Report Ken O'Brien
Sunny but cold weather greeted 90 plus riders and officials for this 2nd round 2023 Ixion championship with three laps of ten to be ridden.
Steeple Hill Corner Beckley was the venue a notoriously wet course although on this occasion dust would prevail on some sections as the winter rains had virtually no impact on the going.
Cambers Hills Ditches Gullies Roots and loose drops were about to be attempted by riders of different class and ability.
Rob Warner showed the way in the Expert class with a superb 14 mark win.
Repsol Montesa power was at it's best today Rob pulling high gears on the big hills of section five a slick sandy climb with a fallen tree half way up the bank to jump then a left handed steep muddy climb to the end cards.
Sean McCullagh TRS made a winning comeback in the 50/50 class with a loss of 20 with Keith Jenkins TRS over from the Leamington Victory in second position 9 adrift.
Sean was good at section three with accurate timing of the prod at the crucial part of the hazard to ensure a clean getaway up a very steep climb two's and three's were the order of the day for most.
Keith had two great cleans and a one at section 2 with a ride across a raft of timber before attacking a three foot low growing bough but this was harder than it looked as speed was of the essence if you were reach the summit after landing.
An abundance of Clubman ( Yellow Middle Route ) were on parade so it was a hard call to predict a winner but the accolade today went to Dave Barrett with a miserly loss of two both on the second lap at subs two and three respectivley.
Dave made short work of section 6 though a fairly innocuous looking job that took much studying as there was only one decent line and if you were off it then the road to recovery was not an option.
Around sixty yards in length firstly a fierce looking ditch crossing with a tree to dodge before lining up the rocky uphill spring where a torrent of water persisted all day three great cleans on the Beta.
Pre-Race favorite Martyn Wilmore was on gold until sat nav gremlins took him the wrong side of a marker at section 10 so a five and it was all over.
Martyn's experience in the mud stood him in good stead for section 7 though where a crowd had gathered to witness this 150 yard ditch.
Third gear selected Martyn was 'on it' with roots turns and a watery slot all with a bottom in he powered his way to three superb cleans.
Dale Caswell took the best novice with a consistent days work Section 1 taking a couple of single dabs off him but these were crucial so as not loop-it back down the grassy bank and into the bushes.
Peter Cook Fantic was in a class of his own in the Twinshock fifteen his loss.
The little Fantic could be heard detonating down the woods as he fought for grip but this was found so three great cleans at section 9 a combination of logs slick turns and a climb to finish.
Thomas Vining Youth B over from Guernsey for the week had a great day taking top spot in his class with a loss of thirty six and a hundred championship points in the bag.
The white eased route was well populated with a mix of Britbikes Sportsmen and Youth.
Alan Halford Triumph Cub made the trip down from the Midland Centre a worthwhile one parting with eleven although there was work to do as a three and a five first lap were worrying times but not for Alan he pulled it out the bag cleaning all but one section the now notorious number 7.
Western Centre Raider Mark Vivian was on song today losing four taking top spot in the Sportsman class with that number 7 doing the damage once again.
John Quigg came in second on nine then Cambridge traveler Geoff Rank on fourteen.
Joshua Carter in the Youth B class was having a great time with riding companions dad and gramps and showing them the way with a class win and max points for the series.
Many thanks to all who helped on the day.