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Round 5 of the RAW Enduro Rock Oil Championship headed north West to Cumbria and Dean Moor MX Park for a fresh new venue. A fantastic Hare & Hounds track was marked out around the site using parts of the MX track as well as lots and lots of open grassland areas. Wayne Braybrook believes a championship should include a little of everything, here the “Sprint Enduro” feeling was evident throughout the three races on the day.
Mick Alderson was the holeshot hero in sportsman vets, leading on lap 1 Mick kept his lead to the flag despite pressure from Stephen Boyle lurking should anything go wrong. Boyle was happy to finish runner up with Kevin Watson making the final podium place. The lap length was an average 10 minutes for the majority of participants, made up of undulating slopes, stone tracks, and sections of the MX track, although different to the usual Cross Country offerings from RAW, the team still managed to get a nice little technical quarry section stitched into the course for adult competitors.
Dean Moor was a resounding Success; RAW Enduro did what everyone else said wasn’t possible… An Enduro Event in Cumbria never works they said…. Well it did with the RAW Spirit. Special thanks to all the locals for supporting the event, fantastic weather certainly made the weekend as the Cumbrian Hills offered a new challenge for all who attended. For those who missed the event, we will return in 2019 to Dean Moor for an even better event. Gratitude as always goes to everyone who plays a part in the success of RAW
Enduro, and once again fantastic work from track marshals. DOUBLE POINTS are
on offer at the next RAW Rock Oil Championship on July 15th at Norwood
Teversal in North Nottinghamshire. A restricted maximum number means riders
should book early for this event and bring a big bag to drag maximum points
back home. |
Record
Numbers at RAW Rd 5
A Monster turn out of Youth riders saw no less than 34 Youth machines take
to the start line, the pledge at the start of 2018 was to provide for the
kids, once again RAW
Enduro did that in style. In the youth A class Jack Abbott and Frazer Hansen
were locked in battle for the entire race after their early race mix up
understanding course marking. William Cawte made the trip from the Isle of Man
to lead around lap one in fine style, a small crash cost Cawte and he had to
settle for third on the day, taking maximum Championship points being the
first member home. Jack Abbott enjoyed his Enduro debut win with Frazer Hansen
grabbing a credible runner up place. In Youth B RAW Team rider Bert Boam put
his recent MX training to good use to take the class win, his nearest rival
Hayden Stansfield overcame a slow start to take runner up place just missing
staying on the lead lap. Newcomer Billy Rippon was the final trophy winner in
youth B. Once again the growing Auto class were out in force. Bailey Holmes
ran out winner of the class with an impressive 6-lap tally. Jack Houghton
earned himself a trophy in second with Brooke Mudie again mixing it with the
lads happy to take third.
Super hot Dusty conditions greeted the packed first adult race of the day.
Track watering had done a great job in keeping the dust down, but as the
temperature went up so did the dust when riders burst through the powder berms.
Thankfully a strong sea breeze kept the dust moving away from the track. The
decision to not water the track between races was a smart one considering the
ground conditions being so hard pack.
The
top five places in the sportsman class were all on a 14-lap tally. Super close
racing in the class saw Nick Taylor take a well earned win from Richard Taylor
who has his sights set on the overall Rock Oil Championship trophy this
season. With Sportsman leader Nick Manger scoring good points even though he
didn’t make the podium things are close at the top of the table. Running
third overall in the championship before Dean Moor, Oli Franklin made a costly
error stopping to pour water down his back to cool down, the 30 second stop
will pain him after his missed staying on the lead lap by just 9 seconds at
the flag. Take note riders every second counts!! In the Over50 class Triple D
Racing Boss Neil Crayston took the win at his home round in fine style, a good
track walk Saturday saw Crayston using that knowledge to hit the good lines
and hold a 5-minute lead to the flag. Mick Bottomley made the trip from
Lancashire worthwhile, taking runner up spot after a great battle with Andy
Kirby who came out best netting third on the day, taking 20 points as the
first registered member home. Stacy Fisher mixed up the morning race taking
the ladies class win and P10 overall, Sarah Thomas and Simone Wallis continue
their championship battle taking P2 and 3 respectfully.
Onto
the PM event for the faster more experienced riders and what a line up it was.
Brandon Sharples played the race very cool, running P2 behind majority of the
race leader Jack Spencer, Sharples waiting until after the pair had fuelled to
make his move. With Spencer suffering with a blistered left hand Sharples went
on to take the win. Burt Crayston was the man on a mission; at just 14 years
old running with the top experts in third overall is impressive to say the
least. This kid just loves racing bikes and that’s the reason why it’s
working, no stress just fun all day every day. Clubman class honours went to
another man on a mission Tommy Grimmer, Tommy attacked Dean Moor and it didn’t
bite back, taking a fantastic Win grimmer was all smiles on the podium. Jason
Moore placed runner up with RAW newcomer Jack Kitching placing third after
pushing the top two riders all the way to the flag. The clubman championship
now looks very close indeed in the top 5 places. It’s all to play for
running into Round 6. Perhaps the closest class of the day was the Elite Vets,
Local ace Anthony Crowe ripped his Triple D KTM around Dean Moor like he was
in his own back garden! Crowey not short on skill, looked as cool as ever
right through the race. John Bradford did put pressure on Crowe mid race, but
a forced fuel stop left too big of a gap to close in for the win. Paul
McSorley raced hard all day to finish third just 10 seconds behind Bradford
after two long hours in the saddle.