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Clifton Offroad

Clifton Off Road Motoduro
Church House Farm
Clifton on Teme
Worcestershire

Surrounded on all sides by snow, the organisers of the annual Clifton Motoduro –Bob Crump and Nick Clarke – managed to weave a course around mile after mile of Worcestershire countryside, which provided great entertainment to the large number of riders who braved the cold on Easter Monday. Last year’s event saw spectators in shorts and T-shirts but this year was completely different.

The decision to delay the event by a week was a good move as even more riders swelled the original impressive entry list. Many riders who had ridden at the Church House Farm course in previous years were on the line early but the entry included many who were first timers at this impressive venue.

Equally impressive was the large heated marquee set up for signing on before the event began, absolute luxury by Enduro standards. A wind straight from Siberia chilled everyone to the bone but this one island of warmth put a smile on everyone’s face and left riders with a positive attitude towards the races to come.

Six races were planned for the day. Two one-hour adult motoduros, two 45-minute Youth races and two 30-minute outings for the Juniors with the adult riders out first.

The course wended its way across fields, through wooded gulleys and along woodland tracks, which gave a 10-minute lap for the fastest riders with most making the loop in around 15 minutes. Despite the recent wet weather, snow and freezing conditions parts of the course were dusty in the woodland areas but in other places treacherous mud holes and slippery banks made the going tough for those who expected an nice and easy ride around. This event turned out to be the toughest that has ever been run at this venue.

Clifton Motoduro always attracts a great mix of riders from Enduro, XC and MX and it was obvious right from the start that the course really suited the Enduro riders. Jon Hinam and Ash Fox lead the field as Matt Bell, Ross Hancock and Lee Green tagged along just a short distance behind.

This was Fox’s first time at Clifton but he revelled in the twisty and challenging course and put two and a half minutes between himself and fellow Expert Hinam to take the first race win with Bell a lap behind in third. Adam Sanders, Sam Sault and Sam Hoskins filled the top three Clubmasn places while Chris Meek won the Sportsman class ahead of verteran riders Dave Morris with James Wozencroft in third.

The Junior riders race got underway but they struggled in the tough and slippery conditions even though they had a greatly shortened course to navigate. Grady Jones took the win in the 85-150 class ahead of Patrick Borge and Henry Yardley while Charlie Chater took second overall and topped the 65cc class with Sam Davies and Sam Draper in second and third places.

The third race of the day saw the Boam boys Mat and Dan take first and second spots in the Youth race with Harry Clarke taking a very creditable third place despite being slightly underpowered.

Race Two for the adults saw a much-depleted field take to the line. The cold wind and tough track had taken its toll as many riders handed in their transponders during the break between races, more than content with just one Bank Holiday outing.

Jon Hinam got off to a great start as Ash Fox was slow off the line and in his rush to catch the leader caught a post on the second corner. Hinam stretched his lead as Fox again caught the same post on his second lap. Hinam charged on to win the race with Fox second and Ross Hancock third but Fox’s large lead in the opening race gave him the overall win as the two race results were combined.

Sam Sault charged hard to take the Clubman class win ahead of Adam Sanders and Jon Turley but it was Sanders who took the overall Clubman class win. Chris Meek did the double and won the Sportsman class for the second time, taking the overall in the process, as Andrew Draper and Guy Hemmings took second and third places.

A decision to combine the Junior and Youth races proved to be a smart move and cut down the time the event finished considerably.

Charlie Chater won the Junior 65cc class overall followed by Sam Davies and Scott Draper. Grady Jones beat Henry Yardley to top spot in the Junior 85-150 class while Matt Boam took the Youth 125-250 win ahead of brother Dan with Alistair Garness in third. Harry Clarke won the Youth 85-150 class ahead of George Saunders and Jack Law.

Despite the bitter temperatures this event proved to be really competitive even though the track did deteriorate slightly more than previous years, hardly surprising considering the weather over the past few months.

Bob Crump and his track crew did an excellent job of making changes where they though it necessary and each race ran smoothly due to their outstanding efforts. Timing was spot on and COR wish to thank Jess and Tom from T Timing for their help throughout the day.

Another successful motoduro at this impressive venue which will remain an annual event, mainly because Bob Crump simply cannot find another time to slot in a second event in the busy schedule of his farm.

Well done to all involved.

COR Motoduro - Adult Race One