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Edward Jones |
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Ed
Jones Wins 2009 E1 2T title
Congratulations to Edward Jones for clinching the E1 2T Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship title with a round in hand. The 2008 E3 Champion not only proved his riding ability but also his flexibility by switching classes to E1 2T at the other end of the spectrum. In a 3 way battle with his brother Robert & cousin Dylan, Edward's 5th & 7th overall at the Dyfi gave him an unassailable lead going into the final round at the Natterjack. Edward - pictured left being encouraged by his father Gareth - is part of the KTM Uk team with Greg Evans & Daryl Bolter. Daryl & Greg will be taking the E1 4T title down to the wire at Longmoor camp. Postscript: For 2010 the ACU may consider renaming the E1 2T Championship class - the Jones class. For the BEC Standings - Details After a long break since Rd 2 in North of Scotland, Rd 3 headed South to Llandovery in s South Wales. It seemed to be another race with Extreme weather conditions, Scotland was minus temperatures and strong winds, so im sure when WTRA decided to run there event in the 2nd week of August they didn't expect the weather that was to come. After a good Rd 2 in Scotland, winning both Days of the E3 class ahead of TM's Euan McConnell, I needed a repeat performance in Wales. It was horrendous weather and a challenging course resulting in over half the event's entry failing to finish the opening day. Championship class rider Edward Jones recorded excellent times around the Enduro special test and finished 2nd overall behind Tom Sager with his brother Robert in 3rd. All the riders collected time penalties as a result of a tight time check and the bad weather, Edward dropped just three minutes placing him at the top of E3 class ahead of TM's Euan Mc Connell how clocking up four minutes of penalties. After a good first day, Edward was looking for another E3 class win on day two; this would guarantee the E3 Championship. It would not be an easy day as Euan had also put in some excellent test times on day one, and with more bad weather over night; the course was to be a much sorter and easier version of day 1 and a much slacker time schedule. The first test Euan was 2nd overall and Edward was 4th, Ed knew he needed to pick up the pace on the next test. The second test Euan went on 1st, Ed followed, half way through Ed passed McConnell stopped on the side of the track. McConnell had de-railed his chain and put himself out of the race. Ed now leading the class just needed to finish the day to take the E3 title. "I was pleased with my result in what proved to be a very difficult race; with this being my first year in the E3 class I was pleased to take the title with one round remaining.
Early Season report 2007 has a much delayed start to the Enduro scene compared to previous years, with the first British championship round not until July, hosted by my local club, Hafren Dirt Bike Club. After a solid performance in New Zealand competing on the 250 4T, it was a tough decision to decide which bike I was going to compete on in the 2007 season. Having spent my whole riding career riding and competing on the two stroke bikes, mainly in the 125cc Class, I felt the time had come to make the move to the four stroke! My first event on the KTM 250 EXC F (4T) would be the fast eddy Rd 1 Fast Eddy Cross Country Series With a change of venue due to being water logged, it put a bit of a dampener on things at the beginning of the season! Arriving at the new venue, after looking forward to riding the new bike, I was starting to wonder if I had made the right decision, there was more mud than you could imagine!. But the bike performed well The bike was awesome and I was reasonably happy with 6th place. Results 1st Paul Edmondson. 2nd Ryan Voase, 3rd Tom Sager, 4th Shane Carlos, 5th Mick Cock, 6th Edward Jones Muntjack - The First “Proper” Enduro! This event is run in replacement of the John Banks, which was run in November. The Banks Enduro was known for the tight checks and in it new Calendar slot in February it was going to prove no different but it was made worse by the ground being very wet under foot. Results 1st Paul Edmondson, 2nd Simon Wakely, 3rd Tom Sager, 4th Richard Hay, 5th Edward Jones, 6th Chris Hockey Foxborough Two Man This is the fourth time I have competed in this event of which I have won 3. The event didn’t start well we were late arriving due to problems entering the paddock field, but we were to face another problem unknown to us our bikes were to be fitted with lights. With only 15 min till the start we had to change the plan of me going first and my brother Robert would have to start as he had left the lights on his bike. This gave me time to source some lights which I fitted while Robert took the Holeshot. We battled for the whole race with Simon Wakley and Chris Hockey, after spending most of the race in second position we were pleased to come through to win this Event. With both me and Robert new to competing on 4 strokes we were pleased with our result as it was not favourable towards the 4 stroke due to the wet and muddy conditions. Results 1st Edward Jones & Robert Jones, 2nd Simon Wakely & Chris Hockey, 3rd Rowan Jones & Dylan Jones Rd 2 Fast Eddie Cross Country Series The 2nd round was held at Boreton Farm Shrewsbury; unlike the first round this event was dry. The race did not go so well for me mainly due to the MX style course which was fast and open. Due to the fast style course the bike was using considerably more fuel than normal. This required me to make more than 1 stop. But on both occasions while refuelling fuel spilled over the top and delayed restarting of the bike, as it had gone onto the electrics. Results 1st Ryan Voase, 2nd Paul Edmondson, 3rd Tom Sager, 4th Ashley Wood, 5th Daz Carter, 6th Greg Evans, 7th Edward Jones Next Race WOR Dark one Nantmawr Quarry, Sat 17th March Rd1 European Championship Italy 31st March 1st April, "I hope the events up to now will have put me on good form for the first Euro Rd in Italy" Edward Jones
Back on July 2nd I started the Ellsemere Fast Eddy, a venue which has seen extreme weather condition on both ends of the scale. I was a little hasty to know what to expect this time around. On the third lap the back wheel of my bike was kicked off a tree root, and this threw me slightly banging my leg against a tree. I had not come off my bike but I stopped as I was aware something wasn't quite right. With no real pain and I was able to remove my boot on the side of the track and put it back on and ride back to the start, St Johns were not totally sure what I had done and I was advised to go to hospital for an x-ray. It was a bit of a shock to find I had broken my fibula just above my ankle! I was in plaster just over a week and then I was put into an aircast walker, this enabled me to remove the boot to start simple physio type movements and keep the rest of my leg and muscles working to keep the recovery period to a minimum. I had the ok to go ahead with simple tasks and not needing the cast, However I took the decision not to ride the Tywi British Championship on the 29/30 July as something simple could have put me back at the start again and jeopardise my recovery for the rest of the championship and the ISDE, for which I have been chosen to compete as part of the British Trophy Team. With the next British Championship 6 weeks after the Tywi I took it easy for another week or so. I returned to my practicing 12/13 August and was happy with my injury. The following weekend I decided to ride the Bala Big one. I was pleased with my ride and I finished 3rd behind Paul Edmondson and Wayne Braybrook. My Next event was the Rhayader British Championship. After missing the previous round of the championship I needed to score some good points if I was to be a contender for the E1 title. The event was very dry, and not what I was hoping for. Not the best conditions for my little 125! I stayed clean on time and finished 2nd both days in the E1 class taking the Overall E1 for the event. The Following weekend was France European Championship; this is the last round of the championship, in which I ride the 250 2stroke. I was lying 6th going into this event hoping to move up the championship standings following some good results in the earlier rounds, I felt I had already improved on previous years. It was a really good event with 3 tests, 2mx and 1 extreme test. I rode a similar event there in 2004 when I rode the world round in the same area. I didn't feel that I rode as well as I would have liked but I had to remember that this was still only the 2nd event back after my injury. I maintained 6th position in class.
As the season comes to a close and the ISDE in the not so distant future I decided to ride the 250 4t at this year's event. Back in the running for the championship, this was an important event for me and I needed to be consistent at the front of the class on both days to maintain the E1 Title. This year was the first year that we had been allowed to use Enduro tyres as apposed to the Trials tyres in previous years. Heavy overnight rain Friday made the conditions difficult; especially as this was the only one of eight Natterjacks I have ridden to be wet. With little time to spare on any of the checks it was a long and enduring day. Finishing 3rd in class behind Ricky Mair and Andrew Edwards. I had mixed feeling about my result as I was beaten by 2 people who I had not been beaten by this year, but I had still beaten the people I needed to. Sunday started dry overhead, I was feeling a lot more at home on the bike, and I felt to be having a better day than yesterday, but on the 3rd special test the weather took a turn for the worst with wind, rain, hale, thunder and lightning ascending on us like it was going out of fashion. With half of the Championship class just making it through the special test before the condition worsened and the other half telling a very different story. My test time being around 20 seconds slower than the first run through. There was no time on the check to hang about when it was dry, so it would be a race to the 'Finish' to clean the check in these conditions. By the time we got to the start/finish area the weather had deteiriated yet again and the organisers had little or no choice to call and end to the event after the last test and no time penalties if any would count. I finished the day in 2nd position, just 0.89seconds behind my cousin Dylan. With enough points in the bag I won the E1 Championship, this was the 4th time I had won the title. This was a result that I was more than happy with after missing one round of the championship due to my injury and I was still able to win on points before they discounted two days. The next event on the calendar is Weston Beach Race on the 22nd October; this will be the last event before heading out to New Zealand. I know the season is not yet over, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors from 2006 and I hope you will be able to continue to support me in 2007 Many thanks Edward Jones
Hungary I have just returned from Rd 3 of European Enduro championship which was held in Hungary. On arriving we set up camp at the start but due to such cold temperatures at night and not a very good night’s sleep, we decided we needed a Hotel, which we stayed in for the rest of the duration. On Thursday we walked the 2 special tests one MX and one Enduro test. The motocross consisted of fast uphills and downhills on rough terrain, about 5 min long. The Enduro test was on a grass field with a cork screw in the middle, about 4min in length. I felt these tests would be more suited to the larger powered bikes so I was going to find it difficult on the 250 2 stroke against the larger 450 machines. After having a bad cold before the start of the competition I was pleased to finish the first day 7th in Class and 11th overall, best British rider ahead of Simon Wakley and Tom Sager. On the second day things didn’t feel so good but I was pleased to finish 7th in class, 10th Overall and best Brit. I feel that my performance has been good so far in the European championship, as in previous years I have found it difficult to get in side the top 20 overall. After 3 rounds I am lying 6th in the E2 class and 8th Overall in European championship. There is only one European Round remaining. This will take place in France in September. Results can be found at www.axiver.com click on the British flag, and follow the links to European Championship Rd 2 European Enduro Championship Poland After walking the 3 special tests and the seeing the settings they were laid out in I was looking forward to a good event. The 3 different special tests were 1 MX 9 min long – a mixture of MX track, Woodland and Sand, 1 Extreme test 2 ½ min – sand based track with logs, and one Enduro test 7 min - this was very similar to the Breckland but with even more roots and stumps. The Extreme test proved to be very difficult for many of the riders, the extreme test went well for me on most laps I was in the top 3 overall. After the first day I was pleased with my result of 4th in the E2 class my best result to date but I new I could improve on this so on day to I was happy to come home with 2nd in the E2 class only 2.99 seconds behind the leader. Over the two days I finished 3rd in E2. Rd3 Motul GB Hare Scramble After missing rounds 1 and 2 of the GBHS due to date clashes with European Rd's. When Steve asked me about riding this round I was more than happy to ride. I was unsure how the day was going to go as I had not competed in previous Rd’s and didn’t no how my pace would be but after my 2nd place behind Paul Edmondson at the first Rd of Fast Eddie Series I was confident I could be up there. Deciding not to walk the track due to the length of it I was unsure of the terrain so after a good start I tailed Ryan Voase and Paul Edmondson in third with Wayne Braybrook hot on my tail. Ryan and Paul decided to fuel early this gave me the lead for a sort time until I collided with another rider while trying to over take. This allowed Ryan Paul and Wayne to pass me. But after a Quick refuel still in 4th place I passed Ryan on the side of the track which put me in 3rd where I remained for the rest of the race. I was pleased with my result of 3rd place. After Finishing Derrick Edmondson offered me ago on the Pre-Production KTM 250F EXC. So I asked the organisers could I do another lap to test the bike, I was very impressed, in fully Standard form the bike performed well, the bike didn’t stall once, and started easily with the Electric start. British Enduro Championship Rd 1 Brandon – The First round of the British Enduro championship didn’t go as well as I would have liked for myself, but luckily it was only a one day event and I had time to reflect on this before Round two in Scotland. Results Rd 1 – 3rd E1 Class Rd 2 Scotland – Having returned from Italy, European Enduro Championship, the weekend before, riding the 250cc machine, I was a little unsure how I was going to adapt back to the 125cc in Scotland. It took a little while to adapt but I think it benefited me in the long run as I went into the last test needing to win, for the days result. With it now being the smaller bike I felt much more in control and I took 14 seconds out of my class rivals to take the Class win on Day 1. Day 2 saw another close battle but this time with Jason Thomas, and it was probably the closest finish we have seen for some time. just half a second between us at the end of the day. I was pleased to come out on top as Jason was setting some very fast test times on the 2nd day. Results E1 Class Day 1 1st Edward Jones. KTM 2nd Richard Hay. KTM 3rd Andrew Edwards. KTM Day 2 1st Edward Jones. KTM 2nd Jason Thomas. Honda 3rd Andrew Edwards. KTM Result Overall Day 1 1st David Knight. KTM 2nd Paul Edmondson. Honda 3rd Jake Stapleton. TM 4th Euan Mc Connell. TM 5th Simon Wakley. Honda 6th Edward Jones. KTM Day 2 1st David Knight. KTM 2nd Paul Edmondson. Honda 3rd Jake Stapleton. TM 4th Euan Mc Connell. TM 5th Simon Wakley. Honda 6th Edward Jones. KTM European Enduro Championship Rd1 Italy The first round of the European Enduro championship was held in Sardinia (Italy). After the first round of the British Enduro championship I decided to ride in the E2 Class on a 250cc 2-Stroke. I felt that this would build my Strength up after a disappointing first BEC. I was pleased with my performance in Italy as conditions were not to my liking very dry hard pack terrain, finishing as best Brit on the first day and 7th in the E2 Class. 20th overall I felt was a good ride. On day 2 very much the same 8th in the E2 class, 25th overall. Fast Eddy Series Rd1 Shrewsbury For this race I chose to ride my 250, the reason being that the PRO Class is open and can be quite difficult to be competitive at some Venues. After a good start I found my self in 3rd position behind Paul Edmondson and Chris Hockey, it took about a lap to pass Chris for 2nd place which I remained in till the finish. Up to the first hour I managed to keep Paul in my sights, and for a short time took the lead as Paul refuelled on the hour. I was pleased with my Result at this first Round and look forward to Rd2. Results 1st Paul Edmondson. Honda 2nd Edward Jones. KTM 3rd Rick De Fue. Honda 4th Mike Kock. Honda 5th Tim Forman. Kawasaki 2005 Season John Banks Results. The weekend of 20th of November I competed in the final Round of the British Enduro Championship. The morning of the event saw a hard frost. I decided not to push to hard due to the weather as I had more to lose than to gain. On coming to the John Banks I had already Won the E1 class so that was safe, so all I needed was a few points to keep my result of Third overall in the BEC. I felt I could have done better than my result of 4th overall but due to the circumstance I decided to play it safe. Bala - The Big One 25th September The Bala big one proved to be a tough and well organised event, the lap taking just under 40 min for the best riders. Instead of the usual 3 hr race the organisers decided to run it over 4 laps due to the length of the course. I didn’t get off to a very good start but after half a lap I was in the top three. Carl Tiley led off from the start. We came in to a bad rock Section together about ¾ of the way round and Carl lost control of his bike, in doing so, his handle bar took the cap clean off my radiator. All I could do was to carry on round to refuelling where I managed to straighten the radiator and repair the cap which I was able to refit after refilling the bike with some orange squash which I had. By this time Wayne Braybrook had established a considerable lead. I left the pits in 4th position, pushing hard for the rest of the race, I managed to finish in 2nd place behind Wayne. Considering the problems on the day I was pleased with my Result coming home with £250 for runner-up position. Photos: Sportpixs ISDE (International Six Days Enduro) 13th -18th September Trophy Team: Edward Jones, Simon Wakeley, Robert Jones (Had to be replaced by Kevin Murray on the day before the start), Paul Edmondson, Euan Mc Connell & David Knight The Six Days for me went well, no major Problems The first day proved to be a bit steady for me for a number of reasons, one being the disappointment of my brother Robert not being able to start after seeing a Doctor a day before the race, also in the 2nd check of the day, after dropping down a step drop onto a road, my bike was not performing well. I thought it maybe me out with mechanical failure. There was only one thing I could do in the time available and that was to change the spark plug. The bike then ran perfectly for the entire 6 Days. I think the new plug I fitted before the start of the race may have been faulty. The rest of the week went well for me and the team, day 5 proved to be the best day for the team when rain arrived, with Paul Edmondson Finishing 1st in E2 class, David First in E3 class, and myself 8th in E1 class and the rest of the team put in some good results to take the team to 4th - 1 min behind Sweden. Day 6 all riders still in the final motocross track prove to be very good a former GP track my race went ok but with two Swedish rider in the top 3 it wasn’t a good start for the team, the team went on to finish 4th despite David winning his race and the six days overall. I was pleased with my Six Days coming home with my 6th Gold Medal. I finished 16th in the E1 class. Results: 1st Italy, 2nd Finland, 3rd Sweden, 4th Great Britain Rd 4 European Enduro Championship, Germany. 20th-21st August. I returned from Germany, the final Rd of the European Enduro championship. The event proved to be a good one for me coming into the final round I had a three point lead over 4th place and was 15 points behind 2nd place. After going into the final Rd in 4th position I was pleased to finish 2nd in the E1 European Championship. Results: Day1 6th Day 2 5th Results for European Championship E1 Class 1st Fausto Scovolo 2nd Edward Jones 3rd Amel Advokat
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