Reports Weymouth Beach Moto-Cross
Written by MIKE WOOD Tuesday, 18 October 2011 00:00
‘Once again the Purbeck MXC and Weymouth and Portland Lions Club pulled out all the stops,with their joint professional promotional skills ensuring that the 2011 AMCA Weymouth Beach Moto-Cross was to be another roaring success.
On Sunday during the 26th staging of the annual event,an estimated 10,000 strong crowd lined the promenade of the Dorset town,basking in the glorious October sunshine and watching the action unfold,all FREE of charge!!.Of course the participating riders also played their part as well.taking every opportunity to thrill the captivated audience with a full display of motocross racing skills.And although the event is meant to be a relaxed,end of season,fun meeting,the desire was still naturally high to be the first rider past the chequered flag!.Following six, frantic,all-action and very entertaining battles,taking home the winners silverware in the respective Juniors,Seniors and Experts classes were Leonard Paget,Jonathan Cole and Richard Meakin.After the mandatory practice session had been completed on the beach circuit,prepared on the morning of the event,it was time to go racing.Just about right on que,the sun also appeared as Jim Shipton dropped the flag to signal the start of the first Juniors race.From a dead-engine start,Mark Teggin grabbed the holeshot to lead the thundering pack down the long start straight and into turn one.Teggin though got a little excited dropping his bike just as he completed the opening circuit!.Such was his early advantage that he was still able to remount and remain in control of proceedings as Craig Redmond,Leonard Paget,Daniel Crocker,George Fraser and Dave King gave chase.At the front,Teggin’s lead lasted two laps until disappearing from proceedings so it was now Paget the pace-setter and that’s the way it remained.So with the smell of red-hot clutches filling the air,the opening moto victory belonged to Paget followed by Crocker,King,Fraser,Redmond,Tom Salt and Tommy Reeve who had initially gated in 21st place.
In the decisive moto two,Fraser led the Juniors pack during the frantic early exchanges.However local lad Karl Dudman,resplendent in his pink and black fancy dress riding outfit was soon in control before blasting his way to victory.Dudman’s winning margin was some 31 seconds with King 2nd,Padget 3rd,Fraser 4th,Reeve 5th and Drew Slevin in 6th.Another rider entering the Weymouth spirit and competing in fancy dress was David Honeybun,his outfit,well of course being the ‘Honey Monster’!!.David eventually finishing 7th overall with victory in this class going to Paget.
You can always guarantee that the Seniors racing is going to be very competitive,and that’s the way it proved yet again at Weymouth.Neil Hawker,Deen Taylor and Jonathan Cole all took turns to lead moto one.And,although Taylor briefly lost his advantage on lap six,he did crucially fight back to snatch the win,finishing just over 4 seconds infront of Cole who had initially started right back in 17th spot.Completing the top six in this clash were Kelvin Hammer,Lewis Barfoot,Dean Jewer and Justin Cadman.
Neil Hawker was the rider in control of the opening exchanges in Seniors moto two but just one circuit later he had slipped back to 17th with Cole now leading the way.From here onwards,Cole stretched the wire and blast to a 22 seconds victory over Taylor who had worked his way through from an early 9th spot.Barfoot,Cadman and Hammer all again finished inside the top six.In the final overall reckonings,both Cole and Taylor had remarkably earned a 114 points total although the first place trophy belonged to Cole,courtesy of his super last moto victory.
In the Experts class,2010 winner Rick Du-Feu made a dream start to lead the charge in moto one.However as the pack braked to take turn one on their second lap,Jake Shipton,son of Weymouth starter Jim,slipped past Du-Feu and into the lead with Brad Cavill,Nick Life,Will Worden and Dexter Marks giving chase whilst Richard Meakin was working his way through the pack.From a dead-engine start,Meakin’s Honda had initially refused to start but already the AMCA Championship and IMBA rider was up to 13th and on a very determined charge!!.At the front,leader Shipton was stretching his lead and looking very impressive until his Yamaha’s clutch cooked on lap five.So it was now South West beach racing Expert Life in control on his two-stroke Suzuki and there he remained right to the chequered flag ahead of Worden,Meakin in a fantastic 3rd,Du-Feu,Phil Studley,Dexter Marks,Nick Wadge and Luke Mellows.
Buoyed by his moto one success,Life again led the pack in race two but Shipton was desperate to make amends following his earlier clutch problems.Indeed on lap five,Shipton hit the front and there he remained as Life slipped back to finish 12th.Youth star James Harrison also enjoyed moto two,producing a great ride to earn 2nd spot after being forced out of the opening clash.Completing the top six in the final race of Weymouth 2011 were Wadge,Cavill, Meakin and Du-Feu.However the overall victory belonged to a delighted Meakin,just reward for the loyalty he has shown towards the Weymouth beach event in recent years.
So with the racing done and dusted before 4pm,it was time to hand out the silverware to the riders,the Purbeck MXC also presenting a £1500 cheque to the Weymouth and Portland Lions Club.So it’s a massive pat on the back to everybody concerned and thanks to the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Leisure Department for their co-operation in ensuring that the event takes place.Here’s to 2012!!.
Mike Wood (www.moto-action.co.uk)
Results
