The ACU-sanctioned Trail Bike and Enduro Club of Great Britain (TBEC) held the final round of its 2024 championship at Deepdale, Bedfordshire, on Sunday, November 3rd.
Race Report by Roger Bailey – Feature Image courtesy of Kiean Fisher – Other Images courtesy of Kiean Fisher & Tim Harris.
The 6 mile Deepdale course was set in a former sand and gravel quarry with some steep ascents and descents, nadgery tight sections, jumps and flat out sections over brush-covered ground. There wasn’t so much woodland as usual but that was down to the fact that Deepdale is a quarry and not farmland. There was plenty of sand of course, but of the firm sort rather than the deep, loamy type. Weather conditions couldn’t have been much better, with no rain falling in the preceding week. This, along with all the preparation put in by the TBEC crew, left the circuit in pristine condition, a far cry from one year ago when the circuit was virtually a muddy quagmire!
Race day for the enduro may well have been close to Guy Fawkes night, but the sparks were already flying at Deepdale. On paper, reigning champion Tobias Bailey was all set to clinch what could be his third consecutive championship, but nothing was certain, thanks to the unusual TBEC scoring system. Stroud’s Dan Wheeler was still very much in the running, but he would need a lot of luck – and his TBC Engineering teammate would have to score 224 points less than him in order for Wheeler to take his first championship.
As the clock ticked down to the 10.30am start time, young Joe Jefferies #29, was first to leave the start gate from Row Zero, immediately followed by #1 Tobias Bailey. The ‘Cheltenham Flyer’ was immediately followed out the gate by #355 James Foxley and then British Championship runner Doug Lote (#800), who had forsaken his regular two-stroke in favour of his Father Dave’s fuel efficient KTM 350. Doug entered the enduro in the non-championship X-day class.
Stroud’s Dan Wheeler #442 was first away from Row 1. The former schoolboy motocross champion was keen to chase down those in front of him, particularly his team mate Bailey. Once out the blue-taped zone, he shot off like the proverbial greyhound out of the trap and was clearly on a mission. Following Wheeler was #80 Josh Watson, eager to make up for his breakdown at the last event. They, in turn, were followed by Finlay Woods #308 and Luke Cain on his #555 Sherco. The remainder of Row 1 departed, followed by the rest of the field in one minute intervals.
Up front, Bailey had already despatched of Joe Jefferies and settled down to do some consistent lappery. Behind him, Wheeler was setting some very quick times, and this drew him relentlessly closer to Bailey and the rest of Row Zero. He was probably the fastest man on the course during the first hour, halving the 1-minute advantage that his teammate held at the start. When Bailey came in for his first fuel stop at the end of lap 5, Wheeler seized the chance to slip his GasGas through into the lead. As he passed the pit exit, Bailey was making his way out and immediately slotted his KTM behind the new leader, snapping at his heels as they left the blue zone. With the two contenders locked together, the main championship battle was now on!
Despite his full tank of fuel, the ‘Cheltenham Flyer’ seized the opportunity to pass Wheeler on the sixth lap and proceeded to open up a sizeable lead on the track. He was still behind on time, of course, but that would correct itself when Wheeler pulled in for his first fuel stop at the end of the lap. With both team mates now tanked up, Bailey opened up a lead on the track of one and half minutes, and, according to the lap data, was the fastest rider during the second hour. This put him 30 seconds ahead of Wheeler on the clock.
Behind them, Joe Pratt (#345) was circulating very quickly but TBEC’s Lee Smith (#6) was making great inroads into catching up to him. Young Finlay Woods (#308) was also lapping at a fair rate of knots, holding off the challenge from a rejuvenated Darryl Friday, who was recovering from a wrist injury. Even though they started 1 minute apart, Ryan Pinzani (#123) and John Paul Bowering (#94) were both tearing around at a similar pace, eager to catch up with E3 pace setter Jamie Barnes (#115).
Back at the front, Wheeler was pulling out all the stops to get back on par with his team mate, but it led to him overcooking a corner where his front wheel burst through the berm. The Stroud man fell hard but quickly picked up his GasGas to resume the chase, in some considerable pain as it would turn out. At the finish, Bailey clocked in at 13:24:24, having completed 16 laps, jubilantly performing a wheelie in celebration before he entered the blue zone. Wheeler clocked in nearly 2 minutes later (one minute after corrected time). And that’s how it ended up, with Tobias Bailey taking his seventh enduro win from 9 events, giving best only to Ed Harris and Dan Wheeler in 2024.
Back in the pits, I took the opportunity to interview the now three times TBEC Champion Tobias Bailey along with his TBC Engineering team mate Dan Wheeler.
RA: Congratulations Tobias, that was a brilliant performance you just put up, and now you’re a three times TBEC Champion! Well done to you also Dan on securing the runner up position!
TB: Aww, cheers mate – that was such a brilliant race I really enjoyed that one most of all. Dan really pushed me hard!
DW: Yeah, you just got lucky Tobe! If I hadn’t decided to examine the track at close quarters it would’ve been a different story! Haha!
RA: Why, what happened Dan?
DW: Aww, I was pushing, maybe a bit too hard – trying to catch Toby up after we’d both pitted. My front end washed out on a berm and I ended up on my arse! I got back on straight away but must have lost a good 50 seconds. My leg was a bit painful after that but I stuck it out till the end.
RA: Sorry to hear that Dan. How did it go for you Tobias?
TB: “Really good thanks mate. At first I was just cruising around at a decent pace, keen to get away from Dan as I knew he’d be giving it everything he’s got. I wasn’t pushing it too much though because I knew I only had to finish in the top 25 to win the championship. That was the main goal. Of course, I wanted to win as well, but without taking big risks. As my Dad said, “you don’t have to win the battle in order to win the war!” He’s right of course but I still wanted to win!”
RA: Yes, the two of you were having a titanic battle out there. Did you know Dan was catching you up?
TB: Yeah! At the first pit stop about an hour in, Dad told me. He said Dan had caught up by half a minute. As I pulled out of the pits Dan passed by. I realised if I wanted to win I’d better pull my finger out! I trailed Dan for a bit then overtook him. After that I got my head down and just tried to gap him and reel in that lost 30 seconds.
DW: Nah, I let you by Tobes, haha!
TB: Yeah! In your dreams!
RA: Did you fall off Tobias or have any other problems?
TB: No, not really. The 250 was ripping it up. The old girl is 9 years old now and I had no problems at all. As always, it’s sometimes difficult to pass slower riders when you’re on a good lap, especially in single track sections, but by and large most of the competitors were pretty good, letting me by when I came up behind them so hats off to them! I really enjoyed the course, it was brilliant – so different to the mud bath conditions last year! What a blast!
RA: Did you know Doug Lote was coming up behind you?
TB: Yeah, Dad told me at the second pitstop, but he advised me not to get involved with Doug as he wasn’t in the championship. To be honest I didn’t see him on the track all day and nobody came by me on the track. Dad said Dan was now a minute and a half behind so I should ease off and save the bike. After that second pit stop I just stroked it to the finish. I didn’t realise at that point that Dan had come a cropper!
RA: Are you two going to be riding in the same TBC Engineering team next year?
DW: Yeah, me and Tobes will be doing a lot of stuff together next year as TBC team mates but not sure exactly what.
TB: Yeah, a big thanks to all our sponsors – Mayday Seals and Bearings, Plews Tyres, Ardent Paintcare, Matt Gardiner MX, TBC Engineering, Goggleshop, Joov products, A. Wheeler and Sons Transport, We Build, Tillit Suspension, my Dad and also my girlfriend Jasmine. Also a great big thank you to all the TBEC crew, Jason, Lee, Barry, Phil and the rest of the TBEC team. Without them, none of this would be possible!
RA: Thank you both Tobias and Dan, congratulations once again and good luck in 2025!
CLASS RESULTS
ELITE Class
In the Elite class at Deepdale, it was reigning and now three times TBEC champion, Tobias Bailey, leading the charge. He completed 16 laps on his #1 KTM. Finishing in a strong runner up position also on 16 laps, was his team-mate Dan Wheeler with the #442 GasGas. Bringing up a fine third place was the #345 KTM of Joe Pratt who circulated 15 times.
E1 Class
Rob Molloy took his #192 GasGas to top honours in the E1 class with 15 laps completed. Behind him was Paul Stone with his #357 KTM on 14 laps but with no penalties, unlike third place finisher Jack Waplington, who took 10 penalty points on his #243 Kawa in completing the same number of laps.
E2 Class
Young Finlay Woods took charge of the E2 class on his #308 KTM, thanks to a better overall time than 2nd placed Darryl Friday, who completed the same 14 laps on his #25 KTM for the same number of points. In 3rd place was Luke Cain, also on 15 laps with his #555 Sherco.
E3 Class
In the E3 class it was Jamie Barnes who took top spot on his #115 Beta, completing 15 laps – one more than second placed John Paul Bowering on his #94 Beta and Ryan Pinzani who finished third on the #123 KTM.
LEGENDS Class
Tommy Batts once again came out tops of the Legends class on his #22 Yamaha with 14 laps to his credit, the same as Corey Edwards who, on his #48 KTM also completed 14 laps but with 11 penalty points. In third was the #246 GasGas of Graham Coker on 13 laps.
VETS Class
Phil Gilder continued his rout of the Vets class on his #24 GasGas, with 15 laps completed. His consistent performances throughout the year earned him a brilliant third place overall in the TBEC Championship. Coming in second in the Vets class was #58 KTM of Eagan Bruley, also on 15 laps, with Darren Carter claiming 3rd spot on his #661 KTM with 14 laps completed.
UNDER-21 Class
Young Joe Jefferies crowned his season off with a win in the Under-21 class on his #29 KTM. While going over time and collecting 13 penalty points, Joe completed a full16 laps which put him 6 points ahead of main rival Josh Watson, who finished runner-up on his #80 KTM with 15 laps completed. Bringing up third place was the #81 KTM of Louie Curry with 13 laps.
SUPERVETS Class
Des Pichel took the Supervets class with 13 laps completed on his #166 KTM. In second place was Jon Foxley on his #10 KTM, also on 13 laps with Steve Cornelius bringing up third spot with his #398 Beta, having also completed 13 laps.
TRAIL Class
Simon Densham claimed top spot in the Trail class with 13 laps completed on his #32 KTM. On one lap less was second placed Gareth Davies on his big #234 Yamaha Tenere, a similar machine to third placed Daniel Bloom #268, who also completed 12 laps.
HALF-DAY Class
Darryl Gilder took his new Triumph #517 to the class win, completing 9 laps in the 2 hours. In second was Alan Mitchinson, also on 9 laps with his #33 KTM, with Charlie Smith coming out third on his #15 GasGas also with 9 laps.
X-DAY
Doug Lote set the pace in the X-Dayers, completing 16 laps on his #800 GasGas to claim top spot. Chris Hockey also completed 16 laps with his #802 Sherco to finish second with Josh Burley just taking third place by a few seconds on his #804 Kawasaki with 12 laps.
So that was that! The 2024 TBEC Championship now goes into the record books. With seven wins from the nine championship rounds, Tobias Bailey stamped his authority on the TBEC series yet again to win his third consecutive championship. Coming in second was team-mate Dan Wheeler with vet Phil Gilder claiming a brilliant third overall. It was a season filled with superb action, run in almost every type of weather you could imagine and featuring nearly every conceivable hazard – in typical TBEC style. The 2025 season kicks off in March, just four short months away, so make sure you tune in to DirtHub for all the action, right here! Have a great Christmas 🎄 See ya, RA.
Results
