The final round of the 2011 Maxxis British sidecarcross championships was hosted by the Halstead & DMCC at their Little Loveney Hall circuit, Wakes Colne. After last years rather dusty meeting the club had been watering every evening since last Wednesday and the track looked to be suitably damped down by Saturday.
Unfortunately mother nature then stepped in with heavy rain throughout the night on Saturday right through until approximately 10.00 am on Sunday. This left the track very muddy but rideable.
Practice was more a case of getting round unimpeded rather than putting in a quick lap but by the end dry lines were starting to show.
The first race was red flagged on the second lap following a serious accident involving Brett Wilkinson / Ross Parmenter. Brett was unhurt but Ross sustained back injuries and had to be air lifted to hospital.
When the race was re started after a delay of about one hour Brown / Chamberlain took the holeshot from Daniel and Joe Millard with Scott Wilkinson / Dan Chamberlain third. On the second lap there was a three bike pile up on the bottom straight when Steven Parr / Jonnie Waters tipped over and Jack Etheridge / Ryan Humphrey drove into the stricken outfit. To make matters worse a split second later Luke Peters / Sam Harris drove into the pair of them. No serious injuries were sustained and they all got away right at the back of the field.
At the front Brown pulled away from Millard for the first three laps but after this the Millards started to close the gap. With just three laps to go they took the lead but on the following lap got tangled up with a lapped rider and Brown re took the lead. Brown went on to win from Millard with Wilkinson third and Jenkins fourth. Etheridge managed to fight his way up to 16th. In the championship table Brown now led by 41 points from Millard with Etheridge third but now only three points in front of Wilkinson.
In the second leg Richard Jenkins / Steve Kirwin took the holeshot from Wilkinson with Brown third and Seemond Stevens / Mike Curnow fourth. The Millards tipped over on turn two and seemed to take an eternity to get going again. When they did get away they were dead last and about three quarters of a lap behind the leaders. Brown chased Wilkinson until half distance when he was able to get past. Steven & Stewart France were now up to fourth with Luke Peters / Sam Harris fifth. Etheridge again got a bad start and was seventeenth on lap one but by half distance he was up to ninth. By lap three the Millards had caught up with the back markers but by lap five they were only just in the points. Brown closed the gap on Jenkins but by the flag he was unable to get past. Jenkins / Kirwin took the win, the first ever for either of them, from Brown with Wilkinson third, France fourth, Peters fifth, Etheridge sixth and Millard an excellent seventh. This gave Brown / Chamberlain the title for 2011 with Millard secure in second. Wilkinson was now two points ahead of Etheridge in third.
As the light was beginning to fail the final race of the year left the line with Andy & Tim Breacher taking the lead from Millard, Brown and Etheridge. On the second lap both Millard and Brown were past Breacher and on the next lap Etheridge was also past. Brown held on to Millard until the fifteen minute mark when they came up behind some slower riders. Brown was able to get through and take the lead. He went on to take the win from Millard with Etheridge third and Wilkinson fourth.
Brown / Chamberlain took the overall win from Millard with Wilkinson / Chamberlain third.
In the final championship positions Brown won from Millard with Wilkinson / Chamberlain third, equal on points with Etheridge / Humphrey but take the higher position by virtue of their greater number of race wins.
So another season comes to a close. Let’s all hope that next year is equally entertaining.