Sunday saw the 4th round of the EMG/Kia Eastern Centre Solo Enduro Championships organised the Sudbury Motor Cycle Club at Foxborough Quarry Sible Hedingham. Conditions were perfect with a clear blue sky, sun and a mild cool breeze in the morning. All three Classes are closely contested with the Championship Class showing Jamie Roper leading current Champion Chris Hockey by six points at the start of the day and everything to ride for what will be the outcome of the end of the day?
First up for this Hare and Hounds event was the Clubman Class with 77 riders on the start line and at 10am they all set off for 2 hours of nonstop riding. Along the starting straight a rider nudge Ed Kerridge handlebars causing his machine to veer into another rider and this started the fall of some riders. One by one they picked themselves up and continued riding, except for two of them, one being shaken up and the other, Kerridge had a long cut on his back. The paramedics treated them both.
The course was made easier for the Clubman with only one of the bogs included which was not as wet and muddy as usual and most of the riding lines were easy to negotiate. The four lap scorers were taken to task as the riders completed their first lap as the track was funnelled into single file by the finishing line they coped magnificently. The field gradually stretched out making the lap scoring easier with riders taking 10 to 12 minutes to complete each lap. At the end of the two hour first over the winning line was current Clubman Contest leader Nicholas Barrett followed by Luke Hodgkinson and Dan Richardson all completing 13 laps Overall Barrett has extended his lead to 7 points, Hodgkinson moves up to 2nd with Richardson now 3rd. With the lunch break over it was the turn of the Championship and Experts Classes. 40 odd riders were on the starting line and when the flag went up there was a good clean start and only one rider, Tom Braddock, went through the ropes at the top of the first hill, failing to negotiate the left hand turn. The course this time included the second bog which had specially prepared by the Roper brothers. At the end of the first lap the 2010 Champion Chris Hockey was in the lead but after two more laps he came into the Pits having brake trouble, he fixed the rear brake but was still have trouble with the front brake however he continued on just using his rear brake and changing down the gears to help braking. This pit stop enabled current Championship leader, Jamie Roper, to take over the lead which he held for the next 90 minutes and Hockey gradually climbed back into second place. Roper had a disastrous pit stop when he re-fuelled. He took a minute longer than Hockey’s two pit stops which resulted in Roper losing his 40 seconds lead over Hockey. Try as he may Roper could not pull back the time he lost. The second bog was very muddy with riders getting stuck and with the army of 6 to 8 marshals pulling them through with one of them losing their footwear which they quickly recovered. Clerk of the Course, Club Chairman Gavin Hockey appeared on the scene and got stuck in with the other marshals helping the riders. With two hours gone Gavin Hockey decided to cut out the bog and opened up the diversion route for the last 30 minutes.
The race finished with Chris Hockey 1st, Jamie Roper 2nd and Julian Harvey 3rd. Overall Roper still leads the Contest from Hockey by 3 points followed by Harvey 25 points adrift. The Expert Class was won by Aaron Edwards with Kelvin Vant 2nd and Phil Maltby 3rd. Overall Vant increases his lead to 3 points with Edwards now second and Maltby dropping down to third.
What was a very good day for every one ended on a sombre note when news filtered in about the death of Marco Simoncelli at the MotoGP in Malaysia the Motor Cycle Sport Family had lost one of its own? RIP Marco.