Tuesday April 12, 2022 at 4:01pm
It’s going to be a ten round championship for all quad classes this year in the northern based NETT Quad and Sidecar Championship. For the last few years, the Championship class hasn’t run on the days when the ACU British Championship has been hosted by NETT, but this year is different. NETT is hosting the British rounds on Sunday 1st May at Duns and Sunday 29th May at Dean Moor. And on these days, the two Championships will run as one with British Championship contenders counting the points awarded on all three motos, while only points from the riders’ best two motos will count towards the NETT Championship Class.
And not only that, but everyone who is a member of NETT and registered in the Championship Class is automatically registered in the British Championship too. There is no separate registration fee for the British Championship.
For regular NETT Championship contenders, it means they have the best of both worlds. Not only do they now get as many races in the season as the other club classes, but on these British days, they also have the choice to opt out of running all three motos, without penalty, if the longer races prove too much for rider or machine. The three British Championship motos are each about 6-7 minutes longer than the regular NETT rounds, so that extra 20 + minutes may not appeal to everyone.
But because their results automatically count toward the British Championship, if NETT Championship riders do attempt all three motos on the day, they may well find themselves featuring in the British Championship standings too. This year the British Championship will once again feature the separate National Expert Championship - for those who finished outside the top 10 in the overall British championship last season - as well as the hotly contested British Under 21 title. And with the first two rounds of the British Championship being hosted by NETT, it’s an opportunity for club riders to start both Championships and see how the season unfolds.
Announcing the changes to the NETT Championship format, club chairman and Quad of Nations GB team manager, Karl Robinson said:
“This format is designed to give our Championship Class club members whatever level of competition they feel comfortable with - it’s an ideal way to give them as many point scoring races as the support classes and to encourage those keen to race at British level a platform from which to do so.
“ The British National Expert Championship, which ran for the first time last year, is definitely an option for most of our club Championship riders on the two British Sundays at Duns and Dean Moor. It gives riders who might feel they’re not yet on the pace of the more experienced leaders their own competition. And with silverware awarded from first to third overall on each round, it’s definitely worth a shot. But if it’s not for them, the option to just do two motos on those days - to get their NETT Championship points - is there too.
“ Last year, it was three NETT regulars, Robbie Wood, Ayrton Knowles and Chad Beevers, who took the year end honours in the British National Experts . NETT has long been the proving ground for some of the top riders in the country, and I hope this joint format will continue to support our regular, loyal club level riders and up-and-coming young guns, alike.”
Both the NETT Club and British Championship regulations for the season can be downloaded from the NETT website at www.nettquad.co.uk which also lists the dates and venues of the five double header weekends that make up the NETT Championship schedule. The opening round on Saturday 30th April at Duns is the Brian Winrow Memorial where, in keeping with tradition, riders across the classes compete on the opening round of the season for the much sought after, prestigious awards presented by the Winrow family who have long been supporters of the club.
NETT’s weekend at Duns also features the opening round of the NETT Sidecar Championship on the Saturday and the ACU British Sidecarcross Championship on the Sunday as well as a wide range of youth classes designed to encourage children from as young as six to compete in a family-oriented club atmosphere.
Please enter online at www.ride-acu.uk and if you need help entering, contact Event Secretary Stu Gair on sgair.nett@gmail.com.