Round one of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/ACU Eastern Solo Enduro Championship in the Thetford Forest, organised by the Diss Motor Cycle Club, was not without drama and surprises.

Chris Hockey, during his first Special Test in the Championship Class machine, stalled which cost him precious seconds and resulted in him finishing 16th outside the points.

But this is only a minor setback, as there are five more rounds to go in his attempt for a record-breaking 10th title.

The Class was easily won by British Enduro contender Joe Wootton, with ACU Eastern 2016 Moto Cross Champion Luke Parker in second.

The battle for third and fourth places was between 2016 Eastern Enduro Champion Jason Morland (Halstead) and Jamie Roper (Sudbury), which Roper won by two seconds.

Other local riders in the points were Brendon Mayers (Halstead) 8th, Rick Roper 11th, Craig Roper 14th (both Sudbury) and James Yearley 15th (Braintree).

Sudbury riders took seven of the 15n scoring places In the Expert Class, with Myles Saunders in second, Alex Walton in fourth, Ben Ramus sixth, Glenn Walsh seventh, Jack Nicolaou eighth, Ryan McDonnell 12th and Jack Berry 13th.

In the Expert Veteran Class, Gavin Hockey secured third place and Phil Roper 13th spot.

In the Clubman Class, Sudbury’s Lee Monger finished second, James Barker third, Daniel Piper eighth, Matt Smith 10th and George Eustace, back from injury, was 14th. Joe Marsh (11th) was Halstead’s lone scorer.

The big surprise was in the Clubman Veteran Class with a win for Kevin Webb (Sudbury), who had not ridden for three years, pushing Andrew Peck (Sudbury) into second place.

There were six more Sudbury riders in the points – Dean Curry fifth, Jeff Turner sixth, Terry Allen eighth, Jeff Sharp ninth, Kevin Sykes 12th and Ian Head 14th.

In the Clubman Super Veteran Class, Sudbury members to the fore included Andy Mason, the current Class Champion, who won by eight seconds from Paul Davis. Graham Mays was fourth, Mark Waller seventh, Gary Drage eighth, Les Rampton ninth and Nigel Ross was 10th.