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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Ben Murphy's recent run of excellent form saw him take the overall victory in the main race of the day as he lead virtually from start to finish of the two and a half hour race. Despite intermittent showers the course held up well and Murphy really showed his capabilities across all terrain from the flat-out fast MX course to the tight and technical woodlands. The H2O venue near Oswestry never ceases to provide surprises with each event that runs there. Last weekend saw the Fast Eddy Racing Rock Oil XC Championship tackle several new sections around a huge lap that took most Pro and Expert riders in excess of 12 minutes to complete. With many of the usual sections of the venue put to one side for the day, several new routes were introduced and found favour with the faster guys, giving them an opportunity to take hard but fast lines to overtake some of the not-so-fast riders. A special test type layout on grass was incorporated into one of the fields and it soon had plenty of good lines in it. The incredible size of the venue allowed for just two races to be scheduled. The day started with the usual Youth race then was followed by a combined adults race which would usually be split into two but with a handful of regulars on holiday and a large lap to accommodate plenty of bikes the decision was made to put everyone together although the Pro, Expert, Clubman and Clubman Veterans continued on for two and a half hours as the Sportsman, Novice, Youth and Sportsman Vets finished at the two-hour mark.
The start for both races was uphill and on grass with a tight left-hander at the top of the straight. Sam Davies, in the BW85-150 class, used his head as the flag dropped in the Youth race and although he started further from the corner than the other riders, he had a straight run across the slope, a move that put him immediately into the lead. Charlie Chater, Matthew Harries and Trystan Hopkins were close behind initially but Davies really motored over the first lap to stretch his lead despite the pack doing their best to close him down. Davies won by quite a margin but Chater took second even though he had more than a few problems he got his head down and pushed hard for the runner-up spot with Harries taking third in class. Third overall went to the top SW85 rider George Yardley who showed that it wasn't all down to engine size by clawing his way past much bigger machines and getting a comfortable gap in third place. Following Yardley in the SW85 class was William Farrow and Jamie Williams while Adam James had a terrific ride to win the 65cc class ahead of Sion Evans and Bert Boam. The adult race saw a few regulars missing but many new faces, all eager to try out H2O for the first time. Garry Benniman celebrated his 45th birthday by returning to racing after quite a long spell away although he did admit it was in preparation for the upcoming H2O Extreme classic on August 13th. There were plenty of others who had the same idea. Although the course will be completely different, it gave riders a feel for the place. Tim Foreman lead the Pro class off the line with Ben Murphy and James Jackman close behind but it was Murphy who took control through the woodland section and out into the MX loop. He never looked back. Foreman hung on to second in class while Jackman had 'not a great day at the office' to secure third.
Brad Williams had to fight for the front in the Expert ranks alongside Paddy Twentyman into the first corner but Twentyman just lost grip slightly on the turn allowing Williams to take to the front and charge after the Pro riders. Williams rode flawlessly and climbed to third overall as the race ended. Ash Bowden also had a fight on his hands but eventually took second behind Williams as Luke Rudd pushed him hard for most of the race. Respect to Jack Twentyman who is more than old enough for the Veterans class. He entered the Experts to give his son a run for his money and beat him as Paddy DNF'd after just a lap. Max Ditchfield was outstanding in the Clubman ranks. It was interesting to see him challenging his Expert brother Jack as the pair were wheel to wheel at one point but pride took over and Jack turned up the gas. Max Ditchy had more than done enough to win his class ahead of Lee Hattersley and Andy Myers.
Mick Boam was in his element at the head of the Clubman Vets over a technical course that saw him on the pegs throughout the race, picking his way through backmarkers with ease. Chris Wagstaff looked as if he had been in the thick of it by the finish and took a well-deserved second in class, a lap up on Darren Skillin in third. In the two-hour ranks Henry Yardley had control of the Youth class and the overall first position clocking eight laps to take the win as Jacob James took second in class and James Palmer third. Mark Oakley nailed the Sportsman class win just ahead of Lee Richards on the same lap with Dave Simpkin a lap down in third in a very hotly contested class. Joe Wheeler managed to post an extra lap to win the Sportsman vets from Royce Machin and David Williams as Ben Martindale once again took the Novice class win ahead of Terry Bonner and Frankie White-Edwards. It was a terrific event but with such a large amount of land to work with it is relatively easy for the Fast Eddy crew to put on very different course each time an event runs at H2O but the upcoming Extreme Classic on August 13th will use sections never before imagined in any race at the venue.
Results
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