CHICKEN RUN ENDURO- REPORT

FiR WELSH OPEN SPRINT ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 3 ‘CHICKEN RUN’

SAINTSWELL, MID-WALES

Report & Images: Chris CZORA

The impressive Saintswell off-road facility was the venue for the third round of the Factory Image Racing backed Welsh Open Sprint Enduro Championship, as some of the top local aces were joined by riders from across the country for the ever-popular ‘Chicken Run’ enduro.

Over 170 riders lined up for a challenging day of enduro action. Saintswell’s Adam Rees and his team know their venue well, and the promoters laid out an impressive course for the riders, incorporating a mixture of hilly trails, fast grassland blasts, a small sprinkling of motocross jumps and berms, along with a tight, technical woodland section to round things off, just the type of terrain you’d expect from an old-school Welsh enduro!

Conditions had been quite muddy for the preceding day’s youth and sidecar event, and it was a damp, slippery test that awaited the riders in the early tests. Fortunately the rain that had been forecast stayed away and the course soon dried up, the hard work from the promoters being rewarded by conditions becoming perfect as potent winds helped to rapidly dry the surface out.

Given the event’s ‘Chicken Run’ title, there were a few sections incorporated within the test where riders, with a good line choice and a bit of confidence, could really make up a lot of time, but with the risk of stopwatch-wrecking jeopardy if they got it wrong!

One such section towards the end of the test, located within the steep woodlands was a spectator favourite. After descending a rock strewn gully, riders powered through a boggy stream onto a short, off-cambered grass veranda, before turning back across the stream onto a steep, muddy hill to leave the section.

It was possible with a good line to jump the stream on the second crossing, landing on the uphill bank, however this was potentially risky with a rough and tree rooted take-off lip ensuing precise line choice and throttle control was essential. With most riders opting to roll through the stream, it also made the landing area quite slippery, and it was a great spectacle to watch the faster riders negotiate this obstacle. Unfortunately the early wet conditions meant that the initial water splash soon became heavily waterlogged, fed by the flowing water. The water splash soon became a real bogfest, with the preferred lines soon turning into bike-swallowing deep ruts.

Things were getting a little Blackwater 100 for some of the slower riders by the time the second test ended, with officials and spectators having to drag riders and bikes out of the mud. Therefore, organisers hastily reverted to an alternative woodland layout, using a trail higher in the woods to bypass that had been prepared as a stand-by to bypass the water gully entirely. It was a shame, as this had been quite an enjoyable section to test the riders, but common sense prevailed as it ensured the course was rideable for all levels of competitor, and ensured the meeting could keep running at a good pace. And this was vindicated as the event ran to its full conclusion with all six of the scheduled tests completed. It did however create an interesting dynamic, cutting around 45 seconds off the riders’ test times and making the time difference between riders a lot closer!

The event was headed by the Elite category, as Jack Edmondson and Alex Walton went head to head for glory. The first test saw Walton narrowly edge the tome charts, however a fall by Edmondson on the second test saw Walton really make the advantage count as he increased the gap to sixteen seconds.

The third test onwards saw the course abbreviations implemented, which meant that with the reduced test times, pressure really was on Edmonson to start closing the gap. That he did however, with a seven second advantage on test three to redress the balance, narrowly beating Walton over the next three tests to eventually grab the Chicken Run title by just seven seconds.

Charlie Chater had looked solid all day in third, not quite on the pace of the two leaders but put in some solid performances early on to give himself a good buffer over the rest of the pack, and despite a late charge from Aaron Gordon, Chater was able to secure the final podium spot.

Joshua Lawer was the early pacesetter in the Experts, with Alfie Heard and Tomos Jones also amongst the early pacesetters as the series leader Reece Jones lost a bit of ground early on. Jones however was able to get a handle on the proceedings and put in a blistering combination on the third and fourth tests to haul himself back into the lead, consolidating with a solid final test to take the Expert win by twelve seconds. Tomos Jones lost a bit of time on Reece in the fourth and fifth tests which pushed him to second and a very close battle on the final test with the early pacesetter Lawer, pulling an all important 2.5 seconds in the final test to take second place by less than half a second!

An honourable mention is deserved for the 20^th place Connor Watson, who after hitting serious trouble on the first test, posting the second slowest time, followed by a tricky second test, was then able to post some times on the remaining tests that were easily on the podium pace.

The Super Vets class turned into a battle between Will Keenan and the Welsh motocross star Glen Phillips, who was turning his hand to enduro. Keenan seemed to be establishing a strong lead on the first two tests, but Phillips responded with a blistering fourth test, pulling back ten seconds on the Manxman. On a crucial fifth test Keenan was able to respond and match Phillips’ time, and despite losing a bit of time after an incident on the final test, still had plenty of time in the bank to secure victory, Phillips eleven seconds back.

Jamie Paget made the long trip from Cornwall a fruitful one, he ran the leaders close in the opening tests, and despite losing a bit of pace to them later on was able to take a comfortable third overall from Christopher Milliar and Ross Hancock.

Ober in the Vets 40+ class, it was another of the Cornish contingent, Richard Penhaligon who took victory. Like many, he lost some time on the slippery first test, but once he found his groove was able to force his way back to the top of the leaderboard, although runner up Luke Powell did stage a fightback at the mid point, the eventual time difference at the finish being eleven seconds. Kye Forte had to work hard to get onto the podium, but put together some strong rides across the day, and when rival William Jones hit some trouble on the final test, Forte was able to secure the final podium spot by thirteen seconds.

Over in the youth categories, the Under 19 class saw George Sheldon blast to the front, putting in some very impressive times that were matching some of the Elite riders. It looked like the day would be his, but nothing can ever be taken for granted in a tough sport like enduro, and a third test DNF dropped him well down the leaderboard, although despite this he was able to fightback to sixteenth overall.

Sheldon’s misfortune blew the class wide open and after taking a narrow second from Ben Allen in the opening test, it was Gruff Morgan who emerged as the Under 19 frontrunner. Morgan put together some very strong times on the third and fourth test to emerge as the leader, although trouble on the penultimate test meant the result was still in the balance heading into the decider. Ben Allen was still keeping the pressure on but a solid final test gave the result to Morgan. George Sheldon’s bad luck turned into a good reward for Jack Brooks, who after being one of many riders to hit trouble on the boggy second test, did not give up and improved his times throughout the day. Narrowly missing out on setting the fastest test in class on the final outing, he nonetheless took a solid third overall.

The Under 16 class was a little more clear cut, as frontrunner Aaron Jones was able to stamp his authority on the first test, with all the riders coping well in the tough early conditions on the smaller 85cc machines. Harry Jones was always close enough to capitalise on any potential mistakes from Aaron, but they did not come as Aaron Jones took a comfortable class win, with Harry Jones a comfortable second. Lincoln Forte made it a double celebration in the Forte household, as he joined his father as a podium finisher with a comfortable third overall from Griff Rowlands and Max Jones.

The Ladies would turn out to be another class where the big pre-event favourite would hit trouble. Nieve Holmes had a solid start to the day, and pulled an incredible one minute advantage after a brilliand second test. However just like Sheldon in the youth class, the third test would prove disastrous as Holmes picked up a mechanical DNF which dropped her out of the reckoning.

This would prove to reward Brooke Mudie for her perseverance however, as he recovered from a second test setback to control the class, setting some very quick times with the fifth test being particularly impressive as she got within three seconds of the recovering Holmes, at the conclusion of the sixth text Mudie was able to take a comfortable win by nearly seven minues.

The battle for the runner up spot was a little closer, and even Nieve Holmes had an outside chance as she recovered well from the earlier DNF. Emmy Joy Pitcher looked set for a comfortable second place, but it all got a bit close in the final test as she hit trouble, having to dig deep to get back on the machine and bring it over the line. Her perseverance paid off as she took second overall by just six seconds from Chrissie Harcourt who pushed hard on the final test to set her best time of the day and ensure she would make it onto the podium ahead of Holmes, with Ceri Wyn Jones remaining ever perseverant as she battled through all the tests to secure fifth.

Once again, the Clubman class was one of the most heavily subscribed and as the big group of riders battled into the slippery first test it was Ailbe O’Connell who emerged as the early frontrunner, setting some very competitive times as he pulled out a sixteen second lead. The closest challenger however was George Ward, who after the second test began to put some times together to match the leader, and leave a tense final test for O’Connell, who certainly could not afford any mistakes! Despite losing five seconds on the final test, O’Connell had enough time in hand to secure the win by ten seconds, a charging Ward taking second, and the honour of the fastest outright Clubman time of the day in the final test.

The two Clubman chargers meant that the battle for third would largely be solitary as whilst Charlie Morgan would not quite be on the pace of the two leaders, would nonetheless put in a very strong performance to take a solid third overall, almost a minute ahead of the charging trio of Jake Tansley, Ben Sprigg and Benjamin Walker.

Rounding off the pack were the Sportsman riders and it should be said that in a class often including newcomers and less experienced riders, they all did very well in the tough early conditions as of the 21 riders who started the event, 19 finished.

At the sharp end however it became a battle between Broc Barnett and Luke Davies. Barnett was on balance the best rider in the class as he bettered Davies on each of the six tests, but it was a far closer contest than it may initially sound, as Davies ran the leader very close throughout, the eventual margin at the end being only seven seconds. Luke Evans was just under a minute behind, despite losing a bit of time on the first test he was able to claw back some time to finish a solid third, ahead of Tallis Price, who deserves recognition as being the final rider in the Sportsman class to post a combined time of under one hour.

And so, as the winds started to pick up and a few rain showers started to say help, the event drew to a close, and as always the post event camaraderie as the competitors and families gathered at the Saintswell Hub to celebrate the winners, grab something to eat or visit the ever popular Penmaenau Bar for a hard earned pint! For the ever hardworking promotions team at Saintswell, the work had only just begun as the task began of tidying up the taping and event signage, as always completed like clockwork. Saintswell of course will start the preparations as one of the host venues for the Enduro GP of Wales in early August… your worthy scribe should interrupt this report at this stage to say if you’ve not been to this event before, you should really get a ticket booked as it is a superb extravaganza as the world’s best do battle in the Welsh hills!

And as for the Welsh Open Sprint Championship, well, a brilliant season of racing will conclude a little earlier, as entries are now being taken for the championship finale as the Builth Motor Club host the title decider at Fron Farm on the 12^th of July.