|
|
|||
All content © Bob MuIIins | ||||
 
Steve Holcombe wins the double at the Rhayader 2 Day BEC Rhayader MC - Cwmythig hill - 26/28th August Rhayader MC raised the bar for their British Enduro Championship round with the introduction of a Friday night prologue and Jonny Walker jumped into Enduro history by winning the first one. The Championship class were paired and flagged away by Katie Walker over an impressive SuperEnduro course in front of a large and appreciative crowd of spectators. The times counted as the first special test of Day 1. Colwyn Bay KTM mounted Brad Freeman was runner up and Rockstar Husqvarna factory rider Danny McCanney was 3rd. Tom Sagar did well to wrestle the big Sherco 450 over the logs and tyres to cross the line in 4th. Billy Bolt (Eurotek KTM) got his first time enduro off to a positive start in 5th and Lee Sealey recovered from a missed double to take 6th and the best Superman. Steve Holcombe lost time when he took a heavy tumble and Jack Edmondson spun to finish 20 seconds off the leader's pace. It was an explosive start to a fantastic weekend.
Overnight the sky was crystal clear and on Saturday morning there was a heavy dew on the grass. The first riders were flagged away by Powys County Council Chair Keith Tampin, Cllr Clare Evans, Mayor of Rhayader and Kirsty Williams AM at 9.00am and they went straight into the first test. Beta factory rider Steve Holcombe set the fastest time - 6 seconds ahead of Brad Freeman. Jamie Lewis was 3rd, Jack Edmondson 4th and Danny McCanney 5th. Daryl Bolter was 6th and Jonny Walker 7th, Dan Mundell was the quickest Expert. Brett Hillman was 2nd and Alex Walton 3rd The course consisted of a 50 mile loop through the Red Lion and Abbeycwmhir forests with a cross country test at Saints Well. There were 2 laps for Championship and Experts. The rest of the field had a slightly shortened second lap.
At Saints Well Steve Holcombe and Brad Freeman went into the test all square but Steve out with a 14 second advantage over Brad with Danny McCanney setting the second fastest time. On the remaining 3 test Brad Freeman was the quickest times but he came home 5 seconds short. Steve Holcombe secured his 3rd BEC round. Brad was the runner up and Danny McCanney was 3rd. Jonny Walker was 4th and Jack Edmondson did well to start from last and finish 5th. There were 3 sidecars classes and Bradford/Peters were the best team.
Dan Mundell won 4 out of 5 tests to take the Expert class from Tom Ellwood and Adam James. Alex Walton was 4th and Jay Thomas was 5th. Ted Bailey was the Best Clubman, Ryan Comer was runner up and Chris Pryce was 3rd, Luke Thomas 4th and Jack Ditchfield.5th. In the Over 40 William Jones won Paul Davies was 2nd and Andrew Reeves 3rd. Darren Osborne claimed to Over 50s ahead of Phil George and Paul Armstrong. The Ladies were Rosie Rowett, Glesni Jones and Ellie Cooke. Julian Crimp finished clean and dominated the Pre 88 class as he was only entry.
On Sunday morning heavy rain dampened down the dust and oiled the first test. Jack Edmondson was the first on the MX track to take the challenge of the changed conditions and he set a 9.46, Steve Holcombe was on his mudguard with a 9. 41 to set the fastest time and Brad Freeman in third on 9.58. Dan Mundell also broke to 10 minute barrier to set the fastest time in the Expert class. The organisers watched the grassy Cwmythig test and the times deteriorate as the rain continued. For safety reasons it was decided to cut the second lap and shorten the test for all classes except the Championship and the Experts. Steve Holcombe won 4 out of 5 tests on the 2nd day and drew the 5th with Brad Freeman to score another double win. Brad Freeman was runner up and Danny McCanney was 3rd. Steve Holcombe: “I couldn’t really have asked for much more. Two overall wins is what I’d hoped for and although it was a tough event that’s what I got. The Rhayader club really put on a great event. The two tests were great and it was clear just how much effort had gone into the race. I made some mistakes during the Friday night prologue, which lost me some time but on day one I managed to get that time back, and a bit more, to top the results. The slippery conditions certainly made things interesting but on day two I felt good, which I think showed in my test times. With the final round of the Enduro World Championship now so close it’s been really difficult to do what I needed to do to keep my BEC title hopes on track, while also not pushing too hard or taking any unnecessary risks. Thankfully, everything went well and I can now focus on trying to win the E3 world title.”
Dan Mundell did the double in the Expert class - he is soooo Mundell. Brad Williams reveled in the wet conditions to take the runner up and Jordan Ridgway in 3rd was too quick for the camera. Thomas Ellwood was 4th and Jay Thomas 5th.
There was no stopping Ted Bailey taking maximum points in the Clubman class. Ben Coleman was 2nd and Allyn Taylor 3rd. Katie Walker was 4th and Luke Thomas 5th. Other results The Rhayader 2 Day was a spectacularly successful event despite the rain - Rhayader MC and their helpers should be proud of their achievement.
|
