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Putoline XC Championship. Final round. Jurby, Isle of Man. Imagine a place where Motorsport is welcomed with open arms. A place where off-road motorsport is embraced and encouraged. That place is the Isle of Man, the setting for the sixth and final round of the Putoline XC Championship series. The Steam Packet Company had been very helpful in providing a special rate for all competitors and the accommodation on the island was reasonably priced and came with a warm welcome to all Something special was promised, by Paul Edmondson and the Fast Eddy team, and they delivered in full. It was a weekend to remember for everyone involved in the event. Chief marshal Clive Thorsby has worked with Edmondson to set the toughest Putoline course to date and they certainly succeeded. The welcome and hospitality afforded to everyone involved in the event was fantastic. Plenty of local riders entered to give the Mainlanders a run for their money, which swelled the ranks considerably across all classes.
A large paddock area was only yards from the start line. The view gave no indication of the challenges facing the riders once they had cleared the top sand and scrub section. A steep drop to the shoreline section saw the terrain change considerably as deep sand with natural whoops gave all classes of riders a tough, strength-sapping time. The opening race of the weekend was for Novice and Clubman riders and there were over 100 competitors on the line for the Saturday Morning event. The Novice class was tied n points between Sean Renvoize and Lance Hurdsman. Renvoize couldn't make the trip but Hurdsman took fourth overall in the race, which gave him the Championship win. Sean Baker romped home to take the Novice class with 14 laps behind him, only two short of the top Clubman riders. Dan Darnley took second and Robbie turner third, both on the same lap as Baker, but over 10 minutes down in time. The Clubman 125/250f Class saw Sam Robinson lead everyone home. He took the overall win and won his class with ease, if any ride could be described as easy. James Harvey matched Robinson on laps but couldn't make up the 2.30sec gap to first, so second place was all he could take. Geoff Dale was third, just over a lap down on the leaders with Dylan Cain very close to him in fourth. The Clubman Open 2T went to Mike Jackson. Although a lap down on the leaders, he took the class win just 17 seconds ahead of closest rival Dennis Harrison in second. John Wheeler was over three minutes down in third with Michael O'Leary lass than a minute behind in fourth. The most hotly contested class of the Championship was the Clubman Open 4T. Dave Livesey held the lead going into the final round but couldn't ride due to work commitments. Second placed Mike Willis only needed a few points from the Jurby event to snatch the title but as he boarded the ferry at Heysham, on his way to the event, he was struck down by suspected food poisoning and never made the trip. Livesey took the Championship title with Willis second and Dave Grimshaw third. Grinshaw took his first class win at the Jurby event. Sean O'Neill rode the sand traps well and finished just behind Grimshaw as closest rival Robert Keedwell finished a lap down in third place. The Pro class had an interesting line-up. World Trials Champ Dougie Lampkin looked comfortably aboard his Honda but even he didn't escape the sand traps around the track and had more than a few spills. Paul Edmondson was absent from the class, he had already won the Championship with five out of five from the previous events so Dutchman Mike Kock flew the Fast Eddy flag and showed just how good Dutch riders are in sand. He led from the start and never looked back, only Greg Evans came near to keeping pace with the Flying Dutchman. Both riders managed an impressive 23 laps over the two and a half hour race. Kock set the fastest lap of the day with an outstanding 6.07 at an average speed of 50kph. Barry Kinley gave a great performance to take third place but just missed out on an extra lap as the clock moved to zero just as he approached it. Lee Edmondson was just under two minutes behind in fourth spot with Darren Wheeler fifth, two laps down on the leaders. Scot Drew Harvey posted 20 laps to top the Expert Open 4T class in style and move himself to third in the Chanpionship. Anthony Dean took second, a lap down on the Scot with Genus' Steve Grimshaw only three minutes behind in third place. Putoline XC regular Ben Swambo took fourth just ahead of local riderIan Quirk in fifth. The Expert Open 2T class saw James Jackman take first overall with a ride that put him up in the Pro ranks just ahead of AMCA Champion Brad O'Leary. Richard Main continued his good form to take second overall in the class with Mike Turner taking third. David Maddrell did well to take fourth overall in one of the events most competitive classes. Tsar Sheane was just behid him in fifth. The awards presentation was held at the Ginger Hall Inn at Sulby, some two miles from the track. The venue was packed out at the evening awards ceremony, which covered both the days event and the overall Championship placings. It was a chance for riders to let their hair down and get to know each other socially. Though the ceremony was over by 9.00pm the party went on until the early hours as each round of the Championship Series was discussed in the greatest possible detail but it was generally agreed that the Jurby event was by far the best of them all. With eight rounds planned for next years Series many of the riders were asking that at least two of them be on the Isle of Man. Obviously, the place had made quite an impression. Apart from the racing and unique course, the weekend was really suited to families who had the opportunity to be involved and to socialise in a relaxed atmosphere. This really was an excellent end to an excellent series. Congratulations to Putoline, Fast Eddy Racing and all who were involved in making the Series such a success. Results Pro 1 Mike Kock 2 Greg Evans 3 Barry Kinley 4 Lee Edmondson 5 Darren Wheeler Expert Open 4T 1 Drew Harvey 2 Anthony Dean 3 Steve Grimshaw 4 Ben Swambo 5 Ian Quirk Expert Open 2T 1 James Jackman 2 Richard Main 3 Mike Turner 4 David Maddrell 5 Tsar Sheane Clubman Open 4T 1 Dave Grimshaw 2 Sean O'Neill 3 Rob Bentham 4 Stuart Keedwell 5 Jason Phillips Clubman Open 2T 1 Mike Jackson 2 Dennis Harrison 3 John Wheeler 4 Mike O'Leary 5 Jon Pucci Clubman 125/250f 1 Sam Robinson 2 James Harvey 3 Geoff Dale 4 Dylan Cain 5 Simon Mountford Novice 1 Sean Baker 2 Dan Darnley 3 Robbie Turner 4 Lance Hurdsman 5 Gavin Faircloth Championship Results Pro 1 Paul Edmondson 2 Mike Kock 3 Simon Wakeley Expert Open 4T 1 Lewis King 2 Jonathan Hayman 3 Drew Harvey Expert Open 2T 1 Asley Wood 2 James Jackman 3 Richard Warner Clubman Open 4T 1 Dave Livesey 2 Mike Willis 3 Dave Grimshaw Clubman Open 2T 1 John Wheeler 2 Darren Pyne 3 Dennis Harrison Clubman 125/250f 1 Darren Phillips 2 Sam Robinson 3 James Harvey Novice 1 Lance Hurdsman 2 Sean Renvoize 3 Mark Sherry
My first Putoline XC event didn't quite go to plan. I had prepared well, had plenty of practice and was mentally up for the challenge, even though the course was mainly sand. PAR Homes supplied me with a superb CRF250X, complete with a magic button, electric start. Fast Eddy Racing had kitted me out well and all was set for the Jurby event. I was a little apprehensive about riding on sand but received plenty of helpful advice from numerous riders - 'pin it!' - so with plenty of encouragement from my mate and riding partner, Rob Passmore, I headed out onto the course for the Friday practice session. Coming from a Trials background I spent plenty of time on the pegs standing up, weight back and dropping down a gear in the deep sand sections, while pinning it. It took me half a lap to realise I was looking over the front mudguard, not up the track. Once I readjusted, things improved dramatically and I really started to enjoy myself. The 250X was sweet and definitely pulled me out of trouble in many spots. I overcame the initial concern of falling off fairly quickly, as I fell off on the first lap! Not too serious, virtually everyone out there was falling at some stage and I reckoned to try and keep the falls down to one per lap. Having looked at the course earlier in the day my main concern was a deep sand cut-through, which had a stepped drop-off into it. First time around there were two riders down in it and I managed to navigate around them and keep my feet up. Great! I could feel he speed increasing as I became more familiar with the bike and the course and having nailed it up one of the steep banks to get onto the homeward stretch of track, I was soon at the cut-through once again. With no fallers in front I decided to really go for it and soon realised as the front wheel disappeared that I may have been a tad over-confident. Thanks to the rider who offered to pick me up after I slammed into the side-wall of the cut-through, (my imprint is still there!) but I didn't feel too bad once I got my breath back. Sore ribs and a mouthful of sand didn't deter me from another lap but as I pulled in for a drink the pain hit home and I realised all was not well. One broken rib and four cracked left me with the whole weekend wondering - 'if only!' A big thanks to Rob Passmore who took over my sponsored ride duties and banged in an excellent 12 laps during his race in the 125/250f Clubman race. A big thanks also to PAR Homes Paul Rowlands and Fast Eddy's Paul Edmondson who made it all possible to try my hand at Cross Country racing. I know I can do it and now I have a point to prove - to myself. I'll be back |
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Nirvana
The
course was the most challenging of the Series. Set on the North West coast
of the island, at Jurby, it offered deep sand and scrub areas with quite a
few sharp inclines thrown in for good measure with a magnificent backdrop
of sandy beaches and waves crashing against the shore.
Down and
Out, Temporarily by Tim Tighe