fitzpatrick in race one and then JC Verdugo in race two. This was followed in the last race by a third place result behind Dillon whose fine 2nd was enough to put him on the podium.
Last group of the day was the Schoolboy 125’s and Lewis Meadows was the man to beat, but no one did! He rode 3 perfect races and pulled away from his adversaries in all 3 races with no problem for his maximum.
In the first Race Ben Jeffs soon dispatched Cody Ling and settled into his rhythm in 2nd spot. But he didn’t count on Ashley Crossley who made up for his poor start by never giving up the chase and he took Ben for the first of his 2nd place results.
The second block again saw Lewis check out and this time round Terry Howlett had the job of holding off Crossley but not for long! Terry then also succumbed to Ben Rollinson and these two had a great battle that saw Howlett retake 3rd spot on the last lap.
The last race of the day and the holeshot went to Tom Allsopp but he was swallowed up by the chasing pack less than a lap later with Howlett temporally out front. He in turn was overtaken on the tabletop by Meadows who again went onto an easy win. Ben Rollinson also got past Howlett and looked good for 2nd but his Gear shifter snapped and he cruised around in 3rd gear dropping down the field. Crossley also made a pass on Howlett and this one stuck and he came home in 2nd spot leaving Howlett back in 3rd and 3rd overall.
NSMXC now looks forward to a breather before the next round on May 11th at Mildenhall that is also the first round of the KP Equipe – ISO2 Auto Challenge.
RESULTS:
AUTOS: 1. Ben Kind 2. Lewis Huckerby 3. Dillon Fitzpatrick 4. Jaydon Wooloff 5. JC Verdugo 6. Bryn Daniel
65’s: 1. Danny Lanfear 2. Greg Hyett 3. Ryan Snaith 4. Robert Yates 5. Ethan Humphries 6. Callem Bennett
SW85’s: 1. Joe Collier 2. Jack Gregory 3. Matt Harrison 4. Mitchell Meadows 5. Joe Tobutt 6. Matt Wild
BW85’s: 1. Bryn Clarke 2. Ali Meadows 3. Scott Aldridge 4. Daley Couldron 5. Jack Gardner 6. Jordan Wills
SB125’s: 1. Lewis Meadows 2. Ashley Crossley 3. Terry Howlett 4. Ben Jeffs 5. Cody Ling 6. A.Wilson
ADULT UNDER 35’s: 1. Darren Ismay 2. Lewis Kerr 3. Paul Shires 4. Jack Rowland 5. Michael McClurg 6. Ed Linnell
ADULT OVER 35’s: 1. Kevin Finch 2. Tim Bates 3. Greg O’Callaghan 4. Pete Gilder 5. Simon Steadman 6.Mark Gillingham
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