Back on the 18^th February,Cornish enduro star Jason Fraser got the Hewitt National Cross-Country series underway with victory in the opening round at Chavenage,near Tetbury.On Sunday,Fraser travelled north to the same venue and thus record another victory,increasing his series lead in the process to 11 points.Although the promoters Midwest MCC did their utmost to layout a challenging seven mile circuit,the ridiculously dry weather meant that a small stream crossing proved to be the only main obstacle on going that was otherwise very good.

Aaron Caswell Sportsman 4stroke

Right from the off at Chavenage,Fraser led the charge and on completion of lap one was a very narrow two seconds ahead of Yamaha rider Darren Wheeler.Along with fellow title chaser Brad Williams and Rich Warner,the top four riders in the contest all completed a total of 11 laps of action.Proving his class,Fraser also recorded the fastest lap of the day on his penultimate circuit with a time of 15 minutes and 14 seconds.At the finish flag,the Husqvarna rider was 3 minutes and 34 seconds ahead of eventual runner-up Williams with Wheeler in 3^rd and Warner 4^th.After the top four came a group of some 14 riders who had all completed ten laps during their three hours of action,with Gary Baker the leader of this particular pack.

Bradley Williams fought hard for 2nd spot.

Like Fraser,the winner of the Clubman Two-stroke class,Wiltshire’s Richard Maisey is currently in great form.After winning the opening two rounds,Maisey on his KTM made it a hat-trick at Chavenage.Although he was just under four minutes ahead at the finish of Sunday’s battle,Maisey’s lap total of 10 was matched by Keith Hoskin,Paul Warman and Chris Beeston.The battle for the runners-up spot in this class though literally went right down to the wire with Hoskin a very narrow 3 seconds quicker to the chequered flag than Warman.

Chris Watkins No381& Stuart Banell Sportsman 2stroke action

In the Clubman Four-stroke competition,David Wathen suffered his first defeat of the championship,having to settle for the runners-up slot on this occasion behind the very experienced Stuart Keedwell.Such was the speed of the top two that they finished nearly five minutes ahead of 3^rd placed finisher Ian Wathen who along with Malcolm Lean and Gary Simms did though complete the same lap total as the leading duo.

Expert Glyn Thomas

With series leader Dane Palmer not competing at Chavenage,Freddie Davis took full advantage to earn a convincing victory in the Sportsman Two-stroke class.At the finish,Davis was a full lap ahead of a group of nine riders who had all managed to complete eight laps of the seven mile blast.Taking the 3^rd spot in this group and thus improving his own championship hopes was Edward Hennessy.

Clubman 4stroke action

After finishing as runner-up in the opening two rounds,Mark Woodman went one better on Sunday by recording a valuable victory in the Sportsman Four-stroke class.In a great battle,Philip Gilder,Adrian Francis,Mark Wilson,Noel Rooney,Mark Heyes,Matthew Harris and Richard Byrnes all also completed nine laps.Although Woodman was a clear eight minutes ahead at the finish,just three minutes separated the next five riders led by Gilder.

Making a splash at Chavenage

Maintaining his fantastic 100% record in the Hewitt National series,Gerald Poole made it three wins from three starts with another win in the Veterans class at Chavenage.At the completion,Poole was a full lap ahead of a gaggle of riders who had managed nine circuits of the Gloucestershire venue.Best of the Veterans chasing Poole to the finish line was Jerry Adams,Andrew Collins and Martin Coleman.

Marcus Barnesin Expert

RESULTS HEWITT NCC SERIES(ROUND 3)

EXPERTS 1 Jason Fraser(250cc Husky) 2 Brad Williams(250cc Suzuki) 3 Darren Wheeler(250cc Yamaha) 4 Rich Warner 5 Gary Baker(250cc Kawasaki) 6 Keith Jenkins(250cc Honda) 7 Derek Bawn 8 Steven Jewell(125cc Husky) 9 Dave Nuttall(380cc Husaberg) 10 John Wheeler(250cc Yamaha).

CLUBMAN TWO-STROKE 1 Richard Maisey(300cc KTM) 2 Keith Hoskin(250cc GasGas) 3 Paul Warman 4 Chris Beeston(125cc Honda) 5 Ian Francis(250cc TM) 6 Andy Howes(300cc KTM) 7 Travis Platt 8 Geraint Coombes(300cc KTM) 9 Vince Larcombe(Kawasaki) 10 Ben Priddle(250cc Kawasaki).

CLUBMAN FOUR-STROKE 1 Stuart Keedwell(380cc Husaberg) 2 David Wathen(250cc KTM) 3 Ian Wathen(250cc Honda) 4 Malcolm Lean(450cc KTM) 5 Gary Simms 6 Dave Fowler(400cc Yamaha) 7 Courtenay James(400cc KTM) 8 Shaun Weston(250cc Husky) 9 James Wilden(250cc Honda) 10 Mark Taylor.

SPORTSMAN TWO-STROKE 1 Freddie Davis(300cc KTM) 2 Dale Hall(200cc KTM) 3 Edward Hennessy(250cc Yamaha) 4 Tim Frost(200cc KTM) 5 Chris Morse(250cc GasGas) 6 Martin Howitt(200cc KTM) 7 Jez Dance(250cc KTM) 8 James Morse(125cc KTM) 9 Ian Barnes(250cc Honda) 10 David Holt(250cc KTM).

SPORTSMAN FOUR-STROKE 1 Mark Woodman(400cc KTM) 2 Philip Gilder(400cc Yamaha) 3 Adrian Francis(250cc Yamaha) 4 Mark Wilson(400cc KTM) 5 Noel Rooney(250cc Honda) 6 Mark Heyes(250cc Yamaha) 7 Matthew Harris(450cc Yamaha) 8 Richard Brynes(450cc Honda) 9 Mark Anderson(250cc Yamaha) 10 Graham Pitts(250cc KTM).

VETERANS 1 Gerald Poole(250cc KTM) 2 Jerry Adams(450cc Yamaha) 3 Andrew Collins(450cc Yamaha) 4 Martin Coleman(500cc VOR) 5 Andy Taylor 6 Gary Clarke(200cc KTM) 7 Paul Kingston(200cc KTM) 8 Alan James(450cc Husaberg) 9 Robert Shore(450cc Husaberg) 10 Lewie Davis(200cc KTM).