Tom Gathers up the Win!
Report by Kay Turner
Grittenham – 8th May 2011
Portsmouth MX Club
Rd 7 Summer Series
Images courtesy of Click466.co.uk
After weeks of drought, the torrential downpours overnight threatened to make Portsmouth MX Clubs recent meeting a washout, but as the sun poked through the black clouds Sunday morning, the fears dispersed as the track looked perfect and with the circuit being recently revamped, the good number of riders who turned up were excited to try out the Grittenham track for the first time, and weren’t disappointed as the racing that followed practice was outstanding doing the Club proud.
The start gate was close to bursting point as the VMX and AMX Novice riders joined forces to take centre stage first. The VMX riders dominated the front of the pack with some aggressive racing taking place from the off. Darren Noyes took control of the lead in the opening motos, narrowly missing out on a straight set of wins by finishing runner-up in the last race, but the two firsts secured him the overall victory. Darren Hansford got stuck into the thick of things after a disappointing first moto, and put pressure on Noyes in race two to finish in second. But race three was his, taking the lead after a couple of laps to bag the win, and finished the day in second overall. Martin Bradbury had a comfortable lead in race one, until Steve Lyons and Noyes caught him napping mid-race to push him back into third spot. Still persevering in the remaining motos, Bradbury finished again in third and then fourth in moto three to secure third overall.
Dale Lyons was once again ahead of the remaining AMX Novice rider, pushing dad hard in the same race, two brilliant wins securing him the overall victory. Aaron Pearce made another comeback at his former club, finishing well within the packed field, and with two third places in his class he finished the day in second overall. Kieran Setchell had a battle on his hands in the opening races, struggling to push his way through the barrage of riders ahead of him, but saved the best for last to secure a class win, finishing sixth in the combined group and added valuable points to take home third overall.
A strong field of riders lined up next in the AMX class, and after a huge pile up on the first corner it was up to Mark Young and Lee Rat Foyle to take charge of the group. Young managed to keep the rampaging Rat behind him in the first two motos to secure the wins, but succumbed to the pressure in the final race, narrowly missing out on grabbing back his lead, but still had done enough to take the overall. Foyle chased Young hard, even taking the lead mid-race in moto one, but settled for second in both races. Race three saw him close in on Young and by the third lap he’d stormed into the lead to secure the win, and finished the day in second overall. Kurt Freegard had a brilliant day on the track, faultless riding and timing his passes to perfection, he remained high up the leaderboard, securing a fourth place in race three to finish the day in third overall.
Another good turnout of Senior riders saw Mit Bligh powering into the lead but a heavy crash in race two denied him taking the overall after his first race win. After closing Bligh down in race one, Ayrton Fiorenzio finished in second, and was hot on his heels again in race two but secured the win as Bligh went down. Race three saw him storm straight to the front of the pack and remained there until the chequered flag waved, a great finish to secure him the overall. Chae Jenkinson rode a blinding set of races, taking the lead in race two and remained high up the leaderboard in all motos, finishing third and runner up in the last two races to secure second overall. Aaron O’Mahony was riding at his best powering hard into the top six from the drop of the gate. Just slipping down one place to fifth in the final moto, he secured third overall with two brilliant fourth places in his opening rides.
There was no sign of Josh Coleman’s broken wrist as he carried on where he left off, straight to the front of the pack in the Inter Open class, and held onto the lead on every lap to secure three perfect wins and the overall victory. Tyron Cleaver was on a charge, desperate to bag a win, riding effortlessly to finish runner-up in each race, securing second overall. A great comeback for Joe Jefferies who, after sitting on the sidelines for six months following an operation, returned with determination, a dominant force at the front of the pack. Three third places rewarded his efforts with third overall.
The smaller wheeled 85s were out next and Tom Gathercole had an outstanding day. Charging to the front from the drop of the gate, he held his nerve and stayed firmly seated to comfortably romp to victory in races two and three, perfectly executing the track, ending his day on a high with the overall win. After a brilliant first race win, Charlie Way was hungry for more and chased Gathercole hard, pushing his 150 to the limit to edge his way closer to top spot. A win and two second places secured him second overall. A good battle with Alex Hoyland saw Christopher Nuttall riding at his best. Not content with a fourth in race one, he pushed himself further to pass his rivals, and moved up into third spot for the remaining motos. A great ride rewarded him with third overall.
After a disappointing opening race, Junior rider George Stock was determined to improve on his fourth place, and did so in fine style. Remaining prominent at the front of the packed, he kept his cool and stormed to victory in the closing races, taking home the overall win. Daniel Sultana was impressive on the track, racing at full speed to chase the leading rider home, securing two second places in the first and last races to snatch away second overall from Jamie Griggs. A great performance from Griggs saw him only slip outside the top three once all day, but a remarkable second place in race two rewarded him with third overall at the end of the day.
The Auto riders chose to ride the entire circuit and almost seemed to disappear as they headed off into the back of beyond. Luke Williamson was once again the winner on the day, three first places securing the overall, although Liam Brosnan was close to netting a win for himself in race three. Brosnan closed in on Williamson in each race, taking the chance to move into the lead in moto three as Williamson took the wrong turn, but a determined effort saw him finish second in each to claim second overall. An amazing result for Harry White who in his first meeting after coming out of plaster, could be seen at the front of the pack at the first corner. Staying hard on the throttle in each moto, he brilliantly finished in third in the opening races, just being pipped at the post in race three by Ollie Cole, but still did enough to finish up in third overall.
Results:
VMX: 1 Darren Noyes, 2 Darren Hansford, 3 Martin Bradbury, 4 Tony Hale, 5 Steve Lyons, 6 Ray Chivers.
AMX Novice: 1 Dale Lyons, 2 Aaron Pearce, 3 Kieran Setchell, 4 Simon White, 5 Lewis Lee, 6 Brendon Thacker.
AMX: 1 Mark Young, 2 Lee Rat Foyle, 3 Kurt Freegard, 4 Paul Watts, 5 Brad Aspden, 6 Ryan King.
Seniors: 1 Ayrton Fiorenzio, 2 Chae Jenkinson, 3 Aaron O’Mahony, 4 Darren Wingar, 5 Rory O’Connell, 6 Jack Newbury.
Inter Open: 1 Josh Coleman, 2 Tyron Cleaver, 3 Joe Jefferies, 4 Camlann MacDonald, 5 Lewis Dowdeswell, 6 Mitchell Miller.
Inter 85: 1 Tom Gathercole, 2 Charlie Way, 3 Chris Nuttall, 4 Alex Hoyland, 5 Jamie-Lee Burges, 6 Leigh Lidster.
Juniors: 1 George Stock, 2 Daniel Sultana, 3 Jamie Griggs, 4 Charlie Razzell, 5 Ben Richards, 6 Sam Chorley.
Autos: 1 Luke Williamson, 2 Liam Brosnan, 3 Harry White, 4 Ollie Cole, 5 Louie Wakefield, 6 Austin Wild.
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