Devizes MXC at Grittenham

Written by MIKE WOOD Wednesday, 08 June 2011 00:00

Grittenham was the venue for the latest Devizes MX Club action, and although the weather was good for the morning racing,heavy rain was to then make for a very wet and slippery afternoon session.

The track has recently been completely revamped with lots of jumps. There was a good turn out with on-line bookings plus 23 late entries, 3 double entries and 3 one day licences.

The competition was hot in all of the groups with star rider being double entry Paul Neale who dominated both the MX1 and MX2 Experts classes,winning all of his races from gate to flag.However his points was to only count for his MX2 performances.

In the MX1 Experts, Dexter Marks followed Paul closely, but unfortunately came off in block three giving him an overall 2^nd place, the victors trophy going instead to Dax Blackburn.Stuart West (1, Suzuki), managed to park his bike spectacularly, upside down, in moto two, but despite thinking he had broken his collar bone, he quickly decided that it was only badly bruised and continued with the race completing four laps and with it 3^rd overall ahead of Stuart Chivers and Stephen Elford.In the MX2 Experts runaway winner Paul Neale was followed home by Luke Smith,Matthew Bath,Ben Haggerty and Ayrton Fiorenzio.

The Inter Juniors had twelve determined riders on the gate with Elliot Dowell taking 1^st place in all three blocks.Overall runner-up Thomas Keen put on a good show despite being 7^th in moto one.Liam Hancock has been improving as the season has progressed and came 3^rd overall with Jack Roebuck 4^th and Jack Jackett 5^th.

Juniors Under 18’s was initially dominated by Cath King who claimed the moto one holeshot.The last two blocks though saw Jack Griffiths take control who despite difficult conditions in the last moto did enough to come home in 1^st overall with Oliver Burbridge 2^nd,Jack Sarll 3^rd,Cath King 4^th and Joshua Barton 5^th.

MX1 Juniors was a close race between Tony Faulkner and Ross Maraffi who were fighting for the first two places.It was to be Faulkner who was to eventually come in 1^st overall with Ross Maraffi 2^nd and Adrian Holmes 3^rd with Brian Hillman 4^th and Mike Norton 5^th.In a very competitive MX2 Juniors class,it was victory to Steve Ingram ahead of Oliver Blackburn,Jack Matthews, Alan Morris 4^th and Ashley Shenton 5^th.

The weather in block three for all groups meant reduced numbers on the start.MX1 seniors started of with a field of 19, but in block three only had 6 on the start gate due to the difficult riding conditions. As the rain came down the track became more and more slippery. This certainly made interesting viewing for the spectators. Overall, Steven Holmes came 1^st with Matthew Morgan 2^nd ,Ben Smith 3^rd,Dean Sellars 4^th and John Heath 5^th.The MX2 Seniors was dominated by Tom White who recorded a 2/1/1 scorecard.With the rest of the pack fighting it out,2^nd place went to Bradley Davies with Daniel Day 3^rd,Ryan Davis 4^th and Nathaniel Manning Morton 5^th.

Generally, a great days racing despite the rain. Thanks must go to Simon Nicholls for the use of the track, Jason Read, Secretary and June Hayles, Chief Marshal, for the organisation and Martin Haggerty of Fosseway Machinery for sponsoring the races and trophies.

Report and images by Lynda Metherell

Lynda Metherell Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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