NMCC finally got their season underway at Long Buckby. A massive entry of eager riders was desperate to get back into competition after the long lock-down winter. Recent dry weather means the track needed lots of water, but the weather helped out with a freak snowstorm halfway through the afternoon. With fast and furious racing in all groups, it was particularly good to see a big line up of Experts.
Shaun Southgate took all 3 of the Expert class wins with style. Behind him, second places went to Charlie Putnam and Reece Martin, but consistency kept them both out of the top three overall. Todd Ritchie eventually took second place on the podium after staying in the top four all day, with Rob Wood in third.
A large Junior entry meant that after the heat races there would be an A, B and C group. In the Junior A group finals, Oliver Beamish took clear wins in both races with Jamie Richmond taking second each time. Alexander Hornsby just edged out Oliver Sargeant to take third after tying on points.
In the Junior B finals, Charlie Allsopp took two races wins for first overall. Will Ferris tied with Stephen Atkins on points for second overall but took the place by virtue of his higher placed finish in race two. Ethan Martin took the Junior C group overall with a pair of wins. Josh Ford took a fine second overall from John Dee in third.
In the age group categories, Paul Willis took the Premier O40 class overall with wins in the first two legs. Steven Chilvers improved as the day went on, victory in the final race giving him second overall. Paul Groom finished third overall after a bad start to race three. Tony Leishman made a triumphant return to racing, taking all three wins in the Elite O50 class. Greg Cox took the second spot on the podium after Fraser Law spectacularly crashed out of race three. Third overall went to Bruce Garside, a painful knee keeping him from challenging at the front.
Stephen Hollins took the overall win in the Super O60 class. Individual race wins went to Vincent Wakerley and Patrick Winter but both had issues in at least one of the other races. Ross Dover took home second overall from the smooth and consistent riding Richard Jochacy. The U40 and 2 Stroke classes were run together. Shane Holmes never finished outside the top two, taking overall wins in both classes. Connor Dickens finished runner up from Kyle Creevy in the U40 section.
Alfie Barnes took second overall ahead of Jack Lee in the 2 Stroke class. In a nail-biter of a Workers race Steven Chilvers rode hard against the handicap start line positions, edging out Sam Waterman on the final corner before the flag.
Report by Fraser Law and Images courtesy of http://www.motoxphotos.co.uk/