GBXC II at Monmouth
by Tim Tighe

The setting for the second round of the GBXC series, organised by Paul Edmondson and Steve Ireland, was as different as chalk and cheese to the first round, which ran at Matchams. Once again the organisation was spot-on. It was apparent to all that a mammoth investment in time and manpower had gone into planning a seriously awesome course.

The Pro class entry list had grown significantly from the Matchams event and World Champion David Knight on his Red Bull KTM once again headed the who’s who list of the UK’s Enduro and XC riders. Relentless Suzuki’s Paul Edmondson was entered and even lined up with his bike but withdrew at the last minute in order to help oversee proceedings.

Riders who arrived on Saturday found at least two hours of their time was taken just walking the course, then even more time gearing up bikes, as sales of front and rear sprockets skyrocketed.

The venue, between Monmouth and Hereford, was huge. The lap was some seven miles in length and very fast. Two moto-x tracks connected by woodland and stream sections provided the ultimate X-country challenge for just over 500 riders.

To even up the flat-out moto-x sections, the woodland areas were tight and technical in places with plenty of off-cambers, which lead to two tough stream sections. The first of these was relatively straightforward but the exit ran out onto an uphill gradient, which became increasingly slippery as each rider passed through. The course zig-zagged through the second stream, which added more challenges at each crossing point, either a steep entry and slightly easier exit or visa-versa. These spots proved to be tough sticking points initially as large numbers of riders all tried to cross at the same time. It took just one stall or slip to amass a crowd of men and machines, all scrambling for a little grip, but as the race progressed and the field strung out this became less of a problem. Once again the final uphill proved very tough for both morning and afternoon races. Intermittent showers kept the grassy surface slick initially then, as the grass disappeared, the mud turned the whole show into a hill-climb spectacular.

Right on schedule a thunderclap woke everyone at 6.00am on Sunday morning and the heavens opened as lighting lit the paddock. Things didn’t bode well, but by the time the start line filled the sky was brightening and over 320 competitors breathed a sigh of relief, as well as a couple of organisers.

The Veterans (over 35’s) were first off the line and Richard Main showed his intentions right from the start but there was serious competition in this class. Twenty-one Veteran riders all covered seven laps, nearly fifty miles in total over a two-hour period, pretty impressive riding in conditions that were tricky at times, especially in the wooded areas. The moto-x sections remained fast throughout the day and although there were a few offs there were no serious injuries in the morning race.

Ex moto-x ace Ade Bradley showed he still has what it takes and despite Main charging through the field, Bradley closed towards the end of the race, narrowing the gap to four-seconds at the finish. The two front-runners had a clear lead over a handful of following riders, the best of these was Colin Jones who took third in the Vets, closely followed by Chris Roberts, Jerry Adams and Ray Whittle. Mark Houson had been one of the main contenders throughout the race and was leading on the final lap but a catastrophic choice of line saw him drown his mount and fall to twentieth spot.

Outside the Vets class, only three riders cracked the seven lap mark, two of these were the Sportsman class frontrunners Nick Rowbottom and Mark Perrott. There was nothing between the two of them for most of the race but as the minutes counted down Rowbottom extended a narrow lead to just under two-minutes by the chequered flag. Perrot cruised in a clear second place, well ahead of Craig Parkes in third on six laps. Also in the six-lap category, Scott Smith beat Darren Hayes to fourth spot by just under two minutes.

Joe Jones was flying in the Youth class, the only rider in the class to make the magic seven-lap mark and he took a well-deserved win. Scott Clifford, Joe Wootton and Marcus Alba had virtually nothing between them as they finished in second, third and fourth places, all on six laps, while fifth placed Liam Garbett was only three minutes behind in fifth.

Lee Carpenter headed the huge Novice entry but had to fight for his win with Andy Morgan, who challenged for the lead in the closing stages, narrowing the gap to just under a minute. Johnny Jones matched the leading pair lap for lap but trailed in just 30 second behind for a solid third place. The next batch was headed by Chris Culson, in fourth place, who managed to keep two minutes clear of Alec Trawford in fifth.

Sophie Thomas lead the Ladies home. She posted six laps, a lap clear of closest rival Tamsin Jones who had her own private battle with third placed Jane Daniels. On four laps each Kate Lloyd and Rhian George finished in fourth and fifth respectively whilst the final Ladies class entrant, Kate Harrington, took sixth.

An equally large field of riders lined up for the afternoon race. The Pro front rank had all the top contenders from the first round of the series and more. Knighter, Wakely McConnell, Wood, Moyce, Houson and Bolter were just a few in a star studded Pro class.

A slight delay while the course was cleared eventually saw a terrific start from Jon Hinam but it was all to no avail as the race was stopped. MPS’ Gav Houson had a high speed crash, mid-pack, within 300 yards of the start where he broke his femur. The Experts were held on the line until it became apparent that a restart was in order and the Pro riders were eventually stopped and recalled. Refuelling on the line as Houson was treated added yet more minutes to the delay but finally the race got underway.

Knighter had the lead and held it for most of the first lap but as he approached the second stream section at speed, he picked up some stray wire, which stopped him dead. Actually it stopped the KTM dead, Knighter continued for a few yards further and proved that he can crash-land as good as anyone. KTM’s Special Greg Evans was already in hot pursuit and took advantage of Knighters misfortune, passing the Manxman as he struggled to free his rear wheel. The Red Bull KTM fired up instantly once free as Knighter blasted off, none the worse for his experience. Within a lap he was heading the field once more and was never seriously challenged although MPS Husqvarna riders Daryl Bolter and Si Wakely closed to within two minutes of Knighter by the time the chequered flag was raised, giving Mick Seeward plenty to smile about.

Tom Sagar took fourth, just ahead of a charging Euan McConnell, who had Ollie Moyce just seconds behind for most of the final few laps. Seventh placed Tim Foreman crossed the line just two seconds ahead of Lee Edmondson who had a minute lead over PAR Honda team-mate Ash Wood. Justin Wilson’s efforts landed him the final top ten place in what was a very tough race. The top 15 Pro’s all completed 9 gruelling, high-speed laps and to a man, every one of them had been off at some point.

Gareth Hopkins was a lap up on the rest of the Experts and the only Expert to match the Pros on nine laps. Mark Roberts kept Jack Twentyman at bay by 30 seconds whilst claiming second place. Ben Wooton followed Twentyman home in fourth as Bradley King took fifth.

Less than 30 seconds separated the top three Clubman 2T riders in a huge class of 88 competitors. Adam Smith headed Ben Roberts and third placed Mitch Pearce as all three nailed eight laps on the scoreboard. Dennis Harrison and James Burroughs completed the top five line-up.

Genus Motorsports Dave Grimshaw lead the Clubman 4T class home on eight laps, with Rudy Austin just over a minute behind and Tyson Maytom-Jones a further two minutes down in third place. Lewis Bellfield headed the seven-lappers, fourth in class and just three seconds ahead of fifth placed Lee Hattersley.

The GBXC crew will have their work cut out to better this event, both series events have been good but this was exceptional. With 500 plus riders the attraction is obvious as XC racing grows in popularity. Fast Eddy and Ireland know their stuff and have the capability to take this type of racing to the limit but it is hard to envisage how the next round of the GBXC series can improve on this.