SEEC Hare n Hounds Embley Wood 
Hosted by Carshalton MCC
20-07-14 
Report Rich Troth

It’s been a long time since Embley Wood was used for an Enduro, a pure forest event in perfect conditions albeit a tad small in length hence why only 80 riders but what Carshalton did do was make a cracking loop with no stoppers or hazards that was enjoyed by all.

Championship Class
Was great to see James Jackman riding in the SEEC again and it was not long before we realised he has not lost any of his magic, despite a few early bar to bar duelling with Phil Wiffen it wasn’t long before Jacko took control and took victory by over a lap with 26 laps completed, runner up Phil Wiffen did all he could to keep Jacko in his sights but credit to Phil he is still carrying an injury, Si Beken 3rd on a track he seemed very at home on, 4th on equal laps as Beken was Jason Bowen who had to work so hard on the little 2T to get momentum to pass slower riders on the single track areas.

Expert Class
Fluro Yellow was the colour of Dom Wilson’s kit and if that did not notice that then i am sure you noticed what a great ride he put in and to me he very much looked the man to beat and was given a hard time by Neil franks who did spend a lot of time picking himself up due to him trying so hard but Dom held on for top podium with Neil runner up, another rider who seemed to be over trying was Richard Ball whose parents had travelled a long way to watch him and was rewarded with the final podium, 4th and superb ride from Tristan Robinson whom i thought would struggle here as very much a technical rider, Tristan was also on high spirits due to fellow rider Aaron Dibnah asking him to be Godfather to his new born twins and what a great Godfather he will be, i am very sure of that, 5th Gav Maggs who was without doubt running up the pointed end and reading his body language he was very much enjoying but a crash and ensuing damage curtailed his progress but still posted a finish, Steve White was in his element early on and i have to say he looked more confident here than i have seen him for a long time but sadly posted a DNF and not sure why, Josh Kirby has been hanging around with Alex Mace too much recently and caught the Girlie bug and posted a DNF.

Vet A Class
I have said it would be only a matter of time before Mick Stradwick shows his ace card and today he had a full house and was without doubt the star of the class and oozed confidence and did some pretty risky overtaking manoeuvres that luckily paid off to take top spot, 2nd Tom Moore rode well but at times was a wee bit too polite on the course and spent a lot of time waiting to pass slower riders and as for his number board numbers making up..... Well it was like giving a 3 year old with epilepsy sticky tape and a pair of scissors... it was not pretty, 3rd and great to see back competing albeit on a small 2T was John Horton whom i am sure will be a major threat in this class once he gets the hang of the wee bike, 4th Chris “Ginge” Howman who had a nightmare start with bike problems and then it was catch up all day and what Chris does like to do is race with someone or have someone to chase but when you’re playing catch up it does not work the same.

Vet A O50 Class
Euan Harrison was a bit down at the start after finding out how short the loop was especially on the big Husaberg but once one lap was under his belt i could see the grin under his helmet and from that moment it was obvious no one was going to beat him today and posted a very respectable 24 laps, what a great battle between two wily of dogs in Steve Bird and Joe Beard who both ride very similar and neither big risk takers and they swapped positions throughout the event but the wilier of the two Steve Bird managed to get the number 2 podium with Joe a tad behind in 3rd.

Vet B Class
Tim Newman had his race head on today that’s for sure as he usually shouts to me every lap but today i only got the odd one and that’s when i know he is trying and by god he tried and with a very credible 24 laps he was very much the star of the class with victory, series leader and runner up today Iain Judkins does get frustrated on the smaller tight courses which was evident today and maybe used his head and did not take any silly risks as he only knows too well points make prizes, final podium to Manny Bernardez whom was far too polite behind lesser riders and never hounds them and today i feel that cost him runners up spot but still a great ride from the Witley Maestro, Andy Sharp 4th rode well and did nothing wrong that i saw and seemed to like the course, 5th Michael Toussaint who took a while to get acquainted and simply did not look as if he could find a rhythm until the latter part of the event, 6th Paul Lane who is great to photograph as every time i point my camera his way i always feel he is gonna crash but he somehow saves it and what we are left with is great action photos so keep it up paul as its riders like you that make my photo’s look better, Dorset rider Nick Littlecott 7th with 21 laps posted, 8th Andrew Gilden who is without doubt getting back to his previous form and looked to enjoy today’s loop very much.

Vet B 050 Class
Stephen Scott with 22 laps took the class victory and is without doubt one of my favourite riders to photo with his effortless style and text book form but was pushed and pushed hard by a very much rejuvenated Carl Smye who really is a different rider this season and has very much more enthusiasm than i have ever previously known, 3rd and a terrific result for his first outing in this class was Neil Marshall, 4th which was a good result especially as he was suffering with a bad cold and lack of sleep but Man Mountain Hans Gilham loves his Sundays on his bike and had a great battle with Rob Giles 7th that i feel really boosted Rob as well as i have never seen Rob ride so well and at times aggressively which was great to see, 5th and great to see riding in the SEEC was Kev Gurr whom i hope we will see again, 6th my good friend Stephen Head who has not ridden competitively as often as he did last year and to be fair prefers the longer events but as always smiled all the way round for 3 hours..... or maybe it was grimacing not smiling ;-) Simon Minch bought home the big Berg in 8th, Martin Bushnell 9th despite bike problems at the beginning of the event.

Clubman A Class
There were some surprises here that’s for sure and no more than Dan Brundell who took the victory and i don’t mean Dan did not deserve or have the talent but simply he has not ridden much lately and due to the nature of this loop it was hard work both physically and mentally and i thought he would not have had the stamina and am glad he proved me wrong, runner up Rob Knight (another surprise) if i can be critical of Rob he lacks a bit of speed/pace and confidence well today it looked like an imposter was riding for him as confidence very high and pace was fast am not sure why but am thinking (due to short loop)he uses slower riders as targets etc but who knows but great ride Rob, 3rd James De-Merist natural talent who rides so rarely these days due to past injuries and operations did stuff today that blew me away and was a pleasure to watch, 4th Chris O’Grady which was a great result and long coming for the Croydon rider,5th Nathan Baggott who had an awful start and then seemed to have bike problems but still pushed on and posted 20 laps although i think his Mum and Dad did more ;-) Aaron Murtagh 6th, Richard Morgan (Yes the one with the Tools) rode a lot better than his position dictates especially mid race when he seems his strongest but i feel he does take the early laps a wee cautiously but never less he will be happy with 20 laps posted, Andrew De-Merist and Ian Hill both posted DNF’s but not sure why.

Clubman B Class
Class winner Brad Warton was very much the ace in the pack here with 24 laps posted and laps times of Clubman A and never looked in trouble once and as the laps wore down his confidence grew which was evident to see and as usual was supported by good friends Dave”DS”Shaw and Sarah Elliott, runner up Lee Boulden with 22 laps, 3rd and best result to date i think for Tom Vandy whom i feel found a rhythm early on and stuck with it as rode very consistently lap after lap, good work Tom, 4th Carl Boraman whom very much gelled with the track early on and seemed very focused on the job in hand and posted 21 completed laps and would have slept better knowing he had beaten fellow Normandy rider Simon Brown 5th by a very small margin despite Simon riding very confidently, 6th Lee Blackburn which is a great result as Lee went tree hugging at speed which totally knocked the stuffing out of him but as stubborn as the tree he hit he regrouped and finished the event, 7th Adrian Wainwright, 8th banana eating, gorilla impersonating Richard Jones (Nothing more to be said), 9th Jonathan Casey who very much enjoyed the loop and without son Matt riding he just seemed that bit more relaxed on the bike, Matty Taylor 10th, 11th Ben Young who quite simply did not perform today and as his school report would have read “Can do better”, Dan Moore was riding his first SEEC event and seemed to enjoy both the event and the set up and so hope he becomes a regular rider in the SEEC and with 16 laps posted he can be happy with his days work, The mad Russian Oleg Savochkin was a late entry but posted 15 laps as was Harvey Bish who rode damn well with 21 laps posted, Gerald Holdway and Russell Cox both posted DNF’s.

Evo Class
Sadly only one entry Andrew Greenwood from the Normandy Experimental Group who posted 19 laps on the green meanie KDX.

Sportsman Class
Some retire and some recover from serious off road accidents/crashes but Ben Harding went one better and took a very much earned and deserved victory with 21 laps.... i salute you Ben, runner up Jack Norman 20 laps, 3rd and another rider who seemed to enjoy today’s loop and it showed in his body language was Neil Wilkinson, 4th and as ever solid and consistent all day long Steve Tull whom if i was to be critical just needs to get a bit more angry/aggressive, 5th Peter Laker, 6th Colin Batten (The Daddy)whom we do not see that often but no mistaking his bright red kit and bike rode well, 7th and a finish with 16 laps to our good friend Andy Wright who really upped his game today, Brian O’Hara 8th who may not be the quickest out there but what he does have is endurance and determination and won’t that long before he is the top 5, 9th Robert Backshall.

Thank you Wayne Straughair, Daniel Rose and John Adams for making us feel wanted and welcome.

SEEC/Teamsnapper Timecard Enduro Championship Round 4
West Harting Down Hosted By Carshalton MCC
Report Rich Troth

A scorching summer’s day high on the West Sussex downs and a 5 mile loop of forest enduro is what greeted the 100 riders for round 4.

Championship Class
Sadly due to British Sprint round on same weekend 4 regular riders in the Elite class were absent but with or without them Jack Turner would have been tough to beat as he really looked happy all day to take the win, Si Beken who has been troubled with injuries put in a good performance for runners up spot.

Expert Class
You can’t put a good man down so it would seem as Phil Wiffen just seems to get better with each passing event and certain technical parts of the course were made to look so easy by the technical master himself and posted the fastest special test time of the day, he was pushed at times by the very radical and entertaining Elliot Davies who himself was hounded throughout the event by Gareth Hughes who really looked like he was enjoying the challenge and terrain and really gave Elliot a hard time but Elliot just managed to get the runners up spot with Gareth 3rd.

Veteran A Class
This was a very close class with some great talent and skills on show but Déjà Vu with Neil Challice just taking the win from a very much happier Darren Osborne who is now back riding injury free and now getting back to full bike fitness and i really think these two will be banging mudguards all year along with Paul Armstrong 3rd who is without doubt one of the quickest but was just lacking a bit of consistency until recently and it now appears he has a bit more self belief as commitment and talent were never in question, what a great class. Veteran A Over 50 Class was won by Euan Harrison who stayed clean all day.

Clubman A Class
One of the front runners of this class Richard Ball retired early which left Carl Lillywhite and Dom Wilson to fight it out and it all came down to the special test which the colourful Carl pipped Dom by the narrowest of margins to take the class win but credit to both riders as they both rode so committed and pretty much faultlessly, 3rd was Dan Brundell who had a superb ride in 3rd and earned some good points for the overall class championship.

Veteran B Class
When you have a Elliot Davies as a son you have to step up to the plate and that’s what Phil Davies did today and i have to say it is without doubt his best ride for a long time but he was pushed by the very much in form and rejuvenated Manny Bernardez (2nd) who really is having a superb time when his bike plays ball, 3rd was Andrew Sharp who by his own admission found the going tough but another solid finish for him. Veteran B Over 50 Class was convincingly won by Colin Cowley with Stephen Scott 2nd a Orlando Bayne Powell a very close 3rd.

Clubman B Class
A great battle between Paul White and Felix Warren in this class where i think experience just won over against youth with some great riding from both riders but the elder statesman Paul White taking the win from Felix in the special test, 3rd and best result for a long time was London Fire Brigade rider Ben Young who at long last seemed to find a rhythm.

Sportsman Class
Philip Reynolds was very much the master of this class with a stunning special test time which may have come down to Philip painstakingly walking the special test beforehand which definitely helped in taking class victory, runner up was youngster Adam Brady who is gaining more confidence with each outing and even the steep technical climbs were child’s play for him, 3rd was Paul Cosgrove who very much enjoyed the terrain and looked very much at home on his new steed.