All content © Bob MuIIins

Rogershill Winter Series Recap

The fifth and final round of the RORE and Dorset Enduro winter series was held at Rogershill Raceway. The weather was kind making track conditions the best they have been all season. But this made the racing fast and furious and a complete contrast from round threes glorious mudfest! The series has been incredibly well supported and we have tried to vary each track as much as possible with the venues available.

Ricky Wiggins won the day, but it was a purely ceremonious win as the championship trophy was already guaranteed! Dylan Baynton led his Wincanton print team mate for most of the race but had to settle for second in the end. Maybe Dylan should just let his riding do the talking instead of getting shouty?? Third place was Tom Elwood, who is over the moon with his new 450 Kawasaki but suffered from bad arm pump for most of the race. In the final series standings young Josh Player came second, showing that ability to recover quickly after some spectacular crashes does have its rewards! Nice one Josh. Brad King, opting to do selected rounds this winter came third. Spare a thought for Dom Thomas who battled through ten laps before having to retire.

The expert class win was a tough battle between Ross Blackmore who got the holeshot, Brett Rowland and Thomas Bridewell. Brett led for most of the race until his second refuel stop where Tom passed him to take the win. Brett came second in the race and the championship. Ross Blackmore finished in third. Lewis Gigg won the expert trophy overall with 3 race wins, and Ricky Good came third, well done to all.

Third place Jack Twenytman narrowly clinched the holeshot from Dan and led the expert vets class for the first few laps but it was Stan Watt who took the win on the new Yamaha wr 250. Second place was the ever-consistent Gary McCoy. Dan having not raced since the first round found the old boys had lost none of their speed and couldn’t quite hang with the front runners who all ended up mixing it with the younger experts! Championship overall winner was Jon Tarr, who’s consistency shone through, very close behind was Jack Twentyman who always gives it his all. Jack was followed by Dan Groom, who’s been putting the hours in, between rounds, and no doubt will be giving the “old guard” a tough time in the coming series.

Paul Feltham got the holeshot in the clubman A class, but it was Jason Connor who won, setting the fastest lap of the group. Second was Mathew Joyce who also finished second in the championship standings and Third was Mark Robson. Series wise there were numerous race winners and visitors to the podium, but it was Ian Fortune that kept himself consistently near the top in all conditions, well done, followed by Matthew Joyce and Young Morgan Deakin whose consistent rise through the classes is impressive.

The winner of the clubman B class, Maverick Smith, got an amazing result in the overalls considering it was his first enduro, he showed great speed and said he will be entering experts next time! Second place was Paul Jones who beat Daryl Biles in round 5 but it was Daryl who won the clubman B championship narrowly beating Paul! Steve Morton came third but interestingly there was a different winner at every round in this class! This has the potential to make next season very interesting!

The over 40’s clubman class was won by dorset enduro rider Neil Deakin, who had a great ride managing to beat second place and championship winner Si Thomas, third place was Neil Ross. In the championship, Si had three wins giving him first place, Neil had two wins, but it wasn’t enough to beat the consistent George Leyland. Numerous other battles went on throughout the rest of the field, particularly Dave Sawtell who just wanted to beat the Swanage lads.

James French was the winner of the sportsman class whose fastest lap was 10 seconds quicker than second place Robert Melita. Third place was Dominic Chennery whose consistent lap times also earned him third place in the championship. First Place in the championship Simon Ellett rode in clubman B for the last race, fair play. Second was James Wright trophy winner Terry Marsh, who was level points with Dominic but got second for his overall win in November.

For the summer series we will be adding another veteran group, Vets expert, Vets clubman and Vets sportsman. After consideration we decided this was better than adding an over 50s class because about half of the vets entrants are 50 so it wouldn’t solve the congestion problem in the clubman vets (and the top boys in expert vets are over 50 so they might go pot hunting!) The addition of an extra group allows veterans who are just joining the sport to race in their own group.

Looking toward the summer series all the groups will be getting a shake up, so if you have had a win in your class at any event, we will expect you to move up a group (except champs and expert vets) plus those that have been very close! We want to make sure the championship stays competitive so please don’t be afraid to move up, the new competition will bring you on.

Finally thank you to all the riders for supporting the winter series, it has its challenges, especially the weather, but ourselves and dorset enduro try to put on the best events possible. Furthermore thank you to mito uk, the ACU and vsmx for sponsoring track tape for the charity event; there was 5 miles of it! Thank you to all the volunteers especially Pete Coles, Simo, the Daves, Paul, Neil, Stan, Stevo, Abi, Marcus and The Saville and Wright Families plus many more. With all this help RORE and the crew raised £7 k plus for charity and with our summer events in June and August we aim to raise some more!

Thanks again from Dan and Em, without your support none of this would be possible.

Photos Kwackersnapper