SDMCC Title text

The Swindon and District Motor Cycle Club (SDMCC)

Reports

The latest event reports are listed below. Many thanks to Bretton King for taking the time to craft these and send them in to TMX News!

Rain, rain, rain and… sunshine? A brief spell of dry weather enabled Swindon & DMC to stage the fifth round of their club championship last Thursday evening at Speight near Devizes. In a change to the season’s script so far, this new woodland venue offered the 36 entrants the chance to really open the throttle, as a refreshing mix of big climbs and root-strewn cambers was set to test them. The four lap – 8 section course proved extremely fair, despite a little deterioration in a couple of subs and only 2 retirements proved the point.

 Securing his second win of the championship, Michael Johnson never looked to be in trouble on the hard route as he won by a comfortable 5 mark margin from Jason Welland. The riding styles of the two competitors was interesting to watch as the steady, smooth approach of Michael out-gunned the all-action full-throttle technique of Jason on his ageing Fantic Section and his loss of 4 marks on the third lap put paid to any chance of victory for him. Martyn Wilmore came home in third place and proceeded to extend his lead in the championship, so it was a good evening for him too. In the AB class, Ross Thurlow took a very narrow 2 mark victory from enduro speedster Keith Wooster who led on 1 mark after the first lap. However, his five on section eight and a second lap total of 11 marks proved disastrous and handed the advantage to Ross who never relinquished the lead from then on.

 On the alternative route, victory went to Andy Perry who managed to drop only 2 marks – a fantastic ride by all accounts – which gave him a vast 11 mark win over assistant C-o-C, Lyndon Jack. In the C class, Michael Maslin flew round for another victory before an equally rapid disappearing act into the night’s gloom, his second win of the series and one which virtually assures him the title of “Champion”. Runner-up was Ben Wilmore who really challenged Michael and would have won had he not lost 3 on the first section of the night, while Gary Wilkins was third thanks to a great performance on the pegs and a ride that proved to be his best of the series. Mention must be made of sole lady entrant Christina Welland, who rode valiantly into 8th place and never let the conditions nor her Gas Gas defeat her.

 The Youth A entrants were a bit thin on the ground but the B class saw 6 riders tussling for victory. Out on his recently acquired Beta, Will King’s second appearance of the season saw him march to victory with a canyon-like 25 mark margin from series leader Jack Pontin and Justin Barrett who was a further mark adrift of Jack on 56. Will’s grip-seeking throttle control produced a final lap of just 6 marks lost and demonstrated an ability that puts him in good stead for the future. Finally, Graham Lavis repeated his Over 50 victory from the last round and gave himself a confidence boosting win ahead of old-stager Terry Cole.

 As ever, landowner Steve Oram and the hardy observers ensured an evenings sport and in their series, Clive Chergwin and Alan Ryder lead jointly with a full-house of 5 appearances each.

 

Premier               Michael Johnson       3 marks lost

Best A                 Jason Welland           8 m.l.

Best AB              Ross Thurlow          16 m.l.

Best B                 Andy Perry                2 m.l.

Best C                 Michael Maslin         8 m.l.

Best Youth B      Will King                 30 m.l.

Best O/50            Graham Lavis          12 m.l.

The fourth round of the Swindon & District MC club championship took place on Thursday evening when 43 competitors arrived to do battle for the Layton Trophy Trial at a new location on the outskirts of Wootton Bassett.

Richard Crapper and his family provided the 130 acre venue for 3 laps of 11 sections based in woodland and on bankings, ably marked out by c-o-c Keith Wooster and assistant Lyndon Jack. Early evening sunshine greeted the riders and club stalwart Martyn Wilmore set his stall out straight from the off as he proceeded to drop just 5 marks over the course, all in section one where turns in and out of the gully yielded very few cleans. Clearly, the new Gasser (both him and the bike) were in harmony throughout as he won comfortably from previous round winner Michael Johnson who dropped 9, a five on section four wrecking his lead on the last lap. Rob Scott finished on 12 marks, including two 5’s, and would have offered a real challenge for the win, were it not for stops on sections two and four. In the AB class, Mr Consistent (aka Ross Thurlow) cleared up again although he didn’t have it all his own way as Tim Wheeler recovered from a first lap deficit of 5 to close within 2 marks by the end.

 In class B, the ageless Andy Perry racked up a comfortable win to celebrate his birthday(?) on the 4t Beta from Lyndon Jack, putting a 15 mark gap between them. Likewise, the C class saw the same victor as in the May round with Michael Maslin zipping his way to a 6 mark margin ahead of Chris Cole. Youth A was won by Leo Rochfort who dropped only 8 marks on the hard route, a score good enough to give him second overall, while Jack Pontin won again on the Youth B route and seems to be improving with every outing.

Ultimately, thanks must go to Richard and his family for providing a new venue to the Club at a time when securing new ground for off-road motorcycling is increasingly difficult. Once again, our gratitude to the observers who manned the sections and the work party that cleared the sections – see you in July.

Results

Premier               Martyn Wilmore   (250 Raga Gas Gas)           5 m.l.

Best A                Michael Johnson  (270 Beta)                          9 m.l.

Best AB              Ross Thurlow (250 Beta)                              10 m.l.

Best B                Andy Perry (250 4t Beta)                               2 m.l.

Best C                Michael Maslin (250 Beta)                            11 m.l.

Youth A              Leo Rochfort (125 Beta)                                  8 m.l.

Youth B              Jack Pontin (125 Sherco)                               52 m.l.

Best Old Codger  Graham Lavis (250 Gas Gas)                           6 m.l.

 

The ever-active Swindon and District club held the Hoult Cup trial on Thursday evening at club-stalwart Michael Maslin's land near Wooton Bassett, where a very respectable entry of 45 turned out for round 3 of the club championship. 

Three circuits of twelve sections proved enough of a test for everyone (especially the slow starters) as the gloom and darkness descended before the last section could be closed. This made spotting errant dabs somewhat tricky for the resilient observers but in the case of Michael Johnson, very little difficulty ensued as he kept his feet firmly on the pegs for 31 of the sections. The rider from Oxfordshire made a mockery of the tight and technical sections as he waltzed to a comfortable 9 mark win over Jason Welland. Michael dropped only one mark on the opening lap when he failed to exit the stream of section 11 with sufficient speed and a precautionary dab was cast to ensure he rose onto the level and this put him a mark behind Jason who cleaned the lap. However, it all unravelled for Jason when he fived the steep banking of section 7, the water from the stream being dragged up onto the exit and making the surface treacherous. This handed the advantage to Michael and he retained to the end. 

The AB class rode the same route as the experts and evergreen Ross Thurlow carried on where he left off in the previous round, taking a clear win over the ageing and creaking Bretton King while Swindonian-winner Keith Wooster skipped his Sherco into third place. 

The easier route provided the sport for the lion's share of the entry and the B class was won by Andy Perry as he remained unpenalised all evening although this was by no means a walk-in-the-park as he was tied with Abingdon's Adrian Steele until the 35th section. At this point it looked like a tie was going to occur, but sadly for Adrian he slipped on the greasy exit of number 12 and the win was Andy's... nail-biting stuff ! A very well-stocked C class witnessed another win for Michael Maslin as he annihalated the oppostion by 22 marks - much more of this and he'll have to move up a class !! The Youth A and B riders provided a glimpse of what lies ahead and 13 year Bradley Cox rode extremely well aboard his 125 Gas Gas on the hard route. Meanwhile, Jack Pontin scored a narrow 4 mark win over Justin Barrett in the B's and both deserve credit for sticking to the task.

As dusk enveloped the start field, thanks were expressed to Mr. Maslin and his wife for providing the venue, plus some very welcome post-event food and drink, afterwhich similar thanks were given to the trusty band of observers before the sun finally set on a cracking evening's trialling. 

Premier           Michael Johnson (270 Beta)    5 m.l.

Best A            Jason Welland  (250 Fantic)   14 m.l. 

Best AB          Ross Thurlow  (250 Beta)       29 m.l. 

Best B            Andy Perry (250 Rev 4)            0 m.l. 

Best C            Michael Maslin (250 Beta)        8 m.l. 

Best Youth A   Liam Wooster (125 Gas Gas)  93 m.l. 

Best Youth B   Jack Pontin (125 Sherco)       120 m.l. 

Best T/Shock   Jason Aylett (200 Honda)         10 m.l. 

Best Over 50    Graham Harris (250 Montesa)   26 m.l.

Long distance trials staged in the Wessex centre are something of a rarity, but when they do appear on the calendar they attract a very healthy entry and the Swindonian LDT proved it as 114 riders assembled at Chiseldaon last Sunday to tackle a 75 mile, 20 section lap on Wiltshire downland. 

Superb sunny weather didn't ease the severity of the sections too much, so going clean for the day was no mean feat and the eight riders that achieved this were split only by the special test times. Traditionally, modified trials or trail bikes win this event, so even more credit  goes to Premier winner Keith Wooster who skillfully negotiated the route on his mammoth 525 KTM and in the process beat a handful of top riders, none more so than ex-Welsh champion Paul Davies who went home a very unhappy man after dropping a very slack dab in a very easy section. Another notable ride came from "virgin-victor" Rich Peaker who took the silverware home in class 4 on his tweaked KTM. This was his first ever win and the brightness of the smile that beamed across his face was only matched by the glare that shone of his riding companion's head... well done Mr. Peaker! The hard luck story of the trial went to Michael Maslin who lost the Class 3 award to gavin Moore by a mere 0.77 seconds. 

In the team event, it is extremely rare for the marauding trophy-takers from Cheltenham to go home empty-handed and for the pot-hunters from across the Severn to leave with a blank. However, this year's winning team was home grown as the "Wiltshire Wobblers" picked up the award, led ably from the front by ex-British trail bike champion Graham Lavis. Steve Venn and his merry band ran in a close second, but the clean sheet from the Wobblers was enough to seal it. 

Last but by no means least, thanks must go to Eric Mulraney who plotted the route (With the help of his band of retired Teenagers) and created some imaginative sections where line-picking was critical.... At the close of a fantastic days sport, the overwhelming view was that trials this good will always be popular and attract full entry lists so well done to the organisers for gauging things so well. 

 

RESULTS 

Premier           K. Wooster              0 m.l.    20.29 sec. 

Class 1           P.Farley                  0 m.l.

Class 2           P.Studley                0 m.l.

Class 3           G.Moore                  0 m.l.    21.59 sec.

Class 4           R.Peaker                20 m.l.

Class 5           T.Jones                  44 m.l.

Class 6           S.Venn                    0 m.l.    21.73 sec. 

Best Team      "Wiltshire Wobblers" (G.Lavis, G.Moore, K.Wooster)  0 m.l.

Round two of the Swindon & DMCC Club Championship was the Maslin Trophy Trial and it attracted a very healthy 62 riders to The Old Station Yard at Hannington last Sunday on a cold and frosty morning.  

The "white crystals" certainly gave the more able people a chance to show their skills, as grip was at a premium, the bankings quickly becoming polished as spinning tyres proceeded to glaze the hard packed soil. Nevertheless, riders enjoyed a good variety of subs including climbs, cambers and streams and as the scores give testament to, nothing was too severe. 

The overall win went to centre regular Rob Scott as he ran out a comfortable winner by 17 marks from Wessex centre AB contender Ross Thurlow who finished on 39 marks and consequently took the class award. These two riders showed great control on the tough sections of 4 and 7 where the combination of glassy cambers and slick roots meant most mortals were dabbing like millipedes. As the four laps progressed it soon became clear that Rob was just that little bit better in the conditions and his mastery gave him a worthy win. Next best in Rob's class was Reynard Norris, whose total of 46 marks was sufficient to give him the A Class award, despite it being more than double Rob's total. In the Youth classes it was very much "as you were" in the first round with Chris Wicham and  Sam Turner repeating their class wins in A and B respectively. Similarly, Nigel Tomkins continued in the same vein as he was in back in January, as he took a solid win on 20 marks lost in the Over 50 class (he's not really that old is he??) as his steady throttle control retained grip where others floundered. 

The Club would as ever like to thank the hardy observers who turned out on a truly bone-numbingly-cold morning to mark cards and to thank Michael and Geoffery Maslin for their efforts in marking out and result production. Finally, gratitude goes to Sandra Wooster, a rock of an event secretary, who resembled complete grace under pressure, as the unexpected influx of riders swallowed the more entry forms than she was in possesion of. Last but not least, the riders... "Thank you for coming and we hope you will return to round 3 in the Spring". 

Premier                  Rob Scott             22 marks lost 

Best A                   Reynard Norris      46 m.l. 

Best AB                 Ross Thurlow        39 m.l. 

Best B                    G.Faulkner           32 m.l.  

Best C                    N.Toms                24 m.l. 

Over 50                   Nigel Tomkins       20 m.l. 

Best Youth A           Chris Wicham     154 m.l. 

Best Youth B           Sam Turner          60 m.l.