Nora’s Devon Double! Nora MX & British Quadcross Championship Round 5 – Race Report & Results

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The NORA MX Club hosted the fifth round of the NORA MX championships of 2022 at Little Hempston in Devon. It was part of another fantastic two-day quad championship event which incorporated the fourth round of the Quad British Championship and the fourth round of the NORA sidecar Championship.

Race Report and Images by Tracy Thacker

After the extreme temperatures over the past week the ground was dry but was considerably cooler for this weekend’s racing. Day one saw a few light showers, and some rain overnight which helped with the dust, and day two was cloudy with no further rain. There was a bit of dust, but otherwise conditions were great.

The track was set into the Devon countryside with few flat straights, but most of the track was on the hillside with many long fast up or down hills and a few adverse cambers and downhill jumps to make things interesting.

This weekend was a slightly different format. The Pro / Pro-am / Rookies run as a 5-race weekend with the three races in day two counting towards the British Quad Championship, all other quad classes raced as a 5-race weekend and the sidecars as a 3-race single day event.
In the sidecar class, it was great to see Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain. As a GP team they couldn’t win NORA championship points but joined the regular teams in three great races. In race one Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain took an early lead blasting ahead to take their first win of the day. Paul Pelling / Mike Curnow tucked into second but were chased from behind, with Tony Grahame / Ryan Henderson fighting past Tony Murch / John Murch and closing on second position. The style of the track made passing difficult, so it took them a few laps, but they worked hard to find a gap moving into second. Paul Pelling / Mike Curnow held third, but behind them there was drama, Tony Murch / John Murch took a tumble leaving them trackside and Tony Green / Jason Green skidded off the track with the help of a front puncture but went over the bank and into the bushes, unfortunately that was the end to their day’s racing and their championship lead. That left Taylor Whitt with stand-in passenger Harlie Lloyd to take fourth.

In race two it was Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain who led from bend one to take a second great win. Tony Grahame / Ryan Henderson charged past Paul Pelling / Mike Curnow to take second with Tony Murch / John Murch putting their race one problems behind them to hold fourth.

In the final sidecar race of the day Stuart Brown / Josh Chamberlain one again dominated, taking their third win of the day. Tony Grahame / Ryan Henderson held second from the start, this time the big battle was for third with Paul Pelling / Mike Curnow working hard to pass John Murch/ Tony Murch.

In the Pro / Pro-am / Rookie class, racing got underway with a great win for Harry Walker, passing Jamie Morgan early in the race. Dafydd Davies fought through to third just ahead of Tom Day.

In Race two, Harry Walker quickly took the lead holding on for a great win, behind George Day took second with Sheldon Seal recovering from a slow start to take a great third place just ahead of Jamie Morgan.

On day two there were another three great races, these were also part of the British Quad Championship. In the first Championship race Mark McLernon took an early lead, holding on his first win of the day. Behind Harry Walker fought through to take second passing Oli Sansom by the half-way point. Behind, Jamie Morgan was determined and pushed hard to gain another place taking third with Oli Sansom and Dafydd Davies close behind.

In race two No 3 Oli Sansom took the hold shot blasting into an early lead chased by Mark McLernon who battled hard to pass within the first few laps, going on to take his second win. Oli Sansom held second with Harry Walker passing Dafydd Davies to take third, but disaster struck for Harry when he was left track side with a mechanical issue and had to be towed back to the pits. Jamie Morgan recovered well from a slow start to take third just ahead of Dafydd Davies.

In their final race of the weekend Harry Walker was determined, despite Mark McLernon getting the hold shot, he worked hard to find a way past and held a safe lead until the very last lap, the bike started to smoke and he slowed, it was clear there were mechanical problems but could he hang on for the last help a lap, he tried to get the bike over the line, but had to push the bike for the final few bends, as long as he wasn’t helped and still has his helmet on, that is within the rules. This left Mark McLernon to take a third win and extend his championship lead. Jamie Morgan took a safe third with Zak Orchard (from the under 21 class) behind in fourth, having his best race position of the season. The Championship lead stays with Mark McLernon and despite the problems Harry Walker holds second.

The Masters A and B class, they had three races on Saturday and another two on Sunday. In race one Darren Bridge took the holeshot but Johnathan Mcknight battled past in the first few laps, Paul Winrow battled back from a slow start to take third passing Darren Bridge in the final few laps. Greg Fisher took fourth with Ed Davies recovering from bike problem on the line to blast through for a brilliant fifth place.
In race two it was Ed Davies put his race one problems behind his to dominate, holding the lead, and staying ahead of Paul Winrow with Johnathan Mcknight holding a safe third. Matthew Kirk had a great start fourth for the first few laps but was passed by Greg Fisher with Darren Bridge just behind in fifth.

On day two there were another three races. In Race three Johnathan Mcknight took an early lead but was under strong competition from his rivals. Paul Winrow blasted past to take the win with Ed Davies staying close in second. Greg Fisher and Darren Bridge battle for third with holding Johnathan Mcknight.

In race four Ed Davies took an early lead holding on for the win. Paul Winrow and Johnathan Mcknight battled for second with Paul Winrow holding the advantage. Another consistent race Greg Fisher in fourth with Chris Keitch just behind.

In their last race of the weekend, it was Ed Davies who took the hole shot but this time Paul Winrow was determined fighting hard to take the lead and his second win of the weekend. Behind, Johnathan Mcknight took third ahead of Greg Fisher with problems for Darren Bridge, he was battling hard to challenge for fourth, but touched Greg Fisher’s rear wheel and took a bad tumble and a trip to see the medics.

In the 250 class it was Ross Dillon who dominated taking wins in all five races with Alfie Pennington close behind and taking second overall. Luke Dillon was third overall a few points ahead of Frank Marston.

The Clubman Elite and Clubman classes raced together. They also had three races on Saturday and another two on Sunday. Joe Pryke took two wins on day one, but it was Tom Roch who took the overall win with good races finished all weekend and three great wins. Christopher Bladon took second overall.

In the intermediates, Archie Welch won the first race, but it was Kieran Marriott who took the overall win with two wins and consistent great races across the weekend. With one win each Tom Welch and Kieren Johnson held the top three places.

Brodie North took three wins in the 50/100 but it was Liam McGowan who took the overall with five great races. Luca Shaw battled hard to take third overall a few pints ahead of Amelia Talent.

After another fantastic weekend we look forward to the final two rounds: RD6 – Sept 11th – North Nibley and RD7 – Oct 1st & 2nd – Culham

Results

British Quadcross Championship

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Mark McLernon	75	25	25	25
2	Jamie Morgan	62	20	20	22
3	Oli Sansom	58	18	22	18
4	Dafydd Davies	50	16	18	16
5	Zak Orchard (U21)	49	13	16	20
6	Sheldon Seal	40	12	14	14
7	Jack Naylor	40	14	13	13
8	Alfie Walker U21	37	10	15	12
9	Harry Walker	33	22	–	11
10	Kevin Meenagh	33	11	12	10
11	Murray Graham	30	15	–	15
12	Kyle Murphy	28	8	11	9
13	James Bevan	17	9	–	8

National Open Sidecarcross Championship

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Tony Grahame/ Ryan henderson	120	40	40	40
2	Mike Curnow/ Paul pelling	111	37	37	37
3	Taylor Whitt/ Harry Llyod	96	35	28	33
4	Jack Rogers/ Dave Bell	95	33	31	31
5	Callum Mallaber/ George Tokley	91	29	33	29
6	Luke Banks / Liam Hodges	86	31	27	28
7	Tony Murch/ John Murch	70	–	35	35
8	Sam Watson/ Jak Watson	57	28	29	–

Nora MX Quadcross Championship

Pro

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Jamie Morgan	184	37	33	37	37	40
2	Dafydd Davies	165	35	29	33	35	33
3	Zak Orchard (U21)	150	25	26	29	33	37
4	Sheldon Seal	149	26	35	28	29	31
5	Harry Walker	146	40	40	40	–	26
6	Jack Naylor	142	29	25	31	28	29
7	Alfie Walker U21	140	27	27	27	31	28
8	Lestyn Rolands	135	28	28	25	27	27
9	James Bevan	125	24	24	26	26	25
10	Oli Sansom	110	–	–	35	40	35
11	George Day	68	31	37	–	–	–
12	Tom Day	64	33	31	–	–	–

Pro AM

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Scott Berlyn (Rookie) U21	171	33	33	33	35	37
2	Marcus Sprason U21	167	35	29	35	33	35
3	Alfie North U(Rookie) U21	154	31	28	31	31	33
4	Luke Berlyn (Rookie) U21	154	40	37	37	40	–
5	Chad Beevers U21	148	37	40	40	–	31
6	Craig Fisher (Rookie)	141	29	35	–	37	40
7	Dylan Mckenna (Rookie) U21	59	28	31	–	–	–

Clubman Elite

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Tom Roch	188	31	37	40	40	40
2	Ryan Hickman	162	29	35	35	35	28
3	Catrin Davies	153	25	29	33	31	35
4	Joe Pryke	144	40	40	31	–	33
5	Aled Davies	142	37	31	–	37	37
6	Jack Evans	142	26	28	29	28	31
7	Luke Brown	140	28	26	28	29	29
8	Lewis Humphris	136	33	33	37	33	–
9	Mitch Couzens	81	27	27	27	–	–
10	Charlie Davis	35	35	–	–	–	–

Clubman

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Christopher Bladon	194	40	37	37	40	40
2	David Marriott	180	37	35	40	31	37
3	Josh Talent	174	35	40	33	33	33
4	Max Turner	173	33	33	35	37	35
5	Tom Miller	157	31	29	31	35	31
6	Nicole Lowry	147	29	31	29	29	29
7	Lance Hand	139	28	28	28	27	28
8	Zac Hull	109	–	27	27	28	27

Intermediates

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Kieran Marriott	189	35	37	40	40	37
2	Tom Welch	184	37	33	37	37	40
3	Kieren Johnson	174	33	40	35	31	35
4	Samual Jenkins	157	31	31	29	33	33
5	Ewan Packman	147	28	28	31	29	31
6	Vassna Willcock (L)	139	29	26	27	28	29
7	Chloe Keitch (L)	136	27	27	28	26	28
8	James Scott	124	26	25	22	25	26
9	Jason Dickins	124	25	22	26	27	24
10	Susan Coalter (L)	121	23	24	25	24	25
11	Amelia Mead (L)	115	20	23	23	22	27
12	Grace Keitch (L)	113	24	19	24	23	23
13	Benjamin Woodhead	108	19	35	–	35	19
14	Archie Welch	102	40	29	33	–	–
15	Richard Murphy	99	21	18	20	19	21
16	Chris Thorn	96	18	17	21	18	22
17	Mike Skinner	72	16	16	–	20	20
18	George Elks	57	17	–	19	21	–
19	Ryan Higgs	43	22	21	–	–	–
20	Todd Segal	20	–	20	–	–	–

Ladies

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Vassna Willcock (L)	194	40	37	37	40	40
2	Chloe Keitch (L)	191	37	40	40	37	37
3	Susan Coalter (L)	171	33	35	35	35	33
4	Grace Keitch (L)	163	35	31	33	33	31
5	Amelia Mead (L)	161	31	33	31	31	35

Masters A

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Paul Winrow	191	37	37	40	37	40
2	Edward Davies	185	31	40	37	40	37
3	Johnathan Mcknight	176	40	35	31	35	35
4	Greg Fisher	167	33	33	35	33	33
5	Darren Bridge	155	35	31	33	29	27
6	Chris Keitch	149	29	29	29	31	31
7	Keith Harden	134	26	26	26	28	28
8	Barrie Dennis	131	25	25	25	27	29
9	Matthew Kirk	108	28	27	27	26	–
10	Lee Waring	83	27	28	28	–	–

Masters B

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	David Hull	194	40	37	40	40	37
2	Gary Griffin	189	37	40	37	35	40
3	Mark Moseley (V)	163	31	33	33	33	33
4	James Lees	158	33	31	35	31	28
5	Stumpy Lawrence (V)	157	35	35	29	27	31
6	Jason Hall	156	28	28	28	37	35
7	Christopher Gyles (V)	144	29	27	31	28	29
8	Karl Pilcher	139	27	29	27	29	27
9	Nik Blythe(V)	26	–	26	–	–	–

Youth 250

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Ross Dillon (O)	200	40	40	40	40	40
2	Alfie Pennington (O)	181	37	37	37	35	35
3	Luke Dillon	177	33	35	35	37	37
4	Frank Marston (A)	163	35	33	29	33	33
5	Louie Holt (A)	145	27	31	33	23	31
6	Reggie Binskin (A)	142	29	28	28	29	28
7	Ellie Stott (O)	132	31	24	25	26	26
8	Shane Havard Evans (A)	129	26	25	26	27	25
9	Harry Terrell (A)	126	21	26	27	28	24
10	Jay Sams (A)	118	23	23	24	25	23
11	Morgan Junge (A)	115	28	29	31	–	27
12	Georgia Binskin (A)	112	22	21	23	24	22
13	Connor Yates (O)	111	24	27	–	31	29
14	Charlie Eaton (A)	47	25	22	–	–	–

Junior 100cc Geared

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Liam McGowan (G)	187	40	33	37	40	37
2	Brodie North (G)	182	35	40	40	27	40
3	Luca Shaw (G)	166	37	37	33	31	28
4	Amelia Talent (G)	164	26	35	31	37	35
5	Malachy McKenna (G)	157	31	29	29	35	33
6	Ethan Legg (G)	153	33	31	35	33	21
7	Seth Balaam (G)	145	29	28	28	29	31

Junior 100cc Auto

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Josh Smart (A)	134	27	26	27	25	29
2	Beatrix Drinkwater (A)	131	25	27	26	26	27
3	Beau Terrell (A)	114	23	24	21	22	24
4	Seth Terrell (A)	107	28	25	–	28	26
5	Louie Garrett (A)	106	14	20	24	23	25
6	Bentley Don Garrett (A)	90	24	22	–	24	20
7	Keian Willis (A)	81	22	23	22	14	–
8	Abbie Eaton (A)	18	18	–	–	–	–
9	Owain Lewis (A)	12	12	–	–	–	–

Junior 50cc

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Harry Barker (50)	106	21	19	23	21	22
2	Erin Mansell (50)	93	19	17	19	19	19
3	Dexter Griffin (50cc)	92	20	18	20	20	14
4	Shay McKenna (50)	84	–	21	25	15	23
5	Oliver Willsher (50)	83	15	16	16	18	18
6	Jack Needham (50)	83	17	14	18	17	17
7	Macson Lorton (50)	75	16	13	17	13	16
8	Cameron Lees (50)	74	13	15	15	16	15