What looked like the threat of a full wet day quickly turned into milder weather as Aqueduct Classics entered its final event of the 2014 Championship round at Plas Onn, Selattyn on Sunday 23rd November 2014. A good turnout of bikes saw a total entry of 79 riders split with 25 Pre 65's, 27 twinshocks, 5 pre 90 mono's and 22 modern mono's. A total of 12 riders took to the Elite route, 20 riders on 50/50, 34 riders on the clubman route and the balance of 13 riders enjoying the beginner route. The Twinshock Clubman route is still the most popular with 14 riders tightly clustered in a number of internal battles with only a small handful of marks separating a climb or fall in the final standings.
Mark Gaskell is one of the riders who has progressed through the ranks and at the start of this year made the leap from the 50/50 route to the Experts (elite). Below is his account of the days activities:
After a full season riding the red route, I'm pleased to report that I have consistently managed to be the highest points scorer at every round! Definitely in class, if not the whole entry!
The learning curve is very steep, but isn't the challenge the reason we ride?
Plas Onn is a popular venue, and with plenty of streams and rocks to choose from, the team from Aqueduct Classics set out some excellent sections. A mix of old and new to keep everyone on their toes.
Section one was fairly straightforward, working our way across the stream a couple of times to the end cards. Slippery to start with, but soon wearing in.
Section two was a little trickier, climbing over a couple of root and rock steps which knocked you (me) offline if not careful.
Section three took the least marks from me, a silly dab after an overconfident attempt at the tight turns and slippery bank.
Section four was going well , until a too slow attempt at the step at the end stopped the bike dead, doubling my score. The fine line between too fast, and too slow.
Section five featured an "interesting" entry,dropping down an off camber step, followed by a couple of short steep banks to turn on, and a rock step to exit. Each of these aspects in turn conspired against me, if I managed one, the next caught me out.
Section six started innocently, into and out of the stream four times with tight turns but plenty of grip available. The exit though, up a steep stone slab, had me worried. Sure enough, on my third lap I didn't get my weight far enough forward, and had to bail out to avoid disaster. The bike nearly made it through the end cards, whilst I had a paddle. If anyone doubts the strength of Domino brake levers, they should have a look at mine.
Section seven had a similar problem for me. How to get out of the stream at the end? Twice I managed it, twice I didn't, the last one again involving the bike and I going our separate ways. The gear lever now needs straightening, and the tank may T-cut out.
Section eight, the slalom upstream, took silly marks off me, when really it shouldn't.
Section nine was looking like being the only section I cleaned all day, until the last lap, when I didn't. Lack of concentration I'm afraid.
Section ten required concentration. And commitment. And a fair bit of courage. Starting from the stream, left and out, tight right turn and straight up a very steep bank, turn at the top and drop back down a very steep bank, across the stream, up a cambered bank, then right turn and plummet down to the stream, where at least there was a deep berm to fire you out through the end. Two of my attempts got no further than the top of the first bank, the necessary commitment had been lacking. Did I mention it was a very steep bank? The other two involved lots of footwork and swearing (under my breath of course). Scared? Me? Damn right.
Another excellent days sport! I for one had a brilliant day, and went home tired but happy. Many thanks to all concerned! (Mark)
Like Mark, I took the opportunity to step up from Clubmans to the 50/50 route this year and whilst dropping more points, have certainly found my riding come on as result. The 50/50 route does not follow the "5 hardest clubmans, 5 easiest experts" format, instead the clerk of the course and the team that mark out the sections take the opportunity to mark a full 4th route out which normally follows the clubman route but throws in either aspects of the Experts or a unique twist to allow this class of riders to develop. So what were the hghlights for me this time?
Section 2 was the first real challenge that after taking a few dabs in the first 2 laps I was psyched up for a clean on the third. A downhill entry across a wet stream bed was followed by a tight left hand turn around a tree then a wide arching uphill left hand turn taking is a mixed ground type. This allowed you to set yourself up for a slightly curved blast up over a number of rocks before and extended run up a drying loose stream bed before exiting left out of the section. A cracking section!
Section 5 was on a similar theme but this time it was a much steeper downhill entry followed by a tighter lefthand uphill manover to then be hit with a left / right chicane up a river bed between number of rock outcrops. The exit was straightforward with the mid section being the place where the points were lost.
Section 8 was a real nasty piece of work and I think the clerk of the course was on something when he marked this out. Not dangerous by any means but a real challenge, certainly for those of us stepping up! An across camber straight run into the section then asked for a tight turn right to drop down into the river bed where you then blasted straight up the other side into a left hand 180 direction change. This brought you back into the river bed where a very tight right hand entry took a number of dabs as caution was the topic of the day. You then fired up one of the deeper streams of the day with a small step preceded with a deeper aspect catching you unawares if you had not walked it properly!
The other sections all bought unique challenges at what has become a very popular venue.
As always, thanks have got to go the the officials, support teams, observers and the "Lovely Baps" catering team as well as the land owner for the continued use of the venue. The comments on the clubs Facebook page at the end of the day clearly demonstrating the pleasure and enjoyment the members have had this year.
The final honours were as follows:
Pre 65 Elite: Ben Butterworth, BSA C15, 0; Russ Jones, Triumph,11; Pete Morris, Triumph, 12
Pre 65 50/50: John Wilson, BSA B40, 7 FC; Craig Howarth, BSA Bantam, 7; Philip Clarkson, BSA C15,9
Pre 65 Clubman: Terry Lloyd, Triumph, 7; Steve Walker, Francis Barnett, 10; Romeo Spalvieri, BSA Bantam, 21
Pre 65 Beginners: David Crewe, BSA Bantam, 32 FC; Pete Thomas, Royal Enfield, 32
Twinshock Elite: Danny Littlehales, Fantic, 22; Thomas Hibberd, Yamaha, 32; Mark Gaskell, Whitehawk, 85
Twinshock 50/50: Stephen Knight, Yamaha, 8 FC; Carl Winstanley, SWM, 8; Steve Blackburn, Montesa, 16 FC
Twinshock Clubman: Martin Roberts, Yamaha, 3; James Edge, Yamaha, 5; Martin Johnson, Bultaco, 6
Twinshock Beginners: Matthew Hopkins, Yamaha, 29
Pre 90 mono Clubman: Stephen Richards, Yamaha, 9; Gaz Thomas, Yamaha, 13; Paul Cartwright, Beta, 30
Modern mono Elite: Jim Barrie, Gas Gas, 9
Modern mono 50/50: Ian Emery, Montesa, 31; Charlie Barrie, Sherco, 51
Modern mono Clubman: Alec Roberts, Gas Gas, 0; Phil Jones, Sherco, 8; Spencer Bradley, Gas Gas, 14
Modern mono Beginners: Dave Gentle, Montesa, 21; Gareth Stedman, Beta, 27; Stephen Jones, Gas Gas, 31 FC