WOODS WINS WOR MOTUL ROUND 1
REPORT BY G.TURNER

After the cancellation of the first round back in April the WOR Events road show finally got the first round of it’s now very well established MOTUL GBHS (Great Britain Hare Scrambles) under way at the always popular Maeshafn venue near Mold in North Wales.

The circuit was very much like an American GNCC with its whoops and dusty, loamy berms. The sunshine was blinding and very hot and for all the world the riders could have been in Florida and not Flintshire.
Oil giants MOTUL have now supported this series for 5 years and once again their help with promotion and event accessories is much appreciated by the WOR Events team.
With a very demanding but also enjoyable 5.2 miles per loop for the riders to negotiate, it was certainly a survival of the fittest as slowly but surely the conditions punished each and every rider.

WOR had made big noises recently regarding going back to the old school 3 hour races and this was their first 3 hour main race so far in 2008.
What a venue and what conditions to resurrect the old format!!
From the looks on tired riders’ faces it was evident to see that there is so much endurance and stamina needed to compete in these Cross Country type events and that it truly is the best man wins.

With a great atmosphere in the paddock and pits area, the big WOR event arches and sound system added to the hype and a brilliant line up of quality riders set the tone for two splendid races. The format is now simple at WOR,
9.30am has a two hour race for the intermediate riders (over 40’s, Sportsman, Youth 14-16 and Novice) and then in the afternoon starting at 12.30pm the main 3 hour event takes place with the Pro’s through to Championship Veterans taking part.
Both races ran like clockwork and on time with a full awards and result presentation at the end of each race, its little things like this that WOR pride themselves on and know that the riders appreciate.

THE 2 HOUR RACE…
…Was once again very well supported and as always at this popular venue had lots of riders enjoying the well planned loop.
Fastest man by far of the race was Young Sportsman Ryan Faulks (KTM 200).
Ryan is improving week by week and is now riding very fast indeed as the Clubman challenge and 3 hours awaits him.
Second in the Sportsman group went to Edward Briscoe although he was four minutes down on the flying Faulks.
Ben Ball was consistent as ever and secured the 3rd place trophy.
All three completed 10 laps of the Flintshire mountain side.

Allan Hopwood was victorious in the Over 40’s taking a steady win from Paul Davies in the silver position and Mark Moloney in third. Again the top 3 riders in this group all completed 10 circuits.

James Dent from Cumbria is a young man that is growing not just in size but also in stature as he took a very commanding lead in the competitive youth (14-16) group.
James has ridden WOR events for many a year now as have his family and it really is nice to see him come on in his form like this.
Dent took a fine 3 minute advantage over second placed Johnny Jones. Both Dent and Jones both did 10 laps and the final podium place went to Adam Barrat although Adam completed one less on 9 laps.

The top Novice was Darren Moloney and Kate Lloyd once again finished as the best lady rider.

2hours in the heat and on this always demanding track ensured a good work out had been had by all.

THE 3 HOUR MAIN EVENT..
..Was always going to be a tough one and the quality of the Pro class was very good indeed, a testament really to the profile of this established championship.

With BEC front-runner and PAR Homes-supported Ashley Wood alongside the up and coming Gareth Hopkins, Gethin Price, Mark Roberts and Tim Foreman, it was never going to be easy for Lincoln Brewster to continue in his fine run of form at WOR Events.

Garteh Hopkins was the event leader from the off as he rode very impressively to stay at the front for nearly four laps. Disaster then struck poor Hopkins as for the 3rd event in a run whilst leading his Back wheel broke up on him. Good times will certainly follow for the KTM mounted rider.
With Hopkins out it was the super smooth and very fast Ashley Wood that made the rest become the chasing pack as he pulled away at the front.
Mark Roberts was a very steady 2nd place until he too had a disaster, his new exhaust pipe fell apart and he was forced to retire whilst setting some blistering lap times.
All the time this was going on the super determined Lincoln Brewster was always pushing hard as he always does made sure he was on that podium come the end of the race.
Tim Foreman pushed Brewster hard though and come the final results it was Wood as the winner with Brewster in second and Foreman in third. Some truly great racing.
Wood and Brewster were the only riders to complete 17 laps as the clock and new 3 hour ruling forced both of the riders out for another lap with only seconds to go.

Ben Wootton was head and shoulders above the rest of the Expert class as he secured another fine win with nearly 5 clear minutes on his nearest rival, Rheinallt Davies.
Honda mounted Wootton , Husqvarna Mounted Davies and Gas Gas Mounted Chay Granby all did 16 laps and took the podium in that class.

The Clubman class as always was hotly contested and St Helens based Ben Haycock was the man to beat.
After battling with the hard charging Lewis Belfield for the majority of the race it was the 450 Yamaha of Haycock that had a 1 and a half minute lead over Belfield come the end.
Third clubman was another frequent podium visitor, Jamie Robinson.
The top 3 clubman did 15 laps each.

Jack Twentyman (Honda 250 2t) rode like a man possessed in the over 35’s and once again proved the man to beat as he pushed his body to its limits and took a near 1 minute advantage over Yamaha Mounted Richard Main.
Twentyman had ridden so hard that had ripped out the seat of his underpants and he proudly displayed these to all at the presentation ceremony at the end.
Well done Jack.
Carl Claybrook took the final podium place with yet another good ride in his comeback with WOR.

In the over 45’s it was once again the Ray Whittle Show as he put out a commanding 3 minute advantage over second placed Colin Jones.
Jones and Whittle had another real ding-dong as they raced neck and neck for the duration until the fitter Whittal pulled clear after the two hour mark.
Dave Smith was two minutes down on Jones in 3rd place and it was nice to see the unassuming Smith back on the podium after he had dominated the class so much last year.

Andrew Dean topped the Sportsman PM class with a determined ride that saw him battle fatigue and stamina issues half way through.

And so another WOR production with safe and professional racing, and lots of happy riders taking to the road on their way home.
The clerk of the course wishes to thank the awesome WOR marshals and team, The land owners, Mr and Mrs Thomas and most of all the riders for their support and respect for the track and no course cutting.

WOR’s next event is this coming WEDNESDAY night at the same venue on a fully revised track in the CF Racing evening championship.

The famous Nantmawr Quarry, Home of the World Famous “Tough One” near Oswestry then becomes the venue for the next weekend of WOR activities on the 21/22nd June.

Nantmawr is such a quality venue and held hopefully in summer conditions will certainly be one not to be missed. The event at Nantmawr will be the 3rd round of the TBM XC series (formerly the GAS GAS XC).

More details at www.worevents.com.