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True Grit |
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  The
Iron Men of Butts !
Once again the partnership of True Grit off Road and Dirtbike-Trax proved to be a successful one with them providing an excellent Bank holiday weekend of XC Racing at Butts Quarry MX/XC venue… With perfect summer weather in the whole of Yorkshire these last few weeks, the Organisers were slightly worried with the rain forecast in Derbyshire. Despite this factor the team were determined to create an alternate fast flowing fun course for their 140 strong entry list!!! Sunday 9am sharp the race hungry youngsters darted into the first corner with Dan Bewlay taking the Senior B holeshot, closely stalked by Billy Steinman, Dan Suddaby and Matt Clark. Archie Flack took the early lead in the Juniors Class while Ben Turner, Dan Clark and Sol Coburn battled for second position. The young guns weren't phased by the ascends and descends despite the wet weather. Great determination was shown by Toby 'No Fear' Flack holding it open on his KTM 50cc Auto, Class Positions were exchanged throughout the 1.5hr Hare Scramble. Eventual overall winner was Dan 'Scrub' Bewlay with 2nd merit going to Billy Steinman and Kwak rider Dan Suddaby in third, Junior Class proved to be a great Battle with Ben Turner taking the gold over Archie Flack in 2nd and Sol Coburn in 3rd. Well done to all of the Young competitors. Parents later commented on how at ease they felt having a Mobile Paramedic circling the course aboard his KTM exc, 11am on the dot - Race Director Martyn Field set off the Iron men as they limped and dived and dashed doing what ever means necessary from the le mans style start into their 4 hour challenge around the testing Butts Course. At a minute interval the Iron teams' first rider raced into battle, who would get the clean run up 'The HILL' ?? The First Hour into the event, if the rider didn't enjoy themselves the spectators certainly did with the weather conditions creating major problems for some riders, 1.5hrs past and the waterfalls stopped, the riders were able to get into their rhythm , with racing, tactics and team work in all classes. Overall Iron Man winner was Expert Tom Braddock an impressive 3 laps in front of his closest rival Karl Waltho. 2nd. Expert Iron Man was Liam Eddlestone with James Goodall in 3rd, Karl Waltho 1st place clubman followed by Ian Coburn in 2nd and Luke Flack in 3rd closely followed by Reece 'Ginger Nut' Morewood in 4th place. Sportsman Iron Man Winner from Start to finish was Darren Skilling, with Karl Chadwick 2nd and Craig Hope 3rd. Expert Teams proved to be the days entertainment after the slop had dried and all riders found their grip. A close battle between team Biff/ Brewster - Team Samson/Healy and Team Houson/Ward scoring laps within seconds of each other. Expert Iron Team eventual winners were Lincoln Brewster and Biff Smith. 2nd Place went to Tom Healy and Lee Samson, with Gav Houson and Liam Ward in 3rd place. Clubman Iron Team Trophy went to Rob Pearce and Neil Marshall. 2nd place to Ed Field and J. Allen with Howard Blundell and Stuart Goodall in a very good 3rd. Sportsman Iron Team was clearly won by Ian Hayworth and Joe wheeler 2 laps clear of 2nd place Tom leoard and Craig Emmerson with Scott Thompson and Stuart Thompson in 3rd. Well done to all riders who showed an impressive ride with only a handful of DNF's despite the morning showers, not a single reported injury which is great news. Thank you very much for attending the IRON MAN Challenge and a big thanks to all Marshalls, spectators and riders for making this a easy fun weekend. Hope to See you all At DBT's New Venue - Manby Motoplex for round 9 of The National Putoline Hare scramble championship 18th, 19th September Thanks from the TGOR Team.
2010 Rnd 5 National Putoline Hare Scramble Championship 30th May was hosted by Team True Grit Off Road at the ever popular Driffield Venue, East Yorkshire. The large amount of effort to bring a new flowing virgin course was more than worth it with the great feedback received after the days racing. At 9am sharp the race director set the Hare Scrambles young up and
coming stars and ladies class off the start line into there 1.5 hr event.
In the senior B Class Michael 'Spike' Gilby got the hole shot with Dan
Bewlay and Billy Steinman closely battling for second position. After the
1 minute interval the ladies class steamed to the first corner to battle
for first, in contention was Ellie Cooke in her first ever event.
Lee Sampson took the Lead during Lap 3 and pulled an impressive gap but unfortunately on his 5th lap his rear wheel collapsed forcing him to DNF. Young Scott Took advantage of this and rode a solid impressive race to win his first expert event after racing senior A in 2009. An exciting 2nd place went to Alex Owen only 1 second in front of David Wilson eventual Expert 3rd all on 9 laps. Over 40s was won by Simon Bastow with Steven Pattison 2nd closely followed by Chris Ball 3rd. Clubman E1 was extremely close with a 55 second gap between 1st and 3rd. Darryl Tate brought it home with Liam Eddleston in 2nd and the very talented 16yr old Jane Daniels in 3rd. Clubmen open was won by Lee Stansfield in 2nd Chris Cooper and 3rd Ryan Patrick all on 8 laps. The competitive Sportsman E1 Class had Barry Cox in first nearly
2minutes in front of Darrell Patrick who in turn was a minute ahead of 3rd
place Richard Bentham all on 8 laps. Sportsman open was a close battle
through out with a unbelievable 4 tenths of a second gap between 1st and
2nd Sam Alderman just nipped it over Darren Simpson with Gareth Hawkins in
3rd. The 40 plus entry in Novice class was won by Mark Stimson in 2nd Sam
Obrian and 3rd went to Paul Daley-Smith all on 7 laps. Senior A Class saw
Jade Gordon take 1st place Callum Morewood 2nd place and in 3rd was Gina
Bewlay for a Bewlay 2nd and 3rd in the senior Classes. Clubmen/ 4x4 winner Andrew Dixson showed an impressive ride with 9 laps in 2nd with 8 laps Steven Johnson and 3rd Andrew Kelly on 7 laps. Sportsman Quads saw 15yr Old Lewis Robbie Ryan show the way with 9laps and a 6 minute lead over 2nd place Richard Croft 8 laps and Mathew Ambler in 3rd also 8 laps. As always it proves our events cater for all levels of rider abilities with only a small handful of DNF's which is great to see!! Results TGOR would like to thank you all for your continuing support and hope you all enjoyed the weekends racing , look forward to seeing you at Butts Quarry Team/ Iron Man event 4th July 2010. Also a very big thanks to Doug and the rest of his East Yorkshire TRF lads for the very professional manner in which they marshalled the event , look forward to teaming up with you for future TGOR events.
The TGOR team had been hard at work over the previous few weeks to give the riders another well organised event with a track layout that would suit all standards of riders. The weather was always going to be a huge factor over the weekend with the forecast being very unsettled. It was a cold, early start on the Saturday for the 10 fortunate riders who managed to secure a place on the training session run by former MX GP rider Ryan Voase. The feedback on the training session was a resounding success, with everyone who attended finding Ryan's expertise and knowledge a huge benefit. Clerk of the Course Martyn Field got the afternoon race festivities underway with the kids and ladies classes. Just as the clouds came over and delivered the first of many rain showers, Luke Flack got the hole shot and led the pack way into the distance with Spike pushing him hard. Luke maintained his lead all the way to the flag with Michael Gilby finishing 2nd and Tim Gardham coming in 3rd place. With the rain coming in fits and starts throughout the afternoon the younger class of Juniors had to work extremely hard to battle the slippery conditions. Ben Turner put in a fantastic performance to come in 1st place, completing 5 laps of the course and 6 minutes ahead of 2nd place rider Brandon Sharples with 4 laps and Archie Flack in 3rd also completing 4 laps. In the Ladies class Jade Gordon romped home completing an astounding 5 laps and a massive 16 minutes ahead of 2nd place rider Gina Bewlay on 4 laps and 37 minutes ahead of 3rd place rider Emily Schneider who completed 3 laps. Next up it was the turn of the Quads to brave the now very wet and slippery riding conditions, especially in and around the wooded sections. With a health turnout from the Quad fraternity the sound of the starting horn at 15:00 was drowned out by the thunder of the expert class, followed by the Clubman and Sportsman classes. The conditions proved to be extremely difficult for man and machine in all 3 classes, with a significant number of DNF's throughout the 1½ hour race with the weather alternating between heavy downpours and brilliant sunshine. All top 3 riders in the Expert class completed a very respectable 7 laps, however it was David Baldwin who came out on top over 2½ minutes ahead of Andrew Vernon in 2nd and Peter Heap only 24 seconds behind Andrew in 3rd,. All completed a remarkable 7 laps. Steven Johnson came in 4 minutes ahead of Tim Cark to claim 1st place in the Clubman class, with Mark Scott in 3rd, all on 6 laps. In the Sportsman class it was John Kerwin who led throughout and finished some 15 minutes, almost a full lap, (time for a move up in class one thinks!) ahead of 2nd place Matthew Ambler, with Paul Robinson close behind in 3rd place. Alterations to the track on Saturday night were made ready for Sundays Adult solo race to include the famous quarry section. That night the TGOR team hoping for some brighter, drier weather. Sunday morning and bright skies, had the crossing of fingers paid off it seemed so, but as the riders lined up the heavens decided to open up and continued with the same pattern of the previous day. The egar 300+ riders were not going to let a little rain spoil their fun including Graham Jarvis, looking fresh and raring to go after his monumental result at Hells Gate in Italy, Army BEC championship rider Kev Murray, mad for a bash at the National Putoline Championship between his operational commitments overseas. The Experts were set off first with Harry Hillas battling it out with Damian Butler for the hole-shot, it was Harry that came out of the first corner slightly ahead and increased his lead, clocking in a good 30 sec ahead of Josh Bendell, who fought hard for the second place spot after the first lap. Harry Hillas was untouchable over the 3 hour race and maintained the 1st place spot right to the end. The battle for the 2nd and 3rd places was a different story with the Josh Bendell, Kev Murray, Graham Jarvis and Tom Healy all battling each other and the treacherous conditions. Bike trouble with an engine misfire saw Graham retire after 3 laps, leaving the other three to try and eat into Harry Hillas's lead. Josh Bendell was the next to retire due to injury after clipping a tree in one of the tricky wood sections. Tom Healy maintained the second spot for most of the race until a bad crash allowed the experienced Kev Murray in to claim 2nd place some 5 minutes behind Harry Hillas, Tom Healy managed to hang on to 3rd place, a mere 1½ seconds ahead of Craig Reynolds who early in the race recovered from a pretty spectacular off coming out of one of the many wood sections. All three completed 9 laps of this demanding course. The wood sections would prove to be the down fall for a many riders on Sunday, with the continuous rain making the tracks through them deeply rutted and extremely slippery. James Reeves led the Clubman E1 class into the first corner, but it was Jack Colley, back for his first race after breaking his collar bone mid way through last season, who was first through the gate after the first lap. Jack's lead didn't last long as Ashley Crossley fought hard to take the 1st place with 8 laps and 5 minutes ahead of Jams Reeve in 2nd and Ian Harrison in third. It was Andrew Hornshaw who led the Clubman Open class into the first corner and it was a very tight contest for the top three spots right to the end, with only 2 minutes separating them. Andrew Hornshaw triumph into 1st place with 8 laps, 1 minute ahead of Lee Smith in second and Steven Watson another minute behind also on 8 laps. The Over 40s class showed many of the younger riders how to tackle these testing conditions being the only class to have all their riders finish the gruelling 3 hours. Phil Smithson claiming 1st position with 8 laps local lad Rod Heald a true veteran of Driffield cruising in 1 minute later also on 8 laps. Chris Bursell claimed 3rd spot with 7 laps. In the Sportsman E1 Class Mike Slater put in an impressive 7 laps to
claim 1st some 7 minutes ahead of 2nd place rider Jack Midgley and
closely followed by Chris Perry in 3rd with 7 laps. Sportsman Open had
Lee Stansfield dominating the class in 1st place with a massive 12
minutes ahead of William Charnook in 2nd and George Stanley in 3rd. All
three achieved a respectable 7 laps. Finally Darren Skillin, still buzzing from his Dirtbike Traxs Winter series overall win, in 1st place in the Novice class with Justin Sizer hot on his heels in 2nd, both managing 7 laps. Maybe a move up to Sportsman for these two is now on the cards ! Jason McGarry fought hard for his 3rd place and came off looking fresh and chuffed to bits with his 6 laps. Once again a fantastic weekends racing was had by all, brave determined riding in all the classes both young and old in what was by far the hardest conditions seen at Driffield for many a year, a big thank you from the True Grit Off Road team to the local TRF group who marshalled doing a great job also would like to thank all those that took part and hope to see you all at the next round of the championship at Butts Quarry over the weekend of 13/14 March. If you can't wait till then booking in for the Fun race at Ellington Banks, Ripon on the 28th Feb. More photos by Andy Greenwood
BIFFSTAR SHINES IN DRIFF WIN Sunday dawned with clear blue skies and warm sunshine as the hoards of riders started to arrive for the 10, 30 am start, with a start grid approaching 300 riders this event and the national putoline hare scramble championship was once again attracting the masses, the event was to be run in 2 x 90 minute sessions with both sessions scoring championship points this was to make up for a round lost during the wet summer. On the front row ready for the off were the 040 and experts and bang on 10.30 starter martyn field set the race in motion. 040 rider Ian Shannon took the RAS sport hole shot award and lead the first group around the mx section, after the other groups were started all eyes were focused on the final set of woods to see who would emerge first and the first rider insight was Aaron Holmes on a Craig KTM with harry hillas hot on his heels, the biffstar was in third on the team sandiford husquvarna. As this leg of race progressed hillas took the lead with biffstar moving in to second, the promising young midlander Joe deakin had pushed in to 3rd place on the husky sport 125 and was fighting hard to close biffstar down but he couldn't catch him and the first leg ended with harry hillas taking the win from biffstar and deakin the riders now had an hour break before the restart, the break was much welcomed as the riders seemed to have been pushing harder than in a 2.5 hour duration race possibly knowing they had a hours recovery time . after a quick refuel and a drink the riders took up positions on the start grid and for the final time in this series starter martyn field gave the 10 second warning but before he could finish the countdown a unknown rider started his bike and the final race of the series was under way as the riders emerged out of the dust on the mx section and sped towards the first of the plantations it was the biffstar on board the sandiford husquvarna x lite that was in the lead , as the spectator gathered around race control for the riders to complete the end of the first lap it was the biffstar who came into view first as he clocked through race control he had a commanding lead of 45 seconds over second place man harry hillas , Joe deakin needed to reel the biffstar if he was going to win the championship and the £1000 first prize, but this time it was a step too far , as biff went on to win the race and the championship , second in the experts was Oliver hart with 3rd place going to josh bendel. In the clubman E1 class niki walker took a win in the first race and a 5th in the second race Stuart Gordon will be pleased with 2 second places, super smooth David slaked made the job look easy in the 040 class with 2 wins, Simon bastow picked up a second and a 4th place in this very competitive class, in the sportsman E1 class James reeve was the best rider with a 1st and a 2nd , levi Johnson won the 1 leg in the clubman open , Elliot Shaw took the first leg win in the sportsman open while martin Dawson jnr took a win and a 3rd . The TGOR team had provided another superb event with slick event management and a transponder timing system that provides accurate results even through the clouds of dust that reduced visibility. Well, what a championship it's been, For the 3rd year, the events have struggled with the weather through the summer months, but thanks to the riders for supporting the championship in such numbers. and a big thanks to putoline for their support and fantastic prize fund , next year promises to be as good if not better as once again the hard working teams from TGOR and Dirtbike-traxs join together to provide the 2010 championship with dbt already looking at new venues . Don't forget the presentation night Harrogate town football club Saturday 5 December.
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11am
on the dot the 2.5hr adult race began, Expert Class had a last minute wild
card entry from 16yr old TGOR rider Scott Altass, remarkably first place
after the opening lap through the transponder lap scoring was Scott
closely stalked by the very fast and smooth Lee Sampson a thrilling battle
for 3rd had began between TGOR rider Tim Pattinson (right), Expert
Championship Leader David Wilson and Alex Owen,
