The Isle of Wight Motorcycle Club staged the second round of the 2018 Pat Death Summer Series on Sunday 17th June at Limerstone Farm, courtesy of Geoff and Mary Case. The Club would like to thank them for welcoming us back to this superb venue. Thanks also to Calvin Wright for stepping in at short notice to set six good sections, Viki Taylor (Club Photographer) and Ian Groves (guest Photographer) for their excellent work with their cameras along with all the Observers who helped to ensure a smooth, free flowing event.
The constant threat of rain helped to encourage the riders to make quick work of the five laps, the grass down land does get very slippery in wet conditions. Thankfully the constant strong wind blowing straight off the English Channel kept the rain away long enough for everyone to finish the trial dry.
James Stay rode unopposed in the Expert class but never the less he put in a confident performance to take the points. Meanwhile there were six riders competing in the Intermediate class which proved to be an emphatic win for Mark Coombes. Coombes started as the favourite and didn’t disappoint, finishing with a very competitive total of twenty-five marks, cementing his dominance in the class. Stuart Gummer just about held on for second from Shaun Harris in third – just one mark between these two. Simon Newnham (Sportsman) also taking on the ‘B’ route ended up on thirty, twenty-three of those were lost on the difficult section three.
The competition was much closer in the Clubman class between in first place Ben Brodie and second place finisher, Scott Milton. Brodie had the upper hand on section one which proved to make all the difference keeping him four marks clear at the end. Phil Chase was a few more behind but earned himself five more Championship points. The very well contested Novice class was another close affair which resulted in a win for Rob Baker. Rob has to be pleased with today’s performance that saw him take his first class win. Paul Kent took the second spot, just two more marks adrift – section five proving the decider this time. Dan Flux was forced to settle in third spot – top riding by all three. It was really good to see Ellie Attrill move up from the Beginners, it surely won’t be too long before we see her knocking on the door of the top three. Over in the Twin Shock class, Championship favourite, Nick Symes produced another fine performance to comfortably take the win from course setter, Calvin Wright, who was hampered from the outset with a non-existent rear brake!
The Adult Beginner class was once again dominated by Joe Taylor with an outstanding display of confidence. Taylor finished the trial with the lowest score of the day on a miserly total of five. Gary Jones should be pleased with his effort only six more behind in second. Jason Preece, in only his second trial has to be pleased to land the third place despite the difficult third section accounting for nearly half his total – very good effort by all three riders. Young Alfie Haydon continues to impress in the Youth Novice’s, he only dropped marks on three of the six sections. Youth Beginner winner, Dan Locke, is another young rider gaining in confidence every time he starts his bike – excellent riding by both young lads.
The third and final round of the 2018 Pat Death Summer Series will be held on Sunday 22nd July, please check the Club website nearer the time where all the details will be available once finalised.