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© Bob Mullins   

Natterjack 2010

The final round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship took place at Longmoor Camp near Borden this weekend. David Knight had secured the overall championship at the Dyfi and he was be competing in the EWC but there is still a lot to play for. Only 5 points separated E1 4T leader Daryl Bolter from Paul Edmondson in 2nd place and Tom Sagar still needed to score points to take the E2 championship. 2 days of rain had drenched the South East and a biting North wind reminded everyone that it was the end of the season and Autumn had arrived but on Friday evening a clear sky blew in with the promise of sun.

Day 1:By 7.30am the main race of the day was over and Mick Seward had secured the best pitch in pits. Overnight the sky had been clear as a bell and the security light around the parc ferme had been unnecessary under a huge Autumn moon that shone like a spotlight The start was at 10.00am. There were 3 and a half laps for the Championship class. Alex Rockwell's season of frustration continued, After setting the fastest time overall on the opening test his Husqvarna's electrics packed up. There were the usual Acerbis MX test in the Sand Bowl and Putoline Extreme/XC test close to the start. Kevin Murray, Neil Hawker and their  team had laid out an exciting MX circuit with Tim Beavan's plant and advice from Daryl Bolter. The Wall was included again this year in the Extreme/XC with the concession of a small pile of house bricks to encourage a few more frame benders. Al Cook threw in some logs and a tyre wall for good measure. Max Woon needed a check up after he hit a kicker in the Sand Bowl and he was thrown into the path of his own bike but he was OK. Tom Howe injured his shoulder and Rich Troth twisted the ligaments in his knee. Paul Bolton's Moose made a surprise appearance. Dave Brick and Dan Beavan also shredded their rubber. Longmoor is hard on Mooses and most of the top riders went for a desert compound for a tube. Tom Sagar was the Day one winner and he won the E2 championship. Paul Edmondson took 2nd by the narrowest of margins from Daryl Bolter to take the E1 4T championship down to the last day. Greg Evans was 4th and Danny McCanney sounded a warning for 2011 with a 5th in his first BEC championship ride. Danny's 16 year old younger brother Jamie also did well in his first enduro. He won the Expert class with times that would have made him 12th overall. Ollie Moyce and Ashley Wood continued their battle for the Junior championship. MPS Racing's Jason Davis flew in from New Zealand, stripped the rally gear off a borrowed Husky 510 and finished 12th overall. Gavin Houson was the runner up in the Experts and Frazer Norrie was 3rd. Aaron Smith had recovered from the elbow injury that put him out of the 24 hour D2D and Kristian Pickworth had almost knitted his collarbone back together. On his return to the BEC, Wyn Hughes set the fastest times by 20 seconds on the first 4 tests in the Expert Vets but he went the wrong way in the complex area around the pits and missed the last test of the day. Murray Thomson took the win and the championship from runner up Jack Twentyman. Released from his sidecar, Ian Barnett was 3rd. Having your own track certainly helps Danny Hall who finished 4th. Russell Millward won the Vets B ahead of Phil Smithson. Graham Howes snapped his chain. He carried 2 spare links but they chain snapped twice again and he had to fit a new guide for day 2. Darren Vincent dropped 45 minutes when he drowned his bike but he finished. Rich Troth twisted his ankle & Pete Stewart broke his wrist. Gary Wright was the fastest of the quads. He was the only quad but his time was equal to the top twenty in the clubman solo. The live entertainment on Saturday night was a haircut as Eddy Mason lost the Mullet and raised £900 for charity.

Day Two was similar to Day One but the start was brought forward to 9.00am and the course was reversed. A light covering of cloud blotted out the sun and it felt cooler but the loss of shadows in the trees made for better riding. Tom Sagar powered into an early lead. Alex Rockwell's Husqvarna sounded sweeter as he moved up into 2nd and he led the E1 4T class from Paul Edmondson in 2nd and Daryl Bolter in 3rd. The order was very significant. In the pits the excitement began to grow with the realisation that this could be one of closest finishes possible. After 6 rounds, 66 tests and probably 6+ hours of flat out racing, the E1 4T championship would be decided by half a second on the last test of the last day and it was Daryl Bolter had that half a second. 20 years ago Paul had won his first overall BEC title on a KTM prepared by Julian Stevens, but this time Paul would be competing against KTM and Julian and the KORR team, After the race Julian said "20 years later Fast Eddy has lost none of his determination and skill and made Daryl and his team work very hard to retain their E1 class title". Danny McCanney should he has consistency and finished in 5th . Euan McConnell woke up with conjunctivitis and rode most of the day with one eye closed. It didn't hamper him though and he moved up from 11th to 6th. Riding with both eyes closed he could have won? Ashley Wood secured the Juniors championship despite a late surge from Ollie Moyce who had two 2nd places behind Danny McCanney. James Jackman was riding well before he lost his ignition. James Giddings won the E1 2T championship & Tudur Davies was the runner up. Richard Ely was the best E1 4T ahead of James Burroughs. Alyn Scotland was injured on his 2nd MX test. A couple of naughty boys tried to join in with the race but they were dealt with by local Police. Robert Tucker was another rider with Moose problems. In his case only half the tyre was flat. As he rode. the bike bobbed up and down like a horse on a carousel.  He did well to finish 9th.

The Sheep Skulls team of David Knight, Danny McCanney & Russell Millward won the Team Competition despite a DNF in final round. The Putoline Suzuki fasteddyracing.com pairing of Tom Sagar and Paul Edmondson were runners up and they won the Best Trade award. REME A (Steve Hunt and Kev Murray) was the Best Service team and brothers Edward and Robert Jones won the Best Club award for Hafren. The Team Competition raised £600 for the ISDE team which will be carried forward to Finland in 2011

Clerk of the Course Major Mike Tizzard & his REME team did a superb job in creating the stage for an unforgettable event.   Photos Standings  

SAGAR & RMX450Z - 2010 BRITISH E2 ENDURO CHAMPIONS

Team Putoline Suzuki by www.fasteddyracing.com rider Tom Sagar, clinched the British E2 Enduro Championship at the weekend, powering his Suzuki RMX450Z to a convincing win on both days to take the 2010 title.

With both Tom and team manager Paul Edmondson looking to secure a title each at the final round, the first day of the Natterjack enduro would see a perfect start with both riders winning their class and Tom taking the E2 title with a day to go.

But it would be the second day that would prove eventful, with Edmondson swapping the initiative with rival Daryl Bolter right up until the final test of the day. With one of the tightest finishes in enduro history, Edmondson was looking strong right until the last special test, where a crash effectively ended his hopes of victory, handing the enduro win and E1 championship to Bolter with just three and a half seconds separating the pair.

In the E2 class, things would run much smoother for Sagar. Despite some stiff competition on the second day, the RMX450Z rider was able to stamp his authority in the special tests, to take the win and end his victorious year in the best way possible.

Tom Sagar commented, "I'm absolutely over the moon to take the championship title and especially pleased to give Suzuki a British title in their first year back in the sport. The RMX450Z has been fantastic all year-long. From the moment I got my first ride on it at the launch, I knew it was a special bike and its proven that again this weekend by winning with what was effectively a stock machine. I'd naturally like to thank everyone who has supported me this year, especially Paul who put together a package that allowed me to concentrate on my racing 100%."

Team manager and E1 class runner-up, Paul Edmondson, commented, "It's all a bit bittersweet for me. Personally I'm absolutely gutted to miss out on the championship by such a small margin, but I've got to be proud with my performance and remind myself that I'm almost twice the age of many of my rivals. Congratulation to Daryl, he kept me on my toes all year long and rode well. Naturally I'm delighted that we clinched the E2 title with Tom. He's ridden extremely well all season and clicked with the RMX from the beginning. He's concentrated on his racing all year and has shown everyone what he is capable of. Big thanks to all supporters and sponsors, we couldn't have done this without you."

KORR Team and KTM claim 2 more Championships

The Natterjack Enduro held on Military tank training grounds and excellently organised by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers would be the final BEC of 2010 and decide the fight for the E1 championship.

The battle between Daryl Bolter and Paul Edmondson has been very close with the pair trading 1st and 2nd places all year long. 20 years ago Paul Edmondson won his first overall BEC title on a KTM and that machine was also prepared by Julian Stevens, but this time Paul would be competing against KTM and Julian and the KORR team, 20 years later Fast Eddy has lost none of his determination and skill and made Daryl and his team work very hard to retain their E1 class title.

Coming into the event Daryl just needed to win one day to claim the title and Paul had to win both days. The first MX test would see Daryl take a small crash loosing vital seconds, but he still managed to match the time of Fast Eddy but lost a possible advantage, going through the day Paul had the advantage in the sand bowl MX tests but Daryl seemed more comfortable in the Enduro test, going into the final cross-country test Daryl trailed Paul by just over 8 seconds, but a big effort would see him better Paul by 9 seconds, unfortunately this was not quite enough and Daryl lost the day by just 0.33 seconds . Now the pressure was really on, whoever would win the final day and whoever made the least mistakes would take the title.

Sunday morning and both riders came out fighting and determined to win, Daryl started off with the advantage on lap one beating Paul on all tests, but during lap 2 he would make a mistake in the MX test and Eddy lifted his pace and closed the gap to within 3 seconds. A faultless final lap by Daryl would see him beat Paul by 4 seconds and take the title to add to the ACU British Cross-country title he won earlier in the season. 

Recently crowned European E2 Champion Greg Evans who had crashed out of the last BEC was not really in contention for the E2 BEC title which he had lead earlier in the season and just rode steadily to hold 2nd place in the championship.

Recent 24 hour Dawn to Dusk overall winner James Giddings also enjoyed a great weekend and won his first ACU British Championship title, the first year on a KTM 125 and he has won the Expert 125cc Class.

Gas Gas UK Enduro Team
Ashley Wood & Daniel McCanney

The Gas Gas UK Enduro team saw a successful end to the 2010 ACU British Enduro Championship when both Ashley Wood and Daniel McCanney recorded strong results at the final round. Ashley started the weekend with the Under 23 title in his sights and his hard work was rewarded when he took the title at the end of the two days. Finding the event more physically challenging than he had expected Wood battled with Midwest's Ollie Moyce going on to finish the day only one second behind Moyce. The two swapped times throughout the two special tests as Wood went on to finish in seventh place overall and fourth in class on the first day. Wood struggled to settle on Sunday and failed to match the pace from the previous day although he still did enough to take the Under 23 title. Eventually finishing tenth overall and sixth in class his focus is now on winter training in preparation for the start of the 2011 championship.

After taking the Expert title earlier in the year Manxman Daniel McCanney decided to compete in the highly competitive Championship class for the final round of the series. Not quite sure what to expect and unsure of the pace McCanney started the first day edging on the side of caution. After recording some of the quickest test times of the day McCanney went onto finish fifth overall and first in class. Despite this stunning result he felt he could go faster and pushed harder on the second day but after getting caught behind slower riders more than once during the tests he matched his result from the previous day finishing fifth overall and once again topped E3 class. He has without doubt fired a warning shot the rest of the paddock for the 2011 season when he will certainly be someone to watch out for.

Ashley Wood: "I'm more than happy with my performance over the weekend, I did exactly what I needed to do and took the Under 23 title. I started the round knowing I needed to beat Ed Jones which I managed to do so I'm happy with that. The tests were really good, it's always nice to have something a little bit different from grass and the sand motocross test was good fun. I found the event harder than previous years but I'm happy that I managed to get the job done. Thanks to John Shirt, Rob Sartin and Steve Plain for all their help throughout the 2010 season."

Daniel McCanney: "I started the weekend not really sure what to expect to be honest; I knew it would be a jump up from the Expert class but I'm pretty happy with how things went overall. Finishing fifth on both days is good and I've got to be happy with the result but I know I could have gone quicker. I got stuck behind a rider on a couple of the tests which slowed me but these things happen. It's made me realise what Championship pace is like and I'm really looking forward to next year when I can spend a full season fighting for the title. Thanks to John Shirt and Steve Plain for their support, my bike was stunning from start to finish!"

We also had good results from Team SPGGUK Riders BRADLEY KING and LUKE MEREDITH. Bradley was 4th in Championship E3 Class (17Th overall) on Day 1 and 4th again on Day 2 but 15th overall. LUKE took a weekend off Motocross and borrowed our demo GAS GAS 2011 CC250, which was different than his usual 450 4 stroke KTM. Luke took a while to get used to 2T power again but soon got settled. He was racing in the Expert Class and finished 5th on Day 1 (7th overall) and alot better on Day 2 finishing 2nd in E2 and 2nd overall.

Strong Finish to the End of the Season for both Team riders

The final round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship took place at Longmoor Camp near Borden this weekend. Heavy thunderstorms on Thursday had drenched the sandy venue and a biting North wind reminded everyone that Autumn had arrived but Saturday morning saw sunshine and a ground frost to make the circuit nearly perfect for competition. The course consisted of a mx test in the large "sand bowl" and an extreme enduro test through the forest which included climbing a brick wall and negotiating various tyre and log obstacles. Day 1 started at 10am and the day would consist 3 and half laps and 7 special tests and consistency was the order of the day for Midwest Husaberg UK rider Ollie Moyce in the ultra competitive championship class which awarded him with 3rd in E2 class and 6th overall. Fellow team rider, Tyson Maytom-Jones was competing in the E3 Expert class which again was a very close fought group with many riders making lots of mistakes in the deep sand mx test. Tyson also rode sensibly and used the massive power of his Husaberg 570 to have his best finish of the season by winning the E3 Expert class and finished 10th overall.

Day 2 started an hour earlier at 9am and under grey, cloudy skies and a bitterly cold wind saw the course was rode in reverse direction to the previous day. There were only 6 special tests on day 2 as the soft, sandy course had become very rutted so it was to be another day of trying not to make any mistakes in the sandy going as the slightest lapse in concentration would result in loosing the bike in the soft sand. At the end of the day Ollie Moyce had again matched his previous day's position again finishing a well deserved 3rd place in E2 class and 7th overall giving him a 3rd in class and 6th overall result after the 2 days. E3 expert rider Tyson Maytom-Jones made a few more mistakes on day 2 and despite winning the E3 class he dropped to 12th overall on the day but after the 2 days riding was awarded with 9th overall and E3 class winner. All the team and Husaberg motorcycles performed excellently all weekend without any problems.

Pictures: Martin Harding of Ollie no:21 & Tyson No:66 

MPS Racing Enduro Team
Alex Rockwell, Matt Ridgway, Robert Johnson & Jason Davies

The final round of the ACU British Enduro Championship was bitter-sweet for MPS Racing as their riders experienced mixed fortunes throughout the weekend. Manxman Alex Rockwell set the fastest opening test on the first day and was set to take the fight to the rest of the championship class but his TE250 suddenly developed an electrical problem which was eventually traced to a faulty ECU. The second day was by far the best of Rockwell's season with him placing second overall; beating several of the regular podium riders he set some of the quickest times of the weekend and proved just what he is capable of when everything falls into place.

A possible new addition to the MPS team for next year made his first visit to the Natterjack with Jason Davies flying all the way from New Zealand to take part in the event. Although very different from what he is used to he rode well to finish twelfth overall on the first day. Unfortunately his borrowed TE510 'trail' bike wasn't able to put up the same fight on the second day and a damaged rear shock saw him retire mid day. Considering the machine was in full rally / trail riding specification including a 22 litre Safari tank fitted prior to the event both man and machine did remarkably well.

After returning from injury earlier in the year Matt Ridgeway is riding each event as it comes but with his fitness level still not 100% he struggled to maintain a quick pace on the first day and was asked to retire by team manager Mick Seward. The second day was much better for Ridgeway who managed to finish and came home eighteenth overall. With the winter ahead of him Matt will spend plenty of time getting back to his previous fitness levels ready for the approaching 2011 season. Young Robert Johnson had a good weekend finishing fourth overall and top E1 four-stroke during both days. This was only his second ever British Championship event and is looking forward to being able to ride a full season as soon as he turns seventeen.

Murray Thomson wins ACU British Vet Expert Championship

D3 Racing’s Murray Thomson has won the ACU Metzeler British Enduro Veteran Expert Championship after winning at The Natterjack Enduro at the weekend. Murray on his KTM 300, supported by his wife Tracy, has been competing in the British Championship for twenty years and this is one of the most deserved wins in recent times. Murray just missed out on the title last year although he has always been a contender in the Expert class and ultimately the Veteran Expert class. Murray always excels in the tough muddy condition which makes his win at the weekend all the more satisfying as the sandy conditions are not his favourite. The Veteran Expert class is no easy option as all the top riders in the class are previous British champions with fierce competition between the rivals. Murray, a four times Scottish Champion, has suffered from poor circulation in his hands which has made the long days on the bike more difficult over the years, even resorting to heated handle bars grips for some enduros. Murray and Tracy are two of the most organised couples in the Enduro paddock and it is this combined with Murray’s fitness regime that has seen them rewarded with the British title. This will be a welcomed result in the paddock as Murray is a popular and larger than life character in the parc ferme with his booming voice, you always know when Murray is around and he now has a serious result to shout about.