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enduro
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2009 Welsh 2 Day Enduro |
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Welsh 2 Day enduro Results Teams Once again the annual celebration of Welsh offroading has bloomed in the warm Summer sun that bathed the lapping lakeside of Llandrindod Wells. By 8am on Wednesday morning the common was full & road around the lake had begun to fill. Scrutineering started at 10am. The course is very similar to previous years but there was a 3rd test on Day 1. It was a couple of miles outside Llandrindod at Church farm near Crossgates which the organisers last used in 2000 for the Millienium Welsh. Tom Sagar was walking the test with Paul Bolton. Paul's knee has recovered but Tom's left foot is strapped following a heavy landing while practicing on Sunday. It is the same leg he injured a month ago. Simon Wakely has thrown off the disappointment of last weekend's WEC & is looking forward to the BEC. Mick Seward returned from Slovakia at 11pm on Tuesday night ,drove to the start, walked 3 tests with Mark & Gavin Houson before scrubbing up to take his partner Marnie for a birthday night out at the Metropole. The enduro will be a chance to rest up for him. Huw Watkin's C90 looks the business in it's emergency vehicle reflective decals. Each rider was issued with identity bracelet to access the Parc Ferme, Brian Eland needed 2 to go around his wrist. The Welsh still retains it's international flavour with regulars like Karl Gunnlaughsson traveling from Iceland & Henk Spenkelink with his Dutch team. Husaberg general manager Oliver Gohring commuted from Austria for a couple of days product testing in the Welsh mountains.
Bradford and James win Championship Sidecar class of 2009 Welsh 2 Day Enduro! For the second year in a row Simon Bradford and Neil James of Llandrindod Wells won their home event , the Welsh 2 Day Enduro, held on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th June 2009. The boys won aboard their Maximumgroup.net KTM VMC 525. The start as always was at the Lakeside at Llandrindod Wells, with two days riding in the Mid Wales countryside covering over some 300 miles of mainly off road going. The event was Neil's comeback ride after his big accident in March at Round 2 of the ACU British Sidecar cross Championship, at Canada Heights, Kent. After a few months of recuperation after severely damaging his knee, Simon and Neil were in good spirits, looking forward to the event and hoping to add another win to their tally. As the Thursday morning dawned it was a nice change to see the sun shining with the forecast for the day looking superb. Simon and Neil were the first bike away riding No 1 out of some 500 or so riders who had entered the event. There were around 30 sidecars within the entry, 12 or so being in the Championship class and the rest were clubman riders. A welcomed addition to the event was the return of the Church Farm
Special test just outside Llandrindod. Simon and Neil were first into this
test setting a blistering time, some 9 seconds faster than second placed
crew - Aled and Iewan Evans. The riders then proceeded to Beulah, Strata
Florida and onto Ponrhydfendigiad. From there they headed back to
Llangurig, Rhayader and up to the second special test of the day at
Cwmythig Hill MX track. Si and Neil set the fastest time extending their
lead at the front of the pack. The boys headed back along the road sections to Llandrindod and back to the check at the Lakeside where the fuelling crew of Emrys James, Bill Bradford and Wayne James were awaiting them. With only 20 minutes to work on the bike before it was put into Parc Ferme, they managed to change the rear tyre, put a new air filter in, refuel and give everything the once over before pushing the bike in for the night. It had been a pretty eventful first day, but the main thing was the boys had a good healthy lead of some 58 seconds and were still in good spirits. Day two soon approached and again it was hot and sunny but there was a
threat of some rain coming in for the afternoon. Simon and Neil were the
first bike away on the second day and headed towards Abbey Cwm Hir as day
two was a run in reverse to day one. As the boys approached Ponrhydfendigiad (which is about half distance of the lap), the skies opened and it began to rain heavily. It was all good fun as they headed through the water splashes and into the last tight check of the day in the Irfon Forest, which Bradford / James cleaned with ease. A short ride through the Bwlchciliau Forest and they headed for home via the road sections of the course and into the Lakeside In Llandrindod where they were the first bike back and took a well deserved victory! With some food inside them, a shower and change, Si and Neil headed to the awards ceremony at the Metropole Hotel. A big cheer erupted when they went up on stage to collect their awards for overall winners, they also collected an award for best local Welsh Sidecar adding to their trophy collection. The night went very well and everyone enjoyed themselves. Many thanks to the Welsh 2 Day organisers for putting on another great event, Stewart Lines of Maximum Solutions, all the other sponsors and also to well done to all riders that finished. It was a great two days!
Photos available from Keith Bowen More photos Graham Howes would like to return a tiedown he borrowed from a lady driving a silver vw transporter about a mile from the finish of the Wrlsh 2 Day on Friday. Graham will be at the Powys this weekend & at the Dyffi on 1 2nd August. He will be in a red vw transporter 06 with a yz simbol on the back door.
The Welsh Two Day was a qualifier for the under 23 British Training Squad so Ricky Mair and Neil Chatham made the trip down to Llandrindod Wells. The weather was beautiful and the start area around the Lakeside has to be the best of the year. There were 500 competitors taking part although this event is not part of the British Championship therefore there was a much more relaxed atmosphere in the park ferme. The first sidecar started at 8.00am and the Experts were away at 10.00, the school children were allowed out to cheer the riders as the town really backs this event. There were three tests on Thursday and the weather was perfect with almost everyone cleaned the tight check. Ricky Mair (left) was the first E2 rider and set a fast time at each test, or so he thought, he went back to his bed and breakfast confident he would be up with the best British riders. On Sunday when he learned he had only 'in his eyes' finished 8th Championship E2 he was not happy. Ricky could not put his finger on exactly where he had gone wrong although he had not ridden the KTM 250 more than a couple of times this year. Ricky had been confident that with his two years in the British motocross scene he would be right up with the leaders and when this did not happen he went out on Sunday determined to pull himself up the leader board. Luck was still not with him on Sunday as the clouds opened and the Rhayader special test deteriorated in the minutes before he set out on his final test. A big fall cost him dearly in that final test ending his challenge for a top spot. 9th Championship E2 is a great result although Ricky was not pleased at this performance and he is eager to put the record straight at the Knighton in two weeks.
'It was great to ride with the Welsh riders including Rheinallt and Tudor Davis, with the Championship guys running the same time schedule I was also riding with Ed and Robert Jones. These guys really know these conditions, especially when the rain arrived and I learned a lot over the two days. My clutch was not working properly which cost me a little time in the special tests although not enough to spoil my first Welsh Two Day. Apart from the clutch glitch my Drysdale Motorcycles Suzuki never missed a beat despite the long road sections.' The event started with beautiful weather although with Wales you cannot count on the weather for long and right enough on Friday afternoon it rained with thunder and lightening. Neil arrived just as the rain started at the Rhayader special test and he went straight in to make the most of the conditions before they deteriorated too much. The fear was that he would loose his 2nd place overall in the Expert class once the Welsh specialists settled into the now very wet and slippery conditions. Neil need not have been concerned as he made it back after two long 8 hour days to post his best result so far. Neil said afterwards 'This was my best result at a British event, finishing 20th overall is a real milestone for me and it was a great warm up for the British Enduro Championship that continues with the Knighton in two weeks.' As far as I am aware the other Scottish rider to make the trip was Scott Harvey who finished a very credible 13th Clubman E1.
The last minute prepaarations for the RHL/Enduronews Honda 90 meant that the bike was not available for the Radnorshire Pig Farm Weekly motoring supplement, that said, it looked every inch a contender. With the possibility of long road and forest checks, the 3.9 litre tank was a definite threat to success. At the start, the engine burst into life instantly, unlike the rider. In the absence of Stefan Everts, Huw Watkins left the line on the first test looking for an impact. It was precisely that impact, on the first downhill which threw the tyre against the swinging arm, making the bike a single gear option. Despite the cheers of assembled championship riders (thanks, the Jones') the bike refused to cut into the hard packed soil, and the rider resorted to running alongside the bike to get up every hill! The road section that followed, and the run over Bwlchcilau tested the Kawasaki front forks and MZ shocks a little, but nothing like the rear brake pedal, which pulled out square to the bike in a deep Irfon rut!! The day's highlight was Strata Florida, where the co-sponsor was on hand to advise. Huw managed to pass 8 competitors, 2 of which were actually moving. Bob Perring cheered Huw on through the splashes, proving that a pitiful object can move even the hardest heart! Adopting an approach of nnot stopping to wait at ANY check allowed time management to enable Huw to avoid houring out. The tests at Cwmythig and Abbeycwmhir were hugely well supported, where sadly the rider failed to trouble the overall top ten. The bike's troubles through the day included no back brake after 15 miles, a sticking throttle most of the day, and a battered but smiling rider who was cheered at every special test and spectator point. Some develpment work is in hand to allow a team of C90's to enter next year's event.
A swollen thumb which has become infected prevented a day 2 foray, but a huge thanks go to; Gareth Hockey - for the bike and parts Norm at the Breakers - for not charging RHL (yet!) Bob Mullins - sponsorship and barracking Will at RHR - for help with the build Lee the Welder - for the headstock ! Leo the Purple Helmet - Consultant Jonny and Ian at Gwent Police Workshops - for fettling Parts and mousse suppliers, you are many and appreciated Friends for encouragement and donations. STOP PRESS Team Ashley to throw down the C90 Gauntlet to Team Gwent Police for the Welsh 2 Day 2010 !! Could the C90 entries make double figures, and the reintroduction of the 'scooter class' ??? You heard it here first. Huw can be contacted for advice on how to make a donation on rholben@live.co.uk or via Facebook.
What should have been a fantastic result for us last week turned into bitter disappointment. Simon Wakely led the event throughout the 2 days on his TE450ie until the final motocross test on Friday afternoon, this being after 2 days of 165 miles per day and 4 other tests. Simon had comfortably won 3 of the 4 tests so far. We ( the support crew) arrived at the final test in gloomy conditions but with Simon leading Paul Edmondson by 6 seconds and Daryl Bolter by 17 seconds overall. Simon had been 7 seconds faster than Paul and some 11 seconds faster than Daryl on the same test on Thursday. As Daryl Bolter arrived at the test it started to spit with rain and he immediately took to the track to attempt a dry run, which he just about managed. Paul was due 10 minutes later and it was starting to get quite wet and he again went straight in to record a time some 33 seconds slower than Bolter. Simon came to the test on his running time 5 minutes faster Paul by which time it was pouring with rain, in poor visibility and a chalky test now like ice racing. Simon put in a great attempt but sadly his time was 8 seconds slower than Paul Eddy and 41 seconds slower than Bolter, gifting the win to Daryl and runner up spot to Paul Edmondson. Disappointing for Simon and the Team, but we take heart in his speed and fitness; and the great bike prepared by Wyn Hughes and MPS Team for the event. Gavin Houson had a fine ride also until the last test where he fell and again suffered a shoulder injury but battled to the finish to win the under 21 cup. Well done & thanks to all the support crews and we look forward to the next couple of British Championship rounds in the following weekends, as with Simon in this form we expect to rattle a few cages !! Best regards Mike Carter Disappointing two days at the Welsh. The Welsh Two Day Enduro always takes place on a Thursday and Friday in late June and I traveled up late Tuesday hoping to build on my good result in Hungary at the last round of the European championship. Looking at the results from Hungary I realised that my enduro special tests were quick but there was room for improvement on the motox tests. so i had been practising on the mx tracks at Rogershill raceway trying to get abit more aggressive on the mx corners and jumps. I think this may have led to my mistake on the first test at crossgates because i came into a corner too aggressive and tried to use the berm on the outside but the berm gave way and i went through the tapes into some loose logs and fell off. it took me a while to get the bike going again and the next rider on the test Tom Braddock went past before i got moving again. Obviously my time was well of the pace and with only 4 more tests over the whole weekend it would be hard to make time back but i would do my best. On the other two tests on day1 i struggled along with many other riders to work out how much grip was available on the grass. On day 2 i had hoped for the rain to come on the first test but it didn't and my time wasn't bad but i still felt well off my potential. The rain did come for test 2 though, most of the E1 class riders made it onto the test before the rain started and by the time us in the E2 class reached it was tipping it down! I got a feel for the grip at the start of the test and started to go gain confidence and push on. I caught and passed two expert riders but as i was coming back down the hill towards the finish i gave my Gasser abit to much gas and lost the back end on the off camber The only decider left was the tight check at the end of the day. All the riders knew it could be tight with the rain and were going for it. Me and Jamie Padgett set off together and over-toke each other a couple of times until i binned it in some fast ruts and smashed my roll offs out of my goggles. I pushed on for the rest of the check being caught by my team mate ash woods who was flying. i saw a few riders stuck on a hill up in front and managed to weave through as quick as possible. I ended up losing a minute and was gutted not to stay on time but pleased with how i was riding at the end and felt fit enough to do another lap. I'm now looking forward to gbxc next week then the knighton Brad king - enduro and hare scrambles on GAS GAS UK EC250 - www.freewebs.com/bradking25 - supported by K4OFFROAD, TALON, STEVE PLAIN M/CS, MICHELIN, GAERNE, NAU, RENTHAL, MOTUL, KRIEGA, ROGERSHILL RACEWAY AND RUSH RACING.
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Day 1: The first 2 sidecars were flagged away by the Lady Mayoress of
Llandrindod Wells at 8am.The racing was very close with Simon Wakely
winning ST1 & ST2 & Paul Edmondson winning ST3. At the end of the first day Simon Wakely
led from Paul Edmondson by 5
seconds. Back at the lakeside Paul posted his intention to retake the lead with an impeccable
pit stop at the end of the day. Within the 20 minute allowance between the
prefinish & the Parc Ferme, he changed both tyres, his air filter
& his chain. Tom Sagar held 3rd despite his injured left leg. Daryl
Bolter led the E1 class from Greg Evans. Lee Edmondson is in 3rd. Gethin
Price headed up the E3s. Christian Walton was the Best of the Experts. In
fact Christian - riding on his home ground at Cwmythig Hill - was only 15
seconds slower than Paul Edmondson. Mark Houson lead
the over 40s from David Grimshaw. Extreme specialist Paul Bolton found the
short road journey to the first test was too extreme for his KTM 250. The
dust was a hazard for all the riders & when Phil McLaughlin found
himself heading for a five bar gate the natural instinct to jump it was
irresistible. He retired with a hand
injury. Leo Cordingley crashed heavily - Leo is not built to crash lightly
- but despite his bruises he finished 5th. Huw Watkins finished on the C90
- a tremendous achievement (report below). Richard Chandler & Liz
Millet had an intermittent fault that gradually put them out of the first
day. After a lot of investigation Richard found that the Woodruff key had
sheared. He replaced it to ride Day 2. Gareth
Hampson & John Fillingham lost a head stud. Batman & Robin were hard at work all day timefighting but made it home
safely unlike Steve Milling who had an unexpected trip to the seaside when he broke his collar
bone & was ambulanced off to Aberystwyth..
Day 2: The forecast rain had not materialise as the
field departed
from the start but most riders had taken the precaution
of packing a jacket alongside their petrol in the service trucks. The course
was reversed & ran counter clockwise on day 2. At the first test in
Abbeycwmhir the possibility of his first Welsh win fired Simon Wakely to
extend his lead over Paul Edmondson by 1 second. The "Abbey"
stage had been shortened & the times weren't as tight as on Day 1. As
the riders approached the final test at Cwmythig Hill the event was
balanced on a knife's edge but then fate took a hand. The rain came. Daryl
Bolter seized the initiative & went straight into the test followed by
the rest of the E1 class. He set a blister time on the dry surface but
within minutes the test had become a skating rink. The main contenders in
the E2 class did their best but the fastest - Paul Edmondson - dropped 30
seconds on Daryl who won the event ahead of Lee Edmondson. Paul Edmondson
was the Best E2 & Simon Wakely was the runner up. Gethin Price won the
E3 class from Jamie Paget & Craig Bounds was 3rd. Simon Bradford & Neil James won the Expert
sidecars .Christian Walton won the Experts with Gary Jenkins as
runner upin the E3 class. Rhienallt Davies won the Expert E1 ahead of Neil
Chatham. Rheinallt also won the Best Team award for ET James with Edward
Jones & Gethin Price. Dylan Jones was the Best Expert E2 ahead of Alun
Jones. In the Clubman class, Gareth Davies was the winner & Charlie
Evans from Llanidloes was the E2 runner up. Kalem Hick was the best E1
& Ryan King was the runner up. The E3 award went to Daniel Rose ahead
of Roberto Walker. Tamsin Jones was the Best Lady. Mark Houson was the Best Over 40 & his
son Gavin won the best
under 21. After overnight repairs Richard Chandler & Liz Millet set
the fastest times on both tests in the Clubman sidecar on Day 2. Tommy
Graham ran out of water while Deri Milling dropped 13
minutes when he collected an engine full on
Strata Florida when he drowned his Kawasaki, Congratulations to father
& son teams who rode together like Rupert & Felix Upton &
Wayne & Ryan Golding. A "Special" award
should go to the 2 spectators who created their own travelling chicane by driving their sidecar down Strata Florida
during the race. Next year try entering the event, signing on as a marshal
or buggering off. For the riders there was a final sting in the tail as
the tight Irwood stage had softened up in the rain. The Clubman sidecars struggled
with only 5 out of 13 finishing. Mick Seward had to brake hard when 2 riders crashed in
front of him on the final
stage & he fell heavily. He carried on but has a suspected broke
collarbone. There was more heroism amongst the army of Officials who stood
their ground on the checks amid the relentless attack of clouds of midges. The
presentations took place at 9pm in the Hotel Metropole. The
presenters had their work cut out to be heard above the excited chatter of
the riders as they relived one of the best Welsh 2 Days for several
years. 
The
Welsh Two Day Scottish Riders Photos Keith Bowen
Neil Chatham
(left) saw a win in the Expert class slip away in front of his
eyes at the Welsh Two Day. As Neil turned out of the forest on the tight
check he saw the time he was looking for on the clock and just before he
passed the yellow flag the next minute turned over costing him 60 points.
All the Experts dropped at least a minute on the check so it was not a
disaster with Neil finishing 2nd Expert overall and 2nd E1 to overall
Expert winner Rheinallt Davies.
Huw
Watkins' C90 Challenge
In all seriousness, the day was a brilliant experience, and done for a
worthy cause. The support Huw received from riders, spectators and
marshalls would have spurred anyone on to finish the day.