All content © Bob MuIIins

Cotswold Enduro Club
Rock Oil H&H, Slow Pete & Club Championship
At Tyn Twll

Tyn Twll, or Berwyn Leisure as it is also known, is a valley in North Wales that has some size to it, from meandering stream in the valley floor to the mountains on either side, it is big and steep, covered in ferns and grass, dotted with rocks and has tracks running in every direction.

Cotswold Enduro Club’s Rock Oil H&H course last weekend was nine miles in length with a lap of around 20 minutes, even for the fastest rider, which was, of course, Matt Porter who did manage a 19 minute lap first off with no traffic ahead of him.

The course went to the top of both mountains and back, climbing steadily across slopes but one downhill in particular caused many riders to ask themselves why they were there. It was a very steep descent with a rut in the centre and the best idea was to stay out of the rut. If you dismounted then it was a long walk to the bottom of the slope as re-mounting was nigh on impossible. Many riders lowered the pressure in their rear wheels to cope with the grass sections but many paid dearly as they suffered punctures on the rocky tracks. The valley floor provided an MX section and two stream crossings over bridges, which also caught out more than a few riders who hit the gas too early and spun out in spectacular fashion.

Matt Porter has dominated the series consistently and the Pro Championship title is already in the bag for 2016 but Brendan Griffiths managed to match Porter on laps to take second place in the class, a lap up on Adam Castledine in third. Griffiths has certainly improved by leaps and bounds this season and it is clear to see that every race brings yet another improvement.

Only five riders completed 9 laps, two in the Pro class, two in the Veterans 40+ and one in the Vets 50+. Keith Jenkins was second overall, finishing just over six minutes behind Porter and top of the 50+ class ahead of Richard Main and Colin Grifiths. There was a slightly closer contest in the 40+ class as Kev Freeman and Darren Bedford were side by side for nine laps and they raced for the finish line after three tough hours, a single second between them. Martin Jakeman had a terrific start and pulled a gap by the time the pack hit the first really big climb but hit a rock and left the track to career down the fern covered hillside, unable to get back to the course until he had completed a sizable loop by which time the rest of his class had disappeared into the distance. He did manage third in class, much to his surprise.

Brad Sullivan returned to racing with a victory in the Expert’s by some 16 minutes over Brian Anderson with Neil Varden some way behind in third position.

Ellis Frend did exceptionally well to take eighth overall against a strong field of riders in the 2T Clubman class. He amassed a 10-minute lead over James Flannigan in second spot and over 17 minutes back to third placed Sam Cave.

In the Clubman 4T ranks, Richard Jones followed Frend to the finish line to win the four-banger class ahead of Dean Skerrett and Roy Brimfield, all three on eight laps.

As usual, the Sportsman class was the biggest by far. Luke Adams fended off a spirited challenge by Tim Woodhouse to take the win with Woodhouse second and Nathan Piper third. Adams and Woodhouse both clocked eight laps, which, for Novice/Sportsman riders, was very good going.

Jerry Adams took the Classic class win as did Anne Cherry in the Ladies class, (although suffering from bladder problems in her back wheel) while Eric Shaw took the Trail class unopposed.

Tyn Twll was rough and tough but provided a huge lap with all types of terrain thrown in and by the looks on rider’s faces, it was a race they were more than happy to finish.

Well done Cotswold Enduro Club.