This event will be held at the clubs popular venue at Cwmythig Hill, nr Rhayader, Mid Wales.

The course will be approximately 3 miles per lap & will include both motocross circuits at Cwmythig as well as nearby fields.

There are classes for Expert, Clubman, Veteran Over 40’s, Veteran Over 50’s & Sportsman.

The event will start at 7pm & depending on the weather will be a “one and a half” or “two hour” race.

Entry forms are available off the club website – www.rdmcc.co.uk

Or contact the event secretary Malcolm Bates on Tel No: (01547) 550393 after 6pm.

From May 30th to June 2nd 2013, the Austrian Erzberg will once again become the offroad community’s epicenter. The Erzbergrodeo not only offers breathtaking motorsports for each dirt bike enthusiast, it also serves spectacular side events and lots of possibilities, to create your very own individual experience at the “Iron Giant”. The organisatoric and logistic efforts behind the unique event are truly impressing and illustrate the dimension of the world’s most renowned enduro race.

Erzbergrodeo: Building a small town up on the “Iron Mountain”
A crew of 800 people is working behind the Erzbergrodeo’s curtain to make sure that things run smoothly during the 4-days of the event. One of the main challenges is to build up the Erzbergrodeo-Arena right from the scratch. The pulsing centre of the event is located right at the foot of the Erzberg and offers spectators, riders and media professionals numerous food & beverage booths, the race- and press/media-offices, the headquarters for security and medical services, the Special Guest Lounge, a large vendor area, the extended LIFE-TV headquarters – and of course the gigantic Erzbergrodeo beer tent, which will be the home of the infamous rider parties on each night of the event. A large sanitary zone inside the arena offers showers and toilets. A specially designed endurocross track in the middle of the arena hosts the spectacular Mitas One-On-One rider presentations on Friday and Saturday, displaying the impressive riding skills of all Erzbergrodeo top-riders and factory stars. On Sunday, only the toughest dirt bike riders will reach this endurocross track – as it’ll be the finish line of the notorious Red Bull Hare Scramble, the world’s gnarliest single day extreme enduro. Each year, only a handful of riders manage to cross the Red Bull arch after 4 hours of pain and torture.

Outside the Arena, the crew has to build up 3 different paddock-areas for the more than 4500 participants and their entourage, as well as parking areas for tens of thousands of visitors including a very own traffic regulation system with connecting roads for cars, motorcycles and the mighty „Hauly“ mining-trucks. The Erzbergrodeo’s sophisticated garbage disposal concept takes care of about 40 tons of trash left behind each year by visitors and riders. The visitor shuttle bus service is just another unique service offered by the race promotors for all guests visiting the Erzbergrodeo. Up to 15 public service busses commute between the arena, the rider paddocks, the parking areas and parts of the GENERALI Iron Road Prologue and Red Bull Hare Scramble racetracks – for free! Just hop on the bus and get out in the middle of the action…

The Erzbergrodeo’s own Camping-Area right at the foot of the mountain is another important service for all visitors. Anyone who wants to experience the event on more than one day and wants to include the infamous rider parties to their schedule can conveniently build up their tent, caravan or RV right in front of the mighty mountain. The Camping-Area offers sanitary facilities and can be easily reached from the Erzbergrodeo-Arena with the visitor shuttle busses.

Not to forget the Erzbergrodeo’s infamous racetracks. A rather small group of selected and highly experienced track builders take care that each competitor gets his fare share of action – and a maximum of safety. It takes months to select and prepare the different parts of the racetracks, as the Erzberg is still an active mining area. The farce mountain changes his (sur)face each year, providing lots of unabated challenges to the track building crew. During the race itself, hundreds of track-marshals, paramedics and motorized race-marshals are working on every corner of the mountain to ensure the Erzbergrodeo’s renowned safety concept for all riders.

If you think that the erection of the „small town called Erzbergrodeo“ lasts for several months, you’re actually completely wrong. “The Erzberg being an active mining area gives us less than a week to build up the whole infrastructure. The deconstruction of all facilities lasts only a few days as well. The big challenge is to perfectly coordinate the separate working groups in each area over a very short period of time. Our crew delivers an outstanding performance before and after the actual event, that’s why each and every crew member is truly relieved when everything runs smoothly. The Erzbergrodeo’s head of organization Mark Schilling explains the logistic efforts behind the world’s most renowned Xtreme Enduro.

The Erzbergrodeo’s main challenge: high-class motorcycle offroad racing
The Erzbergrodeo is all about four days of breathtaking, stunning dirt bike racing featuring the world’s elite racers from Enduro, Motocross, Trials and even Rally. It all starts with the KÄRCHER Rocket Ride hillclimb race on Thursday. More than 300 riders challenge a mighty, three-part gravel uphill, only the fastest 48 of them emerge to the spectacular Superfinals in the late evening. Friday and Saturday will see the world’s biggest and probably craziest field of offroad competitors as more than 1500 riders from 35 nations take on the GENERALI Iron Road Prologue’s high-speed race. Each rider has two timed trials upon the 13 kilometer long gravel road up to the Erzberg’s peak at 1466 meter beyond sea level. Determination, skills and full throttle without compromises will get you amongst the 500 fastest riders of the Iron Road Prologue – and into the starting grid of the Erzbergrodeo’s true highlight: the Red Bull Hare Scramble on Sunday.

The world’s most famous Xtreme Enduro starts at high noon when the first of ten waves of each 50 riders is unleashed to race the „Iron Giant“. Erzbergrodeo mastermind Karl Katoch serves a gruel and selective menu to his guests: 35 kilometers of unforgiving offroad terrain, featuring endless uphills, scary downhills, tight forest sections and car-sized rocks. The riders need to pass 20 checkpoints on their way to the finish line within four hours. The full dimension of the challenges provided by this unique race are obvious if you look at the results year after year: only a handful of the 500 starters sees the checkered flag in the end…

The adventures of Erzbergrodeo: non-stop action and entertainment
The Erzbergrodeo offers loads of action and entertainment to his visitors – no matter if they twist the throttle of their race bikes, cheer alongside the racetrack for their favorite rider or cover the event for international magazines and media networks. There’s exciting side-events for everyone, like the Mitas One-On-One rider presentation (Friday & Saturday) or the traditional Sturm auf Eisenerz (Friday evening) which gathers more than 3000 dirt bikes on a parade through the tiny town of Eisenerz and back on the mountain. Another true highlight is the breathtaking Freestyle-MX Show (Saturday evening), which lifts international top FMX-riders up in the air over the Erzbergrodeo Arena. On Sunday, right before the start of the Red Bull Hare Scramble, motorsports enthusiasts can look forward to a Jet-Ski Freestyle Show inside the Erzberg’s lake.

There’s also the possibility to watch the action from above by booking an Erzbergrodeo Heli-Ride. This helicopter flight offers an amazing view on the unique mining area as well as a close look at the racing action. From Thrursday to Saturday, visitors can try another speciality of Erzberg: the Hauly-Ride gets you on board of one of the huge, 860-horsepower mining trucks to explore the enormous site sitting in first floor…

Erzbergrodeo insiders know that the action doesn’t stop when the sun goes down behind the Iron Giant. The legendary Rider Parties inside the big festival marquee offers DJs, great atmosphere and cool drinks until the early morning. Each party night starts with trophy ceremonies and the daily highlights, broadcasted on the big screen inside the tent. The atmosphere is truly amazing, featuring party people from all over the world… even factory riders and world champions don’t want to miss out on these unique celebrations.

The first-class experience: Special Guest at Erzbergrodeo
If you want to combine all Erzbergrodeo highlights with excellent catering and individual shuttle-services, then it’s time to choose one of the Special Guest Packages for a memorable experience. Hauly-Ride, Heli-Ride, Special Guest Action-Tour, Iron-Explorer Tour, Red Bull Hare Scramble Insider… the exclusive tours and specially arranged incentives all start directly from the chilly Special Guest Lounge inside the Erzbergrodeo-Arena. There’s even the possibility to explore the Erzberg in the saddle of a dirt bike or quad…

For more informations about the Erzbergrodeo Special Guest Packages please have a look at www.erzbergrodeo.at

The Gas Gas factory team competing in the World Enduro Championship has finished the Grand Prix of Spain with an optimistic point of view, and they are now looking forward to the next race in Portugal . Having not been able to achieve a podium position, which has eluded the young Danny McCanney after a couple of falls in the Extreme and Enduro test, but eventually he finished fourth in the Junior category after a good showing in certain special tests. McCanney who has piloted the new EC 300 Factory Replica without any mechanical problems, holds the third position overall in the World Cup. In the same category, Diego ‘ El Toro ” Rojas has continued to improve and had finished in sixteenth position. The competitive Chilean rider seeks to improve race after race, and this time he was able to observe the difficulty of the Grand Prix series but managed to complete the event, something that in itself is an accomplishment.

The Gas Gas School of Champions program is paying off with the youngsters Esteban Lanz and Tomer Saphira, who have managed to reduce the gap to the front runners. The Chilean Lanz was 12th and Israeli Saphira 14th, and in this GP of Spain has earned their first World Cup points.

Danny McCanney:

“It’s been a long tough weekend in which I have not been able to reach the success I had been hoping for. I’ve gone to great lengths to try to achieve good results. The only thing I can be happy with is that I suffered no serious falls that could have injured me which would jeopardize the rest of the championship “.

Results Spanish GP, day 2

Junior
1.          Matthew Philips            58’52.77
2.          Giacomo Redondi            to 6.99
3.          Mario Román            to 10.10
4.            Danny McCanney (Gas Gas)            to 32.50
16.          Diego Rojas (Gas Gas)            to 4’48.70

Youth Cup
1.           Jamie McCanney            1:00’42.16
2.           Albin Elowson            a 15.22
3.           David Ciucci            a 49.10
12.            Esteban Lanz (Gas Gas)            a 4’41.43
14.            Tomer Saphira (Gas Gas)            a 6’27.53

Standings
Junior
1.         Matthew Philips            103 points
2.         Giacomo Redondi            98 points
3.            Danny McCanney (Gas Gas)            86 points
12.          Diego Rojas (Gas Gas)            22 points

Youth Cup
1.           Jamie McCanney            114 points
2.           Benjamín Herrera            95 points
3.           Albin Elowson            76 points
18.            Esteban Lanz (Gas Gas)            8 points
25.            Thomer Saphira (Gas Gas)            4 points

Round 4 of the Maxxis British Championship was certainly a quality event with great racing in both classes. Here’s what the riders had to say about it all.

Kristian Whatley: “I didn’t have such a good start to the day as after getting third I qualifying, I messed up superpole a bit. We made some adjustments to the shock and I was a lot happier going into race one where I got a reasonable start and came through a bit, but in the second race the start was a lot worse but I still managed to get up to third. Track conditions were very bad in the last race, but I was making places up when I lost my goggles. All I had to do was keep in front of Jonathan (Barragan) for the overall, but a back marker got in my way out the back of the track and he was passed, so I was third in the race and second overall”

Wayne Garrett – MX1: “Today’s been a bit better for me. I’m still not 100% happy with how it went; it’s progress and every round seems to get a little bit better. I ended today with two eighteenths and a crash in the second race which put me dead last. That made the second race tough and I just missed the points. All in all it’s not been a bad day, it’s lifted me a little bit after several hard weeks of racing, so I’ll just try to keep the momentum going and hopefully come the next round I can get top fifteens and heading for the top twelve.”

Lewis Tombs – MX2: “Today was a steady day, not bad. I did well in qualifying, got a good feel for the track and was fourth in the first part of qualifying. I dropped back to eighth in the super-pole, but it wasn’t a big drama. In the first race I had not such a great start, but managed to sneak round the inside corner and came out about eighth and kinda just stayed there and managed to get seventh. I’m very happy with that. In the second race had a good start again, made a mistake on the first lap, went down, went down again, and went down a third time, and was dead last. Managed to get back to fifteenth, which I knew meant I was riding good. The third race was real tricky, the weather made it really slick. Had a good start, was running fifth, but my lines weren’t good and dropped back to tenth, and worked my way past Trickett in the last couple of laps.”

Adam Sterry: “I struggled in qualifying but I was happy with coming back to 13th in the first race after coming from the back of the field, especially as it was so hard to pass on this track. I made a good start in the second race but went down trying to pass Mackenzie but I passed good riders to get back to 5th showing I can compete with the top boys. The third race I made a bad start and with the track really wet, I crashed twice while trying to fight my way through. I came home in 15th which was disappointing but I was glad to come away safe.”

Jonathan Barragan: “I liked the track and was happy with my riding today. Even when I crashed I caught the other riders again so I know I had the speed. I was happy to win overall and scored good points for the Championship and it was great for my confidence for Brazil.”

Graeme Irwin: ”It was a good day overall really, I rode well, but I just struggled to get the starts. It’s close [in the championship],  but it’s only half way through, and anything can happen.”

Luke Burton: ”I rung my bell pretty good in qualifying and I suffered from it all day. I couldn’t concentrate and string a lap together, but I didn’t want to let the team down.
My shoulders pretty sore, so I’m taking a couple of days rest, then preparing for Weston this weekend.”

Dan Thornhill: “Still looking for a little more luck to come my way, so far this year I have had a lot of issues to deal with. Felt nice this weekend at Milton on the new bike to put in a solid qualifying and know that my speed is there in the races. Grabbing two point scoring rides and a little mishap in the other moto I feel more confident moving on week by week with myself and the bike. With still plenty to improve on and a long season ahead I look forward the next coming rounds of the championship to show my potential.”

Brad Anderson: Today’s been one of the toughest days of my whole career; I just couldn’t get with it all day long. I had a 7th in the first race and then a 5th in the second which was ok and then the last race was bad. We are going to go away from here and sit down and try and work out how to go forward.

Jack Brunell: Practice started well and I got 12th and went into Superpole and put in a good lap and finished in 8th, so I was happy with that for my first British. First race I had a bad start and came through well to finish in 13th. Second race I got another bad start but rode a lot better and finished in 10th. Then in the final race it was so dangerous, that I just wanted to ride around and finish and got 14th and 13th overall so I’m really happy with that.

Dorren Coutts: Today has been a really tough day; I didn’t get a good time in qualifying and suffered bad starts in every race. I didn’t feel myself today and I’ve work to do before next weekend.

Ben James: I didn’t do so great in qualifying today, finishing 32nd. I had an ok start in the first race and finished 27th. Then in the second race it rained and track was slippery, which was better for me I had a better start and finished 22nd.

Jason Dougan (#85): The first race was ok, had a decent start, came through to fourth and then with four laps to go, something happened to the gearbox and I couldn’t finish. I’m happy with my riding though. In the second race I gated about fifth and managed to get to third and then wheel-spun off one of the table tops because of the rain. I had a big crash, landed on my head pretty hard and ended up with a concussion, so I was done for the day.

Tanel Leok (#40): The first two races were good, I had the win. In the last race we had a mechanical issue while I was second behind Aubin. I’m happy with the red plate, but we’ve lost a lot of valuable points, which is disappointing.

Lewis Trickett – MX2 #214: “Today started off rubbish; in qualifying I really struggled to get a lap in, just rode really tense, ended up twentieth in qualifying. In race 1, I was going good, was ninth, went down and ended up fifteenth, which was alright. In race 2, I was seventh and then had a failure on the exhaust so had to DNF, which really sucks and I’m really disappointed with that. I managed to pull myself together for the last race, had a good start and just rode smart because the track was really slippery and quite technical. I ended up tenth, not so bad. “

James Harrison – MX2 #153: “Qualifying was good, I never do well in qualifying. I got a twenty-third and was happy with that. In the first race I struggled a bit with arm pump because I was quite nervous before the race. I came home twenty-first; I was just outside the points which I was annoyed with. In the second race, went out there and tried my best to get points, was in seventeenth with one lap to go and my fork just fell apart. In the last race it rained and it was quite wet, and I rode decent and got sixteenth.”

Ben Putnam – MXY2 #11: “Qualifying was a bit of a shock really, I wasn’t going too well and then managed to put a quick lap in in the end. The first race was a reasonable, I scored a few points and ended sixth, and in the second race it started raining, I didn’t feel too confident, managed to get a good start and got a third, so I’m really happy. Just looking forward to the last round now, because it’s getting quite tight in the championship now.”

Scott Elderfield – MX1 #160: “Qualifying started off not too good. In the first race I thought I’d use the inside and it didn’t pan out. I got boxed in and ended up last, but came back through to eleventh which wasn’t too bad really. In the second one I started off on the outside and got a pretty good start and came through and ended up with a good position seventh which was not bad. In the last one I got a good start and kept pushing and managed to end up fifth by passing Waterman on the last lap. I’m pretty pleased.”

Steven Lenoir – MX2 #685: “This was a good weekend; in the first race I just could not pass Nev and got bad arm pump, so I had to slow down and finish fourth. I was pretty upset to be honest. In the second race got the holeshot and fought with Elliott for the lead all race long and I was happier with the result; I wanted to win badly. The last race, with the rainy conditions, was definitely mine. I managed to pass people really quickly in the first corners and when I was in the lead, I was really focused to not make any mistakes. I won, so I’m really happy tonight. The bike, the team, everything’s been brilliant for a few weeks now and the work’s definitely paid off.”

Images by Rick Blyth, Kevin Reid, Norris Racing, Stefan Paetow, STR KTM, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki

Day 1 Highlights

Continuing from where he left off on day one, NAMBOTIN was again the rider to beat in E3. Fast, smooth and mistake free throughout the majority of the day, the Frenchman secured his second win of the weekend. “I’m so happy to have won both days here in Spain,” confirmed a pleased NAMBOTIN. “It was a tough race with nowhere to rest. I pushed hard in the morning and opened up a good lead that I was able to control until the end of the day. It’s been a fantastic weekend for me.” Behind him, Sweden’s Joakim LJUNGGREN (Husaberg) improved on his fourth pace result from day one to finish as the runner-up behind his French rival. Despite riding in severe discomfort due to his crash on day one, Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) gritted his teeth to secure a well-earned third position. Recording his first top five result of t he season, the 2012 Enduro Junior World Champion Mathias BELLINO (Husaberg) ended his day in fourth place. Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) capped of a strong showing in Spain to take his second fifth place result of the weekend.

In the Enduro 1 class, MEO bounced back from his fifth place result on day one to win day two. Topping the opening three special tests of the morning, the KTM rider then controlled his speed to claim his fifth win of the season. “Day one was tough – I crashed too many times,” commented MEO. “I needed to win day two and regain some of the points I lost. I pushed hard in the morning and then kept an eye on my times and rode safe to win.” Proving fast and consistent in the extremely dry and powdery terrain, Finland’s Eero REMES (TM) finished just 17 seconds behind MEO to secure the runner-up result and his second podium finish of the weekend. Struggling to find his rhythm in the difficult conditions Finland’s J uha SALMINEN (Husqvarna) ended his day in third position. Spain’s Cristobal GUERRERO (KTM) placed just three seconds behind Salminen to finish fourth while day one winner Finland’s Matti SEISTOLA (Husqvarna) completed the top five.

Day 2 Highlights

Delivering another perfect day of riding, CERVANTES claimed his second win of the weekend in E2. Setting the fastest time on the first extreme test, the Spaniard pushed hard in the extremely rutted special tests to hold off Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) for the victory. “This has been an incredible weekend for me,” told a delighted CERVANTES. “I am ecstatic to have won both days in Spain. Winning day one gave me the belief that I could do it again – today I was not going to let anyone beat me.” Although setting the fastest time in the final enduro test, SALVINI was unable to close the gap to his KTM rival and had to be content with second place. Making amends for his mistake on day one, France’s Pela RENET (Husaberg) ended his day just six seconds behind SALVINI to secure the third step of the po dium. France’s Johnny AUBERT (KTM) placed fourth with Spain’s Oriol MENA (Husaberg) rounding out the top five.

In the Enduro Junior class Australia’s Matt PHILLIPS (Husqvarna) fended off a final lap charge from Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (KTM) to take his second win of the weekend. With Redondi finishing as runner-up to Phillips, Spain’s Mario ROMAN (Husaberg) ended his day just three seconds behind the Italian in third. Manxman Danny MCCANNEY (Gas Gas) was fourth with Sweden’s Robert KVARNSTROM (Beta) completing the top five. In the Enduro Youth Cup Manxman Jamie MCCANNEY (Husaberg) topped seven of the day’s 12 special tests to win day two. Sweden’s Albin ELOWSON (Husaberg) finished in second position with Italy’s Dawid CIUCCI (KTM) rounding out the top three.

Taking her second win of the weekend, Laia SANZ (KTM) comfortably topped the Women’s Cup class. Australia’s Jessica GARDINER (Sherco) capitalised on a crash by Britain’s Jane DANIELS (Husaberg) on the final enduro test to finish second. With Daniels third, France’s Juliette BERREZ (Yamaha) finished fourth while Australia’s Jemma WILSON (Honda) rounded out the top five.

The Maxxis Enduro World Championship continues with the GP Cross Pro of Portugal in Torres Vedras on May 18/19.

We would like to pass best wishes on to Sean Greig, Mark Kemp & David Smith the injured riders and their families, and wish them both a speedy recovery.

We would also like to say a big thank you to all the Emergency Services in attendance for their help and assistance.

We all know that this sport is dangerous and it’s a stark reminder that anything can happen at any time, so the next time your riding, keep safe.

If you would like your club added to the fixture list please leave details in the comment box below and we will update as we go through the week.

Banbury MX – Track Wroxton – 19 May
More info here

SUPER EVO Pre99 British Championship 2013 - Track Little Silver – 19 May
More info here 

Severn Valley All British – Track Arlingham – Two Day Event 18/19

Wem - Track Tunstall Hall – 19 May

Maybug Motocross Meeting – Track Foxhill – Two day event 18/19 May
More info here

Chipping Sodbury – Track Ford – 19 May
More info here

NMCC – Track Long Buckby – 19 May
More info here

Cornwall SSC – Track Fraddon Moto Parc – Two day event 18/19 May
More info here

AMCA

19/05/13 – North Staffs at Drayton MX Track

19/05/13 – Mold at Babell

19/05/13 – Wrekin at Castle Caereinion

19/05/13 – Burntwood at Branston

19/05/13 – Upton MXC at Longdon

19/05/13 – East Trent Group at Brake Hill

Bad luck in race 3 for MVRD’s Leok

In MX1 Tanel Leok was unlucky not to take all 3 race wins after his bike stopped in the final moto of the day. Jonathan Barragan managed to put in the most consistent performance and take the overall, much to the delight of STR KTM team boss Steve Turner. Kristian Whatley finished second on the MBO Yamaha and Shane Carless raced to third in his best ride of his pro career on the Oakleaf Kawasaki.

Shane Carless and his team at Oakleaf Kawasaki must be pleased as punch with his deserved third place finish.

The racing was so close in all 3 moto’s and with Nico Aubin taking the checkers in moto 3 after a superb start. Leok now leads the championship from Whatley and Barragan.

Much the same as in MX1, the boys in MX2 put on a great show in front of a sizeable crowd. EBB took the honours with 1-1-2 scorecard and now extends his championship lead to 40 points. Steven Lenoir put in a brilliant winning ride in the final race in tricky conditions and scuppered Banks Browne’s chance of an unbeaten day. After spending the last few months racing Supercross in the USA, Steven Clarke returned to British championship racing with a confident third place overall finish for his new team HM Plant KTM.

EBB needs to take this form to the GP in Brazil this weekend.

EBB leads the championship from Lenoir and DB Racing’s Neville Bradshaw.

Next round of the Maxxis British Championship is on June 2nd at Foxhill Moto Parc.

Like most weekends Nev Bradshaw battled hard in all 3 races at Milton.

Images by Ray Chuss

Results

MX1

 MX2

MXY2

Showers on the Saturday made the track “interesting” but the riders all coped very well. First out were the AMX and John Eaton dominated the group on both days, winning 4 of the 6 races and taking the overall win on both days. Adam Cooper won the first race on the Saturday but had to settle for 2nd overall in the end on both days, despite some hard chasing. Barry Hannan rode very consistently all weekend to achieve a well deserved 3rd spot on both days. A stone on the bridge of his goggles gave Sam Underhill a nasty swollen nose and “Two Lovely Black Eyes”!

The Open Group riders were next and again, one rider dominated the group, only losing the win in one race all weekend. Ryan Matthews stepped up to take the chequered flag in that race. But even then, Michael Deeley came from last back up to 3rd! He was easily the fastest out there, with Lee Hopcraft, Mike Greenfield, Tony Hale and Ryan Matthews all chasing him.

The Senior group was the usual eager line up and yet again, it was dominated by a single rider. This time it was Connor Dennis who took the group by storm, winning 5 out of the 6 races. Sadly he had an off in the 5th race and so lost some points, thus giving Jack Norman, who had fought to overtake Connor all weekend, the overall top spot for Sunday. Connor had to be satisfied with 4th after his 1st overall on the Saturday. Joe Russell rode well to take 3rd on Saturday with Brad Robinson and Joe Dubens taking well deserved 2nd and 3rd respectively on the Sunday.

At the risk of repeating myself, the Big Wheels saw exactly the same pattern! Tom Lockhart took 5 out of the 6 wins but getting stuck in the gate meant he started very last in the final moto. He still managed to get back to 2nd place though so took the overall win on both days! There was some good consistent riding in this strengthening group. Ashdon Manktelow took 2nd on both days with Marni Saunders 3rd on the Saturday. On Sunday, with the arrival of more riders, Michael Eggett took the 3rd spot on the podium.

It sounds incredible, but the Small Wheels saw Ashley Surridge win 5 out of the 6 races! Kyle Macgregor had been having trouble getting out of the gate fast up until this weekend. With 5 out of the 6 holeshots, he appears to have resolved that problem! There was very little between the top 5 or 6 riders and it was anyone’s guess where they would finish! In the end, Charlie Burt kept his speed up to achieve 2nd overall on Sunday, with Adam Caroleo getting 3rd. Special mention should be made of the kindness of Ashley Surridge. On his lap of honour he stopped to help Harry Kemp, who had come off his bike and couldn’t start it again. Ashley put his own bike down and started Harry’s and then finished his lap of honour. Nice one Ashley!

The Junior group is getting faster with each meeting and believe it or not, Bobby Bruce won 5 out of the 6 races at the weekend in the Junior group. Billy Carter took his only win then but had to be satisfied with a well deserved 2nd place overall on Sunday, having got the overall win on the Saturday. Raife Broadley ran consistent times and tried his hardest too. He got 3rd overall on Sunday, whereas Alfie Card took the 3rd spot on the Saturday.

The Autos saw 2 different winners on each day – on Saturday Aiden Monks was victorious in every moto and on Sunday, Harrison Borg scored maximum points. Joe Osbourne got 2nd overall on the Saturday, but that spot was taken by Tom Ovenden on Sunday. Mackenzie Green road well to take 3rd overall on Saturday but the final place on the podium on Sunday was taken by Harvey Fagg. These riders are also becoming quick, considering they are in the entry level group. It’s always good to see the little ones becoming so keen.

Finally a huge thank you to the committee for all their hard work this weekend – especially Tina, who ran the whole meeting incredibly well. Thanks also to the medics and best wishes to Ryan Hayward for a speedy recovery. A special thanks to Ann and Sarah for making a mercy dash across England to pick up a cable for the transponder system on Saturday evening, thus enabling the system to work on Sunday! See you all at Lamberhurst on the 19th.

Words and Images Ann Cooper

Results:
OPEN: 1 Michael Deeley, 2 Lee Hopcraft, 3 Mike Greenfield, 4 Ryan Matthews, 5 Tony Hale, 6 Kieran Clarke
AMX: 1 John Eaton, 2 Adam Cooper, 3 Barry Hannan, 4 Ben Stark, 5 Sam Underhill, 6 Rob Powell
SENIORS: 1 Jack Norman, 2 Brad Robinson, 3 Joe Dubens, 4 Connor Dennis, 5 Joe Russell, 6 Marcus Annett
BWS: 1 Tom Lockhart, 2 Ashdon Manktelow, 3 Michael Eggett, 4 Freddie McPherson, 5 Marnie Saunders, 6 Ritchie Martin
SWS: 1 Ashley Surridge, 2 Charlie Burt, 3 Adam Caroleo, 4 Kyle MacGregor, 5 Reece Poxon, 6 Kaine Moulton
JUNIORS: 1 Bobby Bruce, 2 Billy Carter, 3 Raife Broadley, 4 Cameron Hayward, 5 Alfie Card, 6 Harry Preston
AUTOS: 1 Harrison Borg, 2 Tom Ovenden, 3 Harvey Fagg, 4 Aiden Monks, 5 Mackenzie Green, 6 Will Ovenden

In the Premier MX1 Class, multi Irish and Ulster Champion Larne’s Tommy Merton scored the overall win on his Monster Energy Kawasaki, scoring a win a second and a third, Ballygowan man Gary Gibson was second, also scoring a moto win on his Bannside Pallets & Haulage Suzuki, with form man Richard Bird third on his Suitor Bros Watt KTM, also scoring a moto win. Loughbrickland teenager John Meara finished fourth on his TMC Honda, with Michael Mahon from Dublin on the VMX KTM fifth andCombers Wayne Garrett on the JAR by IFS Honda sixth after tyre problems and falls ruined his challenge.

MX2 was again dominated by young Glenoe rider Glenn McCormick on his Agnew Recovery Watt KTM with a clean sweep of race wins, second with a treble of second places was Loughbrickland sixteen year old Jason Meara on the TMC Honda, and local man Jim O’Neill was third with three thirds!!

Fourth was Dromaras William Donnelly on his Yamaha, and Dublin riders Jordan Keogh and Shane Mulligan rounded out the top six.

Semi Expert MX1 was dominated by MRA riders with Saintfields Phil Harris taking the overall with one moto win on his Suitor Bros Watt KTM followed by Larnes Chris Lynd and Saintfields Mark Patterson on his Suitor Bros Watt KTM tied for second, Jordan McCaw, Ryan Glover and Christopher Orr rounded out the top six.

MX2 Semi Expert was also dominated by MRA riders with Millisle teenager Luke Smith taking the treble on his Kawasaki, second was a great result for young Ballyclare rider Ben Mottram on his Agnew Recovery Yamaha, third, Dublin rider Dylan Coffey, fourth was Carrickferus Karl Thompson on his KTM, with Anthony Brown and Kyle Beggs fifth and sixth.

Clubman MX1produced another triple winner in Moiras Jordan Blakeley on his Kawasaki with Stephen Poots second, Jonathon Martin third and Andrew McKibben fourth, fifth and sixth was taken by Aaron Jordan and Lurgans Chris Spratt.

Clubman MX2 produced a double winner for the overall in Chris Eccles from Comber on his Honda, with Markethill rider Scott Bailey second and Alexander Ellison third, southern riders Brian McCarthy andThomas Murdoch were fourth and fifth, and Bob Smith was sixth.