Race Reports

Mother’s Day Madness!

Report by Kay Turner

West Meon – 14^th March 2010

Round 2 Summer Series

After the rain and mud cancelled Portsmouth’s scheduled meeting a fortnight ago, it was a welcome change to see bright sunshine and clear blue skies welcoming all the riders to the Club’s second round of their Summer Series at West Meon recently.  A great turnout of riders packed the pits, and all groups enjoyed great numbers on the start line and made for some breathtaking and exciting action out on the track.  No-one expected to see it, but the dust was flying by the start of the second block, but it didn’t deter any riders from going full pelt around the chalky circuit.

The Juniors were first to the start line, and it was non-stop action throughout the day with three different riders grabbing a win each.  Liam Jones took the overall victory after leading from the off in the final race to grab the victory, but race two was his most impressive performance, coming from dead last to push his way through the field to finish the moto in second place.  George Stock was set for two wins but disaster in race two saw him lose his lead after triumphantly winning the opening moto.   But with a win, a fifth and a third, he secured second overall.  Jamie-Lee Burges was on a rampage but bike problems in race two left him starting a few laps after everyone else, and denied him second overall. But his two second places ensured a top three finish and ended the day in third overall.

Oliver Rippon was still on a high after his great debut on his last visit to the track, and a brilliant win in the second race proved his first outing wasn’t a fluke!  Perfectly executed he stormed into the lead to take the win and finished the day in fourth overall.  Rhys Pett stormed his way around the track and could have placed higher, but his brilliant third and fourth places in the first and last motos, ensured he finished in the top six and ended the day in fifth overall.  Owen Kerens has improved immensely since joining the club last year, and was running in second in the second moto, and finally finished in an impressive third place, to add to his other top six placings to take home sixth overall on the day.

A great turnout of VMX and AMX Novices lined up next, waiting to charge to the first corner.  Even with an impressive crash in the first race, Tony Hale once again reigned supreme in the class, two wins in the remaining motos after exciting battles with Steve Lyons, but Hale took over the lead in the closing laps to grab the win and secured the overall victory.  Shaun Brooker made a welcome return and chased the top two riders to the finish line, pushing his way to the front of the pack in the opening race to grab a second place, and added two thirds to finish in second overall.  Returning after a long spell out due to injuring himself at Foxhill last August, a crash in the opening race wasn’t the best way to make his comeback, but leading the remaining motos put Steve Lyons in good stead for a top three placing, and with two seconds and a fifth, he finished the day in third overall.

A welcome return to the club for Jason Cooke who settled in nicely to the VMX class, but still had all the speed and agility from when he was in the AMX.  A prominent figure at the front of the pack, he pushed his Yamaha hard to keep within the grasps of first place, and kept up well with Brooker to finish just behind him in third, fourth and fourth to end the day in fourth overall.  Visiting rider Mark Dunning enjoyed his day on the track, chasing Cooke in each race to finish one place behind in all three motos, and was awarded fifth overall.  Jamie Winbourne pushed himself to the limit to finish high up, and with no-one close behind him ensured he would finish within the top six.  Two sevenths and an eighth rewarded him with sixth overall.

Heart-stopping action came next courtesy of the AMX class, a near-full line up of riders sat raring to go behind the start gate, and when the gate dropped all hell let loose! The riders just squeezed around the first corner, the noise was deafening and once the dust settled, there was a small cluster of riders all vying for top spot.  Chris Wratten quickly took over the lead and secured all three victories for the overall win.  Matt Quelch remained in contention for the top spot after leading the first two races, and continued to chase the top two riders, grabbing two thirds and a fourth to secure second overall.  Jazz Beach rode at a blistering pace, leading the final race until Wratten took over at the front, but a second place was enough to award him third overall.

Another ex-Pompey rider in the form of Nicky Watts was a welcome sight out on the track, although race one didn’t go according to plan and saw him hit the deck, but he redeemed himself in true Watts fashion to be at the front of the pack in the remaining races, a second and third rewarding him with fourth overall.  Shaun Kerley was on fine form throughout the day, keeping himself tucked in amongst the front runners and two fifth places were enough to ensure he finished in fifth overall ahead of Tom Moore.  Although slipping down the leaderboard throughout the day, Moore still put in 100% effort, and after a brilliant fourth in the opening moto, he kept on the pace to score enough points to finish in sixth overall.

With everyone still catching their breath after the spectacular action in the race before, the Seniors were equally as impressive, a huge line-up providing more thrills and spills on all laps.  Dan Maxey was set for three straight wins, dominant at the front of the pack from the off, but a crash in the final moto denied him three victories, but he still pushed his way through from the back of the pack to move into third place and was still awarded the overall win.  A two-rider battle pursued for second place, exhilarating speed and impressive riding from both Chae Jenkinson and Elliot Reeves saw the two riders neck and neck in the opening races.  Both riders shared a second and a third place, but in the final moto, it was Jenkinson who took the lead with Reeves hot on his back wheel.  Jenkinson grabbed the race win to the delight of his family and friends, with Reeves following closely behind to take second.  Jenkinson took second overall ahead of Reeves in third overall.

Jordan Carrier could have possibly placed higher, but took it easy in all races to save himself for the Nationals the following week, but still rode impressively to finish fourth in all three motos to end the day in fourth overall.  Billy Hare secured the first race holeshot to ensure a high finish, and followed the leading few home to finish in fifth place. An unfortunate spill in the final moto denied him a higher placing, but he still worked his way through the pack and was eventually awarded fifth overall.  Charlie Wheeler will be a rider to watch in the future, making his presence known near the front of the pack from the off, a brilliant sixth in his opening moto paving the way for a great overall result.  Adding two top ten results rewarded Wheeler with sixth overall.

The Inter Open class were next out on the track, with Jordan Bachelor impressive as ever from the moment the gate dropped.  Unstoppable, unbeatable and riding a perfect set of races, he secured all three race wins to be the overall victor on the day.  A handful of riders battled it out nearly half a lap back from Bachelor for second place, with newcomer Louis Schmidt being the quicker rider of the pack, and was on his way to three second places until getting caught up in the tape in the final race, but he struggled free to finish in fifth and take home second overall.  Sam Butler had a ding-dong battle with friend Cameron Vickers, but moving his way up the leaderboard to finally finish in second in the last race secured him third overall ahead of Vickers in fourth.

Cameron Vickers was on a roll from the off, a brilliant start ensuring he was at the front of the pack in the first moto, and kept his nerve to remain in third place to finish in his highest ever position with Portsmouth.  He remained high up in the remaining motos, just sitting outside the top three to finish in fifth and fourth, and his hard work was rewarded with fourth overall.  After a long absence from the racing world, Levi Coombes came back with a vengeance, moving up to the bigger wheeled 85 class for the 2010 season, and pushed straight into the top six in his first meeting back.  Improving his results throughout the day, and keeping well on the pace, he ended the day on a high in third place and secured fifth overall.  Battling hard all day with Coombes was Ben Jewell, returning to the club after a couple of years absence.  Straight into fourth place in the opening race bode well for Jewell, and he remained high up the leader board for the remainder of the meeting, another fourth place and a sixth rewarded him with sixth overall.

A handful of Autos buzzed their way up the start straight, with a set of three riders battling for the win.  Ben Tumber chased down Cain Marsh to try to grab a win and did so in the final moto after passing Marsh on the final lap.  With two impressive seconds and a win he claimed the overall victory.  Liam Brosnan kept the front two just a wheel ahead of him, but pushed hard in the second moto to take over the lead and remained in front for the remainder of the race to grab a win.  Second overall was awarded thanks to his win and two third places.  Brilliant starts yet again ensured Jamie Turner would place highly.  A brilliant third in the second race after losing out on a second on the last lap rewarded Turner with his first top three placing in the group, and finished in third overall.

Louie Wakefield continues to improve on the track and with great starts, he stayed near the front of the pack in all motos, a brilliant fourth in the second race his best position of the day, and took home fourth overall.  Newcomer Charlie Ellins showed the boys how it’s done, and secured two top six placings, pushing hard all the way, to be rewarded with fifth overall.  After being out of action since the end of the 2009 summer series due to a serious knee injury, it was great to see young Harry White back on the bike, and the desire to ride showed in his performance.  Battling hard for supremacy over Wakefield and Ellins in all motos, he kept his nerve and pushed his way into sixth overall, two sixths and a seventh were great results for his return to racing.

The action came thick and fast in the Inter 85 class, with Jake Deacon the clear winner.  Another impressive rider who made no mistakes throughout the day, Deacon secured all three race wins to be overall victor.  Aaron Gordon was hard on the gas in all races, keeping Josh Bunter close behind him in the opening races, securing two second places to take home second overall.  Bunter made a welcome return and rode brilliantly in all motos.  Just missing out on taking second spot in the first two races, he opened the throttle wide in the final race to grab a second place, and finished the day in third overall.

In his second race in the Inter 85 class, Dan Griggs continued to be a force to be reckoned with on the track, and consistently finished in fourth place, ending the day in fourth overall.  Oli Evans improved throughout the day, his final race the best of his day, finishing in sixth after working so hard. An eighth, seventh and sixth rewarded him with fifth overall ahead of Taylor Smith.  Smith worked hard to keep his positions and kept his rivals well behind him, a brilliant sixth in the opening moto ensured he would place highly and ended the day in sixth overall.