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Manchester 17 MC

Jamie Paget wins 2008 Long Mynd Hare and Hounds
Sunday Oct 21st 

Sunday 26th October saw the Manchester 17 club run their Forest Based Hare and Hounds under clear skies on a section of the Long Mynd range. Although run as a Hare and Hounds the course is set out in an Enduro style with the same type of going you'd expect to find at one and in this lies a lot of its appeal.

With a new start area this years course was just over eight miles and wound its way around the Forest with fast open going on the moorland, long alleys in the trees, technical climbs and decents and more than a few ruts. The heavy overnight rain made some of the going a bit softer than planned, but as the day wore on these became easier to ride as they dried out. Only the ruts hidden deep in the trees stayed the same all day, though even these were rideable feet up for the skilful. Only one section was cut out. Geraints Diner was so named after a section in the Erzberg Hard Enduro called Carls Diner which tests the riders resolve to finish. With multiple lines, deep ruts and littered with roots this 150 metre section always had a few riders at the end of it having a breather. Just after half race distance it was cut out to keep things flowing and cut down on the number of sportsmen needing oxygen at the end of it! Much of the going was on small tracks that ride well whatever the weather, and being out in the open provide stunning views of the surrounding landscape.

The start went well and it was Jamie Padget who shot off the line and never looked back. With consistently fast lap times he pulled ahead of second placed Adam Smith and third placed David Brick who battled together for some time before Adam pulled clear. The over 40's was won by Mark Houson by near enough a full lap. Riding a lot faster than anyone else in the class his finish time would have posted him third in the experts! Ian Barnet came in second and third was Dave Salkeld. The Clubman E1 was won by Matt Keeling, very closely followed by David Wathen and a few minutes later Dom Garnham came in third. Clubman E2 was topped by Oliver Hart with Paul Knibb litterally seconds behind him at the flag, Paul Hempkins came in a few minutes later to claim third place. The sportsman class saw the most retirees. With the going being both technical and now tricky because of the rain it put paid to their day from quite early on. Mark Lonergan was the eventual winner by a very comfortable margin from David Morris in second and John Curwen in third. The club would like to thank all the riders for their part in making this a quality event. The good weather on the day helped the event run without a hitch and all the finishers seemed to have enjoyed the challenge. Results

Long Mynd Hare and Hounds. Sunday Oct 21st, 2007

The Manchester17 club held their annual forest event this weekend in perfect conditions. With the largest entry to date, the 125 riders were treated to a course of 9 miles which saw them tackle everything a true cross country rider would want to ride.

The riders set off at just gone 11.00am (after the ambulance arrived!) from the slightly cramped start area in a Le Mans style. The small expert field got away cleanly followed by the clubman E1. The clubman open class had a few hold ups on the first steep downhill just after the start which quickly cleared but the resulting jam also held up the sportsman and over 40's class a touch. After this first section they were off into the trees for the first of many more technical sections. With most people missing the easy/hard signs there was a bit of fun as most took the hard route and found it a bit tricky. From there on in it was sections in the trees followed by more open going once out of them. With more new sections put in there was only a little bit of rutting in the more used bits. One new section which was interesting was a run through some young trees. When the course was submitted for approval 6 months ago it was quite open but the growth of the trees closed it right down and it was testing for some of the sportsman.

With very few places to rest it was a tiring course but all rideable. The fastest lap came from Justin Wilson who was lapping around the 21 minutes mark. There was a real mixture of terrain which any Enduro rider would have found familiar and from what was said afterwards it was very enjoyable to ride. Although overtaking was a bit tight in places the length of the course meant that everyone was well spaced out and their were no hold ups on the course after the first few minutes.

The club would like to thank all the riders who made the event a success and a kick up the pants to the fast lads who swore at the marshals because they were going to fast to stop for one particularly tight corner! Anyway, the results are now out on the club website but these are only the provisional ones. For next year a new start area will be found and no doubt some more new sections. So if you like big laps and varied terrain then get yourself down next year. Geraint Rogers. Clerk of the Course.

Results Photos: Keith Bowen

Long Mynd Hare & Hounds - Sunday 22nd October 2006

Justin Wilson took the win at the Long Mynd hare and hounds on Sunday (22nd), organised by Manchester 17 MCC. The 7 mile forestry course had been nicely dampened down the night before with some heavy rain and provided a tough day's racing for the 120 riders.

Rich Milner got the holeshot from the expert class in the Le Mans style start but Wilson soon took control with Robert Reese and David Brick in very close pursuit. These three stayed together for the first 90 minutes of the event until Wilson started to pull out a minute's lead, which he kept until the finish, despite a "coming together" with a slower rider which left Wilson trapped under two bikes!

With an hour to go the ever threatening rain finally came in to add a slippery coating to the course and test the stamina reserves of even the fittest riders. Robert Reese (left) pushed Wilson all day long to hold onto second place and David Brick finished a fine third despite riding without a clutch cable for the last two laps.

Results

Lap times

Pictures available from Keith Bowen

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