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RATBOY FLIES IN TO WIN ROUND 5.

7th Sep 2010

Nestling beside the brooding, pine clad Red Lion, Saint`s Well has a mystical quality - particularly when a full moon is shrouded in low cloud & light rain as it was on Saturday night but on a warm Summer`s evening the arrival of a gentle shower was a welcome balm to the Suzuki team after a tough day running training classes for 60 riders & putting the finishing touches to the course of their 5th round of the Putoline XC Championship.

On Sunday morning the weather was perfect - warm, dry & slightly overcast. The Youths race started at 10.00am. Adam James & Luke Rudd led off the BW85-150 class. Jack Edmondson took the holeshot in the SW85s from Oliver Benton & Ryan Rowland was the quickest of the 65cc class. Adam James crashed heavily on the first lap as he rounded last corner of the MX track but he picked himself up & finished 2nd. Charlie Nichols (left) won the overall. Jack Edmondson was 3rd & Katie Walker was 4th. Harry Edmondson won the Autos ahead of Cole Cookland & Storm Stacey to clinch the class championship. The timing was by transponder & a full set of printed results were available within minutes of the last rider crossing the line. Youth Results Class Overall.

The adults race started at 12.30am. The sun had burnt off the low cloud to reveal a glorious Summer`s day. The course was extended to include a couple of bogs, a cambered woodland stage & an Extreme section. Paul Edmondson dropped the flag & James Jackman (right) on the black Poole MCC Yamaha took the holeshot from Jason Thomas on his VC Racing KTM but on the 2nd corner Jason went down. He took a pounding from the following pack but shrugged them off & gave chase. George Bayliss was the quickest of the Clubman off the line followed closely by Rhys Davies. Mark Binbing stalled on the 2nd corner & his KTM took some encouragement to fire up again. In the Vets Rob Morris took the holeshot from Colin Blunt. Richard Cutts was a bit too quick into the 3rd corner & he checked out the soft going in detail.

On the first lap the riders missed out the woodland stage to give the field a chance to stretch out. By the state of their number plates the bogs had also worked their magic as the leaders returned to the MX track with Jason Thomas in the lead followed by James Jackman, Derek Bawn & Lincoln Brewster.

The Extreme section had a fast & a slower line. Jason selected the fastest option & launched his KTM off the tyres & over a log 10 feet away. He cleared the log with ease - the only rider to even attempt the jump.

The woodland stage was new going. The loamy soil gave the riders plenty of grip but there was a sting in the tail. A thick branch lay across the track on a camber. It looked firm but acted like a springboard. Bill McLean & Alex Trawford were two of many who got caught out. They both needed to fit new plugs before carrying on. After 2 hours Jason Thomas led from Lincoln Brewster by over 3 minutes & he had lapped every other rider up to 5th place. Jason won the overall. Lincoln Brewster was the runner up & Derek Bawn was 3rd James Jackman was 4th, George Bayliss 5th & Shaun Buchan 6th. Dennis Harrison won the Vets for the first time ahead of Rob Morris & Colin Blunt was 3rd. George Bayliss was the best Clubman. Rhys Davies was 2nd & Gareth Delahay was 3rd. Gareth Jones clocked up 9 laps in his first competition. Scott Tatchell from Measteg pulled out with a leg injury whilst running 2nd in the Novice class but after some TLC from his mum in the pits he carried on to finish. Tom McKinnie injured his back when another rider clipped his exhaust but he soldiered on. Mark Bradbury flattened his exhaust but he still managed to push his KTM to the line for a finish.

Adults Results Overall Class

After the event Jason Thomas said `I had a good start. The course was really flowing. Nothing too technical. I had fun. It was good day out`. For the Fast Eddy team it was hard work but it really paid off with fine weather, a superb course & a lot of happy riders. PS If you thought jumping the log off the tyres was tricky, Paul Eddy jumped the tyres off the log on the training day.