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Hafren 2010 |
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    Hafren Enduro Report by Bob Mullins Photo by Keith Davies The 3rd round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship trundled into the picturesque Mid Wales town of Lanidloes on Friday 4th June. The start was at the Rugby club and the weather in Llani was beautiful. With a European and a World round under their belts. the Hafren club have assembled a professional team who make the complex challenges of putting on a major event appear to be seemingly effortless. At 3.00pm scrutineering began. All the bikes had their major components marked with paint before they were housed overnight in the Park Ferme. Following concerns raised about the noise output of some bikes at the Scottish round, the ACU introduced an amendment to the regulations and a random selections of bikes were tested. David Stokes, Craig Reynolds and Robert Jones were amongst the riders who had to represent their machines with modified pipes. Even a traveling marshal had his KDX tested and it scraped through on 94db, MPS Racing's Tom Braddock went for a corporate look to match the new transporter with a Husqvarna red sunburn. Leyton Roberts borrowed Ade Dealey's KTM which he hoped would prove to be more reliable than his own 200exc. Neville King's collection of Techno CDs - broadcast over the PA from the guard's tower - encouraged everyone to strive for Victory through Work. Scrutineering finished at 7.00pm and the ACU held a training session on the use of the noise testing equipment before everyone wandered off to enjoy the summer's evening and relax in the bars and restaurants of Llani.
After the test the riders began the 45 mile lap around the Hafren forest. There were twp and a half laps for the Championship and 2 laps for the rest. Following Check 1 the course divided into two with a Championship/ Experts loop and a Clubman route. For the top boys it was a "Stickfest" as there has been a considerable amount of felling in the forest recently. Jon Hinam, Dave Brick and Gethin Price all shredded their mooses. On his 2nd cross country test, the front wheel of David Knight's KTM530 demolished a shailly berm and the big thumper went down but he kept the motor running and again set the fastest time. Dust was a problem for some riders. Army rider Danny Jones missed a turning and he rode check 4 twice. There was some water about. Dan Phillips found a bog big enough to bury his KTM and he dropped 6 minutes. Tom Sagar lost time when he dropped his bike on ST4 & short circuited his electrics. Alex Rockwell's Husqvarna cut out on the last lap when his battery charger became disconnected. Frazer Norrie also lost his power when his coil bolts undid. Euan McConnell flattened his exhaust and went through 4 plugs before diagnosing a faulty CDI.unit. Charlie Evans' injury elbow gave him too much grief to carry on. Joe Deakin lost 30 minutes when he holed his radiator. Mark Roberts crashed heavily on his final cross country test and although his bike made the Parc Ferme he was a doubtful day 2 starter. Craig Reynolds went to hospital with a suspected broken collarbone. On the last lap the Championship class rode the cross country and MX tests back to back. David Knight had found his rhythm and he extended his lead. The Working area became a hot bed of controversy over the interpretation of a ACU rule concerning assistance. It was decided that in this case it was not allowed. Aaron Poolman trapped his rear tyre clamp under the bead and his Midwest team set up a duplicate wheel for him to practice releasing it in the morning. The Day 1 results were posted by 6.30pm. David Knight was the overall winner from Greg Evans. Paul Edmondson was 3rd. Danny McCanney was the best of the Experts ahead of Gavin Houson. Jack Twentyman won the Vet A class from Murray Thomson. The best Clubman was Steve Holcombe and Gethin Humphreys was the runner up. With the course in perfect condition very few riders incurred time penalties.
After the event David Knight said "It was good. It was about getting back into the Welsh grass tests. It was slippery early on and I couldn't afford to make any mistakes because of Greg. You can struggle a bit on these big bikes to find grip and you can't get on the power. It was long way between tests and I would like to see more cross country tests but the course was good. On the last two tests, up at the farm, when I had built up a lead, I could ride harder. I really enjoyed it". Paul Edmondson said "Cracking event. Real good course. The special tests were obviously enjoyable. It was like the World round but a lot drier". Results Saturday Sunday Photos facebook Ian Ramsbottom Keith Bowen Keith Davies
The British Enduro Championship returned to the Hafren Club this weekend and used similar tests to the 2008 WEC event, but this time we enjoyed hot and sunny conditions. Although is was dry the first grassy MX test each day at 9.00am near the paddock was very slippery. Greg Evans aboard his 305 KTM claimed the first test win by just over a second from Knighter on the mighty 530, Daryl hit a hidden stone in the grass and crashed which cost him several seconds and dropped him down the order. For the next test it was up to the Jones farm for a cross-country test which used open grassy cambered field's and some woodland and not at all dissimilar to the test we had raced the week before in the Sprint. The grass here was also very slick, Knighter took control and beat Greg by 2 seconds with Daryl just a couple more behind. The day would see 4 cross country tests at the farm and a total of 3 mx tests down near the paddock, combined with long lap in the Hafren forest to be ridden 2.5 times. For the KORR riders the day went without too much incident, Greg couldn't quite keep pace with Knighter in the cross country but dominated the E2 class only a few seconds behind David, Daryl had worked his way back into the E1 class lead but was struggling due to a very bad stomach bug and later in the day had to settle for second behind a determined Fast Eddy who just beat him in the final MX test, that earlier fall on Test 1 had cost Daryl the day win.
Julian Stevens “The weekend has been very positive for the whole KORR team, all riders are showing great form at the moment and that's down to the hard work they have been putting in and concentrating on riding quality Enduro events such as the British Enduro Sprint Championship, which I am convinced has raised their speed and allowed us to perfect our machine set up. We are able to run at a pace very close to Knighter now and that shows what level we are at, it would be very interesting to see what we could achieve in a WEC event now !! “ Darly Bolter E1 “I have had a mixed weekend, my speed was good on Saturday but a small accident and a bad stomach prevented me from riding at my best and to loose again in the final tests was very disappointing, But on Sunday I was feeling much better and rode confidently to control my E1 class and take the win, so far this season at each BEC event I have had some small issues and the competition is fierce so there is no room for mistake's, I am really feeling optimistic for the 2nd half of the championship, every race we are finding more speed, thanks to all the team and sponsors.”
Round three of the British Enduro championship was held in the Hafren Forest in Wales at the weekend, where Putoline Suzuki by www.fasteddyracing.com riders Tom Sagar and Paul Edmondson both held onto second place in their respective classes. With the two special tests being held on contrasting surfaces, one on grass and very flat, the other though woodland, Paul Edmondson contested the E1 four-stroke class, taking the lead on the Saturday. He took it a little too steady on day two, however, and didn't allow himself enough time to pull back, losing the lead to Daryl Bolter.
Paul Edmondson, team manager, commented: “With great track conditions we all had some good racing. We moved the ignition switch on Tom's RMX450Z to ensure it wouldn’t get caught if he had a crash. However, he took a tumble on day one and dislodged the switch, which unfortunately lost him time, but with two rounds left we are still in with a chance of claiming two class wins. Also, well done to Lee Edmondson again, who managed to get eighth overall on day one and took two seconds in the E1 two-stroke class.” The next British Enduro championship round - the 'Knighton Enduro' - is on July 10th and 11th in Wales.
This weekend saw Gas Gas UK rider Ashley Wood put in another strong performance at the Hafren Enduro, Mid Wales. Finishing the first day in seventh place overall and third in E2 class Wood engaged in a fierce battle with Midwest Husaberg's Ollie Moyce. With the course to his liking he pushed hard throughout the day, beating Moyce on three of a possible seven tests although a small mistake on the final test saw him slide from fifth to seventh position. Forecast rain arrived over night and had dampened the opening motocross test but Wood was out for the kill and set some stunning times as the day wore on. Again a small mistake saw Wood drop down the results table and he was forced to settle for twelfth overall and sixth in class. "Overall I'm happy with how my weekend has gone; Saturday was a better day for me although I was gutted not have beaten Ollie into sixth place. My bike was perfect over both days and the course was one of the best I've ever ridden. Sunday didn't go as well as I'd hoped but I was pushing just a little too hard and the front end washed out on one of the tests towards the end of the day. It was frustrating but there's nothing I can do about it, I know I had the pace so I'm happy with that."
Scotland's Euan McConnell had mixed results at the third round of the British Enduro Championship at Llanidloes in mid Wales on the weekend. The D3 KTM rider suffered a non finish on Saturday, then recovered on Sunday to finish fourth in the E2 class and was ninth overall. “Having spent little time on the bike since my last event at Harwood, I wasn't expecting much at the Hafren,” said the Championship rider. “We arrived on Thursday evening and Friday was a quiet day as I caught up with friends and walked the tests. “Sign on and scrutineering went easy. After a complaint was made at Lossie Enduro about the noise of some bikes there was a focus on noise at the Hafren. Thankfully my KTM passed first time. “Saturday dawned to warm sunshine. I set off confident that I had made the right tyre choice. I rode a steady first test, but still had a small off on an off-camber corner. My time was really good considering and I was upbeat about my chances for the day. I was a few seconds further back on the longer Enduro test, but again higher up the order than I had expected. “Unfortunately the first ride of the tight check was disappointing as I knew it would be easy to clean later in the day. I can understand that times are set to be cleanable, but why not make them so that everybody loses time or put some difficult bits in to challenge the riders? It seems that our enduros are becoming more and more like trail rides with little to challenge the rider between tests. I fear for our emerging younger riders who now have little to prepare them for World Championships. I relayed my comments to some marshals at the end of the check on the first lap. “Perhaps I spoke to soon as on the second lap a lapse of concentration caused me to flatten my expansion pipe on a stump. About half an hour later my bike fouled a plug. I thought it was because it was running too rich with the squashed pipe. Then a minute later another. Having run out of plugs I started pushing (thanks to Andrew Edwards for the third plug!). “Pushing a bike is hard work in the hot sun with no food or drink - certainly a challenge! Unfortunately I failed to finish and had to get a lift back to the paddock in a van. Thanks to Phil Smithson and Jack of Raptor Racing for a lift back to the paddock. “I replaced the front pipe and replaced the spark plug only for it to foul within minutes. I then started a process of elimination, checking the reeds, the carburettor, airfilter, electrical switches etc. Just when I was about to give up hope, I borrowed a CDI unit form Fraser Norrie. The bike started first kick! I tested the bike for ten minutes and then put it in Parc Ferme without changing tyres as I had ridden so little. “Sunday again dawned bright, but there had been a tiny bit of rain in the night. The first test was in reverse direction and I really struggled as I had lost the edge from my tyres. My time was way off, same on the second test. I had some work to do but knew as others lost the edge from their tyres and the tests dried out I would be at less of a disadvantage so I kept pushing. For once I prayed for no rain! “My tests got quicker and quicker and considering the lack of riding my last few tests were faster than I could really expect. In the end I was ninth on Sunday. “I am now looking forward to Knighton in July and hope with some practice and bike set-up I can be back on the pace of the front runners. “Thanks to Kylie, Tracy, Johnny, Jimmy and Dod for their invaluable support at the checks.”
I made my return to the British enduro championship competition at the hafren enduro this past weekend. It was my first timecard enduro since suffering a very severe concussion the week after round 1 of the series (muntjac) where i had achieved a very promising result despite being my bec comeback after a back injury . Unfortunately the injury meant that i had to take two months complete rest including missing rds 2&3 of the bec in Scotland as well as the first European championship round in France. I started to slowly get back on my bike at the start of may. The injury had made an even bigger impact to my riding than i expected and i struggled with confidence aswell as “keeping up” with the bike due to the effect the injury had on my fitness as well as my head. Thankfully i managed to make small improvements each time i rode and made my return to racing last weekend at the last rounds of the British enduro sprint championship. I started the weekend over a minute of the pace that i would have hoped to have been on this year but managed to improve over the weekend to being only 20second off. So for the hafren i was just hoping to have a enjoyable event without any mistakes and make further improvement. The first day started well with my test times being better than expected. This helped my confidence improve although when i rode the “tight” check on the first lap i only had 3 minutes to spare when i knew that it would be going down by a further 7 minutes over the day. On the second lap it was due to be 4 minutes tighter so i needed to push on! Unfortunately i clipped my gear lever on a tree stump not long into the check which bent it around my footrest. This meant that it was a struggle to change gear and keep my boot on the footrest. But i carried on pushing hard to tryed and limit the damage. When i made it to the end of the check i was surprised and pleased to see that i just managed to make it in on time J the rest of the day went well staying on time on the last lap and my back to back times on the mx test being better than expected. Also when looking at the results i was pleased to see that due to some riders having problems or inconsistency i managed 19th o/a in the championship class and 3rd e3 class rider J On day 2 i awoke feeling the effects of day 1 but was looking forward to making more improvement. My first two tests went very well being more competitive than day1. Unfortunately on the first lap off the checks i started to feel the effects of my rear shock starting to leak. I made the hard decision to change the shock which meant that i fell over ten minutes behind time. With no other championship riders losing time i decided to clock in early which meant more penalties but i could ride the back to back tests with the rest of the class. I struggled with physical and mental tiredness and trying to get my head into gear for these last tests knowing that i was so far behind anyone with the time lost. Due to this i was only 24th in the championship and 5th e3. Overall I’m pleased with the improvement i made this weekend. Thanks to
everyone who has helped my recovery from my injury’s especially my family
and friends, Rob Sartin, Steve plain, john shirt, the gasgas uk team and all
the sponsors. My next event will be the welsh 2 day enduro at the end of the
month. I aim to make further improvement, i know that there’s a long way to
where i want to be but I’m determined to get there!
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Day 1 The warm summer sun made short work of the
morning mist but a heat haze lingered and shaded the riders as they
prepared for the day ahead. The race began at 9.00am. The MX test was in the
field next to the start. In conditions that suited him perfectly, Greg Evans
won the first test of the day by 1 second from David Knight. The riders then rode around the medieval Market Hall
and north to
cross country test at Geraint Jones'
farm. The
main features of the test were a 10 foot "step off" and a 40 feet bank
which dropped into a wet patch of mud
that gripped the front wheel and punched it through the bars. It could
have been laid out by Chris "Kiwi" Hockey to test out his "Dr
Shox" handy work. Geraint pre-rode the test and despite the
warm sun there was still some dew on the grass under the trees. David Knight
was cautious on the big 530 but he still set the fastest time.
Day 2 More blue skies. The course
was the same as Day 1 but
the MX test was reversed. There was a 5 minute delay as the gate to the MX
field was padlocked. The schedule was two laps for the
Champs/Experts and one and half for the Clubmen. At 4.00an a sharp shower wet the grass
which suited Greg
Evans and he once again won the first test of the day. Mark Roberts' ribs were
clearly too painful for him to ride. Tom Braddock also had to retired to
return home on family business. Mike Bailey's mooses popped
out on the Experts loop after check 1. Fellow REME rider Jase Corden finished
6th in the clubman class on day 1 but he had a carburetor problem on day 2. Aaron Poolman lost
3 spokes in the Stickfest. He repaired the wheel at the picnic site service stop but he had to
take the tyre off a second time at the farm to get it balanced. At noon a bank
of low cloud swept across the forest and brought down the visibility on the
higher parts of the course. It left as quickly as it came & the afternoon
was bathed in beautiful sunshine. Ollie Moyce commented "2 days in Wales
without rain, is this a record". The Championship and the Experts class
rode the final XC & MX tests back to back. David Knight was
the overall winner ahead of KORR's Greg Evans. Putoline Suzuki Fast Eddy's Tom Sagar
was 3rd & KORR's Daryl Bolter was 4th. Fast Eddy team
manager Paul Edmondson was 5th. A super charged Alex "Rocky"
Rockwell took 6th for the MPS Racing team despite sustaining a painful burn on
his forehead - resting it on a hot exhaust. Ollie Moyce brought the Midwest
Husaberg home in 7th. Andrew Edwards was lucky to keep going after a rock hit
is chain off and he locked up With special test times comparable
to the
Championship class, Danny McCanney the best of the Experts. Gavin Houson was
the runner up, Jonny Walker was 3rd and KB Racing's Lewis Belfield was 4th.
Once again Jack Twentyman and Murray Thomson topped the Vets A table. The
clubman class again went to Steve Holcombe and Gethin Humphries. Russell
Millward was the best of the Vets B. Phil Smithson was 2nd & Neil Williams
was 3rd. Late starter Jason Way was riding his 2nd enduro and he did well to
finish in the Vets.
KORR
team report
On
day 2 the conditions where slightly cooler and again Greg set the pace on the
first MX grassy test winning by 2 seconds from Dk and Bolter , in the next
Crosscountry Knighter forced on to win each of the 4 tests with Greg, Bolter
and Tom Sagar battling behind. Daryl was feeling much better on Sunday and was
easily controlling his E1 class lead and Likewise Greg set the pace in E2
until a small mistake allowed Sagar to move in front by a couple of seconds.
The final MX test was used twice with back to back tests and Greg had to dig
deep if he was to beat the former British Champion Sagar. Greg produced 2
faultless tests which pushed Knighter to the max and beat Sagar by several
seconds and took a well earned runner up position to David Knight and the E2
Class win again. Daryl also held his position with 2 strong tests and also won
the E1 class making it a KTM 1,2,3 .
TEAM
SUZUKI ENDURO RIDERS FIGHT FOR CLASS WINS
A
small crash on the first day for Tom Sagar put his time back slightly, but he
was able to ride strongly on day two and with rival Greg Evans within his
sights, Sagar was just pipped to the post and remains in second in the E2
class.
Gas
Gas UK Enduro Team - Ashley Wood
McConnell's mixed fortunes at Hafren scorcher
Brad
king at hafren bec 2010