RIDERS PAY TRIBUTE TO DAVE LIVESEY AT DAVE THORPE EVO SERIES IN DEVON

Tuesday August 20, 2013 at 9:37am

Last Sunday the penultimate round of the 2013 Dave Thorpe Evo series took place in Devon at Phoenix Moto Parc. Even though it rained prior to the meeting and during the day water was put down and the track was to produce some top class racing. Before racing commenced there was a Tribute to Dave Livesey a fellow rider who sadly passed away with riders and some of his family gathering on the start straight which was followed by a lap of honour.

In the Evo 125 class the day belonged to wildcard entry Jordan Wright who put up a fine performance to take a hat trick of wins, but it was Championship leader Ben Haggerty-Marks who was consistant behind him notching up a hattrick of 2^nd’s which was to give him enough points with one round remaining to be named 2013 Dave Thorpe Evo 125 Champion.

In the 250 class there was no Championship leader in the shape of Luke Dean who was out through injury so the Championship lead could all change. In the opening race it was Phil Lewis who led from the off, but was soon put under pressure from Jack Gribble within a couple of laps with Gribble breathing all over Lewis who literally held on to take the win by just half a second. In the second moto there was great drama on the opening lap as Ashley Hudson went down with Lewis mid air coming down and hitting his bike which was to end both there days racing. Richard Chinn was to lead the race for 5 laps before that man Gribble got pass and from there went on to take the win by a considerable margin and with Gribble taking the lead on the opening lap in the last race he took another win.

In the 500 class defending Champion Glen Phillips had a commanding Championship lead and was out to sew the title up in Devon, but it wasn’t to go all his way as Glen was left on the line in the opening race when his starting mechanism was to jam and it was his nearest rival in the Championship Henry Western with the holeshot but hot on his tail for several laps was Wayne Butt who stuck with him like glue and eventually forced his way past Western 4 laps from the end, but this was short lived as Western was back in front a lap later after Butt had made a mistake and it was Western who took the win. Phillips was out to make amends in race 2, but he went down on the first corner and again it was Western with the lead with Butt again there in 2^nd. Phillips did remount, but his clutch lever was broken and he was forced to retire. Meanwhile back at the front the battle was on again with Butt pushing Western all the time until Western stalled on a slow lefthander and through went Butt who thought he had this one in the bag, but his luck was out as he picked up a rear wheel puncture 2 laps from the end which was to gift the win to Western. In the last moto Phillips was well up for it and stormed in to the first corner, but it was Western again who emerged at the front, but it wasn’t long before Phillips found away pass and was soon in to a rhythm and went on to take the win and with it was declared 2013 Dave Thorpe Evo 500 Champion again.

The Clubman class saw a good battle in the opening race between early leader Jon Rutherford and Chris McGill for a couple of laps before McGill took over the lead and was to go on o take the win. In the second moto it was McGill who led from the off and cruised to take the win, but in the last race it was Rob Whiting who denied McGill the hattrick after passing him mid race.

In the Over 50’s class Alan Eaves was on a mission to try and close the gap on Championship leader Keith Hanson, but the North Devon rider Hanson wasn’t going to lose that many points and made sure he didn’t make any bad mistakes. Eaves was to take the wins in race 1 and 3 with Hanson winning the second moto.

The Open modern class was fast and furious especially between John May and Ryan Houghton who were to have some really good battles. May took the opening race, but he had to work hard in the second moto as Houghton was all over him, but it just wasn’t enough as May held on to take race 2 by a whisker. In the last race it was May who had the early lead, but Houghton was soon with him and on lap 2 Houghton took over at the front, but he had to concentrate as May didn’t let him get away, but Houghton is no stranger to pressure held May off to take the win.

Report and Picture by Dave Rich

OVERALL RESULTS

Dave Thorpe Evo 125 Class

1^st Jordan Wright 30 + 30 + 30 = 90

2^nd Ben Haggerty-Marks 25 + 25 + 25 = 75

3^rd Warren Berthiaume 20 + 22 + 22 = 64

4^th Neil Carroll 22 + 20 + 16 = 58

5^th Dean Warren 18 + 18 + 20 = 56

6^th Richard Benham 14 + 16 + 18 = 48

Dave Thorpe Evo 250 Class

1^st Jack Gribble 25 + 30 + 30 = 85

2^nd Richard Chinn 20 + 25 + 22 = 67