All content © Bob MuIIins

Enduroland
Madscrap.com Southern & Midlands H&H Championship
3-hour hare & hounds

The Hillside at Ivinghoe Aston isn’t a particularly well-known venue, but it should be! It is massive and populated with a host of challenges for riders from flat-out field sections to tight and technical twisty woodland, rolling hills and off-cambers plus a bit of everything in between.

This was the venue that faced riders at the opening round of Endurolands Southern & Midlands H&H Championship that kicked off on Sunday and was sponsored by Madscrap.com. Nigel Wheatley took the bull by the horns and jumped in with a three-hour series of four events spread across the season in an area of the country, which doesn’t see many events and he was rewarded for taking the chance with a terrific entry and top notch race.

Set in the rolling hills of rural Buckinghamshire, the tiny village of Ivinghoe Aston was invaded over the weekend and with limited access to the venue, due to heavy overnight rain, riders parked sensibly along the narrow country lanes to avoid congestion. Enduroland even had two marshals on duty to direct traffic in order to keep the locals and Police happy.

A single three-hour race attracted over 70 riders of all classes and abilities. Conditions were very slippery underfoot initially and as the race started many riders approached the course with caution but by the mid point of the race the strong wind and weak sunshine had dried everything out to perfection, the course was grippy and lap times fell as a result.

There were riders of all abilities from Experts to first-timers although the bulk of the field was made up of Clubman and Sportsman entrants. For the first-timers a three-hour race, on very testing track conditions initially, was a real challenge but they struggled onwards and were rewarded with a great course once the sun and wind had done their work.

A short start straight led to a slight jump, which all but the Experts rolled over in the testing conditions at the start. This led to a tricky off-camber which caught out many riders, before entering a very tight woodland section then out onto the open fields with the usual scattering of jumps and step-ups. There was plenty of room to put in fast and slow routes, the fast routes were quite tough but the Experts managed them easily although with some caution initially.

The small Expert class saw Dan Boam take the lead as the start flag dropped, Jacob Bowden was in his tyre tracks for most of the first lap as brother Ash Bowden was left on the line push starting his bike. John Bennett was in a comfortable third place until Ash got fired up and quickly gave chase to the leading trio. Within four laps he was up to second spot but Dan Boam was riding extremely confidently at the head of the field and pulling an ever-growing gap lap after lap, even though both rad scoops came loose and were acting as air brakes along some of the faster sections.

With just four laps to go Ash Bowden made his move and the battle was well and truly on for the win. Boam’s outstanding lone ride at the head of the field seemed for nothing as Bowden managed to pull away for the first win in this series. Boam, despite battling hard even over the last few hundred yards, had to be content with second place just 12 seconds adrift of the winner while Jacob Bowden took a solid third place on 22 laps, one adrift of the leading pair.

Fourth overall and top Veteran rider was Ryan Griffiths who had worked his way through plenty of traffic and talented Clubman riders early on to make some ground on the leaders but the youngsters had the edge over the three-hour period. Next in the Veterans class was Neil Richardson, down in 15th place overall, followed by Vernon Bloomfield in third spot.

Joe Till has a great ride to top the Clubman ranks and take fifth overall, easing out an extra lap over second placed Clubman Aaron Bloomfield who had Aston Day snapping at his heels in third place. Neil Mardlin was the top Sportsman rider on the day, just edging out Martin Booth as Ash Rilings grabbed third in class, all three on 18 laps.

In the Master class Chris Day had a terrific ride to win by a lap from Steve Cornelius in second and Graham Albrecht in third. There were even enough female riders to constitute a Ladies class that was won by Hayley Rilings, posting one more lap than second placed Amy Beale while Stellina Blooman took third spot.

James Dover and Nathan Upton contested the Youth 12-14 85cc class with Dover coming out victorious after 14 gruelling laps, which saw him put on a stylish display of riding once the track condition had improved by the halfway point of the race.

This was an excellent start to this new series, one that will grow throughout the season if the quality of the Hillside venue is repeated for each round. Knowing the vast number of top-notch venues used by Enduroland, that seems to be a certainty.

Results

Expert; 1. Ash Bowden. 2. Dan Boam. 3. Jacob Bowden.

Clubman; 1. Joe Till. 2. Aaron Bloomfield. 3. Aston Day.

Veterans; 1. Ryan Grifiths. 2. Neil Richardson. 3. Vernon Bloomfield.

Sportsman; 1. Neil Mardlin. 2. Martin Booth. 3. Ash Rilings.

Masters; 1. Chris Day. 2. Steve Cornelius. 3. Graham Albrecht.

Ladies; 1. Hayley Rilings. 2. Amy Beale. 3. Stellina Blooman.

Youth 12-14 85cc; 1. James Dover. 2. Nathan Upton.