Flying High at Elite
Report: Denise Amos Photos: EnduroPix
For Round 3 Elite Enduro pulled out all the stops yet again; they
provided riders with yet another redesigned track to challenge and test
their riding skills.
On a dry bright sunny morning the flag went down and the race was on; a
short straight into the first corner saw Aaron Smith taking the holeshot
then over the first man-made tyre obstacle. With many man-made obstacles and
some good jumps thrown in for good measure it made for a fast flowing track.
Close on Aaron’s back tyre was Mark Kirby who was not going to let Aaron
out of his sights; however, Charlie Frost surprised the pair as they battled
it out for first place, he came from second to last off the line to take 3rd
on the first lap and then managed to snatch the lead on the second; what a
ride he had until with around an hour to go disaster struck and it was game
over, his bike died on the second half of the track and his kick start
seized which left him no choice but to retire. This then left the field open
for Aaron Smith and Mark Kirby to battle it out for the overall win which
after a good tactical race from both gave Aaron Smith the win with 14 laps.
2nd and 3rd went to father and son Mark and Josh Kirby respectively.
David Guley brought the Clubman class home in 1st place with 12 laps,
Daniel Dicker taking an impressive 2nd and David Harris 3rd with 11 laps.
The Vets saw a good tight race between the top three riders, all taking
the flag with 12 laps however it was Euan Harrison who took the win, Graham
Reid took a solid 2nd place and Manny Bernardez 3rd.
Matthew Lovelock was 3 minutes clear of Shane Gavin in the Sportsmans
Class for the win and Richard Harlow took 3rd place.
In the Youth Race Conner Smith, younger brother of Aaron, ith 7 lapse
small wheel class, Conner took the chequered flag for the win in the small
wheel class, ss home in 1st t took the chequered flag for the win in the 85
small wheel class with 7 laps, Alfie Webb in 2nd and Johnny Frampton coming
in a close 3rd. Jamie Bone took the win in the 85 big wheel class, with
Finley Richardson 2nd and Axel Bone 3rd. In the 65 class Ezra Green took the
chequered flag.
Scott Elderfield Takes The Chequered Flag
Report and Photos - Denise EnduroPix
Elite Enduro hosted their 5th Hare and Hound event on 29th September
which saw a good turnout for the Adult and Youth races.
With the revamped track completed, the riders were greeted with a
straight fast start over the tyre ramp and then they were well on their
way encountering obstacles, a new layout in the wooded section and jumps
to keep them on their toes.
Alfie Smith had a flying start keeping the competition at bay lap
after lap taking everything thrown at him in his stride but the hunter
soon became the hunted with Scott Elderfield closing the gap but a
determined Alfie kept going until disaster struck in the latter stages
of the race in the form of a puncture, giving the lead to Scott and
there was no looking back Scott took the chequered flag in the Expert
Class followed closely in second place by Alfie Smith and Mark (The
Kerbinator) Kirby in third.
For the spectators what a pleasure it was to watch the riding skills
of Scott Elderfield and Alfie Smith as they battled it out.
The Clubman Class was an even closer race, the top eight riders all
managed 8 laps so it all came down to timing at the end of the day which
gave Matthew Peppard the win, in second place was John Gilbertson, third
Alex Mace and well done to Dan Dicker who just missed out in fourth.
The Vets Class saw a win for Graham Reid, second place went to Andy
Marriner and Tony Wilde took third.
In the Youths 125 class the top three all completed 7 laps, the win
however went to Ross Kerr , very closely followed in second by Ben
Harvey and third went to Jamie Knight. The winner of the small wheels
went to Matt Martin and a win in the big wheels for Chris Myers, a
second place for Joe Peppard and Alex Myers took third. In the 65's
Class Ezra Green was the winner and Jack Allen came in second. Well done
to you all.
Provisionally date for Round 2 is 17th November 2013
Elite
Enduro Round 4 EEC Winter Championship
Brick Kiln Farm
05-05-2013
A very much revamped Brick kiln Farm lap of 5 miles that had wooded
section, motocross section and many manmade obstacles, a good entry of
various classes and a very hot summery day.
Experts
Dave Biles led from start to finish in what can only be described as a
master class lesson in off road riding by the master himself, controlled
from the front and never looked troubled once, his rival and good friend
Mark (The Kerbinator) Kirby did not let up in his plight for the win but
had to settle for 2nd, the final podium went to George Hayes who started
a little cautiously but was well on fire by the end and was fastest man
circulating at the end.
Clubman
Yet another win and certainly a man in form is James (JP) Pittaway who
again led from the off and no denying this riders commitment and raw
talent but needs to work on fitness as towards the end he was literally
hanging off the bike which led to runner up Dan Brundell make up a bit
of time but not enough this time, new to the adult ranks was 3rd placed
Barney Thurgood who seems to have improved so much over the last few
months and has very clean nice style of riding.
Veterans
By the end of the event there was one man still circulating looking
quite pained and exhausted but it paid off for Graham Reid with a very
much deserved victory , runner up was Tony Wilde who rode the best i
have seen for a long time and very much suited the conditions but was
pushed hard by Pete Lawry who had to be the most consistent rider out
there and took final podium place.
Sportsman
Mark Bartlett took a very narrow victory in the closest racing of all
classes and i feel fitness was a key factor as he looked good all race
whereas runner up Mark Portsmouth was getting a bit more out of shape
towards the end and provided me with many “Oh my god” moments and
has a very entertaining riding style, 3rd and improving rapidly was
Daniel Dicker who seems to be more consistent now and reaping the
rewards.
Youth 125
I have said it before but the winner of this class Dan Mundell is an
exceptional talent and has great future in this sport, runner up was
Niles Reid who rode his own race and got into a good rhythm and did
nothing wrong, 3rd and another improving rider is Cole Nother who just
needs a bit more aggression to add to his much improved race craft.
Youth Big Wheel
A great little battle here that went down to the wire but The Gladiator
in Ross Kerr came out to take the narrow victory over Liam Bartlett,
Harvey Brown took final podium spot.
Youth Small Wheel
The wee man Matt Martin started like a greyhound and showed what a great
little rider he is but Connor Smith once settled gave him a good run for
2his money and can see a rematch in the offering.
Report By Teamsnapper
Experts 1 David Biles 2 Mark Kirby 3 George Hayes 4 Jack Twentyman 5
Jack Ayres
Clubman 1 James Pittaway 2 Dan Brundell 3 Barney Thurgood 4 Jack Nixey 5
John Willmer
Veterans 1 Graham Reid 2 Tony Wilde 3 Pete Lawry 4 Stephen Head 5 Alan
James
Sportsman 1 Mark Bartlett 2 Mark Portsmouth 3 Daniel Dicker 4 Ryan
Campbell 5 Matthew Lovelock
Youth 125 1 Dan Mundell 2 Niles Reid 3 Cole Nother
Youth Big Wheel 1 Ross Kerr 2
Liam Bartlett 3
Harvey Brown
Youth Small Wheel 1 Matt Martin 2 Connor Smith
ELITE ENDURO
Brick Kiln Farm
Four Marks Hampshire 17-02-13
Report & photos Rich Troth www.teamsnapper.co.uk
A superb course set out by The Elite Enduro team led by The Mad
Professor of Enduro John Rogers for the 3rd round of their winter
championship that included a motocross section, some very deep and
difficult wet areas, a gnarly wood, some fast open going and some
manmade obstacles to finish it off, it really did have a bit of
everything to satisfy all. Cheryl Rogers and Denise from EnduroPix were
doing the signing on in the very heavy fog/mist and Dave Amos in control
(loosely put lol) at the scrutineering bay.
Experts
The 250 mile trip from the South West was well worth it for the Hancock
boys and pal Kyle Jacobs and although they thought we were not that
sociable but guys we welcome you with open arms but there is a
communication problem, i am ok as can speak a little Cornish but other
folk did not understand a single word you said and you were labelled the
Foreigners from afar lol (Only kidding guys), young Keelan was on fire
from the off and had well over 30 second lead on lap one from Mark Kirby
and Jack Ayres in 3rd, Keelan took note and simply controlled from the
front to take class and overall victory and showed what improvements he
has made since 12mths ago and a definite threat in the British
Championships this year and he is the first rider in Teamsnapper history
to shout at us snappers to let us know he is coming unless it is some
Cornish wail for others to acknowledge, The other Hancock did not start
as quick as Keelan and as usual Ross likes to hold back a bit on the
first lap to familiarise course and hazards but becomes a faster rider
as the event goes on which happens time and time again and it is about
time you left that line like a scolded cat and grab young bro’s tail,
but he did do a remarkable job in catching Islander and Teamsnapper
rider Jack Ayres in 2nd on the very last lap putting Jack under pressure
which caused Jack to crash and the grin on Ross’s face could be seen
from the finish line but was soon wiped off when he fell a few yards on
(That will teach you being smug lol) letting Jack past, it was sprint
race to the line and oh so close it was but the grin belonged to Jack,
but ever the gentleman Ross was first to congratulate him, Kyle Jacobs
the other foreigner impressed me a great deal as just digs deep and
rides a very solid race and took a well earned 4th, i bet the trip back
to the South West was party with pasties, cider and mud and plenty of
it. Mark (The Kirbinator) Kirby was so on fire early on with such a
great display of skill and flair but as with The Kirbinator he will
always go for the win and never goes for points and with his balls out
style he had one too many offs on the Husaberg but still brought her
home 4th, Darren Lee took a while to adjust his style to the conditions
and looked a lot faster and more comfortable as event wore on took 5th
place, 6th went to Ben Wibberley who did not look comfortable at all and
it seemed to me that he was over trying and looking a tad frustrated at
times but a great learning curve ride for the very talented newcomer,
Aaron Fudge so enjoys his racing and his enthusiasm is simply infectious
and was having a so so race until he stopped to test and try a new
prototype enduro glove which so improved his riding that it became the
gossip of the paddock, Steve Bird as usual rode consistent lap times lap
after lap and put in a good finish on the Teamsnapper KTM, Dave
Portsmouth needs to go on an anger management course as when he has a
fall he certainly bellows obscenities or though with after thought he
may have the Tourettes syndrome (Only kidding Dave... but everytime you
fall it is in front of me), Tom Moore should have stayed in bed and as
for Teamsnapper rider Chris Stanger who spent more time trackside
chatting than riding and when he did move he kept stalling and coming
off and so reminded me of the Keystone Kops. Ashley Stokes on the very
beautiful HM Honda was looking good with the first corner holeshot but
DNF, Tom Ellwood was fast and skilful and was at the pointed end for a
while but posted a DNF.
Veterans
Graham Reid is on a roll with some great results recently and notched
another one here with a great ride that showed his experience and
whatever the conditions the quietly spoke Graham just gets on with and
gets the deserved results, 2nd was Islander Graham Darby who did not
look happy in the early laps but once he settled he made some good laps
to get runners up, 3rd went to Stephen Head. Rob Mather had problem on
sighting lap and posted DNF, Richard Webb had me laughing with his
dancing on the grass routine whilst trying to steer his bike up a
slippery wet grassy incline but due to the low score i gave him he
posted a DNF.
Clubman
The very naturally gifted James Pittaway took victory and considering he
has not ridden much of late looked fit and confident and managed to keep
all his toys in the pram for once, let’s hope we see more of him
without his toys, Matthew Peppard took second with such a consistent
ride lap after lap and has that effortless looking style of riding that
so many of us envy,3rd went Andrew Gilden whom did not look happy out
there at all but is definitely getting more confident after a bad crash
last year, Big Jason Keen ploughed his way to 4th place just managing to
get that 8th lap in, 6th went to Ian Watt who was out on his new KTM 350
that so looks the part but in such conditions it looked like a wild
animal was trying to escape its keeper, Sydney Erasmus was 5th, LFB
rider John Gilbertson posted a DNF and unsure why he had an early bath,
Nick Summers is simply Mr Unlucky as i believe this is his Third event
on his new orange bike and 3 times failed on the starting line..... a
very frustrated man, John Thirtle posted a DNF but did a nice dance
routine in the open grassy field trying to get some grip that amused
many of us, Have no idea what happened to William Webb but posted a DNF,
Mark Taylor also posted a DNF and looked happy out there and was up the
pointed end until his early bath.
Sportsman
Jason King proved he is still a good enduro rider with a convincing
victory, sadly Jason does not ride as often as he used to but hopefully
this will spur him on to do more, Steve Patterson took runners up spot
and Darren Handyside grabbing the final podium, Mark Portsmouth took
4th, Mark Barnard 5th, Paul Chalwin 6th, Tim Clark 7th, young Scott
Bowling 8th , and where was Nick Rumble..... well to his credit he
posted a finish and looked wasted at the end but never seen a man eat so
much dirt during an event and fair play to Nick he will not give up.
Youth 125
Josh Kirby and Rob Thirtle were having a great battle up front with
several lead changes until Josh had a heavy fall which left the very
talented Rob to relax and enjoy the rest of the race and the win, Runner
up was Niles Reid who did not look that comfortable early on but then he
suddenly upped his game and looked a different faster rider completely,
3rd went to Ryan Croft, 4th went to Daniel Rogers who has great
skill/ability and pretty much fearless and has improved so much and one
to watch for the future, Cole Nother was 5th and has great overall bike
control but looked unhappy in the real muddy stuff but dug deep when it
mattered.
Small Wheel
Harry Peck took victory and looked happier in the MX area than the woods
of doom where he struggled a bit but did well to take the top spot,
runner up was Daniel Gilbert.
Big Wheel
Takes a lot these days to impress me but taking victory was Dan Mundell
who has it all, Skill, Speed, Grit and Determination and was a pleasure
to watch and a name to look out for, Joe Peppard who has hair The
Jackson Five would envy rode an intelligent consistent race to bag
second and a very tired but hard working Jemma Smith took final podium
spot.
Matt Maxted had a nasty fall and took an early bath, as did Kieran Gergo
, Louie Cranston and Wilf Nicolson.
Overall a great event that was slightly marred by riders who enter but
don’t turn up, you will not find a club in the South East with as much
energy and enthusiasm as Elite Enduro.
Oh.... did not the burgers (Not just me) ... can we have the caterers
back please.
Biles
By Miles
Elite Enduro MCC,
Brick Kiln Farm, 09-12-2012
Report Photo Rich Troth
Elite Enduro hosted their 2nd ever event at Brick Kiln Farm in
Hampshire in very difficult claggy conditions that tested all to their
limited over a course of 4 miles of woodland, fields, MX track and some
obstacles, many fell by the wayside but a great achievement to those
that finished.
Experts - Very rarely do you get a runaway winner but today
belonged to David Biles who led from the start and got chased by his
good friend Mark Kirby until his throttle stuck wide and that ended his
day, James Jackman tried but could not quite get to grips with the
deteriorating conditions and with his damaged hand it was hard work, Ben
Wibberley the trials ace in what i believe is his 3rd ever enduro looked
good throughout and kept a very consistent pace to snatch 2nd spot with
James in 3rd.
Clubman - Another good trials rider Liam Thomas started steady
but as his confidence grew so did his speed and really made the class
victory look easier than it was, Matthew Peppard dug very deep today but
kept going and that sheer bloody mindedness earned him second place,
Jason Keen who also seemed to get faster as the event wore on and made
some good places up to get 3rd.
Veterans - Although a good entry of veterans there was only one
standing and that was Tim Newman who ironically has not ridden much
lately and openly admitted he was a tad rusty but he soon got back in
the shape of things and so deserved the win.
Sportsman - Seb Chilvers who is in training for next year's Red
Bull Romaniacs could not have picked a better event for endurance in
testing conditions and as always Seb delivers a finish and today it was
3rd, 2nd went to Steve Patterson who looked a very capable rider
especially in the woods of hell, no doubting the class winner Darren
Handyside who was consistent from start to finish.
Youth 125 - Josh(Blister)Kirby showed some very mature riding in
such conditions and never looked troubled, Jay Maddison 2nd with Cole
Nother 3rd.
85 BW - Matt Maxted took the victory with Joe Peppard 2nd and
Jemma Smith 3rd.
85 SW - Mini Matt Martin even in such conditions went off like a
scolded cat and took heed from his Dad each lap and secured victory over
Keir Tett.
65 - Olly Davidson took victory
Photos
Sun Shines For The Elite
Race Report & Photos – Denise Enduropix
Elite Enduro couldn’t have asked for better weather for their first
ever Event on 14th October, held at Brick Kiln Farm, near Alton. With a
good turnout in all classes including the youths, it was shaping up to
be a good days racing.
The 5/6 mile track held something for everyone, easy and hard route
choices, extreme sections, manmade obstacles, woods and some open going.
With the weather helping to dry what was a very wet track, by the time
the youth race started conditions were perfect.
When the flag dropped at 11am to get the Adult race under way; it was
David Biles who led the Experts into the first corner, he never gave up
that lead and took a convincing win. Mark Kirby chased hard throughout
to take a well-deserved 2nd with Adam Kerr taking 3rd after holding off
the challenge from Mike Grounds.
Clubman
Class saw four riders battling it out for top honours with Gary Hanson
managing to make a break and take the victory, with Matthew Peppard
taking 2nd closely followed by Ben Skinner for the 3rd spot.
Veterans Rider Gary Green took the win with Graham Reid taking 2nd
with Shaun Skinner chasing hard for 3rd.
The Sportsman Group saw James Hosegood taking 1st with Steve Paterson
2nd and Tim Houlihan getting 3rd Place.
After a few small course alterations the Youth Race got underway,
In the 125 Class it was Nathan Baggott taking 1st place from Niles
Reid in 2nd and Jay Maddison in 3rd.
Big Wheel Class saw Josh Peppard take the win closely followed by
Ross Kerr in 2nd and Ben Harvey taking 3rd.
Small Wheel honours went to Matthew Martin in 1st, Max Hodson took
2nd with Daniel Gilbert grabbing 3rd place.
Elite Enduro would like to take this opportunity to thank all the
riders for their support and everyone who turned up to help on the day.
Next Event – Christmas Cracker 9th December 2012 – more
details on the website www.EliteEnduro.co.uk
