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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
 
RAW Challenge competitors faced their biggest challenge yet as RAW ran their longest race to date last weekend at Driffield’s MOD Training area. The 8 hour challenge Enduro course was purposely designed by Wayne Braybrook to be free flowing and fun to ride for either two man teams or solo ironmen and women. A Youth Support race ran on Saturday evening starting at 5pm, this was a novel and new Saturday idea. Bert Boam and Josh Knight were setting the pace in Youth B, the two hour long race saw them running a strong pace for small wheel competitors. On the last lap Josh knight made his move and passed Boam before an unlucky awkward crash left him with a smashed throttle housing unable to finish the race. Boam went on to take the Youth B win. A big shout out for Lily Marshal taking part in her first ever event in the “Guided Junior” class, never before have we seen a beginner with such desire wanting to finish. Even a last lap breakdown didn’t stop her pushing her bike over the finish line in her first ever race. Well-done lass. Sunday’s 8-Hour Challenge.
Brad Lilburn is a fan of the longer tougher races, the Moto4 rider took a resounding win in the Solo Ironman class and a fantastic 4th place overall for his efforts. Liam Radcliffe placed runner up in class after having not been on his bike for months. The Expert team class is always very close at the top, going into the last round Marc Vardy and Dominic Richardson were hot favourites to take the series win, a test of nerves was the order of the day for Vardy when he learned his team mate was still in bed at home less than one hour before the start of the race. Eventually Richardson turned up and did his team mate proud, the pair smashed out some fast clean laps to take the team win and overall series top spot. MX ace Ben Hamilton and Sam Followell placed runner up and were the only other team to complete 33 laps in the 8 hours. Danny Kidd and Lee Pallet had a trouble free race to take the final podium place. Matthew Parkinson ran out Clubman Solo series champion after putting in three great challenge events, consistency was the key for the lad from Lincolnshire. Another Lincolnshire lad Craig Keyworth dragged out his enduro whip after having spent months away on his adventure big bike challenge events schedule. Never one to give up Craig held on for runner up place after a gruelling 8 hours in the saddle. Returning from an injury sustained only weeks ago in Romania Jamie Williams and his team mate Scott Hipwell took the competitive Clubman team class win. Hard Enduro fans Chris Brown and Aden Overend were runners up in the class after the pair charged hard to keep up with Williams and Hipwell. With track conditions not changing massively throughout the event, solo riders were able to stay consistent despite having to factor in fuel stops for rider and Machine.
Stand out performance of the day has to go to Abbie Piggott in the Novice class. Taking the win in the toughest race she’s ever ridden, this lass is tougher than steel!! Stevie Fitzsimmons placed runner up and in doing so take the overall series by just 3 points with Abbie Piggott in second place. Daniel Allen stuck it out to finish all three-challenge events, relatively new to enduro Daniel or Wan as he’s known now has third place overall to his name in the 2018 RAW Challenge series. Simon Collins and Will Hick took the novice team class win at Driffield and the series win to boot. Simone Wallis and Sarah Thomas gave everything they had to hunt down the lead pair, in the end both girls should be immensely proud of their challenge efforts taking runner up overall. Finally the Vets classes were fought out at Driffield, Andy Williams took the solo top spot and overall series win for his efforts, a forth place followed by third in rounds 1 and 2, then the win at the final round means Andy has had a great challenge series. Paul Daley Smith would have been odds on favourite for this series, but after missing round one he had to settle for second at Driffield and second overall.
A Huge well done to all riders who took part in this long gruelling race. Don’t worry challenge fans we have no intention of running any races longer than 8 hours in 2019. There will be a twist to the challenge series in 2019 as a new championship is going to get even bigger and better which equals more RAW Action. Gratitude as always to everyone who plays a part in the success of RAW Enduro as the club establishes its reputation for providing top end events for all level of riders. The Next RAW Event will be on September 9th when the club make a welcome
return to the awesome Low North Park at Harwood Dale near Scarborough in North
Yorkshire for Rock Oil Round 7. |
2018
RAW Challenge 8-Hour Driffield
At
just over 5 miles per lap, taking even the very fastest experts around 14
minutes to complete a lap, the course length and undulating terrain was bang
on for this event. The Le Mans Style start was flagged away at 10am, teams and
pit crew had their tents and pit areas set up for the day. Having had a quad
race on the day before the challenge, assistant clerk of the Course Kev Dawson
decided to grade the woodland sections with his new quad blade device to
ensure the course was in the best shape possible for the day ahead.
Simon
Tate got the strategy just right to take the sportsman solo class win, running
a good strong pace throughout he was a worthy winner in class. Thomas Bradshaw
finished on the same lap as Tate around ten minutes down at the flag. Bradshaw
having done the longer races is far better suited to this kind of race. Andrew
Page and Dean Butler had the closest finish of all the classes when Matty
Baldwin and Phil Dodsworth got the bit between their teeth, chasing down the
lead pair Matty Baldwin arrived at the flag less than one minute down as the
finish flag was waved. Carl Welford and Jake Rewcastle were delighted with
their third place finish to take the series win in a competitive class.
In the Vets team class age
seems to grow desire to succeed, no more so than Kev Hipwell and Stu Day
teaming up for this years challenge. The pair have taken every round win and
the overall series, which has been great fun throughout. Their nearest rivals
Andy Kirby and Mark Vardy had a tough day at Driffield, first Vardy took a
heavy crash meaning Kirby had less of a break, then when Kirby’s Throttle
cable snapped on his husky there was only one option, Andy Kirby had to take
up the option (which is in the rules) where if one rider breaks down on track,
providing the fallen rider makes it back to the change area on foot to tag his
team mate, they can then stay in the race using one bike. So Kirby had a swift
ten-minute jog across the MOD testing ground to release Vardy onto another
fresh lap. With that lap not been able to count they had to settle for third
on the day which left Trail addicts Alan Smith and Dave Batters to steal
runner up on the day in the closing stages.