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2009 Putoline XC Championship - Organised by Fast Eddy Racing |
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 PUTOLINE/FAST
EDDY READY FOR THIS WEEKENDRD 6 AT BADEN HALL STAFFORDSHIRE It's all systems go for round 6 of the Putoline Fast Eddy at Baden Hall ,Nr Eccleshall, Staffs this weekend. With a morning youth event and mid-day adult race taking place at this superb location in Staffordshire, the event promises to be another cracker and with support from the WOR events course building team and fast eddy's brother Lee out and about during the race all is in place for this prestigious round. The final of this years championship will be announced at this weekends event and will probably run in the middle of September (on a Saturday). With championships up for grabs and a reduced entry fee of just £40 for adults and £30 youth and no hidden extra's the fast eddy crew are trying to help riders in these current times. Entries are available now by calling 01543 370070 - MANDY or 01543 685430 KATH. As usual it is a pay on the day event. Hope to see you there. FAST EDDY TEAM
The fifth round of the Putoline Fast Eddy XC Championship was held at Robins Mountain, near Abergele, last weekend. The venue, which is regular on the WOR calendar, had a superbly set out extensive course which gave the adult class a good 12minute plus lap. Full Report Following the, somewhat, torrential rain of Saturday night the course was in perfect condition by the time the Youth race had started. The temperature was rapidly climbing over the course of the morning but the rain had helped soften some of the track and kept the dust down in other sections. The course was fast, flowing and hard with no place to rest and although the Youth race was a slightly shortened course from the adult layout, the two and a half hour race in the afternoon was gruelling in the heat with most riders suffering from very sore hands by the finish. A few steep climbs and descents with open moorland leading into small wooded areas gave riders a choice of terrain to test themselves on. Ash Bowden, who essentially lead from the start to the finish, took the overall win in the Youth race with 14 laps to his credit; he also took the 125cc & 250f class win. Andrew Bull took a second overall in the race closely followed home by Jack Edmondson who had steadily worked his way up through the field. This second place gave Andrew the win in the 85ccBW class ahead of Rhian George and Hannah Hope, the two girls giving Bully a run for his money during the race itself. Thomas James followed Jack home in fourth place overall to claim second place in the 125cc & 250f class with Joe Griffiths third. Oliver Benton was victorious in the 85ccSW class although Adam James had led for quite a while until two punctures and a big crash put him out of contention. Harrison Bell went on to take second spot ahead of Luke Rudd in third. Second place in the 65cc class went to Brad Sullivan with Ryan Rowlands taking third. Rowlands had challenged for the lead in the 65cc class a couple of times but was seen to be battling with Harry (Potman) Edmondson over several laps which meant that big brother Jack could put the hammer down, make a steady climb up to third in the race and have a clear lap advantage over second place Sullivan and two laps over Rowlands by the finish. The Adult race sat basking on the line under the midday sun but it was small respite compared to the task in front of them. Two and a half hours with no place to rest would take its toll. JKJ Motorcycles' Mark Roberts led the charge and soon he had pulled quite a gap on the pack save for Ben Wootton who was always in touch with the leader. The pair were saving themselves for a big push near the finish time but Wootton's hope were dashed when he caught a post with his hand and cruised for the remaining few laps as Roberts put on a spurt and won the race by a clear lap. Jason Hope was gaining all the time on a slowing Wootton but couldn't quite close the gap and took third in the Expert class. Wyn Hope made a rare outing in the Expert Vets class along with Peter Clarke. These two riders battled from the start and on the last lap were just seconds apart, both after the win and pushing hard but it was Hope who succeeded with Clarke second. As the crossed the finish line it was clear they had only a few more yards left in them but found time to discuss each lap and give a blow by blow account of the race. Gethin Humphries had his dad and brother in the race, although in different classes, and despite family pressure went well in the Clubman class taking the win by just over half a minute from Sean O'Neill who was feeling the heat. Joe Wootton continued his good form by taking third overall in a very tough race. Chris Pryce took the Sportsman class with ease. He had two laps clear from second placed Alec Trawford, who usually goes well in these events but the high temperatures affected him badly. Iain McGuigan got to within four minutes of Trawf to take third place in class. Danny Morris, Sam Alderman and Kieron Jones battled hard for the Novice win with Morris coming out on top, but only by a couple of minutes gained on the final few laps. Alderman took second with Jones third. Morris now moves up into the Sportsman class for the next round of the series. Kev Freeman had his work cut out keeping Ian Strudley and Kev 'I'll Kill Ya' Humphries at bay but he managed it and won the Veterans class by three minutes from Strudley with Humphries third. Fast Eddy decided on two and a half hours duration for the afternoon race and the riders certainly got value for money with only a few begging for mercy at the two hour mark. Neil Wrigley deserves a mention. He nearly died of exhaustion try to catch brother Tim and banged in 10 laps in the Veterans class, failing to realise Tim had retired from the Clubman class after just one lap following his usual weekly fall. Robins Mountain was at its best on Sunday. It was hot, hard, rough and dusty but the day provided some great racing across all classes. Results Adults Youths
A welcome return to the two-day format for the Putoline XC Championship series saw the Fast Eddy crew out in strength at Bicton near Shrewsbury last weekend. With over 35 entrants in the Youth race on Saturday afternoon the short but interesting Bicton course was bathed in sunshine. Saturday morning saw BEC champion Tom Sagar assisting Paul and Lee Edmondson with their training course which was followed by the fourth round of the Youth series. Once again George Bayliss took top spot ahead of Andrew Bull, who was on an 85cc, with both riders clocking up 18 laps over the 90 minutes of the race. Bayliss not only took the overall win but also the class win in the 125/250f class ahead of Tom James in second place and Liam Phillips in third. Bull took the 85/150cc class win a lap clear of Harland White in second and two laps up on third placed Callum McLean. Oli Benton cleaned up in the 85 cc small wheel class with Adam James hot on his heels, both on 17 laps. Jack Edmondson continued his winning ways by taking the 65cc class win ahead of Alex Walton and Jack Law. The course was spot on and although a little shorter than usual it provided plenty of challenges with fast open field sections, off camber turns and a couple of woodland sections. As Sunday dawned for the two main races of the weekend, the weather threatened heavy rain and shortly after the start of the morning race the grip had turned to slip for the Vets, Novice and Sportsmen riders. Heavy showers pounded the course with bright spells in between making conditions tough, especially in the woodland sections with steep off camber banks to negotiate. Sportsman Alec Trawford put in an excellent ride to take the overall win by two clear laps from second placed rider Danny Morris in the Novice class. Trawford's win saw Mike Pickin take second in the Sportsmen and Adam Gould third. Ian Strudley topped the Vets, two laps clear of Haydn Bowen in second as Stuart Jones finished in third. With Morris a country mile clear of second placed Chris Coulson in the Novice class who in turn was a lap up on Anthony Hall in third. By the end of the morning race the weather had improved significantly and as the afternoon race got underway things looked good but the strong winds soon moved rain clouds back across the venue and the woodland section became more of an extreme section. With some foresight, the Fast Eddy crew had removed tapes from the section and gave riders a free range, enabling them to pick their own line. A few of the riders couldn't find any line at all but with some effort most struggled through. With the field sections getting slippier with each lap it was Christian Walton's experience in the Expert Veterans that saw him take the overall win, much to the surprise of James Jackman in the Expert class. Jackman was sure he had won but Walton had it when the lap results were checked. Jackman took the Expert win but it was something of a consolation prize. Although he was sandwiched between two other Expert Vets, Peter Clarke, who took second in class and Wyn Hope who took third, proving that in such treacherous conditions experience counts. Derek Bawn slithered his way to second in the Experts, two laps clear of Martin Jones, third. Gareth Delayhay was top Clubman rider and just missed out on a top five overall place. Steve Holcombe was a little way behind him, as was Jim Buchanan who took third. Thankfully common sense prevailed and the race was cut short at around 1 hour 40 minutes. Conditions were appalling and every rider who finished must have felt some personal victory had been achieved. Bicton is a good venue but unluckily the weather has been unkind over the last couple of Fast Eddy visits. Hopefully it will be third time lucky later in the year; this will be a superb venue in the dry. Next Event With the next championship not being until late in June Fast Eddy and the crew look forward to seeing you at a fun event at Ashby de la Zouch on June 14th. For more details check out www.fasteddyracing.com
The third round of the Putoline XC Championship enjoyed excellent Easter weather at the Ashby de la Zouch venue as the series really hotted-up. Organised by Fasteddyracing.com the 7km course used only half of the course used by the GBXC events last year. The ground was considerably drier and the course quite technical but it didn't stop the Expert riders from top-gearing it along many of the straights. With plenty of small but technical woodland diversions the course gave plenty of variety to riders and really suited all levels and abilities. Before the main race of the day, the Youth riders used virtually the whole of the adult course and managed it with ease. As the Experts blasted of and hit the first straight, Lewis Belfield had a horrendous crash as a pack of riders put the power down. He eventually picked himself up and managed five laps before retiring. Linc Brewster continued his good form and pulled out quite a lead but he didn't count on Darren Carter, who dug deep and closed to within a couple of seconds of Brewster at the chequered flag, both on an incredible 16 laps. Jack Twentyman showed he still has what it takes with a solid third place.Young Joe Jones couldn't quite match them and took a creditable fourth, a lap up on Anthony Dean in fifth place. The top three Expert Vets matched each other lap-for-lap. Ryan Griffiths just took the win from Wynn Hope, with Dennis Harrison third, Richard Main fourth and Marcel Woon fifth. Scotty Clifford had a great outing finishing sixth overall. He blitzed the Clubman class ahead of Steve Holcombe, both on 14 laps, as Sean O'Neill took third ahead of Richard Cookland and Lee Hattersley. Glenn Coltman won in the Veterans class as Keith Patstone nailed a solid second place, closely followed by Simon Bastow, with Lee Ioannou and Lee Carpenter fourth and fifth. Alec Trawford battled hard with Chris Pryce in the Sportsman class, the two were a lap clear of the rest of the class, and Trawford finally claimed victory with Pryce second and Steve Thornton third. Alex West and Kevin Byrne, in fourth and fifth, completed the top five line-up. In the large Novice class, Dan Spencer put in 12 superb laps to take the class by a clear lap over second placed Kelvyn Hammer who had Darren Thorpe and Kieron Jordan breathing down his neck in third and fourth spots as John Gill took fifth. Rhian George's excellent ride in the Youth race saw her take the overall win from Jack Staines and Harland White, all three in the 85cc big wheel/ 150cc class. Callum McLean took fourth in class and Charlie Sclater fifth. Jack Edmondson took fourth overall but won the 65cc class with ease, a lap up on second placed Ben Coleman. Brad Sullivan took third ahead of Ben Clarke and Harry Edmondson in fifth. Tom James won the 125/250cc class on nine laps, a lap ahead of second placed Tom Sargents and Jordan Lines in third. Only two riders in the 85cc small wheel class and Adam James came out on top ahead of Luke Wade. The third round of the Putoline XC Championship wasn't the biggest ever witnessed but it was quality through and through. The course was spot on and the racing excellent. Yet another success for the fasteddyracing team.
A new venue greeted riders for the second round of the Putoline XC Championship last Sunday and looks to become a popular place to return to over the coming season. Despite the horrendous wet weather over the past few weeks, compounded by thawing snow, the course was in good shape but many riders hearts sank when they realised they had to be towed onto the paddock. Good organisation by Fast Eddy and the landowners saw no dramas and everything went like clockwork as two tractors got everyone on and off the grassy paddock. The course was a little sticky in places, two large and undulating fields joined together by an interesting woodland section with a choice of routes through the trees and a slightly different course for the first race of the day, the Youth riders. George Bayliss, who had blitzed the opening round of the championship in Kent, returned for another blitzkrieg in Bicton taking the overall win and the 125/250 class win by a clear lap to stretch his lead in the championship. Stourport's Liam Garbett followed Bayliss home for second in class with Dean Plumbstead a lap down in third place on 13 laps. Aaron Smith followed in fourth spot with Will Atkins taking fifth. Jack Edmondson took an easy class victory in the 65cc's but finishing fourth overall was a really great achievement considering his class started a minute behind the leaders. Alex Walton, second, could match Jack Eddy for pace but put in an extra lap over third placed Ross Davies as James Angel took fourth and Jordan Kendrick-Jones fifth. Hannah Hope topped the 85cc big wheel/150cc class. Hope rode well to take the win but Max Varney, who took second, pushed her hard to the finish, both tagging twelve laps. Billy Johnson led the next three riders home, all on 11 laps, to take third ahead of Callum McClean and Rhian George. Adam James won the 85cc small wheelers as regular front- runner Oli Benton DNF'd after three laps leaving the field wide-open. Joel Hughes matched James lap for lap and took a creditable second place with Katie Walker a lap down in third. Jamie Sutton completed the line up in fourth with Benton technically in fifth on three laps. Clubman riders Scott Hughes and Lee Hattersley had few problems as they battled for supremacy for over 20 laps of the two-hour race. Hughes took it by a whisker from Hattersley as Gareth Delahay, Mark Mealham and Richard Cookland fought each other for the remaining top five spots. Chris Pryce and Alec Trawford could have moved up from the Sportsman class and still have placed in the top ten overall as they banged in 19 laps apiece with Pryce just taking the narrowest of wins. Kev Byrone, third, had a clear lap over fourth placed Chris Coolson and William Hillis in fifth.
Lines faded a little towards the end as Kev Neesam slipped into second spot ahead of Steve Hough and Pete Benton but Lines held on to take fifth overall in the class. Danny Morris took the Novice class by storm as he finished two laps clear of second placed Kieron Jordan. Ben Rolls in third spot was a further lap down on 14, level with Anthony Hall, fourth, and Glynn Boughton in fifth. With no time to lose the Expert and Expert Vets took to the line for the third race of the day. The track was now vastly improved and they certainly made the best of it. Matt Ridgway (above: photo by Jack Stringer} led the Experts from the off and never looked back on his Meredith Suzuki, the only rider to clock 24 laps, despite a fierce challenge from the Electraction TMUK pairing of Jamie Paget and Phil McLaughlin. McLaughlin retired near the end with a hole in one of his radiators but Paget charged onwards and clung to second spot as he was joined, near the end of the race, by Jon Hinam. Mark Roberts had been mixing it with the leaders on his JKJ Kwak but with a lap to go Fast Eddy, as Clerk of the Course, black-flagged him for a broken silencer. Local council officials were looking on as Roberts took the disappointment well and even pushed his bike back to his van in an effort to keep the noise down. Great sportsmanship and an excellent attitude displayed by Roberts. David Brick moved to fourth as Genus Motorsport's Gethin Price took fifth just ahead of AMCA Championship rider Rick Du Feu. Christian Walton extended his championship lead with yet another Expert Veterans win just ahead of Ryan Griffiths and Wynn Hope, all three clocking up 21 laps on what turned out to be a short but fast course for the Expert riders. Dennis Harrison was a couple of laps down in fourth but three laps clear of fifth placed Dave Cooper. This round of the Putoline XC Championship was a great improvement over the opener in Kent, which suffered in the wet conditions. A dry and sunny day really help the track to improve and plenty of marshals pitched in to get riders flowing through the tricky sections, alongside dozens of spectators and even a para-medic at one point. For a new venue Bicton held up well. Although a few riders struggled initially, most seemed to enjoy the challenges the course threw up but mostly it was hugely entertaining for spectators and that is half of what this sort of event is about. Results
Running an event in January is always a gamble. Running an event 'out of area' so to speak is even more of a gamble but one which Paul Edmondson was prepared to take when he scheduled the first round of one of the UKs premier XC Championship series to run in Kent last weekend. Although a few regulars were missing from the ranks, local riders responded in droves and more than made up the numbers with nigh on 200 riders entered for the afternoon Adult race. The 2009 Putoline XC series will consist of races run on a single day, Youth first off followed by Adults, with some classes merging and new classes forming. The opening round of the Championship series was severely effected by torrential overnight rain across the South of the country during Saturday night. The venue on M.O.D. land near to Chatham, Kent, had proved popular in the past and its one outstanding feature is the huge hard-standing area for parking and setting up, which is especially useful at this time of year. The course took the full brunt of the weather and became a slippery morass just after the start of the main adult race on Sunday afternoon but the Putoline/SBT Youth event, which ran on Sunday morning, was really excellent. Although the morning race had slightly better course conditions the youngster still had all the tricky features to tackle that the adult riders faced. Four separate classes took to the track for the opening round of this years Championship with the addition of Steve Benton Transport as a main sponsor. Steve has a vested interest as his son Oli Benton regularly competes in all the Putoline XC events.
The 125/250f class blasted off first and Josh Hall led the field, start to finish, from the off although Billy Arnold gave him a hard time as did Jordan Lines, who took third place, as all three completed seven tough laps. Lines' improvement was noticeable and he put it down to finally finding a bike that suited him, a Suzuki RM125. Max Varney (right) was also involved in a three-way tussle, with Tom James and Hannah Hope in the 85cc big wheel and 150 class. All three ran for eight laps but Varney's nerve held and he claimed victory ahead of James followed by Hope. Jack Edmondson continued his winning ways by taking the 65cc class a lap up on second placed JackDeacon and Alex Walton in third as Oli Benton won the 85cc small wheel class two laps clear of Max Pinny, second, and James Coker in third. By the time the Adults lined up to race, the rain had abated but no sooner had they set off it returned with a vengance, just as riders were completing their first laps and some sections became much trickier. The course itself has a good range of testing terrain and tricky sections including steep, short banks which became treacherous as the day wore on and two main wooded sections with plenty of places for different lines if and when jams occurred plus open fields with a few motocross feature thrown in for good measure.
A disappointing day for Richard Main who experienced mechanical difficulties while Genus Motorsport rider dave Lote went on to take the Veterans class, a lap clear of Keith Patstone in second and two laps ahead of Roger Slury, third. Gareth Delahay made his intentions for the year quite clear as he won the combined 2 & 4T Clubman class with 13 laps to his credit. Richard Phillips was a lap off the leader in second place as Ryan Armitage charged to third ahead of best mate Lee Hattersley who was in a podium spot until catching a length of rope in his rear wheel and stopping to clear it. Alec Trawford didn't take a break over the winter and it paid off as once again he took the Sportsman class from Kan Hinder in second. Steve Mercers 10 laps gave him the final podium spot. Danny Morris pulled a lap clear in the Novice class to take the win as Jack Hasemore followed him home in second place, two laps clear of Chris Bishop in third. The conditions dictated that the majority of marshals gathered at the tricky banked area of the course near to the start/finish line leaving a sparse crew to monitor activities elsewhere and there is no denying that this did give rise to a fair amount of outrageous course cutting, or cheating as it is commonly known. If slopes are jammed with riders and a new route can be found then that is fair enough but cutting large chunks of open field sections or riding straight through the pit area to avoid a gnarly loop of track just isn't playing fair. It is cheating, plain and simple. The series moves to a new venue in the Midlands for round two of the series, Bicton near Shrewsbury, and organiser Paul Edmondson has already noted the behaviour of a few riders following quite a few complaints. As one well-known Enduro rider stated: 'The course cutters are only cheating themselves. It's not supposed to be easy! If you want easy, take up motocross! This is Enduro, from the word Endurance; to continue no matter what without giving up or cheating'. Please note: at the time of going to press, all results are provisional. Putoline XC results Youth Championship
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Keith Patstone
(left: foto-x.co.uk) led the Vets virtually from start to finish and
displayed some neat trials techniques to negotiate around a few
blockages on the course where less experienced riders were stuck. He had
Stewart Lines for company early on and the two did swap places a couple
of times with Lines having a slight edge in the open fields as Patstone
re-took the lead in the more technical woodland sections.
Yet another Edmondson made his official competitive debut, Harry took
to the line with brother Jack and picked a tough event to start his
racing career.
The Expert class had a quality line-up. Jon Hinam
(left) was on a 450KTM,
although he will be returning to a 250 for the rest of the season, Ollie
Moyce had a brand spanking Husaberg 450, as did Tyson Maton-Jones, both
riding for the Midwest Husaberg team. Hinam took the class by a clear
lap, 14, but it was ex-motocrosser Tim Heasman, back from a three year
break and James Borroughs who too second and third although Moyce did
well to take fourth in his first real outing on the Berg in such
treacherous conditions, just one place ahead of Mayton-Jones in fifth.
The new Expert Vets class had a few familiar faces and Christian
Walton had a very surprised look on his when he found he had won the
class. Wyn Hope matched him lap for lap and finished a very close second
as Ryan Griffiths took third.
Sportsman 1 Alec Trawford 2 Kane Hinder 3 Steve Mercer 4 Chris Bishop
5 James Harman