The Penultimate round of the ACU British Enduro Championship was hosted by the REME / Army MCA this weekend past. The Natterjack was held on a new venue at Eelmoor near Aldershot in Hampshire and after 39 years at Longmoor Camp near Bordon a change of land use meant a change of location and the new venue provided a sandy surface and areas of pine trees.
Coming into the Natterjack round recently crowned World E3 and British Sprint Enduro Champion Steve Holcombe arrived with a 40 point lead over nearest rider Jack Edmondson meaning that if Steve won a day he would win the Championship.
Saturday’s action started at 10.01am with the first riders flagged away on the 16 mile loop before returning to the start area of the two Special Tests. Everything was looking good for the Champion elect Steve Holcombe in the Championship class as he set the fastest times on the first two tests but then crashed and dislocated his left shoulder on the third test, which saw him return to the paddock and take a trip to the local A&E to assess the damage before the second day.
Holcombe’s retirement meant that Rockstar Husqvarna factory rider Danny McCanney took the advantage and claimed his third round win of the season ahead of Colwyn Bay's Brad Freeman in second and Jack Edmondson in third.
In the Expert class Army rider Tom Ellwood on a MRS Sherco continued to extend his lead in the Expert Championship with another win with Daniel Mundell as runner up and Brad Williams in third
The Clubman class saw a new winner in the form of 17 year old Aaron Gordon from Portsmouth who was riding his first time card Enduro and took the win over Ryan Comer in second and third placed Daniel Price.
On Sunday morning the action kicked off at 9.01 am and Steve Holcombe lined up with his shoulder heavily strapped following his injury the previous day but was determined to try and challenge for the win. Steve Holcombe answered any doubter when he set some of the fastest test times in the first two tests.
It wasn’t plain sailing for Holcombe as both Danny McCanney and Brad Freeman kept the action tight and the pressure on for the win. Unfortunately the close battle for the win ended when both Danny and Brad crashed in the trees and allowed the Steve the luxury of coasting to the finish for the win and the with it the British Championship
Brad Freeman managed to remount and cross the line as runner up ahead of Danny McCanney in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Jack Edmondson and Jamie Lewis.
Tom Ellwood once again took the win in the Expert class and managed to secure the Expert Championship. Daniel Mundell was 2nd and Bradley King was 3rd.
Aaron Gordon made it a double victory in the Clubman class with times that would have seen him feature highly in the Expert class. Ryan Comer took the runner up spot with Jack Ditchfield in third.
The ACU British Enduro Championship now heads to the Muntjac for the final round hosted by the Diss Club on the 20
th November.