The second round of the 2017 Eastern Centre Pre-70 Championship, with an accompanying twin-shock class was staged at Blaxhall recently.
The challenge for the 70 starters was to complete four laps of 12 sections, two laps to be ridden before a lunch interval, followed by two more laps riding the sections in the opposite direction.
There were three routes available to challenge riders of all abilities and experience, most of the sections were set out on the wooded banks of this former gravel pit.
Matthew Neale (Ariel 500) dropped just a single three in the morning session, getting caught out in the gullied climb of section 2.
In the reverse direction the sections presented more of a challenge, however Neale extended his lead throughout the afternoon, on his way to winning on the hard route in the Pre-Unit class. Gary Baker (Triumph 200) was the sole contender on the hard route of the Unit class.
On the hard route in the Two-Stroke class Daniel Carter (James 250) opened his day with a clean first lap, establishing a lead that he would hold onto all day.
Carter’s win meant that he also won the ‘Kenny and Margaret Shield’, awarded to the best performance by a Woodbridge Club member. In the Twin-Shock class on the hard route there was a close fought, three-way battle for second place, albeit in the wake of Mark Banham (SWM 320), who ended the day well clear of the field.
On the Pre-Unit intermediate route John Lea (Ariel 500) established a narrow lead over Stephen Parker (Royal Enfield 350) on the opening lap, despite Parker having the best of laps 2 and 4 he couldn’t quite close the gap, ending the day three marks adrift of Lea.
In the Unit class Kevin Bishop (Triumph 230) had a four mark advantage over Colin Rose (Triumph 199) at the lunch interval, a lead he would extend by a further five marks in the afternoon.
Bob Clarke (BSA 185) dropped just three single dabs, two on his first lap and one on his second on his way to a clear victory in the two-Stroke class.
The Twin-Shock class on the intermediate route was tied at the halfway stage with Kevin Plummer (Fantic 156) and Trevor Harvey (Yamaha 175) on three apiece. Plummer added just a single dab to his score in the afternoon, ending the day with a three mark margin over Harvey.
Mark Gibb (BSA 250) cleaned the morning session on the easy route in the Pre-Unit class, and with just a single dab on his third lap, he claimed a clear and comfortable victory.
On the Two-Stroke class easy route, Doug Barrell (BSA 175) also cleaned the his first two laps, a single dab on each lap in the afternoon gave him an equally clear victory. On the easy route in the Twin-Shock class, 79 year old veteran rider, Doug Theobald (Yamaha 175) took the narrowest of victories, just one mark ahead of three riders tied for second place.
Results from Blaxhall
Pre-Unit
Hard Route
Matthew Neale (Ariel 500) 16, Clive Dopson (Norton 490) 59
Intermediate Route
John Lea (Ariel 500) 18, Stephen Parker (Royal Enfield 350) 21
Easy Route
Mark Gibb (BSA 250) 1, Kevin Goldsmith (Royal Enfield 350) 18
Unit
Hard Route
Gary Baker (Triumph 200) 26
Intermediate Route
Kevin Bishop (Triumph 230) 12, Colin Rose (Triumph 199) 21
Two-Stroke
Hard Route
Daniel Carter (James 250) 11, Graham Brown (James 250) 20
Intermediate Route
Bob Clarke (BSA 185) 3, Trevor Hill (BSA 185) 10
Easy route
Doug Barrell (BSA 175) 2, Roderic Newstead (Absavill 197) 16
Twin-Shock
Hard Route
Mark Banham (SWM 320) 19, Matthew Skeet (Fantic 250) 33
Intermediate Route
Kevin Plummer (Fantic 156) 4, Trevor Harvey (Yamaha 175) 7
Easy Route
Doug Theobald (Yamaha 175) 4, Trevor Kemp (Yamaha 250) 5
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