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Conditions were perfect for the race in the jungle at Tenko. As luck would have it the weather did cool off for the race after a few days of blistering sunshine. There was a delightful cool breeze coming out of the woodland and the trees gave the riders a lot of shade through-out the race.

The 2.5 hour Hare & Hounds battle covered the best parts of the jungle and flowed satisfyingly with sandy terrain and sinuous woodland. The few bogy sections that were added for a bit of fun didn’t cause much fuss and the sun dried them out in the days running up the race. Track n Trail had some encouraging feedback which reflects what a great day it was.

Yet again Track n Trail riders turned up and gave it their all to reveal some awesome riding and competitive results. Wayne Player unfortunately injured his finger quite badly on the practice lap and yet still managed to drive himself to hospital and come back later to support his son Josh Player. Everyone wishes him all the best and a speedy recovery so he can get back on the bike.

Starting with the Championship, there was some consistent riding from all 6 competitors who all rode unfailing through-out the race holding the same positions until the 10th lap where there were Ross Hancock jumped into 1st, only to get trumped in the last lap by his brother Keelan Hancock to maintain his 1st place position. Danny Hall was another great contender who nearly managed to claim 3rd place, however Daniel Price came through and gave it his all in the last lap to take 3rd.

In the over 40’s Experts Chris Salt made the long trip down from Docklands to join in on the fun and walk away with a deserved 2ndplace. Jim Browning showed what he’s worth and was able to smash out 11 laps which was one more that all the other riders in the class to succeed 1st place. In 3rd place Euan Harrison put in an assorted performance and shot back to 3rd after falling to 6th in his 6th lap.

The top 3 in the Experts class was dominated by all ex youth riders. With Dominic Thomas leading the race from his 3rd lap onwards to a victorious 1st place whilst Bradley Rowland first time out in the adults put in an amazing performance and looked certain to take 2nd until late on when Harvey Dark was able to punch some speedy laps to steal 2nd place and push Bradley to 3rd.

Clubman 2 Stroke was set in stone after the 4th lap, with Darren Handyside in 1st, Kody Richards in 2nd and Shaun Philp in 3rd. The Clubman 4 Stroke was an exciting one to follow with Matthew Dark confidently taking 1st place whilst Daniel Dicker and Rob Higgs getting off to a dodgy start but managing to climb back up the ranks and Daniel getting 2nd and Rob slotting in 3rd.

The Over 40’s Clubman was a great battle in the top 3 with the race ending with Geoff taking away 1st, Simon Thomas who kindly helped a fallen rider came in 2nd and Mark Bartlett in 3rd. Old boys Over 50’s showed their youth with a cracking performance by Graham Darby that looked unlikely to finish 1st after being in 6th on the first lap. After the 4th lap the top 3 settled and Gary Appleyard finished in 2nd and Steve Curtis in 3rd.

In Sportsman 2 the top 3 didn’t resolve until the final lap where Joseph Chase was able to gain 1st, with Matthew Lovelock following in 2nd and Mark Richmond in 3rd. Richard Perkins was able to take a clear 1st with 1 more lap in Sportsman 4 Stroke and Nick Pottow in 2nd and Marc Newland in 3rd.

The Trail class was a very heated race with a lot of overtaking, with Darren Plant managing to ascent from 7th place to 1st position. The boys from Thorncombe, Jon Lucas and Howard Strawbridge put in a fine performance and ended with Jon in 2nd and Howard Strawbridge settled for 3rd.

It’s always great to see the youth races showing off their future potential and competitiveness, yet again they put in a solid performance. In the Youth 125 Archie Box was able to pinch 1st place with getting in an extra lap than Ben Harvey who put in an impressive performance to make 2nd place and taking the fastest lap of the day. Liam Bartlett was comfortable in 3rd throughout most of the race.

Youth 85 SW was a concrete race with Alfie Webb taking 1st, Jamie Turner in 2nd and Thomas Appleyard in 3rd. In Youth 85BW Brett Rowland who’s brother of Brad in the Experts was able to conquer 1st place and Harry Allaway 2nd. Last but certainly not least, the Youth 65 had two riders with Harry Ridgway shooting ahead to take 1st place and Kyle Chaplin in 2nd.

All in all it was an awesome race day with some really positive vibes and a great atmosphere. Track n Trail were yet again blessed with abundant sunshine and with the graceful shadow of the trees which took a bit of heat off when needed.

The fun doesn’t end just yet though as Track n Trail have another Freeride coming up next Sunday which is dated 29th of June at the Highhammx track. This is a real Old School motocross track with plenty of character which should prove to be a very exciting ride for all levelled riders. 

For further details of the race, visit Track n Trails website events page on http://www.trackntrail.co.uk/Highham%20FreeRide.htm 

Track n Trail
Thorncombe 
Enduro Heaven
Sunday 18th May
Written by Dominic De Couto
Photos by Will Bridger xmoore motorcycles

The Sun certainly had his hat on for Track n Trail and their riders this Sunday 18th of May. Another spectacular Hare and Hound event was hosted at the Thorncombe Track. There was an assortment of sections in the track with a great variation of ground conditions which made the race 7 miles of Enduro Heaven. The maize field had not yet been planted so the soil was cultivated and moist which made the berms build up quickly. You could see a great diversity in the track with 5 sets of different hard routes for riders to test themselves whilst also presenting more competition to the event with the chance for overtaking. One of the most remarkable additions to the track has got to be the way in which they incorporated a figure of 8 cross-over by inputting a bridge over a rocky stream valley which enabled paths to cross over head (Shown in photo above).

In the Championship there were some melodramatic results with Tommy Alba flying off on the first lap and achieving the fasted lap of the day [15:15.57]. However young gun Tommy looked as though he may have outpaced himself over the first few laps as experienced rider Derry Milling tactically sat back and learned the track before storming ahead to take first place with the only rider to complete 10 laps. Jack Ayres sat comfortably in 2nd place for the first few laps then lost a bit of momentum and dropped to 3rd until also benefiting from young gun Tommy dropping out of the race. 3rd place Ross Blackmore did not look like a likely contender at the beginning of the race, but showed what he’s worth by gradually creeping back from position 8 on lap 3 to 3rd on his final 9th lap. All of the other Championship riders including Mark Kirby, Drew Slevin, Gary Wright, Ashley Williamson and Daniel Price all showed some excellent skill and the positions were up and down like pistons.

The Experts winner Roger Holland displayed some quality riding by soaring ahead on his first and fastest lap [15:27.93], continuing on to be fairly consistent and remaining contentedly in 1st the whole race. 2nd place Grant Churhward had a very similar style and busted out his fastest lap [16:14.78] on his first lap and sitting in 2nd place for the duration of the race. The fight for 3rd, 4th and 5th was between David Wathen, Gethin Fancome and Jack Liddiard was gruelling until their 7th lap where it straightened out to Wathen in 3rd, Fancome in 4th and Liddiar in 5th.

Over 40’s Experts did not let the spectators down either with their race showing some spectacles. Whilst 1st place Gary McCoy did dominate with 1st place through-out, the expected 2nd place bandit Leighton Roberts was unfortunately unable to continue after his 4th lap. This resulted in Jerry Box deservedly gaining 2nd place and Graham Reid bringing home 3rd.

The second biggest entry of the day was the Clubman 2 Stroke with a cracking 21 riders. In this class, 1st place Ed Mountjoy, 2nd place Guy Breeze and 3rd place Richard Sayer put on a stirring race with the positioning fluctuating every lap until the final 8th lap. In the Clubman 4 Stroke, with the largest entry of 25 heated riders Matthew Dark was able to climb ahead into 1st after his second lap, holding the spot and being the only one to finish 9 laps. George Leyland was another tranquil contender and held 2nd place after James Salter who started off well, started to fall back. Richard Baxter competed well for 3rd place.

Over 40’s Clubman’s top three juggled until finally finishing with Adrian Evans at 1st, Geoff Bridgen in 2nd and Richard Holland in 3rd. The over 50’s had two solid 1st and 2nd places with Graham Darby stealing 1st and Richard Strawbridge cruising on his new KTM into a greatly deserved 2nd place whilst Gary Appleyard fought for 3rd place.

The Track n Trails riders of the future weren’t shy in the Youth 125 race with Bradley Rowland expectantly smashing 1st place with Liam Bartlett close behind in 2nd and Ben Harvey achieving 3rd.

Youth 85BW also had a clear winner Harry Allaway followed by Joseph Coates in 2nd and Brett Rowland in 3rd whilst the Youth 85SW showed determination with Alfie Webb in 1st, Thomas Appleyard in 2nd and Marcus Hale in 3rd. It was also great to see the Youth 65 give it their all with Harry Ridgway succeeding 1st and Liam Hale attaining 2nd.

Overall Track n Trail, yet again put on a fantastic day for their riders. You could see the tremendous amount of effort put into the Thorncombe track by Track n Trail and the riders unquestionably appreciated it. With Track n Trails next race being at Tenko the Ultimate Jungle track on Saturday June 14th, their riders have plenty to look forward to. Details

Track N Trail Enduro Matterley Enduro
23rd February
Written by Claire Hobbs and Dominic De Couto

Sunday 23rd of February saw near on perfect weather for Track N Trails Enduro event at Matterley racetrack. The tightly contested Championship race was eventually won by Crescent KTM rider Darryl Bolter, who held pole position for the majority of the race, clocking in the best average lap time in the process.

A large crowd of spectators gathered to watch close to 300 racers take on the gruelingly challenging track which lasts up to two and a half hours without stopping. Thankfully the sun was out to gloriously welcome them and the racers as they embarked on the stamina testing course which crossed the gorgeous Hampshire countryside. No terrain was left unturned as the riders tore across the green fields and past the towering trees which created enough obstacles for them to overcome. Some riders came across difficulty over the chalk hill which created a nice difference in terrain for the riders, especially as the race wore on.

In the Championship race 29 year-old Darryl Bolter seemed to have his goggles in a twist when the flag was dropped which we suspect may not have been completely accidental as Botler is one to embrace the challenge of battling his way through other riders to victory. The Crescent KTM rider lead the race for the most part and achieved an average lap time of (15:00.71) which was over half a minute faster than all other Championship riders. Bolter, who has been riding for over a decade, showed great grit and discipline to maintain outstanding lap times tipping him to the crown.

In 2nd place Max Varney notched up a respectable average lap time of 15:33.10 and a very impressive fastest lap of the race with 14:07.93. They were propped up by 3rd place rider Daniel Price who wasn't far behind with a great effort bagging an average lap of 15:48.40 .

The Experts results showed some great riders with 1st place Ashley Williamson leading up until lap 4 where 2nd place Ross Stturmey jumped into the lead for the next 4 laps only to be trumped by Williamson in their final two laps, whilst Ross Stturmey was able to finish closely after in 3rd place.

With the over 40's Expert's Phil Lewis stepped up after the first two laps to claim 1st place, Nick Ames sitting steady in 2nd and Euan Harrison storming from 11th position after the 1st lap to 3rd overall.

Elsewhere in the other group races, the riders fought hard to gain a place in the top three. Neil Franks came first in the Clubman 2 group followed closely by Mark Copeland and Donovan Pearce creeping up behind in 3rd. Clubman 4 put on a great display with George Miles grasping the win, whilst 3rd place David Luff was thought to maybe claw back to claim second when he gained nearly a minute on 2nd place David Wathen in the 3rd lap. The over 40's Clubman again saw a close top 3 with Adam Dewey standing victorious at 1st place followed by Adrian Evans in 2nd and Paul Smith in 3rd.

In the Sportsman 2 st group it was James Beresford who managed to lead in front of 2nd place Mark Taylor and 3rd place Ben Bridewell to claim number 1 position. Again, Sportsman 4 st showed very similar results with all top 3 powering through 8 laps of the Matterley's mischievous track with Ben Cowdrey sneaking the win, seconds in front of Richard Perkins, with Steve Curtis comfortably sitting in 3rd place.

There were also potential riders of the future who took to the course in the 125cc race where youngsters cut their teeth on the circuit and look to improve their skills. Young Bradley Rowland in his last youth race finished a clear 3 minutes ahead in 1st followed by Josh Coppins in 2nd and Chris Corthorn in 3rd.

In the Big Wheel, Bret Rowland flew ahead in 1st and maintained his position throughout with rider no.126 also cruising in 2nd followed by Jordan Meredith in 3rd. In Small Wheel, Matthew Martin coming from dead last after a first corner pile up was able to receive a great 1st position win after overtaking 2nd place Brad Folley in the 2nd lap whilst Alfie Webb comfortably claimed 3rd place. Finally for the youngsters in the 65cc Harry Raynor put in a solid ride to claim 1st position.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Over 50's where Graham Darby did not fail to perform, leading strong from the first lap and finishing with almost a minute gap beyond 2nd place Neal Wailing, with Rupert Gabriel trailing closely behind in 3rd.

Our Trail class riders tore the track up, Nick Pottow pulling 1st position with Rob Higgs in 2nd and Alex Morgan in 3rd.

Overall, the day was a great success with riders and spectators enjoying the rare sunshine, even if it was a little windy. Track N Trail look to have a busy year ahead of them, with many more races lined up across the south of England. Let’s hope the weather is as kind on every race day as it was at Matterley.

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