For the sixth round of their hotly contested 2023 enduro championship, the Trail Bike and Enduro Club of Great Britain (TBEC) returned to the superb Abbotsley Arena near St Neots, Cambridgeshire on Sunday.
Report by Roger Allen – Action images courtesy of Andy Moncur
While the venue was the same location as their ‘hare and hounds’ enduro held back in May, the course itself was completely different. This time the experienced TBEC team plotted out a superb 8 mile circuit on the 200 acre site consisting of fast woodland sections, tight adverse camber turns, jumps and flat out grassland straights. Despite torrential rain on Saturday, the sun shone brightly on race day, and the circuit presented itself in prime condition, aided no doubt, by the fast-draining soil.
Hot favourites, Elite riders Tobias Bailey, Dan Smith, Luke Evans and James Foxley all lined up ready for the 10.30am off, with Smith and Bailey setting off side by side. Smith #8 took the initiative and led off with Bailey tucked up his exhaust pipe followed by #355 Foxley and the rest of row zero. At the end of the first lap, however, it was defending champion Toby Bailey #1 who emerged first out of the woodland. He clocked in with a relatively conservative opening lap of 16:29 with Foxley trailing just fifteen seconds behind, followed immediately by Smith. Lap by lap, the Cheltenham flyer continued to open up his lead at the front. On lap seven he blitzed around the course to record the first sub fifteen minute lap time, heading Smith at that point by 2 minutes 41 seconds.
To all intents and purposes it looked as though Bailey was heading for another win to add to the five he had already won, but Lady Luck was to desert him just as the hand of fate stepped in! Half way around lap eight, his Wright Racing KTM XC300 ground to a halt, gasping for fuel! The reigning champion was quick to jump off the bike and lean it right over to collect the last dregs of fuel to send into the carb. This proved enough to get him under way, but the thirsty two-stroke KTM conked out again 70 metres before the finish line. Bailey, much to the appreciation and applause of onlookers, pushed his bike home before half-exhaustedly clocking himself out for the lunch break. Despite this setback and receiving some penalties for going over time, Bailey still won the morning race from Foxley, thanks to the 8 laps they had both put in against the 7 laps of Smith and Evans.
The afternoon enduro was set to run in the opposite direction, and, as the clock ticked over to the 1.30pm start, Bailey, now fully recovered, seemed eager to get away first. He was immediately followed out the gate by Foxley and Smith in close order. Once again, Bailey came through first to complete the opening lap in 15:10, with Foxley seven seconds behind and Smith’s GasGas a further half minute adrift. Bailey was lapping consistently, opening up his lead a further 12 seconds on Foxley with Smith falling behind by another 20 seconds. It looked as though this would be the pattern for the day but things were set to change! Despite Bailey recording the fastest time of the day on the 5th lap after putting in a blistering lap time of 14 minutes 55 seconds, the enduro gods were simply not smiling on him and his fortunes would take a dramatic turn. Half way around the sixth lap Bailey was visibly slower, his machine snaking wildly from side to side from a flat rear tyre. Foxley, Smith, Evans and Paul Hanks passed him by easily, although he managed to get the bucking KTM back to the pits where his Dad was ready and waiting to change the wheel. In the meantime, Smith, Evans and Foxley continued their jousting with Smith, by this time equalling Evans’ and Foxley’s lap times and actually bettering them. It was to stand him in good stead, for the ever-consistent Dan Smith would, at the end, emerge as overall winner. Smith, Evans and Bailey had all completed 15 gruelling laps on the day which gave them the top three positions. Behind them, the #170 Fantic of Ryan Crisp and the Husky of Paul Owen #26 were placed 4th and 5th, while Foxley, despite also completing 15 laps, secured 6th place due to his 24 penalties points for going well over time.
In the E1 class it was Ben Forbes #159 who convincingly came out top, just over 3 minutes ahead of runner-up Rhyan Leighton #501 on his little TE150 Husky. The E2 class was a much closer affair, with Ryan Brown #19 just over half a minute in front of the #456 KTM of Darryl Friday. In the E3 class, John Paul Bowering #94 on his Beta RR300 finished several minutes behind eventual class winner Matt Willis’s Husky #20. Tommy Batts topped the Legends class with 14 laps on his #22 YZ250 Yamaha with Darren Brooker one lap down in second place on his Beta RR250. John Evans just got the better of Gaz West’s #414 KXF450 in the Vets class on his #245 KTM, both riders completing 14 laps. The hotly contested Under 21 class was a benefit for #29 Joe Jefferies while contender Finlay Woods was forced into second spot on his #308 KTM. Keith Townsend topped the SV class on his #302 KTM EXC200 while the Trail class was won by Emily Davy, who completed 12 laps on her #64 Beta Xtrainer 300 ahead of similarly mounted Richard Martin #336 and Scott Frost, who muscled his giant #43 700 Yamaha Tenere around the Abbotsley course. Finally, Ben Hovell claimed the Half Day class on his #138 KTM.
Was the TBEC Championship about to undergo a changing of the guard in favour of Dan Smith, or was it merely a temporary gliche in the championship fortunes of leader Toby Bailey? Find out next month right here on Dirt Hub when, on 10th September, TBEC visits the hallowed ground of Kimpton Park. Don’t miss it! See ya, RA.
Results
