It was a glorious day of bright blue sunny skies with a keen wind for the first round of the Dave Barkshire 2 man enduro round at Halstead Hills. With a full entry card the 128 starters enjoyed some perfect conditions over the fast undulating course.
Report and Images by Paula Day Photography
The track got faster as the day progressed with some 20 seconds per lap being knocked off lap times by the faster riders. Others punctuated their laps with close encounters with trees in the wooded section or unexpected rests as the bog & several ditches claimed a breather for those who may have momentarily lost concentration. The lunch break gave some respite briefly before the course was reversed in the afternoon with no let up on speed as the course was drier and provided perfect corners for those wishing to throw up some dust. The 64 pairs of riders clocked up as many laps as time allowed.
With Luke Parker defending his championship title win last year newly paired with George Ellis for this season, it was down to the timings of the special test which divided the top 2 placings, but with a busy motocross schedule and several dates clashing later in the year seasoned enduro riders may have the advantage as the year progresses.
Newly upgraded riders to championship class held their own with good placings for Sudbury Clubs Joe Henthorne partnered with Braintree & Districts Will Hughes coming in third and Sudburys own Joe Phillips and Jake Roper last years British Clubman champion in fourth place, all of whom are off to Devon for the first rounds of the British Championship this weekend.
In Expert Class seasoned regular Paul Spurgeon overcame a heavy night and pulled 21 laps over the day with partner Chris Ballard to take the podium position and newly upgraded pairing of Archie Gunton and Barnaby Knight last years winner of the Dave Barkshire Eastern Centre 2 man Clubman championship took second losing out on first place by less than .5 of a penalty.
As always a massive thanks to all our landowner and hardworking committee members & supporters who spent the best part of their weekend working on the track.
Looking forward to Sudburys next Solo Enduro event at Foxborough on the 8th May entries open via the ACU website in due course.
Results
