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Rock Oil Hare & Hounds Championship R3
Round 3 Lee Dell Provides Real competitive Competition.
Report: Imprint Media
Images: Becky’s Enduro Snaps

The Lancashire hills were packed around Lee Dell on Sunday as the RAW Enduro Rock Oil Championship reached its third round and continued to see great attendance across all classes. Clerk of the Course Wayne Braybrook had laid on a nice open flowing track for round 3, lots of new grassland sections complimented the firm stone tracks and trails around the Lee Dell venue.

The Youth A class was one of the most exciting races of the day; Jacob Wilson took the lead on lap one and began to gap the other riders. Richie Moorhouse fluffed the Start and had lots of work to do. Jamie Williams was the rider on a mission hunting down leader Wilson. After a fast fuel stop Williams pushed hard to take the win by just under two minutes from Jacob Wilson. Richie Moorhouse grabbed third place looking tired at the flag after pushing hard. Bert Boam continues to dominate the Youth B class, although Hayden Stansfield was the most improved rider on the day taking a fine second in class. Tommy Tate was delighted with his third place finish.
The morning adult race was flagged away after a 3-minute delay to the start. RAW Academy rider Saul Hirst took the holeshot in the sportsman class and went on to win his class and the event overall. His nearest championship rival Joe Moore overcame a poor start to finish runner up. MX come enduro convert Isaac Archer worked hard all race to gain a very credible third place in class. The course around Lee Dell can be quite boggy during the winter months; to say its still early spring the ground conditions meant even the soft valley bottoms held up well. High winds caught some riders out on the mountaintop before the plunge down onto the stone road, which leads to the grass field MX section of the course. A surprise winner in the Sportsman Vets class was David Williams; his 16-lap tally was impressive to say the least. Phil Dodsworth continues to be very consistent in his class-taking runner up; Jeremy Ashby stretched his enduro race legs at his local event and was happy to finish in third place. The Over50 class is shaping up nicely; Andrew Dean didn’t have it all his own way at Lee Dell as Ian Heyworth decided to have a weekend of enduro racing his local track. Heyworth kept Dean honest and only missed the win by around two minutes at the flag. D3 KTM racing boss Neil Crayston looked as smart as ever having supported Son Bert in the Youth race before donning his kit to race for his own pleasure, finishing third Neil was happy enough with his result. Stephen Boyle took his first RAW Novice race win back to the North East, Conner Ellis grabbed a great second place in class, and Steve Butterfield finished on the final podium place.

After a short break for the morning events results and presentation, the RAW track marshals carried out track repairs before the faster more experienced Experts and Clubman started their 2.5-hour event. As the experts ripped around lap one it was Sam Winterburn who had a sizeable lead after an average start, he was followed by the likes of Brandon Sharples, Brad Lilburn, Phil Hancock and Matt Silvester all staying on a good pace. By lap two the lead had changed and Winterburn appeared through lap scoring shaken up after a fairly big get off. A firm word from Mr Braybrook had Winterburn back on his race pace despite suffering with a sore hand. Brad Lilburn was holding station and reeling off consistent laps until an unforced pit stop left him with work to do. Cool as ever Brandon Sharples used his MX skills to make light work of the terrain. At The flag Sam Winterburn took the win from Brandon Sharples who ran out of fuel 10 metres after the flag. Credit to Brad Lilburn for almost grabbing second place at the flag missing the place by just 10 seconds!

Old warhorse Jack Twentyman took the Expert Vets class win despite huge pressure from runner up Chris Green and third placed John Bradford. The clubman class continues to be the class where the top runners are almost inseparable, Championship leader Lewis Ellis had a tough day at the office and like Sam Winterburn had to overcome a crash in the mid stages of the race, Ellis had a great battle with local rider Lee Stansfield, Stansfield who eventually took the win with a comfortable margin. Lewis Ellis ground out a good points haul on what can be considered a difficult day. Raife McDonald charged hard all race on his FE250 to finish in a good third place on the day. MX fast starter Lee Pallet won the Clubman vets class despite running for over 45 minutes with a flat rear tyre, James Cooke Thomas was happy to take runner up after a lightning start, his riding buddy Trevor Harvey kept his championship points tally on the increase with his third place finish.

Get well soon to Steve Hewitt who sustained an injury after an awkward fall onto another bike during the event. The Rock Oil Championship is now taking shape as it heads for Westwood in South Yorkshire for Round 4 on May 14th. Westwood will provide another fresh challenge, much more of a technical track to ride, the venue makes the Championship one which will find the best overall riders in each class, across all different kinds of terrain, something which event director Wayne Braybrook always strives for in the events run over the coarse of a seasons racing.

Thanks to the RAW Marshals who did a great job keeping the track tapes up in the high winds. Pingu Sam and Tom you did a great job throughout the day helping Ross and the other Marshals making sure the event ran like clockwork.

Website www.rawenduro.co.uk

Next Event
Rock Oil Championship Round 4 at Westwood near Tankersley in Sheffield on May 14thth. Pay & Play on Saturday May 13thth. Keep up to speed with RAW Enduro on socials and via the RAW Website.
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