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enduro
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Welsh 2008 |
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 The Welsh Two Day Enduro 2008
was the 57th anniversary of the event started in 1951 as a 3 day Trial. This year's event
was dedicated to Kenny
Williams.
Wednesday 25th June 7.00am The forecast was for scattered showers this morning that will die away with increasing amounts of sunshine developing. Thursday: Cloud will quickly increase to bring showers for the morning, with some sharp showers. Through the afternoon the showers will be replaced by rain, becoming heavy, before clearing overnight. Friday starting dry, but cloud and rain will spread in from the west through the afternoon. This forecast would prove to be surprisingly accurate. At 8.00 am a thin shaft of sunshine broke through the clouds long enough to get the bike loaded. Driving over the Beacons, the reservoirs - filled to their brims - stood as silent testaments to the rain that has fallen & the probable softness of the ground. Another ominous sign are the posters protesting the loss of another rural hospital. As I hit the ground I want to be re-assured that the nearest A&E will be closer than Eastern Europe. With the heavy rain on Tuesday the organisers were forced to close the Common. The road around the lake was coned to create a parking area & one way system which worked well. Tom Sagar's monster of a motorhome was parked at the entrance. It appeared to have eaten several smaller motorhomes. Paull Green was at the start demonstrating his tyre fitting technique. There was no noise tester this year but there wasn't much need. The course - marked on the map at the start - was similar to last year with the riders circulating clockwise on Day 1 & counter-clockwise on Day 2. By 8.00 pm scrutineering was out of the way & there was time for the more serious business of relaxing. In the Dirtbike-trax camp, a log fire crackled in a brazier & a column of smoke rose in the still evening air The peace & tranquillity of the twilight over the lake was stunning after the excitement of the day Day 1 Thursday The dawn chorus sings a song to a lightening sky that will be blue as a duck's egg. At 8.00am a sharp peep on a whistle is the signal for the first 2 sidecar outfits to fire into life & the event has begun. It will take 3 hours for the starter to dispatch the field of 500 riders. Meanwhile over the Irfon Forest, dark clouds were gathering. Misty rain turned to drizzle & the temperature dropped. Paul Edmondson was the first casualty when he hit a tree & injured his hand. Ian Brown was another rider with a hand like an inflated marigold. Ollie Moyce lost his clutch when his final drive leaked. His luck would improve later in the day when the boys from Yamaha Offroad Experience would help with the repairs. Anthony Averill was one many riders who ran late & missed their support crew. Huw Watkins ran into a rock & smashed the generator casing of his borrowed CRF. Ka-ching. Keith Caldicot took a jab in the chest from his bars he would "think about" starting the second day. Mick Seward lost 30 minutes when his fuel pipe split. Dave May Miller & John Kerwin both tried to sneak some lovely Welsh water from Strata Florida back to England in their crankcases. Neil Clarke was unaware that a thrashing had punched a hole through his front mudguard & it was jammed in his headstock. He became very aware of the fact when he tried to corner on a forest road. Wayne Braybrook split his exhaust. The rain increased & the Met Office issued a severe weather warning with the winds rising to 50mph. By the time the riders reached the long Waun & Abbeycwmhir stages they were getting very tired. The finish couldn’t come to soon & there was none of the usual post event analysis as each rider trudged wearily back to their vans. At 9 pm the sky began to lighten & the clouds parted but their few takers for a walk down to the pub as most had retired for the night. In the E1 class Robert Jones led from Daryl Bolter. Si Wakely was the best E2 ahead of Chris Hockey who was flying despite a hammered toe. Edward Jones headed the E3 class & Rob Wrayford was the runner up. Steve Plain led the Over 40 class from Alistair Bramwell & the Rowlands led the sidecars Day 2 Friday Once again the sun rose on a glorious morning of bright sunshine. All around the lake wives & girlfriends were being phoned. “Hello dear, you know when I rang last night & said I was coming. Well… “ . There were a few minutes when the starters whistle blew & there was no one on the line but most riders were ready for another day. Unfortunately it was a false dawn & the weather would be a repeat of Day 1. By 10 am a steady drizzle had set in. At Abbeycwmhir the riders opted to go for it or maintain their place & hope others made mistakes. Neither strategy would prove very useful as the Abbeycwmhir stage had deteriorated so much that the event would be won & lost on the going. Tom Sagar & Daryl Bolter were the quickest through the stage & they both lost 3 minutes. Unofficial Day 1 leader Dylan Jones dropped 5 minutes. At the Cwmythig test Wayne Braybrook got a rope caught in his rear sprocket & lost twenty minutes. The burger van ran out of burgers. The owner couldn't understand why there were so many more spectators on Day 2. They were retired riders. Dusty Martin stopped to watch the top riders pass & consider his ISDE team selection. He then considered going on. Tom & Daryl matched each other right up until the Irfon Forest - the last offroad stage of the day - where Daryl's bike ran over his right leg & he injured his ankle. Tom went on to take the win & Daryl was the runner up. Chris Hockey was 3rd. Ashley Wood retired after a bad off when his front wheel disappeared into a bog. He broke his helmet & injured his chest. In the Experts Rhianalt Davies was the best E1 & Craig Bounds was the runner up. John Shirt won the E2 ahead of Mark Vaughn. Shane Lewis was the best E3 & Deri Milling was the runner up. Steve Plain won the veterans & Neil Williams was the runner up. Bradford/James won the Expert sidecars from Jones/Brown. Full Results The award ceremony was held in the ballroom of the Metropole Hotel with the prized crystal trophies being presented by the Mayor of Llandrindod Wells & Ted Bartlett of the ACU. Many of the riders looked pale & shaky. It was the price of the beer. The Jones' from Llanidloes could have formed a conger line as they filed backwards & forwards to the stage to collect their various individual & team awards. Congratulations to regular visitor Karl Gunnlaugsson from KTM Iceland who won the best foreign rider award. Gemma Williams & Mike Davies would like to thank everyone who supported the Welsh team ISDE raffle & particularly Kate Jones who won the £100 prize & donated £50 to the fund. The weather made this year's Welsh one of the toughest for many years. Congratulations to everyone who finished & - on their behalf - thanks to Elwyn & his team for keeping the event running so smoothly in such tough conditions. Video & DVDs: Frank Morgan, Malvern Lodge, Howey, LLANDRINDOD WELLS, Powys, LD1 5RE. Tel: 01597 822642 Welsh 2 Day Enduro 26/27th June - Insight Renewables D3-RACING KTM The biggest Enduro in the UK the Welsh 2 day attracts around 500 starters and more again who would like to ride this popular event, normally regarded as a fun event or holiday race but this year it was no holiday. Weather conditions more like October than June hit central Wales and two days of rain spoilt this great race making it one of the toughest in recent years. Day 1 Thursday, Tom's day started at 10.41 as the Expert riders are last away, ahead of him an 8 hour day but just two crucial tests to decide the results, the racing here is always very close and competitive and with only the 2 tests there is no room for error. Tom's was one of the first experts on the Rhyader MX circuit , the test is mainly on a grassy hillside and with all the rain was incredibly slippy, he was caught out by the conditions and crashed, stalling the bike which refused to start, he lost more than 40 seconds to the leaders who were all circulating within 10 seconds of each other. The second test would prove more rewarding but not good enough to make up for earlier problems. Day ones result was a disaster for us, we needed to rethink and make changes for the second day. Day 2 Friday and Tom was sure he had worked out how to master these conditions, a few small changes to the bike setup and Tom attacked the first grassy/muddy test at Abbey-Cwm-hir with extreme confidence, he made light work of the conditions were others had struggled and looked to be finding grip were others had failed, in complete contrast to his previous days performance. He won the test comfortably and now was really starting to enjoy the conditions and riding the small Insight Renewables KTM 250F, which made light work of the first off-road check were all experts riders lost time with Tom taking the least penalties. Onto the next a final test we were confident that we could be back in contention, once again Tom was visibly quicker than other riders on the test when his bad luck struck again, he collected a rope lying in the track in his rear wheel which stopped the bike. It took over a minute to free the rope and again another terrible time, Tom left the test dejected and felt that his race was over. But there was still more than 4 hours of riding to be done in terrible conditions on a rut and bog infested course, anything could happen and first his rivals must finish and also finish without penalty, so Tom pushed on. Some good luck finally came our way and Toms patience paid off despite being way down in the results due to bad luck on the tests, the final Forest check would turn everything in his favour. Tom new it would be tight on time and very difficult and he just rode and pushed the little KTM to the limit for the whole 40 minutes and although he dropped time was more than 2 minutes quicker than his nearest rival and therefore won the day and the event, never give up ! well done Tom on winning your first Welsh 2 day. Results: 1. Tom Sagar Insight Renewables D3-Racing KTM 250 EXC-F 2. Darryl Bolter MPS Husqvarna 250F 3. Chris Hockey Honda CRF300 Next Event:- GBXS Rd 3, North Wales, Chirk, July 13th Team GAS GAS UK had a good presence at last weeks famous WELSH 2 DAY Enduro Report by John Shirty The weather is always a gamble and especially in Wales and so if the weathers nice you can be guaranteed of an extremely enjoyable event with the time schedule quite relaxed. That's why I entered! However, if it's wet you will get the opposite and yep you've guessed it.....it pi**ed down!! Two long days of mud, rain, ruts, steamed up goggles, sore eyes, and people moaning! Day 1 As expected the first day we had two fairly tight checks which most of the good lads 'cleaned' so the result was down to the two special tests. In the Championship Class WAYNE BRAYBROOK and ROBERT WRAYFORD (Both JST GGUK riders) never really broke a sweat on the first day and had good test times. In the Expert Class only three riders stayed 'clean on time' with Mark Vaughan and GG riders BRADLEY KING and SHIRTY just managing to not lose time. Brads and Marks special test times were good whereas mine were very poor, really struggling to find grip on the ultra slick conditions. However I was still pleased not to lose time and so was quite high (4th I think) in the Expert results after day 1. My fellow GG Buxton buddies Chay Granby and Luke Meredith both lost time which was a shame especially for Luke because his test times were good. Luke has recovered after a broken scaphoid and a mystery virus this year so his strength and fittness were affected. This event was good experience and he should learn from it... Day 2 With the weather still raining we all expected a similar day with the hope of a slightly easier time schedule and maybe some of the course shortened because of the conditions getting worse. However we remained on 'A schedule' so i guessed that they would have cut some of the badly rutted sections out....WRONG! It was pretty tough in places and there was no way anyone would have stayed clean on time. After the first special test we had a 50 minute check which we only just made in time the day before so we all knew it was going to be hard work. Maybe i should have reminded Wayne that this would be where the event would be won but i honestly thought the check would have been shortened. I set off a minute before Wayne and i knew it wouldnt be long before he caught and passed me which he did after about 30 mins. At the flag we were late. Wayne 8 mintutes and myself 9 minutes but we were told this was good! Wayne was not happy because he knew that he could have gone alot harder and under-estimated how tight it was. Tight checks are what Wayne is awesome at and he knew that he'd missed a good opportunity to possibly even win the event. We soon realised that everyone lost time and for me in the Expert Class losing 9 minutes was the best so suddenly my mood changed! We carried on to the Rhayader MX test for the last special test of the event. I was crap again but Wayne was flying until some rope got wrapped up in his rear wheel and he was stuck in the test for 16 mintues! You can imagine his mood when he finally came out of the test after losing too much time on the tight check and also the shit luck on the test. After a drink and a chill we carried on... The rest of the day was fairly casual until the last check where everyone knew it was another VERY tight check. With well prepped goggles Wayne and i set off as hard as we could. I lost 3 minutes and Wayne lost 2. I was happy because id not only won my E2 Class but i won the Expert Class overall! ME HAPPY! I would have been 14th in the Championship Class but we'll not mention that, we'll just say that i won!! So to recap the GG Team results are as follows; Bradley King report This week I competed in my first welsh 2-day enduro after missing last year because of a broken foot. I had been practicing in the weeks leading up to the event especially for the grass tests having not had much experience on the slippery stuff. The event was hit with showers making the tests very slippery and the time checks tough Day 1 went well having stayed on time I put 2 good test times in and was pleased with how I got on with the test having learned a lot from day1 I was looking forward to day2. The second day started well with a good first test time. The next check proved to be very tight on time with everyone losing time. I lost 10 minutes having made a few to many mistakes and having been overtaken by a couple of championship riders realised I was not quick enough on the long fast bumps and ruts. My second test on day 2 was a disaster having picked up a piece of lose rope in my back wheel losing about 40 seconds. With one tight check still to come i was hoping to gain some time back. I ended up losing a further 9 minutes and having been overtaken by fellow gg rider Wayne Braybrock and GGuk main man John Shirt jnr I realized I still have a lot of work to do before I'm up to pace on the tight welsh going. I ended the weekend 3rd best expert e2 rider and 4th overall expert and having learnt a lot I will be out practicing hard in preparation for the world championship in Wales on 19th and 20th of July. Once again I would like to say thanks to all of my sponsors; GAS GAS UK, TALON, K4OFFROAD, RENTHAL, KRIEGA, SCEC, STEVE PLAIN SUSPENSION AND RUSH RACING for more info please go to my sponsors page - http://www.freewebs.com/bradking25/sponsors.htm Don Oakley (No 122) would like say James Rees (No 121) at the Welsh I had a big off after the water splashes at Strata Florida and ended up under the bike. My helmet was wrecked after what was a rather hard rocky landing and the world looked a touch “upside down” for a while. James pulled over, straightened me out and probably lost himself around 5 minutes in the bargain on his time card. I limped to the finish with a slightly sore head, but got a finish. Many thanks for his sporting approach, it is good to know people are prepared to stop and assist when someone has an off. A DISAPPOINTING WELSH TWO DAY ENDURO Report by FrontrowGB Front Row GB rider, Stan Watt, had an mini-adventure start to the Welsh Two Day Enduro as a delayed flight from Northern Ireland meant the organisors were waiting patiently for him to be the last person to arrive, sign-on and scrutineer his machine at 8pm on the Wednesday night prior to the Thursday morning start, even though the administration was due to close at 6pm. Ivan Finkelstein was assisting Stan for the two day enduro and returned from a nice holiday in California to have Stan on the phone immediately on arrival in Heathrow laying out what needed to be done. Ivan spent two days chasing suspension, parts and ultimately a motorcycle, which failed to materialise from the USA on the Tuesday morning. Luckily, Derrick Edmondson from Edmondson Racing stepped in with a 2008 KTM250 EXC on his shop floor that had just been traded in but had yet to have any preparation or inspection, but was the only option at this late stage. Ivan got on the road with the motor shuttle trailer behind his ‘pimp-my-ride’ VW transporter and made his way to Cannock in Staffordshire to make some provisions to use Derrick’s KTM250 EXC. Talon wheels in place and everything as ready as could be, Ivan pushed on to Llandrindod Wells and after some last minute bits and bobs put the bike through the technical checks and into parc ferme. A quick run on the road and Ivan had his suspicions the bike may not be running correctly but it was too late and the first day would have to start with the bike as it was. Day 1 With Stan’s late arrival, the early morning of day 1 was spent walking the cross country test and motocross test with Bradley King and Ivan. Time was limited so the primary aim was to cover the important areas of the test and the standard open sections would be trial and error during the timed test stages. Stan was no.650 of 666 riders and to set off at 1056 in the morning and if on time, would finish the first day at 1910 in the evening. Stan had yet to see the bike and once cleared to enter parc ferme applied some personal touches before pushing the KTM250 to the start line. As 1056 rolled over on the clock, the bike fired into life with the first kick, instilling some mechanical confidence. Stan’s start group consisted of 3 further riders from Holland on a variety of machines to include a Husqavarna 250, Honda CR250 and a Yamaha WR250. From the off, Stan was determined to take control of his group in a bid not to get held up on the timed tests and tight checks. This was not to be a problem, as the first off-road stage would see the riders from Holland fall back and not be encountered for the rest of the day. The first section was on tarmac road, and within 5 minutes of starting, two things became very apparent. Firstly, the KTM250 appeared to not be running as expected and secondly, the expected rain had arrived with the heavens opening with full force. The Welsh Two Day is renowned for having longer road sections in comparison to say the British Championship rounds and generally the ‘checks’ are fairly loose on times apart from maybe one or two. In total there would be 11 checks totaling a minimum of 8 hours and 14 minutes if an expert/championship rider was to stay on time. Word had spread the first check with a mixture of tarmac and off-road sections would be fairly easy but the second stage would be extremely tight. This was definitely the case, with the majority of riders waiting for 20-30 minutes after the first check and having to push hard to make the second check. It would be only the few that would stay on time and Stan dropped 3 minutes on the tight second stage, although only being passed by Craig Bounds, when Stan hit a hidden tree stump in a deep water-logged bog section. As soon as the off-road stages began, it was apparent Stan’s 250KTM was having power difficulties and wasn’t able to hook top gear when required and struggled finding power on the drive. This would continue throughout the day and would be joined by a substantial oil leak after cracking a clutch casing towards mid-stage. The torrential rain, which never stopped all day, made for typical Welsh going and a large number of riders and bikes would not finish and if they did would not start day 2. Stan found the terrain great fun especially the two tests and tight checks, which is fantastic practice for the forthcoming World Championship and British Championship rounds, both to be held in Wales. Unfortunately, Stan dropped further time in the long tight stage of the day with a total tally of 9 minutes to count overall on Day 1. The first test started well with Stan pulling away from the chasing Craig Bounds on his 250 Sherco. A fast crash towards the end of test not only lost Stan time but twisted his forks in the yokes and allowed Craig to easily pass and make further time. Some quick mechanical changes was carried out by Ivan at the end of the test and Stan was back on his way with a somewhat straighter bike. The second test was typical off-camber wet grass that already had seen 600+ riders. Again Stan started well and maintained a good, deliberate pace throughout putting together a fast test time for the stage. A run to the finish line saw Stan pass a substantial number of riders either stuck in the increasing ruts and bogs, broken down or simply given up due to the difficult terrain and weather conditions. On the last road section a number of bikes ran out of fuel stranding further riders, yet Stan, with an engine that was deteriorating managed to finish day 1 and carry out any required technical changes although the engine would be a concern to run for a further hard day. DAY 2 The decision was made early on day 2 that it was unlikely the KTM250 was going make the course. The oil leak could not be stopped with metal sealant and the engine appeared to be even worse. Although Derrick from Edmondson Racing made the assurance his thoughts were the bike could be ridden, Stan made the decision it was more sensible not to start another wet day than to risk wrecking an engine and being stranded out on course. So unfortunately, Stan was forced to retire making the Welsh Two Day Enduro the first event Stan has not completed in 5 years. Bradford Racing Sidecarcross Team Welsh 2 Day Enduro 2008 The "Welsh 2 Day Enduro" was held recently on the 26th and 27th of June 2008, starting from Llandrindod Wells in Mid Wales. Two days of riding with each day consisting of 160 miles of off road going faced the riders. Being by far the biggest Enduro on the off road calendar, entries for this years "Welsh" totalled over 600 riders, with nearly as many being turned way. The event catered for Solo's and Sidecar's and was one of the rounds of the 2008 British ACU Sidecar Enduro Championship. Over 30 outfits were entered, including two from the "Bradford Racing" Sidecar Motocross team. Llandrindod duo Simon Bradford and Neil James were in the Sidecar Championship class on their KTM VMC 540 and team mates Matt Taylor (from Llandrindod) and Nick Morgan (from nearby Builth Wells) were also riding on their KTM VMC 525. Both crews are used to fighting it out on motocross tracks throughout the UK, so this was a little different for them, although Bradford had won the sidecar class at the 2 Day last year with Simon Morgan in the chair. At dawn break on the first morning of the event the weather was very wet and was set to make conditions very tough for all riders. The sidecar crews started first, with the first ones leaving the lakeside in Llandrindod at 08:01 am. The riders did some loops around Llanwrthwl, Beulah, Irfon forest and then to the famous "Water splashes" at Strata Florida, which was set to catch a few riders out for the sheer depth of the water. By mid afternoon, the first of the sidecar crews headed back into Llangurig, then into Rhayader, and then to the first of four special tests held at Cwmythig Hill motocross circuit. Neil and Mark Rowlands of nearby Llanidloes set the fastest time on their Husaberg powered outfit beating Bradford/James by 14 seconds, with Graham Jones and Simon Brown in third, a further 7 seconds down on Bradford /James. The sidecars headed through some very tough going in forestry's around Abbey-Cwm-Hir, which lead them to the second special test of the day at Home farm. Bradford /James set the fastest time around there in the championship sidecar class beating Jones/Brown by 7 seconds and the Rowlands Brothers by 8 seconds, thus cutting their lead to 6 seconds. All three of these sidecar crews stayed clean on time and the Rowlands Brothers were to lead over night from Bradford/James and Jones/Brown. In the sidecar Clubman class Bradford Racing duo Taylor/Morgan were setting good test times but had lost time on the going, therefore dropping them down the field. The weather for day 2 was a similar story, being very windy with heavy showers. The course was also going to be very tricky in places due to the 600 plus bikes that had ridden it on day 1 - however the course was to be ridden in reverse for the second day making it very interesting indeed! On the first test of the morning Bradford/James set the fastest time some 8 seconds faster than the Rowlands Brothers and 7 seconds faster than Jones/Brown, therefore taking the overall lead in the sidecar class. Disaster then struck the crew of Bradford/ James when the exhaust snapped clean through on their KTM outfit and to make it worse it had happened in the very tight Abbey check which had caught so many riders out on day 1. They had no choice but to carry on and hope it would hold together until the check at "Flying Bank". Luckily it did and there was enough time on the next check on the road to Cwmythig Hill, for Neil to attempt to resolve the problem with a couple of jubilee clips and a bean can, which they hoped would last till the end of the event! On the final test of the event at the motocross track at Cwmythig Hill, Bradford/James again set the fastest time giving them a comfortable cushion at the top of the sidecar class. Taylor/Morgan were again setting fast test times in the Sidecar Clubman class and were looking good for a top finish. As the day wore on the riders headed up to Llangurig, Strata Florida and into the Irfon Forest which was a very "tight" check for everyone. Bradford/James were the only sidecar outfit to go clean in this check, all they had to do now was get back to Llandrindod via some road sections and Bwlchciliau Forest. Bradford/James went on to take the win, over 2 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of second place crew Jones/Brown, with David Williams and Graham Mcphee in third place. Bradford Racing's other crew Taylor/Morgan went on to take a well-deserved runner up position in the Clubman Class, an excellent result as this was their first "Welsh 2 Day". On behalf of Bradford racing and I am sure all of the riders, many thanks to the organisers for an excellent run and challenging event. Thank you also to Bradford Racing sponsors: P J Martin Ground works, Off Road Only, Ian Jones Tyres, Arrow Plant and Tool Hire, Foto-x, Lazer Helmets, Michelin and Moterex Oils. Finally, congratulations to Tom Sagar for winning the huge Solo class. Jim Jones says goodbye to the Welsh? Veteran enduro rider Jim Jones was in good spirits for the recent Welsh 2 day as he presented his TM300 to the scrutineers. But after spending hours in the shed making really nice numbers ( 111 taxed him to the limit) he was soon back at the van doing a lash up with black duct tape and white insulation tape. Once again he had forgotten to read the final instructions-will he never learn? Off he went on day one and arriving at check one he was heard to comment that every one was passing him, but he still had a lot of time. Not so as the weather got worse and the rain began and though he enjoyed swimming across to Strata Florida he was cold and wet at the fuel stop. So was wife Dot who was out on the TTR visiting all the checks to give him moral support. At the MX test Jim was now very cold and it took all his moral courage to go out onto the test - well it was the big stick that Dot was holding that did the trick. In the Abbey forest he found that the long slot in the mud was just too much for his bad leg and when his knee popped out he was forced to retire. He had damaged his knee in a hare scramble in Florida and thought it had healed OK , but the rain and mud did for him! He retired very disappointed but reflected that it is exactly what happened in his very first attempt at this wonderful event. In 1972 aboard on Ossa trials bike he fell off on the second day and dislocated his shoulder but it was the start of his love affair with the mid summer enduro. He says a huge thank you to Bob and Wendy Room for doing his fuel and making him a lovely warm cup of tea when most needed and to all the marshalls who braved the bad weather so others could have fun. So from now on Jim will be seen at time checks or marshalling at events including the the WEC at Llanidleos-oh and by the way his rocketship TM is now for sale so anyone wanting a good bike that has only done half a day see Jim. ( please buy it says Dot as he has promised to buy her a new Honda CRF230 for her seventieth birthday)
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