The Whoppa is back and in some style as the Wimborne MCC marked the 40th anniversary of their event by returning to the Uddens venue on Sunday. In front of a very large crowd, current British Masters champion Chris Harris scorched to a maiden 500cc solo title, Mitch Godden/Paul Smith retained their 500cc sidecar crown and Terry Saunters, with Liam Brown in the chair, won his maiden 1,000cc Right-Hand sidecar title as a pilot. For the first time at the Wimborne Whoppa, there was also action for youth riders with Levi Collins (Autos), Albie South (Cadets), Luton-James McAlinney (Juniors) and Archie Rolph (Intermediates) the victors.
Following a couple of days which produced breezy, unsettled weather, it was the stars of tomorrow who opened the 2025 Wimborne Whoppa with four rides apiece and some great early Sunday morning action. In the combined Autos/Cadets, Albie South cleared off to score a flawless maximum points victory in the Cadets class, chased home by Darcy Lewis-Powell, whilst Autos winner Levi Collins was also wheel perfect.
After winning his opening three rides, Archie Whitelam looked well on course for top honours in the Juniors. Those three heats all proved very similar in pattern as Rex Austin led the charge to turn one before both Whitelam and Luton-James McAlinney blasted past before indulging in a tight tussle for the race win. In the last heat, a repeat looked on the cards before a dramatic twist was to turn the destination of the overall verdict on its head! As Whitelam and McAlinney disputed the lead, Whitelam fell. So that one pivotal moment meant that McAlinney was the Whoppa champion ahead of Whitelam, Brayden Blyth, Austin and Harry Little.
In the Intermediates, it was the very talented Archie Rolph all the way as he stormed to four big, runaway wins. On three occasions, Jack Scully-Syer proved to be his closest challenger, going on to earn 2nd overall with William Offen in 3rd. After not scoring in his opening ride, Jacob Phillips responded well with a 2/3/3 card for 4th overall as John Cox was 5th.
So, with the youth racing done, it was over to the adult Whoppa, and it started with a thriller as James Shanes and Darryl Ritchings locked horns for victory. With Shanes maintaining a mid-track line, Ritchings elected to keep plugging away on the inside line and eventually found a way through for a great win. In this one, despite falling on turn two, Jordan Derrick remounted to still earn 4th just behind John Cox. In leg one of the 500cc solos, there were also wins for Paul Cooper and Chris Harris, who defeated his fellow World Team Long track championship gold medallist, Andrew Appleton.
With a rider’s points being added throughout the heats and semi-finals to determine who would qualify for the big Whoppa final, Harris guaranteed that he would be on the start line by recording a super maximum score. Dropping just 2 points along the way, Appleton was also safely a final qualifier along with Shanes, Edward Kennett and Cooper. The last place on the grid was to go to young Dutch teenager Niek Meijerink. Brother of World Long track contender Dave Meijerink, this was a super achievement by Niek, who earlier in the season had finished 10th in the FIM World under-23 long track world cup.
Surprisingly missing out on the Whoppa final, Ritchings, who has had a super season on the grass, crashed out in the semi-final on the pits turn. Indeed, that turn had proved troublesome for several other contenders with the soft, loamy surface cutting up, producing inside ruts and plenty of loose material. Also not quite making the big last race were the unlucky Charlie Wood and Jordan Derrick. Wood crashed in his third ride on the final turn, in the process injuring his shoulder. Bravely, though, he still competed in both his fourth heat and the semi whilst Derrick was left to rue the fall in his opening ride of the day, which meant that he missed out on final qualification by just a single point!
So, what about the Whoppa final, well it was Appleton who led the charge to turn one, electing to go for the smoother outside line as Harris followed him in on the same trajectory. But then, producing a moment of typical ‘Bomber’ class, Chris assessed the situation before immediately switching back to the inside line and thus gained an early advantage. For the next two laps, Harris and Appleton raced almost side by side until ‘Bomber’ gained a little breathing space. Meanwhile, Shanes was getting the better of a super tussle for 3rd with Kennett and in the process rapidly closing in on Appleton.
At the chequered flag, it was a first Whoppa victory for Harris as Appleton narrowly held on for 2nd from Shanes, Kennett, Cooper and Meijerink. In this final the unlucky Cooper was forced to jump aboard his spare machine after realising his number one mount had picked up a puncture shortly before tapes up!
Defending their Whoppa 500cc Sidecar title, Mitch Godden/Paul Smith did it in style. Winning all three of their heats, the European Championship runners-up then led the final all the way. Current British Masters Champions Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin also won a heat and looked on course to be 2nd in the final until a moment of drama. On the very last turn of that final, their outfit stopped as Richard Webb/Ant Goodwin, Barry Bennett/Rowan Lucas, Shane Freeman/Tobi Vere, and Chris Neame/Zoe Pay went through. Earlier in the event, Webb/Goodwin had been the model of consistency by scoring a hat-trick of 2nd placings.
After the fast Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb had won the first 1,000cc Right-Hand sidecar heat, the next encounter was to produce a heart-stopping moment for multi–British Masters champion Mark Cossar, who again had Andrew Wilson in the chair. As the pack entered turn one, Cossar, Terry Saunters/Liam Brown, and Will Offen/Ricky Pay all got there at the same time and all appeared to be heading for the same line, meaning that something simply had to give! In that tussle, Cossar and Wilson were the victims, and in the contact that ensued, they then displayed a simply incredible act of outstanding motorcycle skill, not only avoiding what could well have been a nasty spill but also remaining onboard, getting their outfit to point back in the right direction and then regaining forward momentum! At the flag, Cossar was still 3rd as the smooth Saunters took the win from Offen. Indeed, showing that he was right at the top of his game, Saunters then scored another two victories over rival Cossar to top the qualifiers and earn his place in the final.
Along with Saunters and Whitelam, Robbie Simmons/Frankie Courtney looked right on the pace with Simmons producing a great ride in leg two when coming from 3rd to pass both Offen and Whitelam. Talking of Whitelam, he was also involved in a great leg four scrap when defeated by the narrowest of margins by Will Penfold/Freddie Wood. So, it was Saunters, Whitelam, Cossar, and Simmons direct to the Whoppa final with Penfold and Offen joining them after safely negotiating the ‘B’ final.
In the big one, Saunters was fastest away from Whitelam and Cossar. For the opening couple of laps, Cossar tested just about every line possible to try and find a way past Whitelam, but Paul was riding a supremely tactical race and denying Mark’s every move! At the front, Saunters was also wheel perfect to earn his third Whoppa title, the first as an outfit pilot. With Whitelam taking a richly deserved runners-up spot, Cossar was 3rd as a very determined Simmons eventually found a way past Penfold late on for 4th.
Massive congratulations to all of the Champions, and well done to the Wimborne MCC for bringing back the Whoppa after a six-year gap.
Results
Autos: 1 Levi Collins 40 points
Cadets: 1 Albie South 40 points 2 Darcy Lewis-Powell 38.
Juniors: 1 Luton-James McAlinney 34 points 2 Archie Whitelam 30 3 Brayden Blyth 27 4 Rex Austin 27 5 Harry Little 21.
Intermediates: 1 Archie Rolph 40 points 2 Jack Scully-Syer 31 3 William Offen 25 4 Jacob Phillips 22 5 John Cox 21.
500cc solo Final: 1 Chris Harris 2 Andrew Appleton 3 James Shanes 4 Edward Kennett 5 Paul Cooper 6 Niek Meijerink.
Other points positions: 7 Jordan Derrick 34 points 8 Darryl Ritchings 31 9 Charlie Wood 31 10 John Cox 31 11 Barry Powell 30 12 Ryan Ashcroft 28 13 Liam Ashcroft 21 14 Jason Prynne 20 15 Ben Isley 19 16 Jody Hodgson 18 17 Paul Clifton 14.
1,000cc Right-Hand sidecars Final: 1 Terry Saunters/Liam Brown 2 Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb 3 Mark Cossar/Andrew Wilson 4 Robbie Simmons/Frankie Courtney 5 Will Penfold/Freddie Wood 6 Will Offen/Ricky Pay.
Other points positions: 7 Clint Blondel/Lewis Davies 13 8 John Hand/Adrian North 11 9 Simon Beaney/Brook Fowler 10 10 Dale Fish/Jordan Fish 7 11 Steve Smith/Gareth Little 7 12 Steph Blyth/Morgan Blyth 5.
500cc Sidecars Final: 1 Mitch Godden/Paul Smith 2 Richard Webb/Ant Goodwin 3 Barry Bennett/Rowan Lucas 4 Shane Freeman/Tobi Vere 5 Chris Neame/Zoe Pay 6 Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin. 7th place finishers Mike Skelding/Louis Skelding who scored 4 points.
Report and Images by Mike Wood – Dirt Hub