Back on Sunday, May 29th the North Devon Atlantic Classic Motorcycle Club hosted their annual Roar on the Moor Classic and Twinshock Scramble with an extra class being added to the event for the first time in the shape of Unlimited Evo’s which proved to be a popular class.
Report and Images by Dave Rich
The track was slightly different to other years with an uphill start and a bog section which was optional whether you went through it or not but nevertheless it was to produce some good racing, especially in the first two blocks before things got a bit slippery after the rain arrived with many riders deciding not to compete in their last block of races.
In the Pre 60 Unlimited class, it was Ben Wear on his Matchless 500 who took the overall, but he didn’t have a clean sweep of wins as Paul Arnold took the other win.
The Pre 65 Unlimited class saw Matt Fry on his 600 Jawa Cheney take the overall with two wins out of the three races only to be denied a clean sweep of wins in the last race by Martin Coleman on his 500 Jawa Wasp, but with Coleman picking up a Dnf in the second moto the battle was on for second overall between Colin Hickie on the 350 Hickie BSA and Martin Kemp on his 650 Triumph Metisse and at the end of the day they were tied on points, but it was Hickie who took second overall by virtue of the better result in the last race.
Numbers were a bit low in the Pre 68 Unlimited category which saw a win for Luke Hickie in the opening race on his 500 Hickie BSA with Luke Winn on his BSA Cheney Victor triumphant in the second moto and with no Pre 68 competitors in the last encounter it was Winn who took the overall.
In the Pre 74 Unlimited class, there was some good racing which saw Allen Waring on his 380 Cz take the overall after winning the opening two races, but he had to settle for second in the slippery last race to fellow Cz 380 rider Marcus Denham with Paul Mollet taking third overall also on a 380 Cz to make it a trio of Cz riders topping the standings.
The Evo class which was Unlimited proved to be popular as this class was full and it was to produce some quick and exhilarating racing, especially from Matt Holcombe on his CR 125 Honda, but also one to watch was Jack Booker who was out on a borrowed CR 500 Honda who dominated the first two races and took the chequered flag in both with Holcombe having a real ding dong battle with Dean Warren on the KX 500 Kawasaki in both races but Holcombe held on to finish second to Booker in both races with Warren third in both, but the last race sorted them out as Booker went down on the first corner and Holcombe made a mistake and also went down on the second lap, but Holcombe was making that 125 sing and was soon back at the front and took the win and with it gave him the overall, Booker after another mistake finished the last race in ninth which was enough to give him second overall and with three high scoring races third overall went to Alex Buckingham on his Cr 250 Honda.
The Twinshock A class was to produce some close racing which featured one of the local stars who had plenty of local support in the shape of Luke Hill who was on a CR 500 Honda but also in the mix was Joel Hughes who was back riding after injury. Hughes was to set the pace in the opening race and was looking good at the front, but soon to be hot on his heels was Hill who had come up through the field after not the best of starts and was soon challenging Hughes after he nearly lost it when he turned the power on too quick exiting a lefthander and went sideways which was to let Hill close right up and within a lap Hill got pass Hughes and from there went on to take the win with Tom Paulley on the 490 Maico taking third.
In the second moto again, it was Hughes with the early lead from Paulley with Hill tucked in third, but within a couple of laps Hill was to pass both Paulley and Hughes and took the lead but Hill had to be at his best as Hughes was to stay with him and would come on strong on the last lap, but Hill kept him at bay and took the win with Paulley again coming home in third. In the last race, things had really got a bit slippery with many riders opting not to ride and this time it was Hill with the holeshot and was to set off at the front from Glyn Newton and Matt Wells with Hughes back in fourth but it was all to change by the end of the opening lap as Hughes was up into second and was soon all over Hill who he managed to get passed on the second lap, but he just couldn’t shake off Hill and as they went into the last lap there was nothing between them with Hill pressing all the time and it was to pay off as Hughes left the door open and Hill pounced on the opportunity and took the lead and was to make it a hat-trick of wins from Hughes who with a hattrick of second-place finishes took second overall and Paulley again taking third to end the day third overall.
The Twinshock B class there was a big pile up at the first corner in the opening race with several riders going down including Christopher Smejkal who went over his handlebars, but he was to leave his bike parked nicely upside down. Jack Bennett on his 500 Husqvarna was to win the opening race but he couldn’t match that in the other two races as it was the 490 Yamaha of Jason Alba who was to win the other two races and was to take the overall with Kurtis Bence on his 250 Maico just missing out by two points taking second overall with Bennett after being beaten in the last race by Bence having to settle for third overall by one point.
The Twinshock C class was very competitive and was to produce three different winners with wins for JJ Folland, John Pearce, and Richard Cross but at the end of the day consistency was to come from Roy Richards with a 3-4-4 scorecard to give him the overall by two points from Pearce who took second overall by one point from Aaron Baker.
In the Twinshock D class it looked as if Jack Wyatt on his CR 450 Honda was going to take a clean sweep of wins after winning the opening two races, but Jack was a nonstarter in the last race which was won by Graham Stephens on his 250 Husqvarna and with two other good results in the opening two races’ Stephens took the overall with Robert Williams second overall and Nic Ingram taking third overall.
Results
