Monday August 22, 2011 at 12:56pm
This season the UMX series has been struggling to attract the entries of previous years. This is mainly in the solo class and whether this is down to financial constraints or just too much choice of where to ride is not known but is probably a bit of both. As far as the sidecar class is concerned half of the six advertised dates clash with other meetings. However round 2 which was held at Ringmer, East Sussex, was a great success. Although the 62 solo entries was only a fraction of entries of the past it was a great improvement of the predicted numbers and with 23 sidecars plus 11 quads the meeting was on. The Crawley & District MCC wishes to thank all the competitors for enabling the club to host the event. The club itself needs to be thanked for a slick well run meeting with a well prepared track which lead to some excellent racing to entertain the spectators and riders alike.
Ringmer always throws up exciting racing for the sidecars and this year did not disappoint. The demon starters Rob Oldfield and Gary Kinge took the hole shot for race 1 and led Andy/ Tim Breacher, Jack Etheridge/ Ryan Humphrey, Brett Wilkinson/Ross Parmenter and the first junior team Neil/Michael Franks from the start. Despite having a bad start Nick Jarvis/Dan Chamberlain were soon picking their way through the pack finding themselves up into fifth by lap 3. Dave Goddard and his stand in passenger Ian Shepherd had the first of their two punctures of the day on lap 3 and pulled in. After flat landing the table top Stephen Parr/Jonnie Waters found themselves off the track and needing medical attention, luckily nothing too major and they were able to compete in the next two races. Racing was close all the way down the field but at the front the freight train continued with Oldfield/Kinge still in the lead but having to fight to keep it from the others in hot pursuit. The last lap was as exciting as the first and Breacher/Breacher finally took the lead as they came through the gate into the finishing field on the last lap. The same lap also saw Etheridge/Humphrey lose 3 places when their kill switch came out gifting third place to Jarvis/Chamberlain followed by Wilkinson/Parmenter. Franks/Franks finished fifth and first junior team and Etheridge/Humphrey in sixth. Further down the field Matt Bodfish/Dug Wood were having a great race with Roger Blackman/Steve Baughan and a three way battle between Rob/Faye Barnes, Dave Millard/Paul Bishop and Adam Field/Jo Reynolds saw Millard/Bishop come out the victors.
Race 2 was red flagged when a first corner tangle resulted in a blocked track and Michael Franks’ needing the medics. Again luck prevailed and despite having his leg run over was able to walk away! The restart was not so lucky for Oldfield/Kinge who had taken the lead at the original start but this time were second behind Breacher/Breacher. Etheridge/Humphrey followed them with Wilkinson/Parmenter, Franks/Franks, and Dave Keane/Craig Parmenter. Lap 3 spelt disaster for Etheridge/Humphrey who after a having ‘a moment’ found themselves at the back. At the front Breacher/Breacher were still leading but were now holding off Wilkinson/Parmenter who had got the better of Oldfield/Kinge. Jarvis/Chamberlain came through and passed Franks/Franks but were determined not to settle for fourth and got by Oldfield/Kinge on the next lap. The Breachers finally had to relinquish the front spot when
Wilkinson/Parmenter got the better of them but with Jarvis/Chamberlain hot on their sandrail they too couldn’t hold on to the lead and on the penultimate lap they swopped places. Jarvis/Chamberlain crossed the line the winners with Wilkinson/Parmenter, the Breachers and Oldfield/Kinge in second, third and fourth. The Franks brothers were once again first junior team home passing the flag in fifth. The exciting racing however wasn’t confined to the front runners with battles all through the pack. The kill switch devil was still about however and this time Field/Reynolds had to give up their fourteenth place and their battle with Barnes/Barnes, Millard/Bishop and Mick Noyce/Mark Searle and dropped back.
The last race was the least exciting of the 3 with a more spread out field but nonetheless the crowd got behind the crews. This time Etheridge/Humphrey made up for the problems suffered in the first two races by taking the hole shot and keeping the lead until flag. Walton/Georges followed them round the first corner but were soon overcome by Wilkinson/Parmenter, Breacher/Breacher and Franks/Franks. The front four stayed in position until the end but not for the want of trying. This meant a hat trick of wins in the junior class for Franks/Franks. Etheridge/Humphrey didn’t have competition from Jarvis/Chamberlain in this race as they unfortunately decided to call a halt to their days racing after race 2. Jarvis had hurt his shoulder at the recent German Sidecar GP and didn’t want to aggravate it with a round of the Maxxis ACU British Sidecar Championship coming up. Wilkinson/Parmenter did everything they could to get on terms with Etheridge/Humphrey and did appear to be catching them but then got caught behind some back markers! Keane/Parmenter and Pelling/Pannell crossed the line in fifth and sixth. Second and third juniors home were Walton/Georges and Bodfish/Woods. Racing continued all down the field however making for a good finish to what was a brilliant day of action.
The UMX organisers, Clare Foyle and Marilyn Slater would like to thank all the volunteer marshalls, some of whom stayed out all day. Without these volunteers the event couldn’t have gone on.
Round 3 is planned for 4th September at Rogers Hill. This unfortunately clashes with the final round of SMCA British Clubman Sidecar Championship and the Danish GP both of which a lot of the teams riding at Ringmer are taking part in. If you are not involved in either of these Championships and can support the UMX please contact either Clare or Marilyn. This also applies to any solo riders looking to ride.
Results:
Experts Overall
1. Andy and Tim Breacher
2. Brett Wilkinson/Ross Parmenter
3. Rob Oldfield/Gary Kinge
4. Dave Keane/Craig Parmenter
5. Jack Etheridge/Ryan Humphrey
6. Paul Pelling/Chris Pannell
Juniors Overall
1. Neil and Michael Franks
2. Arthur Walton/James Georges
3. Matt Bodfish/Dug Woods
4. Stefan Honey/Dan Phelps
5. Bret Coyne/Darren Caws
6. Rob Barnes/Fayne Barnes