2013 proved to be a highly successful year for the Nora-MX club with packed fields, great racing and all but one of the DWT-backed championships going to the very final event of the season. In all, over 250 riders raced with the club at seven different tracks over nine rounds. Rob McDonnell looks back over the season.
The class that produced the most individual race winners was befittingly the one that brought together the cream of British quad racing – the Expert class. In the end it was Welsh teenager Luke Cooper who clinched the title after a spectacular season long battle with multiple British champion, Paul Winrow.
However, over the year six different riders took individual race victories, including round one winner and former champion Stefan Murphy, 2012 champion George Callaway, plus Lindsey Duke, Connor Smith and Carl Bunce. In the title race though, Sheldon Seal secured third spot and Oli Sansom fourth despite taking no wins, thanks to super season-long consistency.
In the Inters class – which next season will be replaced by an Under-23 Championship – it was another young Welsh victor, Jake Smith, who after an erratic start to the season found some fine form towards the end of the year to win the final three rounds and clinch the title by 60 points from Harry Miller.
The only two other riders to win rounds were Harry Hinkley, plus Frazer McFadden, in his sole appearance in the series of the year at Milton Park.
Few fields were as packed at the Clubman class, which also included a Rookie class for riders in their first full adult season, and few classes featured such excellent racing from the front of the field to the back. It was Connor Taylor (another Welsh youngster) who took the honours and indeed he was the only rider in the club to clinch his title before the final round, such was his consistency. Over the year Taylor was only off the podium in two of the ten rounds which always gave him the upper hand over second-placed finisher Luke Ryan Davies, who was always playing catch up after a steady start to the season.
Other round winners were Ryan Griffin and Jack Rowe, who won five of the nine motos he contested, and would surely have been a serious title contender if he had competed in the full series.
In the Rookie class Jordan Hickman took the spoils, never failing to be off the podium and winning three rounds. His nearest rival, Nick Tucker, won more rounds with five, but a DNF in the third moto at Grittenham in July (after winning the first two races) was the pivotal point of his season.
The immensely popular Masters championship for riders over 35 years old was given full ACU British championship status in 2013 in recognition of its ability to command regularly full quality grids – however only one man ever looked like winning it. Welsh veteran Ed Davies won eight of the ten rounds with maximum scores and would have clinched the title earlier but for defeat in two consecutive mid-season rounds when his normally bullet proof KTM let him down. In those two rounds former British champion Jason Wildman and Mark Stepney took full advantage to take the overall wins.
The Masters B championship, run within the main Masters race, saw a cracking season-long scrap between Barrie Dennis and Lee Waring which eventually went to Dennis after Waring sat out the final round to support his son in his first adult race meeting instead. Other race winners were Marcus West, Richard Clark and Trevor Humphris.
One other adult class was contested in 2013 - a three-round mini series called the Zip Evo Cup, which was for pre-2004 machines. Such was the success of the series, which saw 25 of the older machines given an airing, that the championship will be run at every round next season.
Overall victory, and winner of the Evo Plus class (which was for hybrid rather than stock machines) went to Stuart Walker, from Stewart Gubbins with veteran John Ellliot, who at 70+ was the oldest man racing with the club in 2013, in third. The stock Evo class went to Trevor Humphris ahead of Bruce Stocker.
In the youth ranks it was the 250 class which proved the most popular – so much so that the Nora class has been bestowed full ACU British championship status in 2014. Full grids were a regular occurrence and the racing from British quad racing’s future stars was always spectacular.
The 250 grid brings together Open, Modified, Stock, classes Standard and on the same grid, and it was Open champion Connor Fitzgerald who dominated most of the races. A late run of form from Bailey Edwards, who won the last two rounds after a switch to a new KTM, were not enough to overhaul Fitzgerald, but did secure him second in the Open championship.
The Modified class saw a cracking two-way battle for the title between Jack Naylor and Dafydd Davies. The pair traded first and second places in every round, except for the opening round, which Naylor won, while Davies slipped well down the top ten and as a consequence was always on the back foot in the championship.
The 250 Standard class went to Kieran Heath over Joshua Crane. Heath won six of the last eight rounds; however both riders would could have faced a much sterner challenge had first round winner Josh Waring Jnr opted to contest more than the three rounds.
In the Stock class Bradley Lightfoot was the dominant force winning seven rounds, usually ahead of Declan McKenna, who ended second in the series. But special mention should go to Shanice Mott who plugged away all year and was finally rewarded with victory in the last round of the championship.
With all the 100 and 50 classes running together in one group, some great racing was witnessed throughout the year and gave a glimpse of some of the sport’s future stars.
The 100 Group and the 100 Open class titles ended up going to Josh Birch who really got into his stride as the season went on taking victory in the last six rounds. Behind him came Marcus Sprason, whose result was all the more impressive given he had made the big jump from a 50 to a 150cc geared machine for 2014.
Three other riders impressed on their occasional visits to the championship – George Oliver, Harry Carmichael and James Rawlins – particularly Oliver who shredded the opposition when he took overall victory at Milton Park.
The 100 Modified class saw a great battle between Catrin Davies and Tom Fiztgerald which saw the pair trading first and second places in the second half of the season. However Davies always had a slight upper hand in the championship after Fitzgerald had DNF’d four out of six motos at rounds three and four.
Josh Talent secured the 100 Standard class with a fine end of season run of five wins from the last six rounds. Reece Swann had been the early pace setter but he eventually slipped behind Charlotte Sprason who notched up five podiums during the year but no victories.
The 50cc class saw a battle between Alfie Walker and Woody Jackson, which eventually went to Walker, who had three wins and great consistency over Jackson’s five victories. However, both were put in their place by Robbie Wood at the third round, in his only appearance in the championship.
The club is now looking forward to the 2014 season with the dates and venues already confirmed for next season. Full details are available on the club website,
www.nora-mx.org.uk
In addition there will be two classes next year that will also have full British championship status; as in 2013 the Masters series, which is for riders over the age of 35, will count as the ACU British Masters Championship, while for the first time the 250 Youth class will also have ACU British championship status.
As usual there will be classes for all ages, abilities and budgets in both adult and youth categories. Three new classes being introduced, which are an Under-23 championship for experienced riders, a ‘stock’ 125 Yamaha Raptor championships that will run within the 100cc youth group, and a Fun Cup for adult riders on any race legal machine who don’t want to take racing too seriously.
In all it promises to be another cracking year for the club, which as usual promises to extend a friendly welcome to riders of any age, sex or ability who would like to come along and race.