The Sporting
T S I L C Y C R O T MO
..published monthly
April 2018
Enduro, Grasstrack, Motocross, Road Racing, Speedway, Sprinting and Trials news
CONTAINS OFFICIAL EVENT Price ENTRY £1.80 FORMS
The Sporting
MOTORCYCLIST
is published monthly and is available through your Clubs or by direct subscription
Editor
(Southern Centre) John Bramall
16 Gifford Close, Fareham, Hampshire, PO15 6PJ T: 01329 823282 E: johnbramall246@btinternet.com
Editor
(South Midland Centre) Bob Twigg
2 Harwood Close, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL8 7SN E: bobtwigg@ntlworld.com
Advertising and Distribution Andy Wood
30 Westways, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 6AA Tel/Fax 01732 865380
E: anmarprintingservices@gmail.com
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APRIL 2018 VOL. 18 ISSUE 4 PUBLISHED ON THE 1ST OF EACH MONTH
All material for TSM should reach the editor by the tenth day of the month preceding publication.
Cover Photo: Alex Spooner riding for the Kent Kings in 2018 Photo by: Elizabeth Leslie
FROM THE EDITOR'S CHAIR n By Bob Twigg
Is there anything that Toni Bou cannot do? His riding in the past few years has been nothing short of miraculous. I remember seeing him at Hawkstone Park some years ago when the British World round was held there. In those days he was riding for Beta and the "audience" at the venue were all mightily impressed by his exploits. It seemed that he could ride every section on the back wheel! The sections in the arena events that have been in use over the past few years make for fantastic viewing but the skills of the riders competing often disguise the dangers. When Beta's Kenichi Kuroyama had that horrendous crash off the giant cotton reels at Sheffield it effectively shortened his world trials championship career. Happily he still rides in the Japanese world round, but it does highlight the difficulty faced by the organisers when planning interesting hazards without endangering the riders. Well done to all the organisers especially the Lampkin family for conquering this obstacle. Arena style events were originally started in the USA where there was a plentiful supply of suitable venues to satisfy the "sit and watch" mentality of the populace! In Europe now there are many such stadia (does that sound right)? They stage not only supercross but trials and now endurocross. Incidentally it is nice to see British riders at the forefront of the latter! Back in the seventies several riders I knew took to riding enduros rather than trials, mainly the longer events in Wales and elsewhere. The trials rules and sections at that time were altering which was not to everybody's taste! The riders who "defected" found that in time card enduros they had a good days riding often amongst glorious scenery. However it proved a little more expensive than trials, certain events that included sand meant that chains, sprockets, wheel bearings and fork seals needed frequent replacement! Back in the eighties I volunteered to be service crew for a good South Midland rider in the Isca enduro in Wales. I was sent to the refuelling spot which was a clearing in the middle of a forest and whilst waiting for my rider to arrive I tried to make myself useful by helping riders who were on their own to refuel. Now, it seems the best way of quick refuelling was for one to pour and one to watch the tank, the one watching the tank had to decide when the tank was approaching full and shout stop! One particular rider, on a Maico if I remember rightly, had a large funnel and a gerry can to fill his tank. I think my attempts at helping were thrown into doubt when both the tank and funnel became full and then removed resulting in half a gallon of petrol being deposited on the very hot engine. Luckily for me it just hissed and evaporated, but it could have been a disaster! Continued overleaf 3
C
O N T E NTS
Centres Officials
Chairmen South Eastern: Roger Brown Tel: 01273 563931
Official News
Bryan Messenger
36
Grasstrack
Semi Final of the FIME European Solo Championships 5
Motocross
Tom's Racing Diary 14 Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship 20
Road Racing Pioneer Run
Speedway
Kent Kings Speedway Fixtures Ladies Speedway Practice Day
South Midland: John Coles Tel: 01865 361735 Southern: Bob Hewson Tel: 023 9259 2919
Secretaries South Eastern: Peter Burrell Tel: 020 8300 5572 40 Annandale Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 8EL email: pj.burrell@btintternet.com
10
South Midland: Terry Golds Tel: 01582 455714 Mobile: 07747 855264 21 Buckingham Drive, Stopsley, Luton, Beds, LU2 9RA email: terrylgolds@ntlworld.com
18 24
Southern: Chris Fletcher Tel/Fax: 01256 242214 Mobile: 07443048362 1 Fairclose, Whitchurch, Hampshire, RG28 7AN email: chris-fletcher@tiscali.co.uk
Trials
Hookwood RT Keedwell British Solo Trials Championship 6 The Keith Marshall Classic Trial 14 News From "Down Under" 15 SE Centre TVTC Championship 16 S Centre Trials Championship 16 South Eastern Star Group Championship 18
Permit Secretaries South Eastern: Stephen Westley Tel: 01959 575732 4 Kembleside Road, Biggin Hill, Kent, TN16 3NL NEW email: stephenwestley58@outlook.com South Midland: Ian Reynolds Tel: 0208 9079856 Mobile: 07803766314 186 Regal Way, Harrow Middlesex, HA3 0SQ email: reynolds.russell@virgin.net Southern: Claire Ballard Tel/Fax: 0118 981 2595 26 Droxford Crescent, Tadley, Hampshire, RG26 3BA email: ballardclaire@hotmail.com
Benevolent Fund Representatives South Midland: Dave Porter Tel: 01582 651189 22 Belper Road, Luton, Beds, LU4 8RG
Regulations Grasstrack
Maidstone Aces, 29th April
Motocross
Sidcup, 13th May
Trials
Hillingdon & Uxbridge, 15th April Tenterden, 15th April Sittingbourne, 22nd April Nene Valley, 22nd April Wycombe, 22nd April Milton Buzzard, 29th April Ashford Kent, 13th May OWLS, 13th May Tongham, 13th May Twickenham, 13th May Folkestone, 20th May Waltham Chase, 20th May Bexleyheath, 2nd-3rd June Entry Forms
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Southern: Stan Earle Tel: 01489 785482 Flat 10, Laburnum House, Hedge End, Southampton, Hants, SO30 0QC
34
South Eastern: Hazel Collins Tel: 01189 421534 14 Brookside, Calcot, West Berks, RG31 7PJ
8 8 12 12 27 27 33 33 34 35 35 41 41
9, 13, 26, 37, 40
Rights of Way Officers South Eastern (Sussex): Bevis Billingham Tel: 01243 585128 182 Elmer Road, Middleton on Sea, Bognor Regis, PO22 6JA South Eastern (Kent): Steve Neville 40 The Sandpipers, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 5QB South Midland: Chris Hurworth Tel: 01494 446198 23 Cambridge Crescent, Totteridge, High Wycombe, HP13 7NE Southern: Martin Down Tel: 01264 365084 18 Barcelona Close, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1JQ. email: martin.down1@gmail.com
FROM THE EDITOR’S CHAIR (Continued) The rider must have been convinced I was working for the opposition that day. Environmental mats are now, or supposed to be, compulsory
at events to prevent pollution, though I don't see many at trials. Perhaps the thought of the precious liquid at nearly six pounds a gallon being wasted
means riders are more careful! More "all our yesterdays" next month… good riding Ed!
Contributions in this issue from: Mike Nokes, Jim Connor, Alan Turner, Tom Grimshaw, Mike Wiseman, Steve Rees, Mick Auger, John Sapsard, Rob Fleet, Alan Critcher, Nigel Cooper, Bob Twigg, John Bramall Would you like to contribute? Please send to the editor, contact details on page 3.
Semi Final of the FIME European Solo Championships
QQ By Mick Nokes
The Astra club get this year’s South Eastern Grass Track season off to what should be a cracking start when the stage a Semi Final of the FIME European Solo Championships on Sunday 22nd April. Current holder James Shanes heads five impressive Brits, Paul Hurry, Eddie Kennett, Adam Ellis and wildcard Zach Wajtknecht against riders from several nations. These include Mika Meijer, Marc Beschuizen and Lars Zandvliet from the Netherlands, Christian Hulshorst and Marc Sebastian from Germany, three from
France, Gabriel Dubernard, Anthony Chauffour and Gaetan Stella, two from the Czech Republic, Michael Skorla and Martin Malek plus one from Denmark and two from Sweden as yet unnamed. Supporting class is the ultra popular right hand 1000cc sidecars featuring the outstanding British number one crew Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth who will be returning from Australia after competing in the World Sidecar Speedway Championships as have Paul Whitelam/Alan Elliott and Will Penfold/Ricky Pay. Others include the evergreen Rob Wilson/Terry
Saunters, Colin Blackbourn/Carl Pugh, Matt Fumarola/Gareth Williams plus youngsters Tom Cossar/Wayne Rickards, Gary Shearer/Sam Heath and Kieran Hicks/Robbie Simmons and the sweet sound of Neale Owen/ Jason Farwell Godden V twin. Venue is, as usual, Swingfield situated off the A260 Canterbury-Folkestone road, signposted off the M20 Motorway and the A2. Practice commences early at 10am, followed by a rider parade and racing at 1pm. At the conclusion there will be a presentation of trophies by model Emma Tunbridge.
Wheel Building Services (SM Pro Dealer) • 07595913214 • neameracing@gmail.com • neame-race-engineering.webs.com 5
The Sporting
MOTORCYCLIST
A monthly publication written by enthusiasts for enthusiasts
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The Sporting Motorcyclist Contains: Entry forms and regulations for Motocross, Trials, Enduro, Grasstrack events Information on the management of the sport in your centre Previews and reports on events Action photos
• • • •
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