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All content © Bob MuIIins | ||
 
The Rock Oil Championship Carlton Grange near Helmsley in North Yorkshire welcomed RAW Enduro for round 5 of the 2016 Rock Oil Championship on July 17th. Fantastic sunny weather greeted competitors early Sunday morning for what turned out to be a great day of competitive Enduro Hare & Hounds action. A brilliant Youth rider line up saw all riders dealing really well with the 10 minute lap around the plantation, RAW always give the youth riders a nice big lap, round five was no exception. After some pre race carburation adjustments to his KTM85 by team boss Wayne Braybrook, RAW Enduro rider Saul Hirst was the man to chase in the Youth A class, Richie Moorhouse and D3 rider Liam Crowe kept Hirst on his toes to the flag, Crowe held second place for a long time before a closing lap pass by Moorhouse stuck to the finish. Jamie Williams continues to improve every weekend, he took the Youth B class win, Samual Hall had a good run in second with rookie George Barker placing third. YRF rider Jack Hughes coped really well in the sticky conditions on his KTM 65 taking a well earned forth place back to the North East. The AM adult event start area was packed to capacity as the sun shone through the woodland, after the event safety briefing and track condition update delivered by clerk of the course Wayne Braybrook, the classes were flagged away row by row. Super fast starting Lee Pallet has yet to be beaten to a holeshot in the sportsman Vets class, he hung on to take the win from Jimmy Davy who rode on a non competitive basis as he recovers from a back injury. Neil Myers was third in class narrowly holding off championship competitor Damian Lord Jonathan Ellis and Andy Kirby who were all pushing for a podium place. Taking his first adult win in the sportsman class Tommy Grimmer really had to fight for the win after a race long battle with Harry Conner who edges nearer to his first win taking a fine third spot on the day. Championship leader Phil Dodsworth secured runner up in the class to keep his title aspirations right on track.
In the old lads Over50 class Andrew Dean charged round Carlton Grange to take the class win. Lancastrian Pete Fletcher ground out a great second place in class even after his 22 push ups pre race. Fellow Lancastrian Ian Heyworth had a slightly under par day by his standards, he still added to his championship tally with a solid third on the day. Jordan Salmon took his first Novice win from the hard charging Ben Walker, new kid on the block Henry Harman continues to find his enduro wings placing third. The top 7 novice riders all completed 12 laps, so things are hotting up nicely in the class as the championship passes the half way stage.
Once again to keep ability levels completely separate the faster PM event was flagged away just after 1:15, another great attendance was complimented by the calibre of riding across all 4 classes. Lee Sampson took the lead after Josh Bailey led the opening laps. After Bailey had an awkward crash Sampson took the lead, sharp MX rider Ben Hamilton overcame an average start to charge through the field during the 2.5 hour event, he passed Chris Hughes on the last lap to take runner up place leaving Hughes to settle for third after his last lap grumble with a tree saw only one outcome… Clubman honours went to Mr Laid back Matt Ward from Lancashire, Wardy was delighted to take the win as he once again gets back on the pace of competition. Danny Culkin still fighting a mystery illness did fantastically well to even make the flag, almost passing out at the finish, we hope Danny gets sorted out soon. RAW Team rider Doltan Shannon dug deep in the closing stages on his Appleyard Husqvarna to narrowly take third place just one minute ahead of Ellis Friend. Anthony Tempest led the Expert vets from start to finish, Temps was on good form, this left John Bradford to take runner up spot and D3 rider Anthony Crowe still nursing sore ribs getting to grips with his new 17 KTM. Ricky Tropman was the man on the case in the clubman vets, championship leader Andy Harvey took runner up with Mark Cockfield again placing in a super strong final podium place. Track conditions were tough as the lines evolved throughout the event, all riders coped really well, the new location of the re fuel area went down really well with support crews, and the general feeling on the day was that once again the RAW Enduro crew had provided its supporters with exactly what they wanted, a great day of top quality off road Enduro action. The focus for RAW now turns to the Big 6 hour RAW Challenge event on August 14th at the awesome Driffield training area, then the 650 acre MOD test site will become the stage for all the talking to stop as riders will prove their worth when man and machine will be tested to the limit. 2 man teams and solo ironmen are catered for, entries are now open via the RAW Enduro website. There will be a Pay and Play Enduro practice day at a new venue on Sunday July 31st, Lea Bridge Matlock will provide a great circuit for riders to enjoy unlimited track time between 10am and 3pm. Thanks to all RAW crew and staff for a great job running another well organised popular event. Online event entries now open, fastrack signing on for pre paid entries avoids queues at event control on race day.
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