All content © Bob MuIIins

Cotswold Enduro Club
2 man Extreme Series
Shuckbugh Hall
Northants

It is not often that a four-hour race, especially a team event, is decided on the last lap but that is just what happened at Cotswold Enduro Club’s event on Sunday. To say it was close racing would be an understatement.

A few years back Cotswold Enduro Club introduced a new concept, two man extreme enduros. It wasn’t well supported and consequently, died the death. Last Sunday saw the re-introduction of this type of event, a four-hour race for two-man teams and solo Ironmen. The Shuckburgh Hall venue was absolutely rammed.

The club now has a significant rider base to draw from but in addition to that, the event attracted plenty of newbies who had never ridden at Shuckburgh Hall or with Cotswold club before.

Shuckburgh is a nightmare in the wet and rarely runs following a period of heavy rain so it was really surprising to see that the paddock and the course were in perfect condition for the event following a week of heavy downpours.

The course was superb. Although billed as an extreme event it was really that extreme. There were some very difficult ‘red routes’ with huge drops and steep, gnarly climbs but there were also an equal number of ‘green routes’ for the less experienced riders. As the race progressed and rider confidence grew, the green routes were used less and less.

A course of this magnitude, approximately 4.2 miles using red routes and 4.5 miles using green routes, certainly takes some planning. Pete Carter had spent nearly two full weeks at the venue, meticulously planning the best course ever laid out at this huge venue. Considering the club had already run two events at the same venue prior to this event, the weekend’s course used 95% fresh going.

Entries came in all shapes, sizes and combinations. Twelve classes in all. Top of the list was the Expert/Expert two-man teams and the Ironman Expert solos. Matt Porter, who invariably wins every time he rides at Shuckburgh, teamed up with Adam Castledine against the Bowden brothers Ash and Jacob while Jack Staines and Ben Coleman added youth and unpredictability to the mix. Luke Gorse somehow managed to persuade Scott Altass to team up after a 9-month break from riding, while the Callow brothers Jamie and Jeremy added to the mix alongside the pairing of Dale Raynor and James Barnwell

Porter took the front spot instantly and built up a 3.5-minute lead over Jacob Bowden by the time he handed over to Castledine. The pair were changing spots every hour while the Bowden boys decided on a strategy of changing every 40-minutes. Ash Bowden went out and clawed back the deficit, getting to the front as he handed back to Jacob. Porter exited the pits for his second charge of the day and managed to build a 4.5 minute lead as he handed over to Castledine for the final hour. Jacob Bowden took to the track for his second stint and the teams entered the last lap with Porter/Castledine 1 minute 32 seconds ahead of the Bowdens with two laps to go. With one lap remaining it was down to 42 seconds. Master tactician Joey Bowden insisted that Jacob ride for the final six laps as he was consistently gaining ground. It was a good call. Jacob Bowden took the lead with a few hundred yards to spare and even managed to beat the clock by 2-seconds to gain an extra lap and take an impressive, hard-fought win.

The combination of Jack Staines and Ben Coleman took third spot overall and in class. The would have done better with adult supervision, both riders coming in to the pits to change over, only to find the other not ready to go out. Jack Staines did manage the fastest lap of the day and was very impressed by the venue and the excellent course. Gorse and Altass took fourth overall, not bad for a team where one rider hasn’t been on a bike for 9 months. Jeremy Callow’s clash with a tree resulted in a broken finger and a team DNF.

Many Experts and Clubman riders teamed up with other classes to make for some interesting combinations. The Expert/Clubman class went to Graham Ayliff and Neal Varden while the Expert/Clubman went to Callum Swan and Luke Bradford. Phil and Ross Benton topped the Expert/Veterans while Tom Collett and Steve Hand took first place in the Clubman/Sportsman class. The Sportsman/Sportsman class went to Mike Ratcliffe and Paul Fowkes.

Keith Jenkins and Julian Cook topped the thoroughbred Veteran/Veteran class, finishing sixth overall as Ryan and Peter Benton held firm at the head of the Clubman/Veterans group.

Roger Holland deserves a very special mention, as an Ironman Expert he ground out four-hours of magnificent riding to take fifth overall and the top spot for a solo rider. This was a really impressive effort considering that all the riders ahead of him had only ridden for around two hours each. Tony Griffiths and Brendan Griffiths followed Holland home, both a lap down on the class leader.

Jack Heath nailed the Ironman Clubman class, posting an extra lap over Josh Brown and Sam Keen, as did Ellis Frend in the Ironman Sportsman class. With 18 laps to his credit as a Sportsman rider Frend did extremely well. To kjeep ahead of Luke Adams and Mark Rogers.

The Ironman Veterans 40plus class was as close as ever when these Vets race. Andrew Keyte took the win with just seconds to spare over Lee Parry in second place. Richard Holland was in Parry’s tyre tracks, just three seconds behind in third.

This was one of the closest races and best days ever experienced at Shuckburgh Hall. All credit to the marshals who were on the ball for the duration of the race and certainly helped things to go without a single hitch, plenty of them at all the right spots indicates excellent planning and executuion by the CEC team.

The course was simply superb. Pete Carter’s two weeks (including his birthday!) were well-spent laying out a phenomenal course that suited everyone. A fantastic start to what is shaping up to be a terrific series.