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Red Kite |
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 Red Kite Rally - 23rd March (Easter Sunday).
The Red Kite - WTRAs annual Easter Rally - took place on the Eppynt Army ranges near Llandovery on the 23rd March in bitterly cold conditions. The event followed the familiar format, starting in the Rugby Club Llandovery, the riders traveled east to Llywel before climbing the "dual carriageway" for 3 clockwise laps the ranges. Craig Bounds led the field of 150 riders away in groups of 3 a minute. This year the Driver Training Course "Watersplashes" was not a Special stage but the short track leading to it could have been used as an extreme test as riders legged their way through a hole that opened up out of nowhere. John Davies from Glyneath did his best to reduce the water level by taking a tankful home with him. The first Special stage was in the Halfway before the riders refueled in the quarry on Gardiners way. Stage 2 was on Mabions Way. Both tests were "sighted" on the first lap before being timed on laps 2 & 3. Despite the slick & icy conditions - or perhaps because of them, Craig Bounds blasted through all 4 timed stages in a class of his own on his Clarks BMW 650 XChallenge. With 4 tests averaging 5 minutes a test, Craig was to able to carve out a 3 minute lead over his nearest rival, Noel Fletcher. Gill Myers from Otley was the quickest Trail Lady in 11th & Ben Pope from Brink waltzed his mighty 1200cc HP2 BMW into 12th. David O Connnel from Kilkenny won the Sports bike class on a Yamaha WR 450 & Paul Cook from Pulloxhill on KTM 450EXC was the runner up. Brian Eland broke his footpeg early in the day but carried on - which was fortunate for the time crew on Mabion' s Way as he had time to strip & repair their generator. Mark Molinuex & Lee Walters both crashed heavily in the Halfway. Mark carried on & finished 7th in the Sports bike class but Lee needed a tow. Bob Hamilton gave his venerable Suzuki PE250 an airing & finished. Another indestructible icon that is still competitive was out on the course, Bob Room finished 20th in the Trail Bike class. A candidate for Rider of the Day award should be Pete Anstey from Corsham who finished on a Honda CGi25. Congratulations to Mark Austin whose borrowed KTM spluttered to a halt in the first rut. He fettled the carb & electrics for 30 minutes in a hailstorm to repair it & he went on to finish 6th in the Sports Bike class. Pictures available from Keith Davies & Keith Bowen Video & DVDs: Frank Morgan, Malvern Lodge, Howey, LLANDRINDOD WELLS, Powys, LD1 5RE. Tel: 01597 822642
The weather was perfect for the WTRA crew & the competitors in this Easter Sunday's Red Kite Rally. The event started as usual in the car park of the Llandovery Rugby Club before the riders took the road to Brecon & up onto the Eppynt Army range. This year the lap was counter clockwise with 2 Special Tests. The first was across the open moorland between the German Village (FIBUA) & Mabions Way. The second started in the Halfway forest & ran along the 4x4 Training track with it's infamous watersplashes. The riders had 3 laps with timed tests on laps 2 & 3. For safety the times were generous on the liaison stages but at the refuelling area 3 quarters of the way around lap1 there was signs of bent metal. Stephen Jenkins had banana'd his BMW RGS & Brian Eland had snapped his subframe. Brian was unconcerned as he could make plenty of rubber loops from the 2 tubes he had already impacted. Paul Daniels from Wigan on a Honda 400XR also magicked up a front tyre blow out. Lighter over the ground was Gareth Hampson from Rushden on a Jialing JH 125. The Jialing is a neat replica of the 1980 Honda XL. As the day went on the holes in the water splashes dug out. Nick Ashley's Triumph Cheney Tiger 500 & Noel Fletcher's BMW both proved that oil & water don't mix but most riders had a good ride. Back at the finish there was a buffet & loads of happy faces. Despite his dramas, Brian Eland won the Premier on his battered KTM 640R Adventurer & WTRA's own Sports Secretary Brian Fallows (Honda XRL650} was the Runner Up. In the Trail Bike class, Gareth Thomas (5th) from Newport was the Best Over 40 on a KTM LC4 625 & Mark Molinuex (6th) from Stourbridge won the Over 1100cc on a BMW GS/HP2 1200. Chris Milton (23rd) was the Best Over 50 & Mike Worthy (44th) was the Best Over 60. Steve Gard from Virginia Water finished 30th on Triumph TR5T 578 to win the "old bike" class. In the Sports Bike class, Mick Purvis from Leeds was the winner ahead of Andy Smith from Liskeard. Both on KTM EXC 525s. Richard Nelson in 3rd was the Best Over 40. Caroline Everett (29th) was the Best Lady. Steve Bennett from Derby was the Best Over 50 & Keith Sleightholme from Whitby was the Best Over 60. Congratulations to Clerk of the Course Michael Corkery & his WTRA team. DVD available from Frank Morgan, Malvern Lodge, Howey, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, LD1 5RE Tel: 01597 822642. Photos. More photos available from Keith Bowen & Keith Davies
The 2nd annual Red Kite Rally took place on the Eppynt Army ranges above Sennybridge in Mid Wales on Sunday 16th April. The weather was dry & overcast with misty showers in the afternoon. The event was organised by the Welsh Trail Riders Association & the start was in the Llandovery Rugby club. The riders were supplied with roadbooks but the course was well enough arrowed. From the start the field took the road to Brecon before turning left at Lywel. At the top of the Dual Carriageway the riders went left to the start the first of 2 40 mile laps. There were 2 special tests which were both timed on the second lap. The first test went though the water splashes of the Driver Training Course (above: Bob Hamilton) & the second was along Journey's End near to the FIBUA. Last years winner Katrina Price took the year off to help marshal & to give someone else a chance. As WTRA does not allow enduro bikes to enter, Brian Eland led the heavyweight challenge on a non enduro 525 KTM which is nothing like the current World Champion's enduro bike. He won the Sports bike class by over 2 minutes ahead of runner up Liam Flanagan. The 5th fastest rider on the day was Ben Shuckburgh on a KTM 950 Adventure who deservedly won the Trail Premier. Phil Gunn compensated for the loss of 5 stone by purchasing a BMW HP2. The weight re-distribution suited him. He finished 5th in the Trail class & won the GS Award. Steve Gard had a few McQueenlike great escapes on his Cheney Triumph TR 500 but finished. For the second year the event attracted a disappointingly small entry of 110 riders. The Eppynt is a superb facility with limited access & it deserves better support. The change of the name, roadbook & obscure eligibility do not help. A nice touch were the riders who distributed mini easter eggs to the marshals as they went around. Photo available from Keith Bowen 2005 Red Kite Frank Morgan Video. MaIvern Iodge, Howey, LLANDRINDOD WELLS, Powys, ID1 5RE. TeI: 01597 822642 Red Kite Rally 2005 The inaugural Red Kite Rally took place on Easter Sunday 27th March around the Eppynt near Llandovery. It was a re-working of the phenomenally successful Cambrian Rally which has been moved to Nant yr Hooch in the Autumn following the loss of the Army ranges but - inexplicably - the new event attracted a much smaller entry. This was particularly disappointing for the Welsh Trail Riders Association given the efforts they had made to re-establish access to the land. It could have been a combination of words like roadbook & re-fuelling in the regs but neither proved to be a problem on the day as the course was well marked with arrows & the club had laid on transport to the re-fuelling area (thanks Steve).. So, for the 110 riders, who knew that what WTRA turns it's hand to is done well, fortune favoured the brave. The weather was good for mid March & many people chose to camp. From the start in Llandovery Rugby Club the riders followed the winding Brecon road to Llywel before turning left up the "Dual Carriageway" onto the Eppynt. Here the riders turned right to start the first of 2 40 mile anti-clockwise laps before returning to the Llandovery. There were 2 timed tests of approx 5 niles in length on each lap. The first started on Mabion's Way, went through Block B & finished at Journey's End near the FIBUA. The second was around the Halfway forest & along the Driver Training course. Lady rider 108 on a Honda XLR 125 made an early fashion statement & took the landscape as her theme by applying a terracotta clay motif to her backside. It was all very Jean Paul Gautier. To save erosion & with an average capacity of 500cc, the course had been laid out to avoid any soft going but Paul Blezard must have found some or he could have been using his BMW cylinder heads to fire a pair of unusual clay pots for some relaxing flower arranging after the event. On the first lap Huw Watkins & I were posted on the road before the Training Area to slow the riders down to 20mph. Brian Eland listened patiently as we explained the situation before departing at precisely 20mph on the back wheel. Our second task of the day was to stand by with grappling irons at a watersplash on the second test which had a deep hole in it. Most riders opted for the bank but one rider did take up the challenge & while Huw waited with his camera to captured a low budget re-make of Titanic, Captain Beemer sailed majestically through the middle & missed the hole to everyone's relief. On the tests Brian Eland & Katrina Price were in a class of their own but with widely differing riding styles as Katrina skipped & Brian thundered. It was like watched a slightly overweight labrador lazily pursuing a butterfly around the garden. Darren Duesbury was going well. No 30 Jonathan Ace's day ended when his gear shaft snapped on the 2nd test. Chris Milton from Burton on Trent also had an early start to long journey home when his DRZ chain snapped twice on the same test. ACU T&E chairman John Collins got back to basics on a Serow with trail tyres. It was great to see former winner John Deacon's 1999 KTM being piloted by Tim Stephens. The bike is a genuine piece of motorcycle history on which John competed in the Paris Dakar, winning a stage & finished 5th overall. It still sports his original numbers & decals. Following the event the organisers laid on a buffet where the riders could tell their tales of daring that will become legends. Be there next year. Results. Feedback Photos available from Huw Watkins Keith Davies & Photos4ru.com
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