Nora Delivers a Scorcher on and off the Track at Grittenham

Thursday May 10, 2018 at 3:34pm
Nora Delivers a Scorcher on and off the Track at Grittenham
The Nora MX season started with a bang in sun drenched Wiltshire over the Bank holiday weekend with some incredible racing amongst all 6 race groups over 2 days. Regulars were joined by a mix of newcomers to the sport and Endurance riders who wanted to see if they could pick their wits in the fast and furious MX format.

The Pro / Pro Am class saw four different race winners over the 6 races, indicating a very wide-open championship this year!

Qualifying went the way of the young guns with Tom Day quickest with 1 min 50.4, followed by Dafydd Davies 0.14 secs behind.

Davies took race 1 of day 1 leading from start to finish and with a further race win at the end of day 2 he netted a 3rd on day one (1,2,9) and 2nd on day 2 (3,6,1). Getting caught up in a pile up in race 3 was the only blemish on his card for the weekend.

George Callaway was very much the form rider on day 1 coming back strong in race 1 to take a 3rd and then following this up with 2 fine race wins to take the overall on the day (3,1,1). That was as good as it got for Callaway as electrical issues on day 2 ruled him out of contention.

George Day though was the man on consistent form over the 2 days, with 1 win and being in the top 4 in each of the 5 other races. Day 1 (4, 4, 3), Day 2 (2, 1, 2). This gave Day 4th on day 1, 1st on day 2, and more importantly he's the Championship leader after 2 rounds.

Carl Bunce started the weekend very strong taking 2nd on day 1 (2, 3, 4) and then won race 1 of day 2. His day then slipped away with a 7th and 9th with a bike issue late on (1, 7, and 9)

The Clubman / Elite class was dominated by pre-season favourite Ayrton Knowles on day 1 with three straight wins, each time over Zak Orchard.

Day 2 was a different story though as Orchard who won the 250cc Class in 2017 showed he was up for the battle and took race 1. Knowles took race 2 to set up a final race decider. Unfortunately Knowles had an "off" on lap 1, which handed the race win and overall on the day to Zak.

Elsewhere in this group Enduro rider Axle Bone blasted on to the MX scene with 6 impressive wins in the Clubman sub-category. Clearly one to watch as the season develops.

And Nora's top female rider, Meelie Miller had without doubt her best days racing in the 35 strong Clubman Class with a 6th overall on day 2, and more impressively a 3rd in the final race of the day!

On to the Novice Class and another top performance by a debutant! This time it was Harry Koller. Firstly, he set the fastest qualifying lap in this group at just under 2 mins (some 3 seconds quicker than the rest) and then followed this by 6 hole shots and 6 race wins. Ryan Hickman was the best of the rest with 4 2nds and 2 3rds over the weekend.

The Masters Class was a split gate between the Masters "A" and "B", so in all 38 quads on the starting line-up.

Both classes were dominated by 2 riders. In the "A's" Ed Davies showed his determination to hold on to his British Championship with 5 hole shots and 6 wins.

Bettered by Geoff Otway in the Masters "B" class who managed a full house of 6 hole shots and 6 race wins.

On to the 100cc class and it was time for Jago Jackson to shine. Six fine wins recorded with his closest rivals being Kieran Marriott on day 1 and Rory Wood on day 2.

The 250cc class was surprisingly dominated on both days by a mix of two riders who had moved up from the 100cc class of 2017 in Luke Berlyn and Robbie Wood, in addition to Jack Young, a new rider to the club. Robbie Wood took the win on day 1 (3, 1, 1) from Jack Young (1, 2, 2), and on day it was Luke Berlyn's day with two wins and a second.

Overall results Sunday:

Pro / Pro Am: 1st George Callaway, 2nd Dafydd Davies, and 3rd George Day.

Masters "A": 1st Ed Davies, 2nd Chris Keitch, 3rd Jonathan McKnight.

Masters "B": 1st Geoff Otway, 2nd Richard Clark, 3rd David Marriott.

Novice: 1st Harry Koller, 2nd Ryan Hickman, 3rd William Dunlop.

Clubman / Elite overall: 1st Ayrton Knowles, 2nd Zak Orchard, 3rd Samuel Jeffrey.

250cc overall: 1st Robbie Wood, 2nd Jack Young, and 3rd Luke Berlyn

100cc overall: Jago Jackson, 2nd Kieran Marriott, and 3rd Frank Marston.

Overall results Monday:

Pro / Pro Am: 1st George Day, 2nd Dafydd Davies, 3rd Sheldon Seal.

Masters "A": 1st Ed Davies, 2nd Jonathan McKnight, 3rd Greg Fisher

Masters "B": 1st Geoff Otway, 2nd David Marriott, 3rd Pete Bates.

Novice: 1st Harry Koller, 2nd Ryan Hickman, 3rd William Dunlop.

Clubman / Elite overall: 1st Zak Orchard, 2nd Gary Atkinson, 3rd Lewis Rowles.

250cc overall: 1st Luke Berlyn, 2nd Robbie Wood, 3rd Alfie Walker

100cc overall: Jago Jackson, 2nd Rory Wood, 3rd Kieran Marriott.

A week, and we're off again, to Milton Park on Sunday 20th May 2018. One not too miss!! Entries are now open at https://www.ride-acu.uk/Secure/Login.aspx


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