Matchams

Report by Kay Turner

“Ahead by Acres”

The New Year had arrived but the same old names appeared at Matchams on a chilly, damp Sunday morning, on 8th January.  Round 3 of PMXC’s Winter Series saw just over 130 riders brave the poor conditions to tackle the demanding Ringwood circuit.

 

Daniel Latham found his feet late on in the day but still came away as Inter Open victor with a fourth, second and last race win, chopping and changing positions with Jackson Evans.  Chris Johnson rode a steady race all day to finish in second overall, finishing third, third and second with Gavin Corsi battling to stay in the top five after his first race second.  Two additional fourth places awarded him third overall.  Jackson Evans was on course for overall victory starting the day with two wins, but disaster struck in race three which left him trailing in 15^th place, leaving him in fourth overall.  Jo Stevens rode well to finish in fifth overall, with Michael Clarke improving progressively through the day finishing in seventh, sixth and fifth to finish in sixth overall.

 

The Inter 85 class was dominated by Rob Muscat who won the first two motos, but James Rutter took the final win to match Muscats points.  Rob however snatched the overall victory because of his two wins.  A fine performance by Lloyd Pettett left him in third overall with two fourths and a third.  Daniel Maxey was sniffing around second overall until race two saw his hopes dashed.  A 12^th place left him in fourth overall although a second in race three helped restore his form.  Chris Chapman was gunning for a top three spot, just missing out in fifth overall with a sixth, fifth and third place.  Ryan Monckton rode brilliantly all day to finish in sixth overall, with a fifth, fourth and seventh.

 

Only six Autos finished around the gruelling track but Joshua Coleman made it look easy taking all three wins to be overall winner.  David Keet and Oliver Evans tied on points thanks to Joe Jefferies bad luck, with Evans brilliant second in race three giving him the second overall position.  Keet finished in third with two thirds and a fourth.  Bike problems aplenty amongst the remaining riders, but Freddie Lambeth and Hamish Stewart-Ross still managed to finish in the top six, Lambeth taking fourth with two fifths and a third, Stewart-Ross in fifth with two sixths and a fifth.  The unlucky rider of the day was Joe Jefferies who after finishing second in the first two motos found his bike giving up the ghost which resulted in a DNF in race three, leaving him in sixth overall.

 

Junior winner Liam Garland whipped the rest of the field into shape with three victories but Fraser Viner was determined not to let Garland have it all his own way.  Hot on his heels in all three motos, Viner just missed out on top spot finishing second overall.  A brilliant Junior debut by Max Acres saw him outclass his rivals with two fourths and a fifth awarding him with a magnificent third overall.  Cruising to third overall was Oliver McMurray’s plan of action but unable to get any higher than ninth in race three left him behind Acres in fourth overall.  A brilliant fifth overall for Liam Knight who battled consistently throughout the day finishing in fifth, fourth and fifth with Billy Hare closing the top six.  Along with all the riders, Hare struggled with the steep hills, but battled his way back to third in the final moto to give him enough points to place higher than his rivals.

 

The AMX and VMX ganged together to provide some of the most spectacular racing of the day, with the younger AMX boys reigning supreme.  Class winner Dominic Foreman annihilated his competitors riding around the track with ease, although second overall rider Nicky Watts did give him a run for his money.  Foreman notched up three wins with Watts not far behind with three seconds.  Paul Latham battled with unlucky Luke Blanchard, but one-too-many crashes from Blanchard saw Latham take third place with a fourth and two thirds.  Fourth overall Paul Watts, struggling with injury, fought hard to finish in fourth overall, even after crashing on the corner that caught out so many others, he still clawed his way back to finish in seventh, sixth and fourth with Shaun Kerley battling alongside him.  A sixth, seventh and fifth gave Kerley enough points to finish in fifth overall ahead of AMX debutant Scott Edwards.  A great effort by Scott who improved throughout the day to finish in ninth, eighth and sixth to ended up in sixth overall.

 

A truly stunning performance from Senior Max Tranah left the rest of the field for dead, with precision riding leaving Tranah the sure winner with three first places.  Despite an unfortunate seventh in race two, Harvey MacDonald grabbed second overall, two second places helping his cause.  Even with a 12^th place, Joe Cundle notched up enough points with his third and second to be awarded third overall.  Portsmouth newcomer Warren Field showed his worth around the track finishing in fourth overall with two fourths and an unlucky eighth in race two.  Visitor Rowan Hill was close behind in fifth overall.  Birthday Boy Tom Moore rode a fine race in moto two to pass the chequers in third place, and combined with his sixth and eighth positions awarded him with sixth overall.