Big Fish
By TMX Archives on 7th May 08
FOLLOWING straight on from the West Midlands Group event, South Staffs clubs pulled together to put on an event to remember for their riders at Hawkstone Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Just to be able to say: I've ridden Hawkstone! was enough for most riders, even if they didn't finish a race. The track was graded, but as with any track most of the work was merely cosmetic. Overnight grading meant the track didn't have time to settle and by the end of practice the ruts were as deep as ever, partly due to the nature of the Hawkstone sand.
Only Senior and Expert riders were allowed to tackle the infamous Hawkstone Hill, and this became one of the few places where riders could rest, if rest is the right word the remainder of the track was testing.
One of the few down-points of the whole weekend was the theft of three bikes from the paddock on Saturday evening. No venue is safe and thieves have no respect for the status in which Hawkstone is held within the motocross community. Lock it or lose it, applies everywhere.
Expert Group A kicked off proceedings and turned into a two-way battle between Tom Fish and Jonathan Slesser. Slesser took the opener but Fish fought back like a man possessed and won the next two with his arch-rival following him in both races. Apart from these two riders, it was quite open as to who would take third place, but veteran Graham Nicklin's experience came to the fore and he grabbed the final podium spot with open arms.
Dale Halls and Andy Marchant went at it hammer and tongs in Expert B. Halls won the first two with Craig Chamberlain and Marchant close behind.
The final encounter was a cracker! Halls led and Marchant followed, both riders at the limit of their stamina and ability following a long day's racing. Marchant dropped his KTM midway through the race and it seemed certain Halls had it in the bag until his chain came off. Craig Chamberlain scooped up the win and the overall while Pete Weaver, who had ridden well but gone unnoticed for most of the day, sneaked into second. Marchant got going and tied with Halls on points for third but took the spot on the tie break.
Laurence Smith dominated two of three Senior A races and did enough to hold his lead in the overall standings. Joe Sargent was some way behind in second as Lewis Hinks rode well for third.
Three excellent rides by Sam Pickerill who took maximum points in Senior B on the day and the overall. His friend and rival, Mitch Perry, made the most of his recent move to the Senior ranks by taking the runners-up position and James Bower finished third.
Three groups of Juniors saw yet another overall win for Jay Rumbold in Group A, closely followed by Jake Mundy and Connor Passey. Passey just lost out on the tie-break in the final race.
Luke Cartwright consolidated two wins with a second place in Group B and had done enough to take the overall as Craig Ulliott's 2-2-1 gave him second overall. Lee Beck improved race by race and took a well deserved third.
Junior Group C was not so clean cut. Aiden Starkey was boosted by a win in the final race which gave him the overall top spot while Leon Hubble had to work hard for second and stay ahead of Mitch Ingley.
South Staffs ran the meeting well. Start gate problems plagued the day, the whole weekend in fact, as a secondary gate was shipped in to replace the malfunctioning Hawkstone gate.
All South Staffs clubs pulled together to give riders a really memorable event, as did West Midlands Group the previous day. Nearly three quarters of the riders who attended had never even visited Hawkstone before the weekend, let alone ridden there. It was a great opportunity and, as tough as it was, enjoyed by all.
SOUTH STAFFS GROUP MX (AMCA)
Hawkstone Park (South Staffs Clubs)
Expert A: 1 Tom Fish, 2 Jonathan Slesser, 3 Graham Nicklin.
Expert B: 1 Craig Chamberlain, 2 Pete Weaver, 3 Andy Marchant.
Senior A: 1 Laurence Smith, 2 Joe Sargent, 3 Lewis Hinks.
Senior B: 1 Sam Pickerill, 2 Mitch Perry, 3 James Bower.
Junior A: 1 Jay Rumbold, 2 Jake Mundy, 3 Connor Passey.
Junior B: 1 Luke Cartwright, 2 Craig Ulliott, 3 Lee Beck.
Junior C: 1 Aiden Starkey, 2 Leon Hubble, 3 Sam Bailey.