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P.A.R.Homes Ltd. / Bache’s Bargains
2008 Welsh Open Motocross Championship Round 1
by Andrew James
Despite the constant drizzle which produced damp conditions and although down on the 4,000+ that have attended on a clear and dry night it was still a good crowd of 1,000 that turned up to see the opening round of the 2008 Welsh Open Motocross championships sponsored by P.A.R.Homes and Bache’s Bargains held at Cwmythig hill, near Rhayader.
With the British round of the World Motocross Championships being held the coming weekend, some of the country’s top race names were not in attendance, most notably defending champion Brad Anderson. Still, the inclusion of world class motocross racer Mark Jones from Bridgend more than made it for it as being the “local” lad Jones had plenty of support.
Not to disappoint the fans Jones took his “ARB Tuning” 450cc Kawasaki into turn one to claim a narrow holeshot from fellow team mate Jamie Jones and Ray Rowson on the P.A.R.Homes Honda. The popular Welsh rider launched the Kawasaki off the top of the big hill and glided down with the sounds of air horns and the cheering fans to accompany him on his flight. It was looking good as he took the finish line table top jump, which this year has had a huge amount of work done to make it both higher and generally bigger, the evening’s wet conditions making the take-off ramp a little ominous for even the experienced riders. Lap two and Jones began to pull a couple of seconds clear of Rowson who had Lewis, Mark Hucklebridge and Ashley Greedy in tow. It was whoops in the Whoops for Jones though on lap two, making cautious progress through the tricky section at the top of the track Jones dropped his front wheel over the penultimate whoop into the trench below only to find his front wheel taking a liking to the soft Welsh earth and digging in. The rear wheel decided it was not keen on the location and decided to overtake its front partner by going over the top, the slow motion action saw Jones lifted up and glide gently over the bars to be unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Rowson took the opportunity to take the lead with Jamie Lewis in pursuit. Like his team-mate Jones though, on the next lap Lewis also found the whoops to be troublesome but he managed to stay on the Kawasaki but the time lost meant on the blisteringly quick Cwmythig track that Rowson now had a huge lead of around ten seconds. Jones was back in fifth place but he quickly found a way round the young Ashley Greedy from the Rhondda on the “Talbot Cabs” 450cc Suzuki. Despite the battered appearance of Jones machine now with no tail piece and a side panel flapping in the wind holding on for its worth to the side frame, the world class pace of Jones was there for all to see as he then set about fourth and third places by passing Hucklebridge and Lewis. It was too much though to close down Rowson who took the chequered flag to set up the first of his nights victories.
Jones got the start again in moto tow leading from Rowson, Hucklebridge, Glyneath rider Kip herring on the “Off roaders” 450cc Yamaha with Lewis and Greedy just behind. With no spares with him Jones was tail-less but it had no effect on the pace which quickly saw him pull well clear by about 6 seconds from Rowson. The race was fairly uneventful, a fact no doubt Jones was glad of as he collected the maximum 20 points for the race win from Rowson, the pair now being tied after two races on 37 point. Herring moved up a couple of placings from his opening race fifth place with Lewis just about holding off Hucklebridge for fourth spot. By the final expert class the mist had almost developed to fog conditions with visibility just about good enough for racing to continue. Rowson took the holeshot from Jones and Herring. Jones took the lead on the second lap but almost immediately Rowson re-passed as Jones had to take his hand from the bars to clear his goggles. With a clear view again Jones powered passed Rowson once more to lead up to the top of the track and the whoops! Sure enough Jones had more trouble in the whoops and lost the lead once more, but with a World Championship race this weekend you can’t really blame him for being cautious after the opening race tumble in the whoops. Rowson pulled three seconds clear of Jones with Lewis now ahead of Herring who in turn had Greedy in his roost looking for fourth spot, something he was to find his way to on the next lap. It seemed that Jones had decided he may have used up all his luck for the night and he seemed happy to sit in second place following Rowson home as he took the second of his nights wins and the overall by three points from Jones.
The opening Senior and Junior class racing saw pandemonium from the off with four riders failing to reach the holeshot first corner, hitting the slippery ground on the start straight. As it was a number were down in turn two before things started to settle down by the close of the opening lap. Leaping the pack were the Quartet of Jason Williams from Port Talbot, Phil Lloyd from Llangenech, Gareth Hickey from Ystradgynlais and Swansea rider Kristian Jones, all four who regularly do battle with the Dredgers – Laugharne MX Club based in Carmarthenshire. Williams hung on to the lead for a couple of laps but Phil Lloyd has been on form this year and by lap three he was out in front. It mattered little to Williams who somehow was classed as Junior though he should have perhaps been classed with his fellow front runner as a senior. Lloyd was untroubled as he took the last lap lap flag, untroubled that was by any other rider. His two stroke Suzuki however was given him cause for concern with what seemed like gear box trouble, not the first time it has happened this year, Luckily for Lloyd he was at the top of the hill and used gravity and momentum to get the yellow buzzing 2-stoke engine home for the opening win.
Moto two brought about a change at the front. Robert Devonald-Batt is back in the country after a couple of years out having been to the USA. Batt was always a top hitter as a youth class racer when he raced with Dredgers-Laugharne MXC and now he is out with the adults the Llanbydie rider is making a big impression. Also making a big impression in this race was Lloyd. He was in second place until he took the wall of death a bit too low and got sucked down by the soft Rhayader mud, making an impression in the ground as he was dumped head first into the gloop. Gareth Hickey took over in second place but Batt was away and by now around 10 seconds clear which on the fast track equalled almost a quarter of a lap. In turn hickey was well clear of top Junior rider Luke Davies from Aberystwyth riding the “E.T.James” Suzuki. Davies had taken fourth in the opening moto but now was holding off the senior challenge from Kevin Hughes, a Llandeilo farmer! Devonald-Batt once again took an early lead in the final junior race. Phill Lloyd had washed himself and the bike down after the face plant in moto two, Lloyd lead from Lloyd Jones who up until now had had something of a night to forget. Farmer Hughes was in fourth spot battling with Hickey. With the conditions worsening the race seemed a little shorter but on the grounds of safety it was a good call, Devonald-Batt took his second race win from Phil Lloyd and Hickey. The result meant that it was a three way tie in overall first place between Devonald-Batt, Phil Lloyd and Hickey all on 43 points.
It was hero to Zero for Ystralyfera rider Craig Watkins as he took the 250cc “BPM Engineering” KTM from holeshot at turn one to almost last at the close of the opening lap. The slippery conditions were tough for the experts, for the novice class riders it was at times something close to watching a massacre as the Whoops section seemed to open up and swallow huge numbers of rider, Watkins being one of them! Barney Moore was an early leader followed by Local Rhayader rider George Wozencraft on the “E.T.James” Suzuki and Adam Rees from Llandrindod Wells. Wozencraft was out in front by lap three leading from Moore by a couple of seconds. It was not stay that way though as Moore found some more pace and put the pass on the local hero to take the chequered flag, the lead pair being a long way clear of third placed rider Joseph Varley from Newtown. Christopher Higgins was first out of the jungle to take the holeshot in moto two of the novice race, the trick looking 450cc Honda powered the Brecon based rider to an early lead but it was once again Barny Moore that took over as front runner. He however was another rider that made a fatal mistake on the wall of death at the end of the second lap and lost the lead to Rhayader rider Andrew Evans. Evans had Craig Watkins right behind him though looking to make a return to the ranks of the night’s hero’s. As the laps ticked down the pair were neck and neck with Tregaron youngster Scott Isherwood now in third place in this his first ever Rhayader evening motocross event. With the last lap flag hanging heavy in the dwindling light and damp misty conditions it was Watkins who muscled his way past Evans in the final couple of corners to take a well-deserved race win. Ryan Jones was the only local beginner, the Rhayader rider needs some competition, so get booked in for rounds two and three yee locals!.
Unfortunately the visibility became too short for the final Novice race to take place, but with the bad weather meeting out of the way Round two is sure to be another great evening on June 18th.
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