The venue for the fourth round of the Putoline XC Championship, at Saints Well near Llandrindod Wells last weekend, was well organised once again by fasteddyracing.com over both days, writes Tim Tighe.

The Saints Well course is generally one of the most popular in the Putoline XC series but there is no denying that the credit crunch is taking its toll as numbers were unexpectedly down on previous years and other meetings this year.

Following on from the Welsh 2 day event, this meeting usually attracts a few dozen riders but this didn’t happen this year. The rain that had plagued the Welsh didn’t show up on Saturday and although the course was a little damp in places it was very rideable.

The Saturday morning training session was well attended with the majority of riders also entered in the youth races, which followed on Saturday afternoon.

The youth entry was up on previous events. The two way battle in the 125-150 class continued between Scott Clifford and Johnny Jones with Clifford claiming victory as he posted 16 laps to Jones 15. Chris Evans rode strongly to third place as Seb Bashford and Tom James took fourth and fifth.

Jack Edmondson took the 65cc class by a stroke of luck as Oli Benton, who was just in the lead on the final lap, binned it to let Jack Eddy through for the win. Benton took second, a lap up on third placed Alex Walton who held off Luke Rudd in fourth and Ieuan Morgan in fifth.

Fraiser Flockhart and Joe Wooton were neck and neck but Flockhart pulled a gap on the final lap to take the win, and second in the race overall, from Wooton as Dominic Thomas and Sophie Thomas followed them home. Andrew Bull completed the top five.

Sunday morning was a little overcast but the start was dry. Unfortunately a rain shower just after the start slicked things up but the course was unaffected and easily manageable for most riders.

Vet rider Christian Walton lead the field to the chequered flag at the end of this 2-hour race. He took the Vets and Ladies class win by quite a margin over Peter Clarke who was a lap down on 14 laps. KP Equipe’s Keith Padstone clung on to a well deserved third spot ahead of Lindsay Hopkins in fourth and Dave Mead, fifth.

Shaun Buchan and Chris Price were never far apart in the Clubman 2T class but Buchan just pulled a slight lead on the final lap to take the win with Price second and Anthony Griffith third. Martin Pearce and Marc Evans took the fourth and fifth spots.

Jonathan Evans nailed the Clubman 4T win, but had to work hard to keep ahead of second placed Lee Hattersley and third placed Richard Cookland, all on 14 laps. Gareth Delahay took a solid fourth place, pushing Stu Keedwell to fifth.

Kev Sandland had his work cut out keeping Alec Trawford at bay, but he managed to doit for 13 laps as he took the Novice 2T win, putting Trawf into second overall while Danny Morris took third ahead of Rob Hending in fourth and Johnny Jones fifth.

The Novice 4T’s saw Richard Lewis claim victory, a lap up on nearest rival and second place Ryan Leary who had Mark Beresford breathing down his neck in third spot. Jim Fitzimmonds claimed fourth just ahead of a tiring Gav Faircloth in fifth.

The afternoon race suffered slightly from a torrential downpour right at the start which added to the difficulty for the Pro, Expert and Super-clubman riders, in addition to the extra woodland loop and log section thrown in for good measure.

With Fast Eddy out through a hand injury picked up in the Welsh 2 Day, the Pro field was wide open. Tim Foreman and Darren Carter took the 2 hours 30-minute race to the line with nothing between them throughout the race. Foreman just took the win by the narrowest of margins from Carter in second while James Jackman and Lincoln Brewster battled for third and fourth places. Jackman had the edge slightly and nipped in ahead of Brewster at the flag.

Craig Reynolds took a convincing win ahead of Jack Twentyman in the Expert class. Both riders had really gone balls out throughout the race but it was Reynolds who triumphed. Si Thomas claimed third place while Jonathan Hayman took fourth ahead of Scotland the Braves Drew Harvey in fifth.

James Gidding barely put a foot wrong in the Super-Clubman class and consequently victory was his. Lewis Bellfield just beat out Carl Critchlow for second place as James Harvey cruised to fourth ahead of Adam Reynolds in fifth.

Richard Main was as solid as ever in the Vets Over 35 class and once again took the win. Jason Kendrick-Jones fought off Dennis Harrison for second spot, pushing Harrison to third.

Despite the patchy downpours the event ran well. The entry was down but the competitiveness was as strong as ever between all riders and the course held up very well. It was tough, especially for the Sunday afternoon racers, but it was rideable and enjoyable, if you like being knackered, soaked and covered in mud!

Results

Youth

65cc
1 Jack Edmondson
2 Oli Benton
3 Alex Walton
4 Luke Rudd
5 Ieuan Morgan

125-150
1 Scott Clifford
2 Johnny Jones
3 Chris Evans
4 Seb Bashford
5 Tom James

85cc
1 Fraiser Flockhart
2 Joe Wooton
3 Dominic Thomas
4 Sophie Thomas
5 Andrew Bull

Sunday AM

Vets & Ladies
1 Christian Walton
2 Peter Clarke
3 Keith Padstone
4 Lindsay Hopkins
5 Dave Mead

Clubman 2T
1 Shaun Buchan
2 Chris Price
3 Anthony Griffith
4 Martin Pearce
5 Marc Evans

Clubman 4T
1 Jonathan Evans
2 Lee Hattersley
3 Rich Cookland
4 Gareth Delahay
5 Stu Keedwell

Novice 2T
1 Kev Sandland
2 Alec Trawford
3 Danny Morris
4 Rob Hending
5 Johnny Jones

Novice 4T
1 Richard Lewis
2 Ryan Leary
3 Mark Beresford
4 Jim Fitzimmonds
5 Gav Faircloth

PM Race

Pro
1 Tim Foreman
2 Darren Carter
3 James Jackman
4 Lincoln Brewster

Expert
1 Craig Reynolds
2 Jack Twentyman
3 Si Thomas
4 Jonathan Hayman
5 Drew Harvey

Super-Clubman
1 James Giddings
2 Lewis Bellfield
3 Carl Critchlow
4 James Harvey
5 Adam Reynolds

Vets Over 35
1 Richard Main
2 Jason Kendrick-Jones
3 Dennis Harrison