There were more thrills and surprises in round 3 of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/ACU Eastern Solo Enduro Championship last Sunday at Foxborough Quarry Hare and Hounds Sible Hedingham Essex organised by the Sudbury Motor Cycle Club.
First away in the three hour marathon were the Championship Class led by Brendon Mayers Halstead) who held onto his lead for two laps being chased by Jason Morland (Halstead) and Craig Roper (Sudbury). However Morland on lap three took the lead and a little later Roper slipped into second place. Over the rest of the three hours Morland settled into a steady rhythm but behind him were several changes of positions with Tim Rose (Diss), Ben Clark (Halstead) and Sam Mitchell (Woodbridge) putting pressure on Roper and Mayers. Morland was uncatchable on the day the only person who would challenged him was Jamie Roper who after his accident at round two is out of the Contest for the year after his operation of his upper left arm. At the chequered flag Morland was a clear winner on 26 laps by 1 minute 24 seconds over Rose with Clark 3
rd, Roper 4
th, and Mitchell 5
th. Matt Pope (Norwich) finished 6
th while Mayers slipped back to 7
th place and Harry Clark (Sudbury) was 8
th.
Myles Saunders (Sudbury) took the lead in the Expert Class with his nearest rival Kevin Palmer (Norwich) further down the field and during the session Saunders held onto his lead for a long time however Palmer during the closing stages closed up and passed his rival. Unexpectedly Ryan McDonnell (Sudbury/Team Dave Roper) was making a real challenge passing both these riders to take his first win in this Class while Palmer had to be content with 2
nd, Jack Berry (Sudbury) slipped into 3
rd place pushing Saunders into 4
th.
There was a great battle between Sudbury team mates James Barker and Lee Monger in the Clubman Class and it was towards the end that Barker got the better of Monger completing 25 laps to Monger’s 24. Maciej Berdysz (Sidcup) was the best of four riders finishing on 23 laps taking 3
rd with Ben Marsh (Halstead) 4
th, George Eustace (Sudbury) 5
th and Chris Wright (Diss) 6
th. It was a great day for 15 year old Joe Phillips Grandson of the legendary Ipswich Town Footballer riding in his first adult event finishing 12
th and earning 4 Class points.
Three riders in the Expert Veteran Class finished on 24 laps with Michael Ridge (Stowmarket) beating his nearest rival Gavin Hockey (Sudbury) while Phil Roper (Sudbury) took 3
rd place.
It was two wins in two rounds for Dean Curry (Sudbury) in the Clubman Veteran Class out riding Alex Crow (Woodbridge) 2
nd, Martin Greenaway (Sudbury) 3
rd and Michael Wyatt (Diss) 4
th. Meanwhile it was three wins in three rounds for Andy Mason (Sudbury) in the Clubman Super Veteran Class holding off Steve Finch (Braintree) 2
nd, Graham Mays (Sudbury) 3
rd and Nigel Ross (Sudbury) 4
th.
Unofficial positions at the half way stage after three rounds: Championship Class Morland 53 points, Rose 38 points and Roper 30 points. Expert Class Palmer 52 points Saunders 45 points and McDonnell 33 points. Clubman Class Barker 55 points Monger 51 points and Ben Marsh 28 points.
Report by Roger Chaplin
Photos by Anthony Ridge