|
|
||
 
Enduroland Lucas Oil Timber-X Nigel Wheatley once again performed another miracle by providing a truly superb venue at the Addington International Arena equestrian centre near Buckingham for last weekends Lucas Oils Timber-X event. The Boss certainly has an unrivalled knack of getting the most unlikely venue to agree to host his indoor events and this was certainly the best so far.
Race control was high above the arena floor and the Lap Tracker Pro team was right next to the finish line with their excellent timing set-up. Marshalling was courtesy of Enduroland and Cotswold Enduro Club so all in all, everything was set for an excellent day of dry, well lit racing. Riders were divided into the usual Youth and Adult brackets. Big wheel and Small wheel 85’s and a 65cc class for the youth riders and Sportsman, Clubman, Veterans, Masters and Expert/Elite for the adults. Every class got its own practice session then racing began with the youth classes. Three qualifying heats for each class then a final containing the top two from each 85cc class and the winner of the 65cc class. A clean sweep in all three heats saw Ty Westcott secure his place in the super-final. Kyle Saunders, Joe Cornelius and Adam James all vied for podium places but eventually it was Saunders who took the runner up spot and Cornelius taking third place. Harry Edmondson was prominent in the Small Wheel 85cc’s alongside Charlie Chater. Riding smoothly and keeping calm paid dividends for Harry. Last off the line in the first heat he picked his way through fallen riders and took the win, consolidating that with two further wins to make the super-final. Sam Nunn grabbed two second places and joined young Edmondson in the final line up as Charlie Chater took third, all three had lead races at one point or another. Henry Yardley and Callum Sedgwick contested the top two spots in the Big Wheel 85 class with Yardley taking two wins to Sedgwick’s one, both riders going into the final as James Dover just missed out with three third places. The final was very open. Harry Edmondson grabbed the lead but got stuck at one tyre section, which allowed Henry Yardley to shoot past but he crashed at the logs and Harry regained the lead and took the overall win. Callum Sedgwick saw his chance with Yardley on the floor and raced to take second place with Sam Nunn grabbing third.
The centre two jumps became a double and huge air was grabbed by many riders, some landing in a rather more controlled fashion than others. Sportsman A was headed by Rich Sabin followed closely by Lee Thornborough and Dan Askam while Sportsman B saw a terrific performance from Darren Cox who secured his place in the overall final alongside Joe Till and Gary Kitching. Cox proceeded to top the whole Sportsman group, ahead of Sabin and Till in second and third, and ease into the adults super final. As expected, Emma Bristow completely dominated the Ladies class on her Sherco. Three wins saw her straight into the super final although Rosie Rowett had three excellent rides, as did Alana Atkins in third.
Clubman A saw Nathan Blake, Scott Hoskins and Jack Grice make it to the Clubman class shootout where they were joined by Joe Mitchinson, Ben Grice and Luke Rudd. A frantic Clubman final saw Jack Grice and Joe Mitchinson banging bars but it was Grice who triumphed with Mitchinson second and Nathan Blake third. The Veterans 40plus was topped with three wins from Dockland Riders Chris Salt who put on an impressive display for an old bloke. Darren Lee and Chris Vines filled the other two podium spots. Grant Churchward topped the Masters 50 plus class ahead of Phil Dearden and Ross Dover. Dover took two third places then slipped up in the final heat, losing his spot to Steve Cornelius, but he had already done enough for third overall. The Expert/Elite classes held some real talent. Group A was headed by AlexWigg alongside Ash Bowden, Dan Boam, Gethin Francombe and Josh Kirby while group B held MPS Racing’s Sherco mounted Jack Rowland who had serious competition in the form of Eurotek KTM’s Jonathan Richardson, Matt Boam, Jake Bowden, Tom Crump, Adam James and Niles Reid. Wigg, Ash Bowden and Dan Boam eventually met Richardson, Rowland and Crump in a thrilling final which saw some close action and plenty of errors. Jonathan Richardson topped the lot, his full-on style and massive jumps put him into top spot with Rowland second and Wigg third. All class winners came together for the Super Final in which Richardson dominated from the start but it was youth rider Johnjoe Wright who eased into second spot, just ahead of Over 50’s Masters winner Grant Churchward in third as Emma Bristow took fourth just two seconds adrift. A brilliant day of racing thanks to Nigel Wheatley and the Enduroland/Cotswold crews. The venue was fantastic and the racing as exciting as it should have been around such a terrific course. Entries could have been better but word of mouth recommendations of this superb day will surely attract more the next time the event runs there. |
Separate café, restaurant and bar areas provided spectators will
excellent facilities, all overlooking the huge arena, in addition to plenty
of seating and a spare arena as a paddock area. The brightly lit main arena
held all the usual obstacles; logs in several formations, jumps, double
jumps and huge tractor tyres with plenty of space for speed in between, an
intense layout which made for thrilling racing, spectacular crashes and
nail-biting finishes.
The adult races were packed. Two classes in the Elite/Experts, Clubman,
Sportsman plus Veterans, Masters, Ladies and Youth 14-17 classes saw
non-stop action throughout the day. Elite/Experts, Clubman and Sportsman
riders all had an extra race each to decide top dog between the two groups
where the top three riders in each group went into an overall class final.
Brad Williams took the first Youth 14-17 heat but Johnjoe Wright fought
back to take the next two and the overall class win. Luke Craig backed him
up with three second places while Williams slipped to third overall.