Been there, seen it and done it
April 23, 2008
Been there, seen it, done it, with memories fading of the IMBA last year we were brought down to earth with a bang well more of a splash. Heavy rain Saturday afternoon until early Sunday morning left the paddock in some what of a soggy state after some deliberation we decided to press ahead with the meeting so all hands were needed to push and pull cars, vans and trailers into the paddock. Disappointingly some riders were put off by the conditions of the paddock and decided to leave their bikes in the van not giving the circuit a chance.
The track was slippy for the practice sessions but after the top layer of new grass had been removed an ever-improving surface was uncovered. A decision was made before racing to cut out the big hill and jump for the inters and juniors groups after bottleneck of fallers during practice. Despite all the odds we still managed to get in the full race programme slightly cutting down the last block.
After the meeting it was all hands to the pump again aided by Jim Shand and Jonathan Smith driving the tractors clearing the paddock with some members there late into the night finishing off the clearing up operations.
Not surprisingly Kinver riders performed well on the day bringing home six trophies. Craig Chamberlain a glutton for punishment double entered in the MX1 and MX2 on respective machines and picked up awards for both groups winning the MX1 class with forty-five points and finishing up to Kinver new boy Jack Cox who picked up three wins for forty five points to Craig’s thirty four points. A blanket could be thrown over the top three riders in the under 18 junior’s class with Duke Lawley finishing second with thirty four points and Josh Bate picking up third overall with thirty points. The final Kinver trophy went to Ben Hodgkins in the inters class, Ben had three excellent rides for thirty two points and third overall. All inters deserve special praise for completing the meeting putting the abstainers to shame.
The rest of the riders had a good day with most of the points being picked up in the MX2 expert class Jake Chamberlain scoring twenty points, Leon Thomas ten points Tom Arnold eight and Ben Thomas seven. John Williams showed there’s life in the old dog yet enjoying the conditions in the MX1 seniors completing all three races for fifteen points.
A quick note to all Kinver riders to check there kit and belongings when packing up there vans as one rider Ray Timmins in the mx1 junior class packed up his caravan on Saturday boots, helmet, body armour, dog basket, lead and food only to find when he reached Bewdley he had left the dog at home, luckily for Ray his daughters stayed at home and took care of the dog.
Who knows what the future will hold for Upton Court with the ever unpredictable British weather our next meeting is scheduled for three weeks time - watch this space.
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