Thrills and Spills at Round 3 of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/Eastern Centre Enduro Championship

There was thrills and spills, drama and emotion at last Sunday’s 3^rd Round of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/Eastern Centre Enduro Championship at Foxborough Quarry Sible Hedingham Essex staged by the Sudbury Motor Cycle Club. 

Jamie Roper (Sudbury) got off to a good start in the Championship Class but was soon passed by Jason Morland (Halstead) while Ricky Roper and Chris Hockey (both Sudbury) were in 3^rd and 4^th place.  However a lot can happen over the 2.5 hour session where concentration and stamina is very much needed.  J Roper was content to say in 2^nd place as his nearest challenger, Hockey was in 4^th place and would be able to increase his lead in the contest.  Things did not go J Roper’s way he dropped his machine twice relegating him to 5^th place while Hockey ploughed on passing R Roper to go into 2^nd place. 

During the last 30 minutes the race was between Morland and Hockey with Hockey gradually eating into Morland’s lead and could the 41 year old overhaul the younger rider.  The two of them were neck and neck during the last minute and as they came across the finishing line there was 30 seconds left and they had to do another lap.  The odds were on Hockey because Morland was holding his broken sub frame together with his knees and it became a do or die in the bog.  Hockey took a different line to gain the advantage but that did not work out as he lost precious seconds enabling Morland to pull away which he managed to hang onto his lead at the chequered flag. The emotion was for Jason Morland as his youngest son Kyle had been in hospital over the last few days and he was not going to ride but Kyle wanted his daddy to ride and win in which he did and Jason dedicated his win to his son.  All was not lost for Hockey in 2^nd place as J Roper could only finish 4^th with his brother Ricky riding is heart out was 3^rd followed by Tom Braddock (Lowestoft) 5^th, Craig Roper 6^th, Ian Parker 7^th and Sam Toy 8^th (all Sudbury).  Hockey now leads the Contest with 45 points, J Roper 2^nd 42 points, Morland 3^rd 39 points and R Roper 4^th 35 points. 

Meanwhile in the Expert Class current leader Lewis Bond (Lowestoft) was having a battle with Glenn Walsh (Sudbury) but got the better of him in the end. Stephen Green (Sudbury) on his new bike finished 3^rd with Darren Nicolaou (Sudbury) 4^th and Rob Blackman (Castle Colchester) 5^th. Bond leads the Contest on 51 points with Walsh 2^nd 34 points and Nicolaou 3^rd on 33 points. Current Leader in the Expert over 40 Class, Mark Chapman did not have a good day with two punctures, the first one he repaired and after the second one he kept riding and finished 6^th.  Overall it was a 1-2-3 for Sudbury riders with Andy Quorn 1^st, Les Rampton 2^nd and Graham Mays 3^rd.  Chapman is still leading the Contest with Gene Womack 2^nd and Graham Mays 3^rd.

The morning session was for Clubman and Sportsman and in the Clubman Class it was a win for Ed Pooley (Stowmarket) with Ben Alexander (Woodbridge) 2^nd and Dean Goggins 3^rd and Goggins maintained his lead in the Contest with 48 points, Ross Taylor (Diss) 2^nd with 41 points and William Hughes 3^rd on 33 points.  It was a win for Mark Green (Sudbury) in the Clubman over 40 Class with Duncan Griffin 2^nd and Phil Roberts 3^rd. Green now leads the Contest on 50 points from Jason Fowler (Diss) 45 points and  Griffin 30 points. Andy Mason (Sudbury) won the Clubman over 50 Class beating Gary Drage (Sudbury) and Clive Stevens (Diss).  With this win Mason leads the Contest on 54 points with Steve Finch 2^nd 35 points and Clive Stevens 3^rd 30 points.  Another 1-2-3 for Sudbury riders in the Sportsman Class with Warren Whitaker 1^st, Paul Webb 2^nd and his daughter Samantha 3^rd.