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MCC Santon EnduroGH M/cs. / Husqvarna - Eastern Centre Championship ROUND 1 - Thetford Forest - 23 February Report Richard Snowden Pictures from Tony Ridge Round one of the GH Motorcycles Husqvarna Eastern Centre Championships was held in Thetford Forest in fine conditions. We have had rain but you couldn't tell - the going was dry!!!!! The contingent from Wales were commenting that the sandy going was almost Mediterranean - a world of difference from the desperate floods in the west!!! Nearly 170 riders were out to start their season and enjoy a great days racing set out as ever by the massively experienced clerk of the course Andy Waters. Within minutes of the start riders were into the flowing special test and the timing system was soon showing Tom Sagar 450 Colwyn Bay KTM at the front of the championship contingent. A brilliant run on the 125 Colwyn Bay KTM saw Brad Freeman in a very impressive second - just 3/4 second behind. Lee Eddy on the 250 Edmondson Racing Beta was in a strong third from Mark Roberts on the 350 Caddwallader KTM, both some 4 seconds back on the leading pair. In the battle for local honours first blood went to Chris Hockey multi times Eastern centre champion in fifth with 2013 Eastern centre champion Jamie Roper in seventh and lots to do... The Colwyn Bay boys repeated their result on the second lap with Brad again keeping Tom honest with a second test time just under a second slower than the flying Sagar... Lee Ed. Dropped the Beta on the second test but still managed to finish fourth but the mistake meant that Roberts picked up the third. Jamie Roperw as next in with fifth but Kiwi's seventh was enough to mean that he was the front easterncentreacu rider as the championship boys headed off to complete the six laps with the final 25 minute lap clearly in everyone's mind. Tom meant business and demonstrated his exceptional speed on the going running sub 25 minute laps from lap three. At the end Tom had 2 minutes to spare with half the championship field managing to stay clean. Both Hockey and Roper delivered clean final laps so the test times would be the decider in this opening round but they were separated by the much travelled Frazer Norrie.
The newly created expert veterans class in 2014 proved popular with 16 vets battling for the podium. Diss club's Mark Chapman on his trusty Bavin Yamaha was in a class of his own finishing over a minute ahead of James Holt on the 350 Aim KTM. Former Eastern centre champion Chapman would have been 6th overall in the experts. Rounding out the top three was another Diss stalwart Gene Womack on his Husqvarna. In the clubman class Antoine Criq was on a mission and took his Edmondson Racing Beta to the win from Adam James on another E T James KTM enjoying the sandy terrain following his recent clubman victory at the very different Snowrun. Diss club's Ross Taylor pushed these national clubmen finishing less than a second behind James with a very strong start to his season on the Ranson Racing Honda. Katie Walker finished a great fifth and put the disappointment of dropping her E T James KTM on the first test being one of only 6 clubmen managing to clean the demanding fourth lap. Another Diss rider Martin Stevens on his Ranson Racing Kawasaki was fourth after the tests but lost a minute on the going and had to settle with sixth. In the clubman vets Paul Sagar took the victory as the only over 40 to stay clean from another Diss man Jason Fowler on the JLF KTM from Keith Readman. In the super vets Steve Finch on the GH Mcs Husqvarna took victory from Steve Mason and another diss stalwart Clive Stevens with all three still fast enough to finish top 15 in the overall clubman class. With the dust settling on round one all eyes will be set to the Woodbbridge club's event on 16 March when round 2 of the GH Mcs. Championship kicks off. Results
Sunday 24 February saw 2013 enduro action kick off in East Anglia with Round 1 of the 2013 eastern centre championship - this year sponsored by GH Motorcycles and Husaberg. 194 riders including an excellent national entry plus all the eastern centre stars were faced with a wintry day with odd snow flurries but the ground was in stunning condition and offered a superb days racing. Clerk of the course Andy Waters had laid out a 16.5 mile course with 6 laps for championship and one lap less for each of the other classes. He aimed for 3-4 cleans per class and as ever times were spot on with only the strong national class riders in the championship class raising the number to 6 championship riders staying clean. Within minutes of the start riders were faced with the test - most of the planned Muntjac test was in use with Tom Sagar - Colwyn Bay KTM and Daryl Bolter, Crescent KTM both starting the day in determined fashion with Tom a mere 0.07 second in front. Jack Rowland MPS Husqvarna was a strong third from 2012 runner up Jamie Roper Walters/Aim KTM with multi eastern centre champion Chris Hockey in fifth on his Dr. Shox Yamaha - both showing great speed in the strong national class field. Test 2 saw both Sagar and Bolter losing use of a footrest after hitting a deep rut for most of the second test but they still came out first and second - this time with Tom extending his advantage by a further 0.79 of a second - it couldn't have been closer... Whilst these 2 BEC stars battled for top honours on the test Jack Rowland again put in avery solid ride to finish the second test in a comfortable third. This time Mark Roberts looking ever more at home on his 250 Cadwel Electraction TM UK took fourth with eastern centre motocross star Jason Morland getting the fifth fastest time.
However it wasn't all over bar the shouting as the event has a real sting in the tail with the final lap for championship riders dropping to 29 minutes on lap 6 and that was going to be a real test as the sandy Thetford land had bumped and bermed like a world MX sand event... Sagar showed his speed by slotting in a 29 minute lap on the third lap but that didn't count so all eyes were on the final time control and both Sagar and Bolter came a minute early both with about 30 seconds in hand. So with around 90 miles of racing a mere 0.86 seconds separated these 2 stars and sets both up for many more battles as the championship series get under way in 2013...
In the expert class young Scottish motocross star Ryan McLean Danger UK/Jett/Feridax Yamaha crushed the opposition to take the expert win in his first timecard enduro - worth the long drive from Glenrothes!!! Charlie Evans, Tim Rose and Shaun Buchan finsihed in that order and the four riders topped the test times and were the only experts able to maintain a clean timecard on their 5 gruelling laps... The clubman class was equally competitive, again with just 4 riders keeping a clean timecard - with Lee Green on the Steve Plain Beta taking the top spot from Lewis Bond Yamaha, Diss club rider David Stevens finished a strong third and Shane Tasker on the JJ Tyres KTM in fourth. However but for a few seconds young Katie Walker ET James KTM could have mixed it with the top 4 - the clock had just ticked over for a one minute penalty when Katie came in to the final time control - without the penalty Katie would have been in an outstanding third but still finished in a great sixth place - beating many more experienced riders in the process... As ever Diss MCC would like to thank everyone for helping to layout and run this year's Santon enduro, to the riders for supporting us and of course the Forestry commission for use of the land. Results are online at www.dissmcc.co.uk . Can't wait for the final round of the British Enduro Championship - 24 November - can't wait... Richard Snowden - Diss MCC Photos - Andy Waters
As riders will know we couldn't run a round of the BEC in 2012 as a result of Forestry works in the Muntjac area but we were finally back in the forest for our Santon event in November - the final round of the 2012 Eastern Centre Championship. To continue to prepare for the Muntjac BEC on 17 November we have been given permission to run a further event in the Muntjac area in February for 2013. We initially planned a national non-championship event but have eventually settled on a Centre event incorporating the first round of the 2013 GH Motorcycles Husaberg sponsored Eastern Centre Championship. The event will run on around 75% of the track and test planned for the BEC in November and gives us the time to ensure everything is prepared and in great shape for the final round of the 2013 BEC... By 2014 the February event should return to the traditional Santon area when forestry work should have been completed there and will run as an Eastern Centre event with the Muntjac taking up it's new position in November as a national event - and hopefully as a BEC. Regs for the Santon event will be available via our website - www.dissmcc.co.uk from the beginning of February and as ever are expected to fill up very quickly. GH Motorcycles are the new series sponsor for the Eastern Centre Championships for 2013 and the championship will be run over 7 rounds with a mix of long course and hare and hounds events. the schedule is:
Sunday 18 November saw Diss MCC run the sixth and final round of the Eastern Centre Championships in Thetford Forest. A bright but frosty start greeted the 150 riders all facing 2 special tests with championship riders having 6 laps of the 12.5 mile course. The special test kicked the event into action with young Aaron Edwards 250 TM shaking the established eastern centre stars - over 2 seconds ahead of Julian Harvey 250 KTM with Jason Morland 450 KTM a further 3 seconds back. Jamie Roper (left) had pulled back into the game with the fastest test of the day some 2.5 seconds faster than Morland Aaron kept his cool on the second lap posting another top 3 time one and a half seconds down on Morland but still leading overall at the end of the second test by 1.5 seconds. Julian Harvey, multi Eastern Centre trials champion failed to clear the big log on his KTM dropping him to fourth on the second test - without this small delay he would surely have been in contention for victory?
In the expert class times were again tight with only ET James rider, Andrew Bull (right) staying clean after blitzing both tests. Toby Morley picked up the runner up spot having lost a minute on his final lap as did third placed Tim Rose.
Andy Waters, Clerk of the Course had laid out another excellent course with times that worked perfectly and we are very pleased with this event our first back in the Muntjac area after much tree felling over the past year and a good first step towards a BEC in this area in November 2013. Full results at www.dissmcc.co.uk
As you're all aware the Muntjac didn't appear on the 2012 BEC fixture
list when it was released in the Autumn. The club began negotiations with
the Forestry Commission at the beginning of 2011 but by the end of August
we were advised that the land would not be available as extensive thinning
works were planned for most of the Muntjac area from Winter 2011. This We are continuing to work with the Forestry Commission to try to secure
the Eastern Centre Santon Enduro in November (this area is also affected
by the programme of thinning) and to try to finalise permission for the
use We've run British Championship events in Thetford Forest since 1986 so are extremely disappointed to miss 2012 but wish all riders and organisers a successful 2012 season and hope to have more positive news for 2013.
Sunday 20 November saw 160 riders face the sixth and final round of the 2011 EMG Eastern Centre Enduro Championship run in Thetford Forest. The day began cold and foggy but conditions were dry and the sun finally burnt through leaving yet another sunny Autumn day for racing. The championship class faced 6 laps of the 14 mile lap with special tests on laps one and two. Top motocross star and local Woodbridge rider Jake Nicholls stormed to the top of the leader board on the first test in the misty damp conditions some 7 seconds clear of Jamie Roper with Chris Hockey a further second down with Jason Morland a further 6 seconds down on the four minute test. In the expert class Richard Hallam was 8 seconds clear of Phil Maltby with Luke Hodgkinson the fastest clubman. Despite his lead on test one Nicholls was determined to push harder and shaved a further 6 seconds off his second test but this time he was pushed by Jason Morland who was second fastest 4 seconds behind Nicholls and he was 9 seconds faster than Hockey. The battle between Hockey and Roper for the 2011 Eastern Centre Championship wa heading Hockey's way when Roper dropped it on his second test and finished some 6 seconds behind Hockey.
The only rider to meet the tough lap six was Nicholls who crossed the yellow flags into the time control with less than 5 seconds to stay on his minute and win the event. Hockey first out of the trees but 20 seconds too late to stay on time and Jamie Roper came in a few seconds later - both with a minute penalty and this was enough to give Chris Hockey another Eastern Centre Championship win to add to his extensive trophy cabinet... The experts again saw Richard Hallam head the second test but he lost a minute on the going allowing Phil Maltby to take the win. Aaron Edwards the only other rider staying clean on the going picking the runner up slot after two mistakes on his test had left him down the leader board after the tests but his result was good enough to take the championship. Phil Maltby took the runner up. Luke Hodgkinson again headed the second clubman test and took the victory from Diss Club's David Stevens with Kevin Webb in third - with only these three riders staying clean on time. That's it for Enduros for 2011 in the Eastern Centre with a season of close racing and all the centre championships being decided at the sixth and final round. Thanks as ever to all our land owners and the EMG Motor Group for their continued sponsorship and finally congratulations to all event organisers for running a cracking season of enduros in East Anglia - now we're all planning and looking forward to 2012which i'm sure will be another great year for our sport. Richard Snowden - Chair - Diss MCC Photos Andy Waters
Sunday 21 November saw the fifth and final round of the 2010 EMG Motor Group sponsored Eastern Centre Championship run by Diss MCC in Thetford Forest. 153 Riders were faced with a 13.5 mile lap and special tests on laps one and two. British championship contender Tom Sagar on his FastEddy 450 KTM took the opportunity to get some practice on the soft sandy Thetford terrain. This will undoubtedly help his preparations for the 2011 BEC season opener - the Muntjac in February 2011 also in Thetford Forest. With just enough time to warm machines up riders arrived at the first special test within minutes of the 9:30 start time. Chris Hockey who really enjoys this event was first on the test and set the standard with a blistering 4 minute 17. However Sagar was next and he was clearly feeling very comfortable and came out of the test with a 5 second advantage over Hockey. The battle for second place in the centre championship lay between Jason Morland and Julian Harvey with Morland coming out third, six seconds behind Hockey and three up on Harvey. Sam Toy 450 husaberg blitzed the expert class and Aaron Edwards stamped his authority on the clubmen. By the time the championship class returned for their second test the once smooth sandy going was now seriously rough. Jason Morland upped his pace and overtook Hockey with an eight second advantage over him. Hockey was clearly focused on the finish and protecting his championship lead and came out of the test in a safe third. Sagar again demonstrated his speed advantage on his second test by cutting more than ten seconds off his first blistering test time, and further stamped his authority on the event. Championship class riders faced six laps of the going with times tightening from 40 minutes on lap three to 28 minutes on the six and final lap. Tom demonstrated on lap 3 that he was as comfortable on the going as the test and finished the lap in 26 minutes!! Just to show this was no fluke he repeated this each lap finishing lap six with two minutes to spare to take an emphatic win. Chris Hockey also demonstrated his speed in the Centre by coming out of the punishing woods with just over a minute to spare and less than a minute later was Jason Morland whose strong tests and clean ride on the going secured him second at the event. However Harvey's consistency over the season means unofficially that he takes the runner up spot in the Centre with Jason Morland just behind in third. Sam Toy dominated the expert class running clean over the five laps and finishing 13 seconds clear of Craig Roper with Paul Whitehead a further 13 seconds down in third place. Aaron Edwards maintained his position after four laps for the Clubman class victory with test times fast enough to finish third in the Experts. After three laps David Gulliver took the Sportsman win with Diss club member Ross Taylor in his first adult long course enduro showing lots of promise and taking a strong second place finish. CHAMPIONSHIP: EXPERT CLUBMAN SPORTSMAN
After wind and rain the bad weather disappeared just before the start of the final round of the 2009 EMG Eastern Centre Championship and autumn sunshine greeted the riders and support crews. Chris Hockey signalled his desire to win with a blistering first test some 6 seconds faster than Motocrosser Jason Morland with Julian Harvey less than a second behind in third. Hockey didn't have things all his own way as Morland set the fastest second test 2 seconds faster than Hockey with Harvey again slotting in third. However the Santon gets tough as the laps mount up and the sixth and final lap saw only three championship riders staying clean. Chris Hockey took a well deserved win (and unofficially takes the 2009 Eastern Centre Championship title too..) with Julian Harvey and James Jackman the only other riders clean taking second and third. Jason Morland dropped to fourth - the fastest of the riders to pick up a minute penalty. In the closely fought Expert class Tom Braddock took the first test and Jake Morphey the second with Braddock less than half a second ahead overall. The two riders kept their positions and both clocked in a minute early on their fifth and last lap. Only three other riders managed to come in on their minute with Paul Whitehead taking the third place. The clubman class was won by Sam Toy who won the first test from Christian Drane who although he won the second test didn't quite close the gap enough. Of the 17 riders going clean the top three, Toy, Drane and Rob Reeve and eighth place David Stevens managed to clock in a minute early but fourth placed Tom Howe managed to clock in 2 minutes early - matching the expert pace. The sportsman class was won by Clive Matthews - Results
Sunday 8 February saw Woodbridge MCC run round one of the 2009 EMG Motor Group sponsored Eastern Centre Championship. With expected temperatures of -6 Centrigrade overnight Sunday dawned bright and sunny but very crisp. A superb entry of 160 riders were soon being tested on the excellent 12 mile lap laid out by Wilf Harvey and the hard working Woodbridge team. The special test at the end of laps one and two saw much of the days action. At the end of the first test Aston Bird, out for the first time on his new MPS Husqvarna was 0.2 seconds ahead of Ollie Moyce on his new 450 Husaberg from Julian Harvey, Chris Hockey and pre event favorite Si Wakely (left: training) was trailing in fifth having stalled on his first test - some 5 seconds behind team mate Bird. However lap two saw a complete change around - Si fired his big MPS Husky round the test and put in a blistering second time - some ix second ahead of the smooth Husaberg of Moyce. Si had done enough - one second up overall. Aston Bird couldn't beat his first test time and had to settle for thrid. Lap times tightened as the day went on and only seven championship riders managed to stay clean - without the minute allowance times were tight but definitely possible. To emphasise his advantage Wakely was the only rider to clock in the final lap with a minute to spare. The top three remained unchanged and Chris Hockey out for the first time on a Jones Yamaha slotted in fourth ahead of Julian Harvey. The expert class saw young Tom Braddock also Husky mounted take the win from Mark Houson (Husky) with Jake Morphey (Yamaha) stopping a second 1,2,3 for Husqvarna in the experts. Carl Gray blasted his 525 KTM to the front in the clubman class from David Stevens and Tome Howe. Anthony Weiss won the sportsman class... Results
The final round of the 2008 EMG Centre championship was run by Diss MCC on Sunday (16th November) in Thetford Forest in an area not used by the club since the mid 1980's. A damp and drizzly start didn't deter the 150 riders - with championship riders faced with 6 laps of the 13 mile circuit. The circuit improved lap by lap and proved a fitting end to the 2008 championship. The early lead on test one went to Chris Hockey with Aston Bird just over half a second behind and Julian Harvey in third. Aston (already 2008 champion) upped his pace on the second test and pulled 12 seconds on Hockey with James Yearley third fastest. Centre Motocross riders again had a go at this end of season event - Jason Morland slotted in to his first enduro with good test times (5th and 6th) but missed the final time check and lost a minute and Clint Wright struggled on the tests but stayed clean on the going. Jake Morphey headed both special tests to take the expert win from Michael Ridge and local boy Jason Naruszewicz slotted into third overall. Kevin Palmer took the clubman win with Diss club's Bruce Bavin in a strong second in his first enduro. Many thanks to all our helpers and to EMG motor Group for again sponsoring the Centre Championship this year and finally - here's to 2009 it won't be long... Eastern Centre Handbook The recently published Eastern Centre Handbook does not include certain changes to Eastern Centre Enduro Championship events. The changes will be published in the next Eastern Centre Gazette but two important ones worth noting are: The Muntjac forms Round 2 of the Eastern Centre Championship For all Eastern Centre Championship Enduros, working lights must be fitted and a random check will be undertaken at scrutineering – the penalty for one or both lights not working is 60 points. Eastern Centre to tackle noisy bikes Riders at the recent Eastern Centre Enduro forum have prompted organisers to tighten up on noisy bikes. At last Sunday’s Woodbridge Club Tunstall Enduro, a number of random noise checks were carried out and further checks are planned at subsequent events starting with the Muntjac Enduro on the 25th Feb. The Noise Control Officials have requested that riders make a special effort to ensure their machines are not noisy and to ensure that the piston stroke is stamped on the crankcase. For those who are not aware of the noise regulations – if your bike exceeds the permitted allowance, the penalty is exclusion, so if you have any doubts about your machine, it’s best to get your silencer fixed in advance of any event. Environmental Work Mats for Enduros The 2007 ACU Handbook has just been published and one important change for riders and support crews is that riders must have environmental work mats under their machine in refuelling / work areas etc to prevent spillage of fluids. The mat must be at least as wide as the handlebars and at least as long as the full length of the machine. Importance to have the correct coloured number plates An issue raised at the recent ACU Clerk of the Course Seminar at Rugby is that riders must have the correct coloured number plates on their machines to enable organisers and also other riders to clearly distinguish between the different classes. Whilst some riders tend to only apply this rule for British Championship events, the ACU have pointed out this applies to other enduros and they are keen for organisers to ensure this regulation is properly implemented. In summary the regulations require:
For info, the minimum height of number is 100mm
Diss MCC held its annual 2 man enduro at the famous Wattisfield Hall motocross track on Sunday 8th August. The 3.3 mile lap attracted a capacity entry and riders certainly faced a challenge in the morning session as the heavy overnight rain made the track very muddy. As the day dried out the track got better and overall there were many happy faces at the end of the event. Whilst the event is designed to be a team competition, the coverall winner of the event with a total of 36.83 laps was James Newstead who landed up riding all the sessions on his own as his partner pulled out at the last minute to assist the club with the running of the event. The first pair of riders home in the Championship class was Mike Gibbon and Michael Ridge who finished on 36.5 laps one lap up on Steven Revett and Lee Whitney. The expert class was won by Scot Hayworth and Ben Whiting who finished on a very creditable 36 laps, 1.5 laps ahead of 2nd place experts Steve and Andy Mason. In the clubman class Diss MCC members Jason Naruszewicz and Matt Stroud won their first event with 33.5 laps from local old timers David Ward and Jason Fowler. The event formed a round of the Bowers Motorcycle Eastern Centre Championship and the club would like to say a big thanks to all who helped put on a cracking event in initially difficult conditions and to Bowers motorcycles for their support. Please note the attached results are provisional and any queries cannot be dealt with until Friday 18th August evening (Tel: 07709561212) as club members will not being available due to work/holiday /other commitments. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience. Andy Waters andrew.waters6@btopenworld.com Related Items 2006 Brandon ACU British Enduro Championship Rd1
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In the expert class the man on a mission was Charlie Evans who blasted
the 300 E T James KTM to a strong win some 17 seconds clear of James Jackman
on the 350 Edmondson Racing Beta with another of the E T James KTM boys
Andrew Bull in third closely followed by another Edmondson Beta in the
capable hands of Aaron Smith. Lowestoft rider Lewis Bond the 2013 eastern
centre clubman champion showing his strength in the experts. Diss club's
David Stevens on the Ranson Racing Kawasaki, another upgraded rider finished
a strong seventh despite dropping a minute on the last minute.
Rowland
kept his pace clean and finished a strong third with the hugely
experienced Hockey taking the highest result for a centre rider in a
brilliant fourth from Mark Roberts and Ricky Mair in sixth all the way
down from Elgin in Scotland recovering from a crash on his first test to
be the final championship rider with a clean timecard and sixth place for
his efforts.
The laps got tighter as planned and the 25 minute last time control
gave everyone a hard target to stay on time. Only Harvey and Roper had a
minute in hand into the final time control with Harvey the first to hand
his timecard in. Aaron Edwards hit problems on his final lap and dropped
to ninth with a 2 minute penalty. Roper had the victory closely followed
by Jason Morland with Julian Harvey picking up third. Newly crowned centre
champion Chris Hockey decided he needed an additional challenge for the
final event of the year and attacked the ever increasing whoops and berms
on an 80 Kawasaki and surprised many by only losing a minute on the final
lap and he was only a few seconds off cleaning the lap!!! Chris finished a
hard fought eighth - and almost certainly had his toughest ride of the
year to achieve it...
In the clubman class club member and key helper David Stevens 350 KTM
(left) took the victory - with first and fourth on the tests and only one of 6
clubmen staying clean on their 4 laps. Andrew Greenwell secured the
Eastern Centre Clubman championship with a fine second place with young
Adam James another of the ET James taking a fine third place. Katie Walker
the sole lady entry also finished in a very strong fifth place with two
good tests and a clean timecard - one of only six clubmen staying on time.
However
the regulars knew that Andy Waters had set some pretty demanding times and
the final lap was planned to be tight - and it was...