Hereford MXC at Walterstone

Written by MIKE WOOD Tuesday, 13 September 2011 00:00

The Hereford Motocross Club returned to their home circuit at Walterstone, in the hills of the English / Welsh border, to hold another round of the AMCA Wessex / South Wales season. The meeting also hosted the latest round of the AMCA Veterans Championship, drawing riders from all over the country.

The day proved to be very challenging for all competitors, as the weather kept changing during the day, making the surface different from race to race. As the day wore on, the soft ground cut up becoming very rough by the final block of racing, making a big change to the normally hard and fast surface the riders have been used to on previous visits this year.

The Veterans Championship kicked off the day’s action, and it looked like it was going to be another good day for Graham Nicklin after he set the fastest time in practice by over one second from the next rider, Hereford’s own Andrew Watkins. Second in the championship David Livesey qualified in fourth, with a best time nearly four seconds back from Nicklin. Race one saw Watkins and another home rider Rob Prosser get flying starts, giving Hereford a one-two at the end of the first lap, but the wet conditions caught Prosser out on the next lap, dropping him out of the fight for the race win. Nicklin had a steady start, completing the opening lap in eighth place and having to work his way through the field. Watkins was away at the front, staying ahead of Stephen Baddeley and Colin Conduit, with Nicklin now up to fourth and the rest of the pack some way behind them. Watkins took full advantage of racing on his home track, and took control of the pace to take the win with a small but comfortable margin. Baddeley held on for second, but Nicklin was able to catch Conduit in the final couple of laps and get past him for third pushing Conduit back to fourth. Race two saw another start to finish victory for Watkins, who managed to almost double his winning margin this time out. Second place went to Conduit, who was mid pack on the opening lap, but seemed more comfortable on the drying track and was able to work his way up to second on lap six and then put some distance between himself and third place finisher Nicklin. The battle for third was close, with Baddeley right on Nicklin’s back wheel for the final couple of laps, but he could not put a pass together that stuck and he had to settle for fourth at the flag. The final race was an absolute corker, with Watkins, Nicklin, Conduit and Baddeley being joined by Dave Livesey. Although Watkins got the start, he was not able to pull clear as Nicklin and Baddeley were fighting so hard with each other they were staying on his pace. Baddeley looked like he was going to take second place, but with two laps to go, Nicklin found a way through and managed to do just enough to hold Baddeley off by less than half a second at the flag. Conduit finished fourth, less than a second behind with Livesey completing the top five, all of these riders being covered by just over five seconds at the flag. Watkins took the overall, and now having won eleven of the twelve races he has entered shown that he would have been a real threat for the title had he been able to compete at all the rounds this year. Nicklin was second, increasing his lead in the championship and meaning he can ride for points at the final round to secure the title, with Baddeley completing the podium.

The MX1 Juniors saw the only other perfect score on the day, with Edward Date taking all three race wins. Their opening race saw Date win by almost two minutes as the rest of the riders struggled with a very wet track. The remaining races were much closer as the surface dried out, and James Price took second in the group with a third and two seconds on the day. Ethan Lambert completed the top three, having posted a second in the opening moto and then scoring a couple of fourth place finishes in the remaining races.

Darren Davies took the overall win in the MX1 Seniors. Having finished first and third in the opening races, he was only able to post an eighth in the final leg which was still enough to keep John Rogers in second place with John Robert in third. Special mentions go to Ryan Phillips and Ryan Thomas – both riders failed to finish the opening race, but each scored a win and a second in the remaining motos, with Philips taking his maiden win in the class in their final race of day after grabbing the holeshot and disappearing into the distance to win by over thirteen seconds.

Just as the Inter Juniors went to the line for their first race, the rain started to come down and turned the drying track into an ice rink. Hereford rider Grant Jones got the holeshot, but went down hard after the first corner and picked himself up in last place and then had to set about working his way back through the pack. He seemed to revel in the conditions, and as other riders floundered he had moved to second place by the end of the opening lap. John Collins had built up a good lead at the front of the field, but Jones reeled him in and past him at the halfway point – forcing an error from Collins as he tried to re-pass. Jones had another spill on the last lap, but such was his lead he was able to remount and still take the win. The weather was against the Inter Juniors for their second race, as the rain fell again – but this time it was towards the end. Jones led from start to finish and won by a comfortable margin, but Collins had a real fight on his hands with Scott Walker keeping him under pressure and finally finding a way past on the final lap, pushing Collins down to third. The final race saw another great fight between Collins and Walker, as the two of them pushed themselves clear of the Jones in third. Collins held the advantage each lap, but Walker was always on his back wheel, ready to take advantage of any errors. As the flag dropped, it was Collins that held on for the win and took second overall on the day. Walker was second, with Jones back in third having ridden for points and the overall. It was another Hereford rider who took third overall – Adelaide Watkins had three very good finishes in some very tricky conditions, which was enough for the final step on the podium.

Both the MX1 and MX2 Expert groups were run together on the day, which is always a treat as we get to see Ben Saunders on his 150 2-stroke go up against the 450 4-strokes. In the opening moto, Saunders was very impressive keeping his smoker screaming as he tore round the circuit trying to keep that all important momentum going and took the win by over forty seconds, with Adam Cook and Simon Lane in second and third. In race two, he had to get past a holeshotting Kieran Mulloy to take the lead, but soon put a comfortable gap between himself and the following pack to win by eighteen seconds. Mulloy had a real scrap with Simon Lane, both riders swapping places during the race as each sought to get a pass that would stick. However, come the chequered flag, Mulloy was able to hold Lane off by a fraction of a second. Race three saw Saunders get a terrible start that saw him mid pack at the end of the first lap. Cook got off to a flyer, but was soon passed by Mulloy who was determined to get a win in front of his home crowd. Lane went with him and started to pile the pressure on, looking for a way past. However, Saunders was moving up through the field and by lap five he slotted in behind Lane. This gave Mulloy a bit of a breather, as Lane had to defend like mad to stop Saunders getting past and Mulloy was able to take that all important win with a gap of just over 4 seconds. Lane just held on for second with Saunders in third.

Andros Mota-Reed took the overall win in the MX2 Juniors class, which was running as a combined under and over eighteen group. Second in the group, but first in the over eighteen class was Ben Newby, with Chad Prosser finishing in third.

A third and two wins were enough for Jack Hill to take the MX2 Seniors class, with Matthew Alford take second on the day with three second place finishes. Lee Peck was third, recovering from an eighth in the opening race to finish third and fourth in the final motos.

The long standing Pop Beaumont Memorial Cup was awarded to the top scoring Hereford rider on the day, which this year went to Andy Watkins for his perfect score of 180 points – although Grant Jones, Adelaide Watkins, Kieran Mulloy and Chad Prosser all did the club proud. It was another great meeting hosted by the always very professional Hereford club, with a lot of hard work put into the venue by Peter Reed and the rest of the HMXC.

David Richards (www.mxdave.com)

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