Clear blue skies and warm temperatures welcomed us back to the Pen Y Craig Quarry for the penultimate round of the Aqueduct Classics trial. A mixture of familiar sections and some new ones thrown in made for a challenging days riding although on the whole the conditions under foot (or tyre) were remarkably good and grip levels remained good all day for the familiar format of four laps of ten sections.
64 riders came out to enjoy the event at one of the most versatile venues in Aqueducts calendar and it was great once again to see some new sections being thrown into the mix with 20 Pre 65's, 22 Twinshocks, 4 Pre 90 Mono's and 18 Modern Monos being split as 8 Beginners, 31 Clubman, 16 50/50 and 9 Elite riders.
Pre 90 Air Cooled Mono - Clubman route - Gaz Thomas
After dropping down from the farm yard section one offered a reasonably gentle start to ease you into things comprising of a large puddle at the start leading onto a right hand turn before making your way through a bit of bowl then negotiating a large wet tree root before making your way over a bank for a down hill rocky exit toward the end cards.
Section 2 was one of two fairly long sections on either side of a fire track (section 7 being the other) which involved an uphill start from the track before navigating an uphill left hand turn around a tree with a few slippery roots to catch you out before heading downhill again then crossing the fire track into the second half of the section over some rocks then bearing right through a small valley and finally heading right over a big tree root for the exit back onto the fire track.
A short blast up the forest road lead to a clearing and the first of one of the new sections for section 3 which had a fairly civilised start meandering through some rocks and trees but this soon came to an abrupt end where you were faced with an uphill bank covered in football size rocks followed by a tight right hand turn around a tree before heading back downhill for the end cards. Equally challenging and rewarding this section claimed quite a few albeit low marks probably on those slippery football size rocks.
Just around the corner was section 4 which consisted of heading out left along the peak of a long narrow bank before turning right around a big tree at the same time dropping down into a natural bowl where a bit of finesse on the brakes was required to negotiate the big wet roots at the bottom of the bowl before making your way across the bowl in a gentle right then left curve before heading up over some roots then up a bank to exit the bowl and the section.
Section 5 had pretty much all the elements possible to catch you out as it headed first uphill then turning right and quickly heading down hill before switching back left around a tree and uphill again around an off camber right hand turn where there was just enough time to compose yourself before the big uphill finish scattered with rocks and roots and the final left hand turn over the top of the bank for the exit. Very technical but very satisfying when ridden clean with that off camber turn claiming a few victims.
Section 6 was another mixed bag of rocks, roots and fallen trees but not quite as twisty and technical as section 5. A flat entry led quickly to a fallen tree which, once hopped over led onto some big rocks before picking a line through some smaller rocks whilst heading for a downhill left hand turn then through the end cards. A section that definitely required more concentration than aggression but a few still fell foul of that fallen tree that got more slippery throughout the day
Section 7 was without doubt the longest and twistiest of the day which, like section 2, started on one side of the forest track before crossing over and continuing, almost like two sections in one so definitely a test for the old memory on the early laps. Another uphill start took you up a bank onto the forest track before making a lazy left hand turn and then back down the bank for a tighter right hand turn around a tree and up the bank again onto the forest track, this time continuing over it into the second part of the section which took you half way up another bank before making a right hand hairpin turn and back down the bank into small wooded section much like slalom poles. A couple of tighter turns between these trees eventually led you back to the bank where a uphill right hand turn took you across the off camber bank to the uphill finish and through the exit cards. The occasional queue was made bearable by the sunshine and wait was worth it for another tricky but satisfying section.
If section 7 was the twistiest then section 8 was the rockiest leaving you in no doubt you were in a quarry. Setting off up hill again whilst dodging a few smaller rocks led to a right hand turn and the BIG rocks. Barely enough time for a deep breath before threading man and machine between the two biggest rocks and if that wasn't daunting enough just the other side of the rocks was a big drop off over some more big rocks before landing in a gravelly chute taking you downhill for the end cards. All over before you knew it and just as enjoyable as it was scary.
Section 9 featured a downhill start and some dips, twists and turns around the trees then downhill again down a rooty tree lined chute before a tight turn right and up a peaty bank for the end cards.
Section 10 was a fairly gentle end to the lap with some more root covered turns through the slalom pole like trees before dodging some rocks in the middle of the section which then opened up a bit with just a hop over a fallen tree before the end cards.
Another great trial once again and the weather was a bonus and another close result with Paul Cartwright and his Beta finishing in third on 22 marks lost and the Plumbers continued to battle it out on their TY's with Gaz Thomas finishing second on 2 marks lost and an impressive clean for Stephen Richards taking top honours and extending his lead overall. Thanks to all those who make it possible and look forward to seeing you all at the next round, can we book the same weather again please!!
Many thanks to the organisers, observers and "lovely baps" catering team as well as the land owner for giving us such a great event once again. Also a big thankyou to Gaz Thomas for the main part of the event report.
The event results were as follows:
Pre 65 Elite: (Chris Gascoigne), Ariel 370, 5; (Russ Jones), Triumph 400, 9; (Tony Dillon), Cub 200, 17
Pre 65 50/50: (Craig Howarth), Bantam 200, 1; (Garry Shaw), AJS 350, 3; (Colin Fray), DOT 250, 7
Pre 65 Clubman: (Terry Lloyd), Tiger Cub, 0; (Mike Hughes), Triumph Cub, 1; (Steve Walker), Francis Barnett), 4
Pre 65 Beginners: (Peter Thomas); Royal Enfield 250, 9
Twinshock Elite: (Kev Ellis), Fantic 240, 6; (Mark Gaskell) Whitehawk 175, 55
Twinshock 50/50; (Stephen Knigh), Yamaha 175, 1; Peter Cockins (Fantic 300), 4; (Julian Price), Fantic 240, 6
Twinshock Clubman: (James Edge), Yamaha 175, 2; (Mark Williams), Yamaha 175, 3; (Neil Francis (Montesa 349),4
Twinshock Beginners: (Rio Roberts), Yamaha 175, 0; (Matt Hopkins), Yamaha 250, 5
Pre 90 Clubman: (Stephen Richards), Yamaha 250, 0; (Gaz Thomas), Yamaha 250, 2; (Paul Cartwright), Beta 260, 22
Pre 90 Beginners: (Kevin Parker), Yamaha 250, 89
Modern Mono Elite: (Jim Barrie), GasGas, 7; (Gordon Wilson); Montesa 250, 42; (Tom Williams), Beta 125, 43
Modern Mono 50/50: (Declan Marsden), GasGas125, 37
Modern Mono Clubman: (Ian Emery), Montesa 4Rt, 1, (Alec Roberts), GasGas300, 3, (George Waring), Gasgas280, 5
Modern Mono Beginners: (Peter Higgs), Beta 250, 1; (Roger Wakun), Montesa 250, 6; (Steven Blaxall), Montesa 315, 14
With one more round left in the annual championship the top 3 places in each class are sitting as:
Pre 65 Elite: (Russ Jones) 134; (Chris Gasgoine) 117; (Tony Dillon) 53
Pre 65 50/50: (Mark Newman) 115, (Harry Lyons) 90, (Craig Howarth) 76
Pre 65 Clubman: (Terry Lloyd) 139, (Keith Baddeley) 97, (Peter Cottrel) 57
Pre 65 Beginners: (Peter Thomas) 78, (Dave Crewe) 20, Ray Critchlow 20
Twinshock Elite: (Kev Ellis) 118, (Mark Gaskell) 112, (Owen Edwards) 52
Twinshock 50/50: (Stephen Knight) 118, (Alex Barrie) 94, (Mark Samuel) 64
Twinshock Clubman: (Martin Roberts) 140, (John Sowden) 127, (Neil Francis) 88
Twinshock Beginners: (Matt Hopkins) 98, (Rio Roberts) 84, (Michael Jones) 34
Pre 90 50/50: (Daniel Hughes) 20
Pre 90 Clubman: (Stephen Richards) 143, (Paul Cartwright) 126, (Gaz Thomas) 102
Mono Elite: (Gordon Wilson) 112
Mono 50/50: (Matt Wilson) 35, (Andrew Coalter) 20
Mono Clubman: (Ian Emery) 139, (Alec Roberts) 113, (Patrick Forde) 77
Mono Beginner: (Peter Rainsford) 85, (Rio Roberts) 58, (James Thomas) 17