Welshman Luke Cooper showed just why he has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Quad Cross of Nations later this year with a dominant victory at the penultimate round of the Willcock Holeformers British Championship at Dean Moor on Sunday.
On a day that started in weather so foul it threatened the meeting, but ended in bright sunshine, Cooper won the second and third heats with only a fourth place in the first muddy race blotting his copybook.
“I enjoyed that, I felt like I’m finally getting to where I want to be,” said Cooper, who dislocated his hip at the opening round of the series. “Apart from a bad start in the first race everything went great.”
His effort, at the NETT-organised meeting, also meant he won the magnificent Connor Smith Memorial Trophy.
Second overall went to championship leader Paul Holmes who stretched his points lead to 54 going into the final round which crucially means he can afford to DNF one heat and still lead the series. Holmes gained 14 points on his title rival, Justin Reid, after the Ulsterman had to push over the line in 23rd spot in the final race after his chain broke.
Despite not racing regularly this year it was Northern Ireland’s Mark McLernon who had set the pace in qualifying on a tricky course still affected by the heavy overnight rain. However in race one, it was Reid, who used all his experience to master the slippery concrete start and muddy first straight to grab the holeshot.
From there Reid was never headed although yet another Irishman, Dean Colhoun harried him throughout the race trying to find way past. However, whenever he got close enough to mount a challenge a face full of wet mud ensured he had to back off again.
At the finish Reid had a two second winning margin with the pair a full 18 seconds ahead of the chasing pack, which was headed by Holmes.
In the early stages of the race Holmes was part of a five-way battle that also included McLernon, Cooper, George Callaway and Carl Bunce. With the clear track advantage Holmes was able to stay ahead of Cooper, who abandoned his goggles mid-race, and Bunce, with less than two seconds splitting them at the flag.
Callaway lost contact with the group by the end finishing six seconds adrift of them, while McLernon’s race ended on lap five when his axle carrier broke up and also wrecked the axle. He was a non-starter for the remaining races.
Colhoun’s second place ensured he won the Under 21 category, with Cooper second, Callaway third, Murray Graham fourth and Italian visitor, Mattia Papa, fifth.
In race two Cooper grabbed the holeshot and with clear goggle on he was able to lead all the way to the flag. However in the early laps he was hounded good and proper by Colhoun until his lower a-arm snapped in half. He managed to nurse the bike round for several laps to ensure he classified as a finisher, which he did in 26th place.
With not having to defend Cooper was able to ride his own race and he stretched out a 10 second winning margin by the flag over second placed Bunce.
For half the race Bunce was in third place and involved in a cracking dice with Holmes. But mistake from Holmes let Bunce through and he was able to pull out a five second gap by the finish. Holmes in turn managed to control a seven second gap over his Reid.
Reid though was happy to just to finish as his Can-Am started to lose power from the early stages and with the engine feeling like it was ready to “let go” Reid was forced to swap to Colhoun’s spare bike for the crucial third race.
Reigning champion Paul Winrow came home fifth after having to hold off Sheldon Seal for the majority of the race.
In the Under 21 category Cooper was the clear winner, with George Callaway, who finished seventh overall, the next Under 21 home.
The third race was incident packed with Cooper hitting the front closely followed by Holmes and seemingly a cracking race in store. However, on lap two Holmes picked up a rear puncture and opted to pit to get it changed leaving him dead last. He then mounted an excellent charge through the pack back to eighth spot and sett the day’s fastest lap.
Reid was in the battle for third spot and seemingly on the way to clawing back some vital championship points on Holmes when his chain snapped near the finish. At the end he pushed over the steep incline to the finish to minimize the points damage.
At the front Cooper took victory by almost five seconds, with his des Nations team-mate, George Callaway, closing the gap in the closing laps for his best result of the day which helped secure him third overall.
Colhoun ended up third after a brief battle with Bunce who went out with a broken exhaust which in turn melted the fuel pipe and set the quad alight. The first was extinguided quickly but some damage was caused though the team claim the Suzuki is rescueable.
Seal secured fourth after another long battle with Winrow with another veteran, Lyndsey Duke, in sixth.
The top three places in the race – Cooper, Callaway and Colhoun – were also the top three in the Under 21s
One significant non-starter was Oli Sansom, who started the day in seventh in the championship, but was unable to race after injuring his wrist in practice. A hosptial visit showed it was not broken but it was visibly heavily sprained.
The two-day meeting also featured a host of support action, the NETT quad championship classes. On Saturday several of the British Championship riders compteted in the main club championship, with Colhoun winning both races.
In the Adult supports Jordan Turnock took overall victory thanks to two wins and second in the last race behind John Chew, while Ian Neil took the Over 40s class despite not winning a heat. Ed Davies, Mark Wolfenden and Steve Pinder shared the wins.
In the youth races the standout performances came from Josh Birch who won all 150 Geared races and Harry Carmicheal who won all three 250 Modified races. Carmichael’s engine was later stripped and measured and found to be 100% legal.
RESULTS: Willcock Holeformers British Championship: 1 Luke Cooper, 2 Paul Holmes, 3 George Callaway, 4 Sheldon Seal, 5 Justin Reid, 6 Carl Bunce.
British Under 21 Championship: 1 Luke Cooper, 2 George Callaway, 3 Dean Colhoun, 4 James Bevan, 5 Bailey Edwards, 6 Harry Walker.
Heat 1: 1 Justin Reid, 2 Dean Colhoun, 3 Paul Holmes, 4 Luke Cooper, 5 Carl Bunce, 6 George Callaway.
Heat 2: 1 Luke Cooper, 2 Carl Bunce, 3 Paul Holmes, 4 Justin Reid, 5 Paul Winrow, 6 Sheldon Seal.
Heat 3: 1 Luke Cooper, 2 George Callaway, 3 Dean Colhoun, 4 Sheldon Seal, 5 Paul Winrow, 6 Lyndsey Duke.
NETT Championship: 1 Dean Colhoun, 2 Carl Bunce, 3 Andrea Cesari, 4 Murray Graham, 5 Sune Lewander, 6 Lyndsey Duke.
Support: 1 Jordan Turnock, 2 John Chew, 3 Stuart Kirchachz, 5 Nash Singer, 5 Dave Clarkson, 6 Alex Bethell.
Over 40s: 1 Ian Neill, 2 Steve Pinder, 3 Mark Wolfenden, 4 Ed Davies, 5 Peter Savil, 6 Simon Naylor.
EVO: 1 Chris Yemm. No other finisher.
250 Open: 1 Ayrton Knowles, 2 Paolo Galizzi, 3 Lorne Sinclair. No other finisher.
250 Mod: 1 Harry Carmichael, 2 William Booth, 3 Ben Charlsworth, 4 Catrin Davies, 5 George Oliver, 6 JJ Redman.
150 Geared: 1 Josh Birch, 2 Alfie Walker, 3 Robbie Wood, 4 Lewis Humphris, 5 Marcus Rayson. No other finisher.
250 Standard: 1 Josh Talent. No other finisher
100 Geared: 1 Jake Best, 2 Callum Lockett. No other finisher.
100 Mod: 1 Aled Davies, 2 Louise Meak. No other finisher.
100 Standard: 1 Rory Wood, 2 Ethan Best. No other finisher
50 Mod: 1 Jago Jackson. No other finisher