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Crychan 2 Day |
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Tougher than the World round
Photo: Lee
Leightwood The 3rd round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship took place in the Crychan Forest near Llandovery on the 9/10th August. The event was organised by the Welsh Trail Riders Association. The weather on Friday for scrutineering was glorious but the forecast for Saturday was for heavy rain & the forecast would prove to be accurate. The first 2 riders were flagged away at 9.00am & on the road to Cynhordy the whirl of their wheels on the wet tarmac hummed a meloncholy tune to the grey skies. Just passed the picnic site on the Tirabad Road the riders turned left into Glyn Saer. The exit from Glyn Saer was up a steep hill to a bridleway. It could not be cut & it would claim several clutches. Check 1 to Check 2 was the tight check. Early riders lost time when they struggled to follow the marking. After crossing the Tirabad Road to the first of 2 refuelling areas the riders rode south down the eastern side of the Crychan - legging up the Cortina, descended stick hill to 5 roads, up to Scrach, the Snowrun quarry, up to the Lasso, Firetower, down Whiskey alley, down Early Bird, across the Turk's heads to cross the steel bridge at Bob's stick & up the gravel climb to Check 3. The long single test started & finished within yards of the check. It went behind the Holiday Cottage, down Cemetary hill, around the Castle, down Trout hill & finishing near the Sand Quarry. The times for the final stage from 3 to 4 should have been slack to accommodate the test but they prove tight even after several loops were cut. Tom Sagar dropped a single minute & won the Premier. Edward Jones was the runner up with brother Robert 3rd & cousin Dylan 5th. Euan McConnell dropped from 2nd to 4th when he clocked in a minute early. Chris Hockey in 6th picked up maximum E2 points. Paul Edmondson blew his shock & retired. Elder brother Derrick Edmondson won the Veterans class. David Lloyd Jones was the Best Clubman ahead of Tyson Maytom Jones. At the end of the day half the field had pulled out. Day 2 dawn with showers & sunshine. The start was set back to 10.am to allow the organisers time to make the necessary changes to the course. The Glyn Saer stage was cut, the test was shortened & an axe was taken to most of the "offroad" loops. Tom Sagar once again took the Premier. Paul Edmondson on a new shock was the runner up. TM rider Philip McLaughlin won the Expert class for the second day. Keith Horsnell won Expert E3 ahead of fellow E3 rider Derry Milling. Derry had burnt out his clutch on Day 1, driven 60 miles to Mounter Mountercycles & fitted a new one overnight. Murray Thomson won the Veterans. David Lloyd Jones was the Best Clubman ahead of Ioan Jones. 62 riders finished & 90 riders retired. The course designer Bob Perring described the event as "brilliant". INSIGHT RENEWABLES D3-RACING KTM Tom clinches BEC Championship for 2nd year The Crychan Enduro has the reputation to be one of the hardest and this year lived up to that reputation and was described by many as the hardest ever, the recent Hafren club WEC round was tough but not quite as demanding as round 3 of the BEC series. Weeks of Rain and Torrential Showers over the race days just made the course one hard slog for all those that could master the conditions, many club riders just pulled out, mainly due to be exhausted. Day 1 was a long day with an expected 3 ½ laps and almost 8 hours riding, but due to the course becoming impassable in places, the day was shortened and the club worked hard to cut out some difficult sections. All the championship riders lost minutes on the check controls, but it was Tom of the small KTM 250 Fourstroke that was the quickest only taking 1 minute penalty. Tom also won all three of the cross country tests to easily take the days win despite his bike not running perfectly with a carburation problem due to water or dirt , in these conditions it was just impossible to consider opening the carb to clean it and also because there was so much water about we had to fit a new air filter at every check point , so Tom just hard to adapt his riding style to accept the small glitch and rode extremely well. Day 2 and the organisers had made big changes to the circuit and the riders just had 2 laps to complete and 2 special tests, there would be no drama's on this day, no problems with check control times and even the sun made an appearance between showers. Tom once again won both special tests and took another day win. There is still one round remaining in the BEC series but Tom cannot be beaten for the Title, with 4 day wins and a 2nd position he is now the overall 2008 Metzeler British Enduro Champion for the 2nd time.  Ed
Jones Wins 2008 E3 title
After a long break since Rd 2 in North of Scotland, Rd 3 headed South to Llandovery in south Wales. It seemed to be another race with Extreme weather conditions, Scotland was minus temperatures and strong winds, so I'm sure when WTRA decided to run there event in the 2nd week of August they didn't expect the weather that was to come. "After a good Rd 2 in Scotland, winning both Days of the E3 class ahead of TM's Euan McConnell, I needed a repeat performance in Wales". It was horrendous weather and a challenging course resulting in over half the event's entry failing to finish the opening day. Championship class rider Edward Jones recorded excellent times around the Enduro special test and finished 2nd overall behind Tom Sager with his brother Robert in 3rd. All the riders collected time penalties as a result of a tight time check and the bad weather, Edward dropped just three minutes placing him at the top of E3 class ahead of TM's Euan Mc Connell how clocking up four minutes of penalties. After a good first day, Edward was looking for another E3 class win on day two; this would guarantee the E3 Championship. It would not be an easy day as Euan had also put in some excellent test times on day one, and with more bad weather over night; the course was to be a much sorter and easier version of day 1 and a much slacker time schedule. The first test Euan was 2nd overall and Edward was 4th, Ed knew he needed to pick up the pace on the next test. The second test Euan went on 1st, Ed followed, half way through Ed passed McConnell stopped on the side of the track. McConnell had de-railed his chain and put himself out of the race. Ed now leading the class just needed to finish the day to take the E3 title. "I was pleased with my result in what proved to be a very difficult race; with this being my first year in the E3 class I was pleased to take the title with one round remaining. Edward was competing on a 2009 ET James KTM 300 EXC-E
The third round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship took place in the Crychan Forest near Llandovery at the weekend, with Relentless Suzuki Enduro rider, Paul Edmondson, experiencing the ultimate in highs and lows on his RM250. Fresh from his recent World Enduro Championship success, Edmondson was keen to strengthen his BEC series standings but had to endure the highs and lows of enduro after a problem with his rear shock absorber on day one forced him to retire from further competition on the day. Wet conditions made for very hard going but Edmondson was riding well, completely unfazed by the slippery course, until the mechanical hiccup. Sunday was altogether different. With the RM250 back as new, Edmondson charged through the field to win the E2 class outright and take second place overall at this tough event. Three seconds down on the Championship leader, Edmondson pushed the Relentless Suzuki onwards and, in his charge for top spot, crashed on the second special test. Despite being covered in mud he continued his assault on the leader and posted a very creditable second overall on the day. This excellent performance sees the Relentless Suzuki Enduro Team rider top of the BEC E2 class and second in the overall Championship standings. Edmondson commented, “This event was tough but enjoyable, heartening but also disappointing. The shock absorber put me out of day one but the second was excellent and I feel I recovered well, pushing the Suzuki on for the class win. Also, having used Saturday as my throwaway event in the BEC Championship, I now lead the E2 class and I’m closing the gap in the overall standings too.” Joy for McLaughlin, disappointment for McConnell at BEC Rnd 3 At the end of what was one of the toughest British Enduro Championship events for several seasons the Electraction TM UK team headed home from the WTRA organised Crychan Enduro, round three of the ’08 Metzeler British Enduro Championship, having enjoyed success but also having endured disappointment. With Irishman Philip McLaughlin battling through the atrocious conditions to claim a fantastic double Expert class win aboard his 250cc two-stroke TM, Championship class rider Euan McConnell disappointingly failed to finish day two due to a derailed chain. On day one McConnell placed a creditable fourth overall in the Championship class. With horrendous weather and a challenging course resulting in over half the event’s entry failing to finish the opening day Championship class rider Euan McConnell recorded some of the day’s fastest times around the enduro special test and claimed the runner-up spot in the Enduro 3 class and placed fourth overall. With all riders collecting time penalties as a result of a tight time schedule and the bad weather, Euan dropped four minutes but finished the eight-hour day just shy of the overall third place spot. On day two having come close to recording the fastest time on the opening special test Euan was forced out of the event when his chain derailed mid-way through the second test. With the final round of the ’08 BEC series for Championship class riders – the two-day Knighton Enduro, taking place in mid September, Euan currently sits just six points behind Enduro 3 class leader Ed Jones when both riders two worst scores are removed. Despite the tough conditions enduro newcomer Philip McLaughlin produced his best ever result in a British championship event topping the Expert class on both days. One of just two riders to lose only two minutes on day one Philip topped the class by close to 50 seconds. On day two things were much tighter at the top of the Expert class results as McLaughlin finished just five seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Although currently third in the ’08 BEC Expert class overall standings with the two worst day scores removed Philip currently leads the Expert class. Two rounds of the ’08 BEC remain for Expert class competitors. Euan McConnell: “After coming through the first day without too many problems it’s really disappointing not to have finished day two, especially due to something as simple as a derailed chain. But the really annoying thing is that I felt really good on day two and was second fastest along with Paul Edmondson on the first test, and just three seconds behind Tom Sagar. I was about half way through the final test on day two, I had the bike cranked over in a rut, and the chain came off and wrapped itself around the gearbox sprocket. There was nothing I could do. “The first day was really tough, but I was happy enough with fourth overall. It’s never easy riding a big four-stroke in really muddy conditions, but my bike ran well all day. I had a really good first test and an ok second test but the day was tough. I was enjoying the second day before my chain came off, it’s a disappointing way to end the weekend.” Bradley King's Report The Crychan enduro was the very wet third round of the British enduro championship and day 1 especially proved tough. So much so that only 62 riders finished the first day. Day 1; On the first special test i managed 2nd place and was 5th on the second lap having got stuck in rut and having to lift the bike out. The second check of each lap got tighter during the day and i knew i would have to push hard to stay on time. unfortunatly i took the wrong line up a hill and got stuck for a few minutes. having been overtaken by a couple of riders i reached the end of the check having lost 10 minutes. When i reached the next check i soon realised that no other expert had stayed on time. the third test had to be cancelled so it could be altered for day 2. i finished day 1 7th expert and 3rd E2 rider. Day 2; Was the opposite of the first with the results decided on two altered tests with the check times slack. my first test was hampered by a problem with my back brake i finished 4th on the first test. with the brake fixed i pushed hard to regain time finishing second. this put me 3rd expert for day 2 nad 2nd E2 rider. Once again i would like to say thanks to all of my sponsers; GAS GAS UK, TALON, K4OFFROAD, RENTHAL, KRIEGA, SCEC, STEVE PLAIN SUSPENSION AND RUSH RACING. ALSO MY UNCLE TONY FOR "KINGSPORTIN" MY BIKE. for more info please go to my sponsers page. i pleased to say that i have now gained the backing of alpinestars boots and im also using MEC plastics courtesy of rush racing VARYING RESULTS AT ‘’THE CRYCHAN’’, ROUND 3- BRITISH ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP Stan Watt was the sole rider from Front Row GB for Round 3 of the Metzeler sponsored British Enduro Championship, held in the Crychan Forest area, near Llandovery, South Wales. As all the riders and teams arrived at the Llandovery Rugby Ground throughout Thursday and Friday for the administration and scrutineering to take place, the weather couldn’t have been better with sun shining and spirits high for a weekend of good cross country enduro racing with the best riders Britain can produce. Stan would be on another new machine for the event, with a 2009 KTM 300 EXC Six Day machine supplied by Derrick Edmondson of Edmondson Racing, whilst Derrick currently winning the Veterans class would use a 2009 KTM 250 EXC. DAY 1 At 7am the sun was still shining over Llandovery and by 7.15am the heavens opened, the torrential rain began, and wouldn’t stop until the start of day 2. The event was scheduled with 2 laps for clubman riders, 3 laps for expert riders and an additional cross country test for the championship riders. The first riders got underway at 9am with Stan setting off at 9.18 and Derrick Edmondson at 9.20. The first lap was flowing with most riders making their times even with the continuous rain and difficult going. Initial thoughts would suggest the timed cross country test on each lap would select the positions for day 1 and Stan set off on his first lap test, pushing hard in the wet conditions. Mentally, the riders could split the long test into two sections; the first section being technical with difficult climbs and the second section being much faster and flowing with a number of small rock beds to negotiate at speed. As Stan approached the end of the test and in particular the fastest downhill stage, he lost control of the KTM300 EXC when his hand slipped off the clutch grip and landed heavily while flat out in 5th gear. Fairly badly winded, Stan slowly made his way to the end of the test checking his bike, which miraculously had minimal damage. Stan struggled for a few minutes after the test and luckily the check times on the first lap left plenty of time to recover. As the rain continued and the ground changed dramatically, riders started to struggle with the course and terrain in the Crychan Forset, with many clubman riders struggling not only to finish one lap but even getting round to finish the day. Certain sections of the course were becoming impassable for some riders and it was only those with the ability to ride such terrain or those who literally muscled their way through, would make it to the end. Stan was the latter and the 3rd lap was made up of wet flowing areas followed by sectors where he literally had to lift his machine from one rut to another in order to find a way up the ascents and get some grip. Areas that were blocked for some riders due to ruts that no bike could clear, the front riders pushed physically to a point where ability was worthless and physical performance would take those riders to the end of the day. Due to the course deteriorating so badly, the last test was cancelled and the riders made their way back to parc ferme to prepare their machines for day 2 within the allotted 10 minutes. The course had been damaged so badly, most teams were expecting a cancellation for day 2 but much credit has to go to the organisors who persisted with the environment setting a much changed course and test for the following day. Stan was to finish 2nd in E3 and 10th Expert overall with Derrick Edmondson taking the honours in the Veterans on day 1 with only half the field being able to finish. DAY 2 The weather began to break at the start of day 2, with the event reduced to 2 laps and 1 lap for the Clubman and Veterans. A delayed start and the first riders got underway at 10am with Stan setting off at 1018 and Derrick Edmondson at 1020. With the course being altered massively from day 1, the going was good with all riders being able to negotiate each lap and the improvement in the weather meant for some happy riders. Unfortunately for Stan, towards the end of lap 1, some form of debris from the forest floor, had disconnected his main radiator hose, allowing his machine to dump all its coolant thus bringing day 2 to an abrupt halt and an early retirement. With times on the checks much slacker than day 1, Derrick knew it would be down to test times and on the lap one test, crashed heavily onto rocks injuring his ribs. He soldiered on to the finish but posted an 11th position, which he was disappointed in after a win from day 1. A special thanks to; Derrick Edmondson at Edmondson Racing, Rob Sartin from Talon Engineering, Steve Plain from Steve Plain Motorcycles, Adventure Spec, Insignia Signs, Voltcom, Rogershill Raceway, Arai Helmets, To all those who put some much effort into an event that could easily have been destroyed by the unpredictable weather. And finally Bob Mullins from www.enduronews.com for towing Stan to refuel 1 after retiring on day 2. Photos available from Keith Bowen
The Sagar Saga continues A week of sunshine & warm winds had done their best to dry out the Crychan forest for the 3rd round of the Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship on the 11/12th August 2007. The start was at the Rugby Club in Llandovery. Juha Salminen had a shoulder injury & was a non-starter. Paul Edmondson was working until 4am Saturday morning on a batch of Suzuki conversions & incurred a 20pt penalty for late scrutineering. Day 1. The first riders - Euan McConnell & Chris Tett in the E3 class - were flagged away at 9am. There was a 5 miles liaison stage to the refuelling area & Check 1 at the Picnic site off the Cynhordy to Tirabad road. This was the start of the 35 mile lap. There was 4 laps for Championship, 3 laps for Experts & 2 laps for Clubmen. The first offroad stage was down the eastern side of the Crychan. By Check 2 - below the Swimbath - Chris Hockey's Husky was missing. One of the 5 pins on his regulator had broken & it was a difficult problem to diagnose. Ed Jones was also having electrical problems & dropped 15 minutes. Brothers Jason & Kelvin Phillips from Bridgend were both forced out at Check 2 with mechanical problems Stage 2 started with the test around the Castell & over Trout Hill. It was rocky with a series of technical chicanes. The riders were not able to walk the tests it was not accessible to the public so the start & finish were placed less than 100 yards apart to give the Championship class the opportunity of 2 sighting laps. Stage 3 was around North Crychan through mature woodland which was opened up for the Snowrun & rarely dries. The final stage was on the forest roads around Glyn Saer. Tom Sagar was the overall winner & Euan McConnell was the runner up although Paul Edmondson in 4th would have won the day without his penalty. Gethin Price (E1) was the Best Expert & Jon Hinam (E1) was the runner up. Robert Lynn won the Expert E3 class. Neil Williams won the Veterans class ahead Greame Naismith. Day 2. Overnight rain had put a shine onto the forest - particularly the roots & the shaily climbs. In the Championship class, Tim Lewis lost his coolant when a hose clip failed.. Rowan Jones & Jason Thomas also retired. Veteran class leader Neil Williams snapped his chain on Cefn Banc. Ian Parker from Colchester also had chain problems when his links got jammed between the sprocket & the swinging arm on the test. Julian Crimp was off to the UEM round in Finland the next day & hopefully with a sorted carb. There were 5 tests for the Championship class on the second day with the last 2 being ridden back to back. Tom Sagar extended his lead to take the Premier ahead of Paul Edmondson. Gordon Clarke lost his bumbag on the first day. Without the extra weight he was the fastest Expert on Day 2. Gavin Houson was the runner up & his dad Mark was second in the Vets behind Greame Naismith. D3 Racing Huskysport/MPS Racing Electraction TM Uk Photos available from Keith Bowen More Photos PS I have a rider's jacket from the test. Let me know if it's yours & I will return it at the Rhayader. Crychan 2006 The Crychan 2006 was cancelled due to the unavailability of the MX course.
The 3rd round of the 2005 ACU British Enduro Championship took place in
Llandovery this weekend - 13th & 14th August. The event was organised by
the Welsh Trail Riders Association & sponsored by Steve Plain &
Talon. Steve Plain & Rob Sartin also laid out the tests. The course was
planned by Bob Perring & Clerk of the Course Peter Brookes & it was implemented by Assistant CoC Phil Wilkinson. The weather on Friday was
warm & dry for scrutineering & the course was in beautiful condition but
forecast for the weekend was poor. The event started at 9.01
on Saturday morning & so did the rain. From the start the course went
through the town to the first test in fields behind the Cattle Market. The
engines were still cold but the riders soon warmed up as you can see from
Keith Bowen's photo of David Knight attacking a tree. The tree was clearly
over matched. The competitors then
had plenty of time to cool off on a long road section to Cynhordy before
turning right onto the Tirabad road & into the 1st Check near the picnic
site. This was the start of the lap which the Championship class were
scheduled to ride 4 times, Experts 3 times & Clubman twice. Stage 1 to 2
was through Glyn Saer & the times were tight with low mist obscuring
visibility. The rain increased & there were a few hold ups on the
hillclimbs out of the forest. Huw Watkins lost his time card & a minute. Stage 2 to 3 was a liaison section to cross the
Tirabad road & re-fuel. From Check 3 to 4 the course weaved down the
eastern side of the Crychan. It started with a gnarly loop around the
Cortina & dropped down the Verandah then up Honeysuckle Hill & Scrach
to a series of muddy holes near Cwm Cadoran. The Day 1 course then took the riders
diagonally across a stone face behind the Snowrun Quarry but the tree roots
at the top soon became so exposed that late riders must have almost been
able to ride under them so the field took to the Day 2 course in reverse up the
15 foot near vertical face. The Badlands were bad news for Chris Tett, Chris
Hockey & Chris Birch who blew their electrics, clutch & rad
respectively but they would all start again on Sunday & finish well.
After the Badlands the riders climbed
up to the top of Whiskey Alley - a rocky descent with a bog in the middle where
John Shattock once memorably spilt his breakfast. The best line through bog is on
the left but inevitably there are those who are seduced by the Dark Side
& try the right. James Yearley # 76 was one & he had a 40 minutes
wait to reconsider his
decision before help arrived. Dylan Jones also heeded the call, dropped in & dropped
time. Check 3 to 4 was a tough check, I know because
I rode it but more significantly because it was the one that Bob Perring chose to
stand at the end of. Bob has always enjoyed admiring his handywork reflected in
the faces of the riders. With the clock ticking perilously close to their
scheduled ETA, the first rider emerged out of the mist. It was Edward
Jones (#4) with a smile as bright as his headlight. He was loving it but he
was not in the majority as one after another the Championship class skidded
into the check on or over their minute. Paul Edmond Day 2 dawned no brighter than Day 1. The course was in reverse & the WTRA marshals had there work cut out cutting. Their problems were compounded by the Forestry Commission's decision to appropriate many of the tracks that the club has maintained for the past quarter of a century & allocate them for the exclusive use of imaginary walkers, horse riders & cyclists. The Championship class were given 3 laps & the Expert & Clubman were given 2 laps. By lunch time the sun had come out so had the crowds. The organisers have been bringing this event to Llandovery for many years & it was gratifying to see how much it was appreciated. David Knight won the Premier & Paul Edmondson was the runner up. With a new gear stick Greg Evans won the Experts by half a minute ahead of Justin Wilson. David Brick - whose father & uncle both rode in the Crychan 25 years ago - was 4th on Day 1 but seized his Honda in Glyn Saer on the final lap of Day 2. Kevin Murray also ended an unlucky weekend in the same van. Veteran Graeme Naismith won the Clubman class ahead of Ashley Wood. Actor & "Around the World" motorcyclist Charley Boorman found that once around the Crychan a day was more than enough. From a traveling marshals point of view this was a tough weekend & at times it looked less like a well oiled machine & more like a Morris Traveller with a couple of sheep in the back but the Welsh Trail Riders did well to keep this event going & the riders who kept going did very well too. David Knight KTM Results Service - Knight claims overall victory at BEC Rnd 3 D3-Racing factory KTM rider David Knight claimed the overall win at the third round of the British Enduro Championship after finishing as Championship class runner-up on day one before going on top the event outright on day two. With conditions at there absolute worse on day one, David finished as one of just four Championship class riders to remain on time and finished the shortened day just five seconds behind Paul Edmondson. On day two Knight returned to the top of the Championship class results where he placed 14 seconds ahead of Edmondson. Topping the opening test of day one things looked good for Knight before the heavens opened and rain turned the event into a true case of survival of the fittest. With Edmondson topping the second test of the day, Knight and Edmondson finished with identical times on the third test before disaster struck Knight on the penultimate test. While trying to ride cautiously around a slippery off camber turn the Manxman’s KTM stalled and slipped to the bottom of the turn. Losing valuable seconds re-starting his bike, Knight then topped the final test of the day but had to settle for the Championship class runner-up spot. On day two Knight returned to the top winning all but one of the event’s five special tests. With conditions very much drier, despite still being extremely challenging, David finished 14 seconds ahead of Edmondson to extend his lead in the British Enduro Championship with just one round remaining. David now heads to Finland for round seven of the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship where he remains unbeaten in the Enduro 3 class so far this season. David Knight: “It was a really hard event to be riding a big four-stroke in, but I enjoyed it. I’m disappointed that I didn’t win on both days but I guess that considering how muddy it was I can’t be too disappointed. “The conditions on the first day were horrendous, I haven’t ridden in conditions that bad for a long time – it just didn’t stop raining. The day started well and I won the opening test but on the MX2 test I struggled to get grip on the front end on the slippery off camber turns. I was ok on the straights and the corners with ruts but I was losing time on the cambered corners. My bike stalled on the last run through the MX2 test, which cost me the win. I was going really slowly around a turn when my bike just slid away from me and stalled. “On the second day things weren’t so bad although it was still hard work riding around the MX2 test with all the off cambers. As it dried up and got a bit more rutted I was able to push harder. Like I said I’m frustrated with making a mistake on day one but happy with the way I rode.” Gas Gas press release - Paul Whibley has just finished 4th "Overall" at the weekends 3rd Round of the 2005 British Enduro Championship. He finished 3rd overall on Saturday behind winner Paul Edmondson who beat David Knight by 6 seconds! Respect Eddy!! There were only the top 4 riders who stayed 'clean' on the going with the rain making the conditions really bad on the checks. It seems that when the going gets really tough, Whibz has no problems in dealing with the tight checks. It's just a shame we don't get more of them!! Ed Jones was fourth and Whibz was pleased to beat Ed in these conditions. Sunday was not quite so good for Whibz, finishing 5th behind Knight, Eddy, Jones and Braybrook. As the day went on the test dried out a little which enabled the riders to attack the test more than the first day. Whibz struggled with the test and opted to stay 'upright' rather than going all out for glory. Paul's next event is the 4th round of the FAST EDDY Race Series on September 4th at Ellesmere. Good to see Tom Sagar cruising round on a bike, outriding for his dad !! Get 100% soon Tom! Cheers Shirty Team Sandiford press release - Wayne campaigns a 250/2 stroke for a weekend. Still recovering from the neck/back injury sustained at the Brechfa Enduro, Wayne made the decision to ride the lighter 250 2 stroke machine at this weekend’s Crychan Enduro. With the 250/2 still allowing him to compete in the same E2 class he has chased this year to date. It proved (with the terrible rain on Saturday) to be a very wise decision as the event suffered with the weather and the grit and determination shown by a few provided them with deserved results. Riders lost time, lots of riders list time with only 4 staying clean on Saturday. Wayne lost time, on two checks. Two minutes on the tight check when he parted company from the bike and lost it for a while in a drainage ditch and a further minute later in the day when the course was re-routed and he followed what he assumed was the re-route, only to find it was a track made by the marshals and not the riders. A U turn and track back forced him a further minute late at the time control. Reasonably happy with 6th at the end of the day, he was appreciative that many others had a much harder day. “I hate losing time – it really is a bone of contention with me, but I hate not finishing even more and so to dig deep and push on is all you can do in the circumstances. I also crashed on the top test, that I really didn’t need “ said Wayne as he attempted to dry out back on the Rugby Field Camping area. Day Two brought some initial mist but then as the warm air lifted the same the sunshine showed it’s face at last. A very respectable 4th place was well deserved as his aggression and still a small amount of frustration over the time of the day before was truly taken out on the tests. Clutch fade on the two back to back tests cost a little time, but it was taking some pain. “I’ve loved today – it’s been a cracking event – both days. Hopefully my Championship overall has been helped with the same. Well done to WTRA, the weather didn’t help, but the amount of work put in to continue the event has not gone un-noticed.” Commented Wayne at the finish. Sandiford’s Expert Rider Simon Evan earned himself a MASSIVE pat on the back on Saturday, he lost (all credit due) NO time on the going and earned himself a well deserved 4th place on Day 1 and 6th overall for the weekend. Paul Chatham press release Paul Chatham narrowly missed a serious eye injury at the Crychan. Paul started the day with the second fastest Clubman motocross test, he was running on time on Saturday but he was having a bit of difficulty on the cross country tests. Although he was finding the going hard he was making good progress. Paul like many of the riders had taken off his goggles due to the wet weather, he was hit in the eye by a stone during the second lap and he could not see out for 10 minutes. Paul struggled to the next check and arrived 15 minutes late. A paramedic cleaned Paul's eye and confirmed the damage was not serious and he was given the option to retire. After a few minutes Paul decided to continue and finish a credible 11th in the E1 class. These few points may prove critical for the Championship. On Sunday his eye was much better and so was the weather. Paul competed the course on time and finished 6th E1 Clubman. Paul has led the E1 Clubman Class for the first half of the season but now trails Ashley Wood by four points. Results More photos available from Keith Bowen Video: Frank Morgan, Malvern Lodge, Howey, LLANDRINDOD WELLS, Powys, LD1 5RE. Tel: 01597 822642. Frank will be videoing a horse ploughing competition next week & he expects they will be faster on the going. Feedback |
STORMING
COMEBACK FOR EDMONDSON AT CRYCHAN Report by Tim
Tighe.
Crychan
2005
Report by Bob Mullins
son took a moment to tell
Bob how much he would have preferred a few more moments to look at the scenery.
Keith Horsnell - in his first Championship season - did well to clean the
check. He would finish 9th on the day. From Check 4 the riders rode a 5 mile
long series
of green lanes to the 2nd test & the start of the 2nd lap. It was good
riding & probably gave many tired riders the impetuous to carry on. They were rewarded by a lot of pruning. The
Cortina went to the scrap yard. Honeysuckle Hill didn't smell too sweet & it lingered. The
Badlands were cut & it was also "time gentleman please" for Whiskey Alley.
With the mud spraying everywhere, goggles were useless & 