Monday September 5, 2016 at 4:30pm
The final ACU GBXC British Sprint Championship weekend of the season saw the Fast Eddy entourage head north to Westwood near Sheffield to a pure woodland course that was tight and technical, which certainly suited Brad Freeman as he took six out of the seven test wins on Saturday and ten out of ten on Sunday
Westwood provided yet another different challenge as the series reached completion, something Paul Edmondson has strived for all season long. The opening rounds at Rogers Hill Raceway really suited the speed merchants, while round two at H2O was big and flowing and had a great mix of MX and woodland terrain. The third round at Ashby Moto Park was tight but flowed well through a small woodland and MX course. Westwood was made for technical riders with just second and third gears necessary for most around the six-minute test. There were plenty of riders heading for the final Enduro GP round in France this coming weekend who used the Sprint as a sharpener and to shakedown their machines ready for the French Finale.
Twisting through the trees the course encompassed a terrific stream section, quarry bowl and several snaking loops up and down tricky hillsides where the thinking riders took their time walking the test to spot hidden lines to save a few seconds here and there.
Heavy rain curtailed the event after seven runs on Saturday but Sunday proved to be much kinder and ten runs were packed in, although following the rain the course was slick and tricky to begin with on the second day and one of the big hills was cut to keep the course flowing as well as possible.
Returning from injury Colwyn Bay KTM’s Brad Freeman looked on top form and lost out just once as Factory Sherco rider Tom Sagar had an exceptionally good run on Saturday afternoon to take third overall while KTM’s Jack Edmondson maintained a good pace to retain second overall throughout the day. Eurotek KTM rider Billy Bolt, fourth, was running extremely well once he regained his composure following a dramatic crash in the stream section on his second run. A change of footpegs suited his size elevens better and he was on form for the rest of the day. MPS Sherco’s Luke Flack nailed fifth spot in the Championship class.
Sunday saw the same results positions with Freeman heading the pack once again, finishing a minute and a half clear of Edmondson over the ten runs. Freeman topped the Championship E2 class, Edmondson the E1 and Billy Bolt the E3.
The Expert class saw a two-day two-way battle for supremacy between Dan Mundell (E1) and Tom Ellwood (E2). Mundell won five of Saturday’s tests to Ellwood’s two but Sunday proved to be even closer as Ellwood took the day by six tests to four with just 16 seconds between the tweo at the end of the second day. Jordan Ridgway was very consistent over both days and took two third places. Lewis Belfield took fourth but topped the E3 class, which was some sort of compensation.
As ever, the Youth class was fast and furious. Great friends and rivals Harry Edmondson and Henry Yardley swapped and changed test wins throughout the weekend but it was the youngest Edmondson who was victorious on both days, 11 seconds clear on Saturday and 45 seconds clear on Sunday. Yardley had a big off near the end of the day on Sunday and was bitterly disappointed not to win but his strength of character saw him continue to chase Harry as hard as he could. It was a terrific effort from both riders. Jacob James is another excellent Youth class rider and took third spot on both days, with Edmondson and Yardley in the same class James always raises his game and he certainly did over the weekend.
Andrew Reeves was another double winner, taking the Veterans class by storm as Mark Rayner and Colin Blunt charged hard to catch him but to no avail. Reeves really seemed to take to the technical nature of the test and it showed in his test times right from the start.
Competition in the Clubman class has been fierce since the series started. A great mix of up and coming talent has been fighting hard for top spot overall and in the three sub-classes, E1, 2 &3. In his first season of Sprints Brendan Griffiths has worked hard to learn new techniques and has applied them extremely well. He won the class overall on both days with a great margin on Saturday over Chris Weston and Chris Rayner but Chris Pryce pushed him hard on Sunday and Griffiths was just four-seconds clear after 10 runs. Pryce took second on Sunday with Danny Culkin filling the final podium spot on the final day.
Rosie Rowett continued with her great form following her Rhayader BEC success by taking both wins in the Ladies class. As with virtually every other rider at the event, she took more than a few tumbles throughout the weekend but showed true Northern grit to take Satuday’s win over Fionn Griffiths and Ellie Cooke and maintained her dominance on Sunday as Griffiths and Cooke traded places.
It was a tough course for Sportsman riders and despite winning his class on the first day, that was enough for Dave Simpkin. Aaron Webb followed him home with Dan Charles in a respectable third spot. Webb went on to take Sunday’s class win ahead of Luke Molter and Nick Whitehead.
Westwood proved to be a tough but exciting venue. The weather on Saturday didn’t help at all and even influenced Sunday’s racing initially but by lunchtime on the final day the course was in relatively good shape, if not a little rutted in places. It was the competitive nature of all involved that made the weekend, and the series, such a success. Each and every class was hotly contested with racers fighting for every single run through the twisty woodland.
Westwood proved to be an excellent venue for the finale of a terrific series. The Fast Eddy crew have worked exceptionally hard to make the championship a success and they achieved their goal hands down with top class venues, quality tests and excellent organisation, which attracted the best riders in the UK. Job done!
Results
Day 1
Championship
Brad Freeman
Jack Edmondson
Tom Sagar
Billy Bolt
Luke Flack
Expert
Dan Mundell
Tom Ellwood
Jordan Ridgway
Youth
Harry Edmondson
Henry Yardley
Jacob James
Clubman
Brendan Griffiths
Chris Weston
Chris Rayner
Veterans
Andrew Reeves
Mark Rayner
Colin Blunt
Ladies
Rosie Rowett
Fionn Griffiths
Ellie Cooke
Sportsman
Dave Simpkin
Aaron Webb
Dan Charles
Day 2
Championship
Brad Freeman
Jack Edmondson
Tom Sagar
Billy Bolt
Luke Flack
Expert
1 Tom Ellwood
2 Dan Mundell
3 Jordan Ridgway
Youth
1 Harry Edmondson
2 Henry Yardley
3 Jacob James
Clubman
1 Brendan Griffiths
2 Chris Pryce
3 Danny Culkin
Veterans
1 Andrew Reeves
2 Mark Rayner
3 Colin Blunt
Ladies
1 Rosie Rowett
2 Ellie Cooke
3 Fionn Griffiths
Sportsman
1 Aaron Webb
2 Luke Molter
3 Nick Whitehead