Hughes wins the 2024 Wild and Woolly Scramble – Race Report & Results

After the NMCC being let down in the autumn, the 96th Wild & Woolly Scramble seemed to be unlikely, but Bud Batten worked tirelessly and a new venue was finally secured last minute and all hands headed to Stipers Hill, Polesworth, where Wilden MXC, Tom Arnold and the landowner had stepped up to get event on with an 11th hour offer.

Race Report by Phil Gee – Images courtesy of Seventy4 Media

With the work parties completed and the track readied, it was a case of ‘build it and they will come’ on the very foggy Boxing Day morning.

With the start scheduled at 12 Noon, to allow everyone a little extra time to make the journey, the pits, and car parks filled nicely, all riders headed down to Samantha to sign on as the practice time of 11am was soon approaching,

The pits were filled with excitement, with the riders buzzing to get underway.

The entry seemed split 50/50 between enduro and MX bikes, with a good entry of Beta’s especially, with the John Lee Motorcycles effort having a big presence.

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Other notables for the honours would come from 10-time winner Ryan Griffiths, Young up and comer Drew Stock, along with James Barnwell, James Thompson, Harry Bradley on his Super Evo Honda, and former IMBA racer Scott Bates on his Kawasaki.

A quick scoot around the pits after practice, and all of the riders knew they would be earning their money in the next hour, as the track had already started to get interesting, and while the traditional water holes were missing, the track was going to be a challenge for all.

As Noon arrived, and the fog seemed to thicken, the atmosphere hung in the air as the 40+ rider sat with a dead engine, waiting in excitement for Bud to drop the start flag at bang on 12. The flag hit the floor, and the engines roared to life.

READ MORE: WILD AND WOOLLY NEWS

It was almost impossible to see who was where as they headed off into the woods for the first time, but as they returned through the murk, it was the youngster Callum Hughes on the John Lee Beta whose headlight shone brightly, followed closely by one of the few in the field who had to kick start, Harry Bradley(250 Honda), and James Barnwell. James Thompson on the 200 Beta was 4th, with Scott Bates 5th, James Paczynski 6th, Griffiths 7th, Alexz Wigg 8th, Charlie Lee 9th, and Aston Ilsley 10th.

Bud’s son Louie and his friend Ryan had their work cut out on the board wash as the riders were coming around thick and fast.

Hughes reappeared, still leading from the woods halfway around lap 2, but Bradley had already begun to close in and apply pressure as they veered off into the flood relief area where the worst of the track lay, and as they picked their way through the already unfurling carnage, Hughes showed his line choice prowess, and more than doubled his lead in just a few corners,as Bradley became stuck behind another rider. Thompson had moved through to 3rd, displacing Barnwell, who dropped to 7th, which elevated Bates, Paczynski and Griffiths, who was still very much in the hunt in 6th. Youngster Drew Stock had been buried back in 28th at the end of lap 1, had pulled himself up to 12th, but then just didn’t have the speed in traffic to make fast progress as the race began to spread out.

As the laps ticked off, Hughes consolidated his lead from Bradley, but the battle for 3rd was hotting up. Bates moved to P3 ,then Paczynski, before Thompson stole it back on lap 7. Alexz Wigg had pulled up into 6th on his GasGas, in front of Barnwell and Griffiths who were all still in with a shout of a top 5 finish come the end of the race.

Lap 8 was a disaster for Thompson, where he fell to 13th, after getting stuck and that was his podium challenge over, Bates took over in 3rd, with Wigg now up to 4th, as the MX guys who needed to pit for fuel started to come in. Paczynski managed to steal 4th back a few laps later but had a way to go to catch Bates.

As the race got past the 30 min mark, Hughes was a comfortable 1min 30 sec ahead of Bradley, who was still throwing the Super Evo Honda round like it was a 5 lapper, but Hughes was being smarter, riding tighter lines everywhere, and eking out time without having to push harder to do it, Bradley had a few laps where the gap would drop a little, but he was unable to pull back enough to matter.

With those 2 away at the front, the battle for 3rd was still raging, Paczynski briefly getting to P3 as Bates dropped to 5th, with Barnwell slotting in 4th, but Bates didn’t go down without a fight, and got back to 4th on lap 18, as the battle for the last step of the podium came down to the wire.

Just as it looked like 3rd was going to be a 3-way battle, Bradley’s Honda cried enough halfway around lap 19, and suddenly Paczynski found himself 2nd, but in the melee in the final laps, he ended up slipping to 4th.

Meanwhile, Hughes, who seemed to barely miss a beat, had cruised the last few laps and came to the flag at the conclusion of the hour to take his first Wild and Woolly victory and add his name to the Ladies Cup.

Bates managed to elevate himself to 2nd, and Barnwell 3rd as Paczynski hit trouble at the end, dropping him to 4th.

Wigg took a deserved 5th, with Declan Helliwell taking a good 6th; 10-time winner Ryan Griffiths acquitted himself very well with 7th, showing why he had a 33% win rate in the 30 years he has done the event. Drew Stock broke into 8th at the end, with Jason Clarke 9th and Charlie Lee rounding out the top 10.

A hat tip has to go to Otto offroads rider Harry Bradley, who I am sure will be back to try again, he kept the pressure on Hughes, almost till the end, but as we always see at the Woolly, its never over till its over.

As the crowd dispersed, it was great to see so many smiling faces, the race is a more than a race, it a happening that bring people together, where we get to clear out the excesses of Christmas, and watch the oldest off road Motorcycle race in the world.

Thanks to the hard work of NMCC Ltd, especially Bud and his family, Melanie Bird, Roger Titman, Wilden MXC, Noble Scaffold, Northants 4×4, all the sponsors, John Lee Motorcycles, Thomson Flooring, 2 Smoke breakers, MOTO MAC for the top 3 prizes and all the others who contributed. Also, to all the riders who put in the work to get their bikes ready and come out and put on a show for everyone.
We move on nearer to the magic 100th running, thank you for all the spectators that made the trip, and made the effort worthwhile. The tradition continues.

Results