enduro news
© Bob Mullins   

Firbank

The Westmorland club staged there well supported D3 sponsored Firbank hare scramble last weekend despite the snow and icy conditions, using the clubs own land comprising of a large moor land fell, with climbs, gullies, and lots of bogs!!, the 5 mile course was set to give the riders a good work out, Steve Dent and his team had spent the previous week setting out and plotting the challenging course. The Westmorland club and D3 had worked hard to attract a lot of first time riders to try the event and therefore it was decided to run a 2 race format in order to give the new riders an easy time in a 90 minute sportsman only .race. At 10.30 am the start signal was given to the eager sportsman riders, they blasted off around the firbanks circuit, after 90 minutes of hard riding there was only 72 seconds separating the top 3 riders with the eventual winner being Paul Ashton from second placed Alistair Rowland and Carl Batty third the bulk of the sportsman riders although tired enjoyed the event,.

During the break between the races the dedicated Westmorland crew repaired and altered the track ready for the main event of the day comprising of the Experts, Clubman and Veteran riders , at 1.15pm the start signal was given and the experts lead the way around the Firbank track , after a couple of laps Gav Houson mps racing husqvarna was out in the lead on his 125 despite the power sapping bogs , Michael Irving was with the front runners during the early stages but destroyed his chain on his husky4st and was forced into an early retirement , meanwhile Gav Houson had picked up the pace and was flying by lap 6 he had a lead of 7 minutes before disaster struck, the little husky which normally refuels after 90 minutes , ran out of fuel at the 80 minute mark leaving Gav stranded on the course,, the D3 supported Hazlett brothers now took up the expert lead with warren leading brother Gavin , old timer Mark Houson was making steady progress in the expert class and was holding 5th place , at 3.45 the chequered flag came out which Warren Hazlett took as the winning expert following in second place was brother Gavin with Keith Barnes in third . In the clubman classes Stephen Dixon took the E1win from Paul Westgarth while Michael Wilson took the victory in the clubman open class he also produced the fastest clubman lap of the day with a 13 minutes and 13 seconds a lap time which was the second fastest of all the classes , with only Gav houson being quicker In the 040 class rob butler finished first and was the only other rider to complete 11 laps along with the winning expert warren hazlet, Anthony crowe took second in the 040 on his husky 125.

As the riders filtered away cold but with smiles on there faces the Westmorland club have produced another fine Firbank's event, Steve and the Westmorland club would like to thank all the marshals and officials that gave up there time to run the event and to D3 of Kendal for there support.

Anderson Banks the Win at Firbanks.

Westmoreland M.C.C ran their popular D3 supported H&H at the Firbanks Venue. Despite weeks of heavy rain, the course had started to dry making the event possible. The Westmoreland team led by the enthusiastic Steve Dent had plotted a challenging but rideable course of around 13 mins for the Clubman rider, consisting of a mixture of gullies, off cambers and hill climbs.

In the morning the Novice/Trail race of 1:5 hours duration commenced. These classes are mainly designed to bring new comers into the sport which is what they achieved attracting a dozen new riders. One of the new riders Mark Beale raced his first event and showed a well determined effort after losing his chain. In the Trail class Local rider Ian Stainton put in an outstanding performance on his vintage Kawasaki complete with under- slung exhaust. In second place was Ian Parker and third went to David Grundy. All the Trail bike riders can feel pleased with their achievement on limited machinery. The Novice race was a close affair with Ian Ashton taking the victory from David Coultas in second and Alistair Rowland in the third. All the riders in these classes thoroughly enjoyed the day, most expressing how good it was to have their own race.

1:45PM saw the Experts/Over 40 and the Clubman classes lined up ready for the off. In the Expert line the hole shot was taken by 'The Daddy' Justin Wilson but this lead didn't last for long. Brad Anderson moto-cross star cruised past Justin Wilson on board his bikesport 250 Yamaha which had been fitted with a larger fuel tank, which ensured he only had to fuel once. In third place in the early stages was Will Midgely on a 200 KTM. By the mid way point of the 2 and ½ hour race Anderson had pulled out a 3 minute lead on Justin Wilson who had to refuel twice. As the course started to deteriorate Justin was closing in on Anderson who was finding the gulley/boggy sections tricky. As the Expert riders came in for their last lap Wilson was only 15 seconds behind Brad Anderson. Putting up a heroic charge Wilson reduced the gap even further. But Wilson crashed and the bike would not start so Brad eased away to a well deserved victory, which was made even sweeter as he rode the last hour with a flat front tyre. Michael Irvine put up a steady race to keep off the other Experts to secure third place. The top 3 experts completed 12 full laps. Fourth in the Experts was Rob Butler a regular over 40 rider, having a go in the Expert class and showing the Expert riders a thing or two. A creditable 5th place went to Vince Harker. Both Rob and Vince completed 11 full laps. The over 40 was won by old hand Nigel Fallows on board his Husquvarna. He looked to be revelling in the conditions. David Selkeld looked to have another good ride coming second place. But he looked some what under powered on his CRX 250 Honda. Third place went to Scottish veteran Andrew McConnel on board his 300 Gas Gas. Gavin Linscott Bikesport boss (left) having a wrestle. In the Clubman E1 class Stuart Mowbray put in a controlled ride to take the E1 victory from Anthony Crowe who came Second. Third place went to Adam Smith. A good first ride was had by Aaron Dent who came 6th in the Clubman E1 class having previously only rode in youth H&H. In the Club E2/E3 Stef Butterworth took the honours from the hard charging Steve Hunter with Warren Hazlett taking third place. 

The Westmoreland club can feel pleased with their days work. The riders thoroughly enjoyed the days sport. Steve and his team would like to thank D3 RACING for their support and all the marshalls who helped. See you all next year for the next 'Firbanks'.