Xmoor Enduro Club

XMOOR LIFE
…a challenge to the end !

Report and Photos by Adrian Harris

Championship class winner Nick Life checks the opposition
 with a quick sideways glance as he finishes lap2.

Definitely not your typical Hare’n’Hounds event…
The Xmoor Enduro Club pride themselves in setting out courses that are true Enduro’s. - Not for them the dizzy laps around three linked farmer’s fields!

Clubman 2Strokes gas it off the start line.

Those familiar with the Exmoor terrain and previous events put on by the Xmoor club would not have been disappointed on Bank Holiday Monday 30th May. For others though, the eleven mile circuit which wove its way up down and over multiple steep valleys, along a variety of hillsides, through streams, forest tracks, open fields and even an equestrian cross country eventing course - with nice little drop-offs, this could well have been a bit of a shock.

Did I mention ‘STEEP’, - in fact it was even the name of one of the woods the riders had the experience of negotiating and did it ever cause some fun on the first lap!

The steep slippery off-cambered woods caused many riders
to struggle on the first couple of laps.

Although almost mid-summer and promises of sunshine, the weather at this brand new Treborough circuit had decided not to play ball at the start of the day and as riders arrived they were greeted with heavy drizzle and thick moorland mist. However the organisation was slick, the parking, start area and pits were spacious, well laid out and all entrants were given a warm friendly welcome from the club.

Championship rider Andy Frost feathers the throttle
on a greasy grassed camber.

Fortune played a part and by the time the 100+ competitors lined up in their respective starting ranks, the rain had eased and the mist lifted enough to allow safe navigation via the brightly coloured orange arrows which now clearly marked the route.

At 11am sharp the sixteen strong Championship class shot off across the winding start field, constantly swapping positions as they disappeared into the nearby woods.

Derek Bawn charging to 5th place in the championship class.

The Experts were next away one minute later and underestimating how slippery wet grass with a rear trials tyre can be, one competitor got it so very wrong on the first turn. His bike cart-wheeling wildly as the other riders ducked and dived to miss him and his now ‘flying’ machine. Though failing to catch his number I – and the rest of the crowd, were very pleased to see him jump straight up, remount and tear off in hot pursuit (Tough lot these enduro folk!). The rest of the adult classes shot away respectively at one minute intervals without incident.

14-16yr old Youth class approach first turn.

As this eleven mile circuit involved no roadwork, as per AMCA rules a class for 14-16 year olds was also permitted and a very determined lot they were. No half measures when the flag dropped to signal their start. Full throttle the young’uns tore across the field and rapidly disappeared into the first dark slippery forest with many a nervous parent and aunt watching from afar.

Lap1 saw Christ Dustow leading the Championship riders.

The long nights drizzle onto hardpack had played hell with the carefully planned and well prepared track. Engines could be heard straining from far distant places as the first reports fed back from marshals of all classes of riders struggling with some of the steep slippery off-cambered hillsides. So it was a good thirty minutes before even the championship boys re-appeared heading back towards the pits and the end of their first lap. At this point the first group of four were within fractions of a second of each other and still constantly swapping places as any slight hesitancy was paid for dearly by someone ready to pounce. However as they came through the lap scoring it was Chris Dustow No2 on a KTM250 leading Yamaha250 mounted Andy Frost No10, from No7 Nick Life on a Suzuki250 and No1 Richard Tucker KTM250. A few seconds later Phil Studley No3 Yamaha250 came through followed by the Suzuki125 of No9 Adrian Heard and shortly after Derek Bawn No4 on a KTM300.

Clubman o40 Kevin Gibbs takes it steady as
expert Matt Guppy closes in to lap him.

This was a very tight grouping for the Championship class after such a long first lap and it was obvious even at this stage that this could well prove to be a battle that would be keenly fought throughout the entire day – and we were not wrong!

Clubman o40 Nick Derham enjoying this very picturesque and
long meandering track through a fresh plantation.

KTM144 mounted Ashley Scott No52 was leading the Experts at the end of the one lap mark by three seconds from Tom Hinkley No60. Thirty five seconds later third place Dan Thorne No43 clocked through, but there was a long way to go yet and big changes were anticipated in this hotly contested class.

Expert Over 35 Danny Hall No213 Honda250 showed that he was still a force to be reckoned with when he completed the first lap four minutes quicker than the younger Experts! He was closely followed through by Yamaha250 mounted No215 Rob Richards - only two minutes adrift at this stage.

Even the flat bits proved to be very greasy
on and off throughout the race.

KTM300 rider Paul Oconnell No107 lead the Clubman 2 stroke pack through lap one with Ollie Hicks No105 pressing him hard on a Husqvarna125. On only a slightly slower pace was Mark Rayers No167 riding a KTM510 in the Clubman 4stroke class who was battling to stay in front of No153 Sophie Thomas on a KXF250, - herself only one minute behind and pushing hard.

Clubman Over 40’s rider Jim Munden No258 KTM125 set a first lap pace that would have seen him leading the Experts by over two minutes! Doing equally well at this stage was leading Sportsman No313 Jay Cross, but could he hold on for the full three hours?

Chris Dustow was forced to retire due to an inflamed knee. Here Mike Roose is explaining that it's probably aggravated by his excess height!

The twelve 14-16 year olds who lined up at the start displayed fantastic courage and ability. It was a very tough and long race for everyone, especially when the off-cambered downhills became slippery - they were frightening. Yet all the youngsters just got stuck in, gritted their teeth and got on with the job. The smaller wheels of the 85’s were certainly at a disadvantage getting stuck in the ruts made by the bigger bikes. Yet at the end of the day only one youth rider DNF’d – young Ben Roberts, but even he managed three laps and was doing well until forced to retire.

Young Dominic Thomas fought hard for 1st place
in the 14-16yr Junior class.

Tales and snippets ….

No61 was one of the first retirements returning to his trailer with a flat rear tyre after only half a lap. But he was not the only one to suffer a similar fate. Over 35 Expert Neil Kirby had also dropped his tyre pressure dangerously low in a risky bid to achieve more grip – on a Trials tyre that had seen better days. But it didn’t pay off and he struggled to finish the first lap before calling it a day.

Sportsman Alex Stevens No308 chose in his words ‘a sensible retirement’. It was only his third event and after one and a half laps of ‘more pushing and struggling than riding’, decided that discretion was the better part of valour and that he had better rest his body and save his bike.

Phil Studley heading for home holding onto champ class 3rd place.

Clubman 2-stroke rider Jed Treleaven No135 rode well to finish an eventual third in his class, but reported that he had taken a couple of ‘very quick’ trips over the bars during the day (I can guess where that might have been!)

Clubman 4-stroke rider Sophie Thomas No153 was seen circulating well after almost a year out of the sport and put in a creditable four laps on a bike which she has only recently acquired.

The slippery climbs and descents caused many a struggle and humorous situation…

Championship rider Steve Holcombe No15 rolled back into Gary McCoy No6 on a slick climb and couldn’t get going again and was just diverting when he was advised ‘don’t go down there, you’ll never get back up again (onto the track)’.

Clubman 4-stroke winner Andrew Smith No150 watched in awe as Championship rider Phil Studley got himself into some serious trouble after unintentionally descending off course through a steep wood and then had a four metre sheer drop to contend with – which he did admirably.

It appears that many a rider had ended up similarly placed according to marshals who had helped many lower their bike down in this very same spot. This section was at various times far too slippery to enable off-course riders to head back up.

Championship class rider Richard Tucker drops it on
this innocent looking letting Phil Studley pass.

By lap two Championship class rider Nick Life No7 had pulled only a few seconds lead from Chris Dustow No2, himself only five seconds in front of Richard Tucker No1. At this stage Andy Frost No10 was ten seconds adrift from Richard and the leading riders – which over 22 miles and an hours racing was as close as to make no difference. Ben Scott No11 and Phil Studley No3 were themselves only another fifteen seconds in arrears, this really was proving to be a very tight Championship battle.

But as they rode past the pits unexpectedly Chris Dustow dismounted and was massaging his leg. It turned out that a recent knee operation had started to aggravate and he couldn’t risk continuing. This forced retirement now place Richard Tucker in second spot as they tore off into lap three. …Meanwhile Phil Studley was now clawing his way up through the ranks.

Expert Ashley Scott placed rode to a strong 2nd place.

Final positions…

Around two hours in, as championship rider Richard Tucker slid off on a small off-cambered grassy corner in amongst newly planted saplings. Fellow classmate Phil Studley very close behind, found time to point, to ensure that I saw it and took a picture – as he moved up into third place!

At this juncture Nick Life was leading from Andy Frost by a healthy two minutes and when the flagged dropped it was Nick Life who took victory in the Championship class after an arduous three hours. Andy Frost despite puncturing on the last lap had held on to second spot seven minutes later, with Phil Studley hard on his heels only forty five seconds behind. Richard Tucker fought hard to fourth place five minutes later and Derek Bawn made fifth spot ten minutes later, just in front of No12 Mark Pickard in sixth.

Clubman o40 Arthur Johnson taking great care not to lose the front end.

After a battle royal and not too good a start, Tom Paully No44 on his Kawasaki250 stormed to the Expert win exactly two minutes in front of second place No52 Ashley Scott, who had fought so hard all day. Sam Cross No41 and Karl Langford No40 clocked through in third and fourth place respectively just a few minutes later.

Danny Hall pressed hard all day and was rewarded with the Expert Over 35 win by just over four minutes from Gary McCoy No229 who was two minutes in front of third place finisher Andy Scudamore No206.

Paul Oconnell kept the pressure on and the pace up giving him victory in the Clubman 2-stroke from second place Ollie Hicks who by this stage had dropped over twenty minutes off the pace, - but still seven minutes in front of third place Jed Treleaven. As the Clubman 4-stroke riders crossed the line it was Andrew Smith No150 who took the win, beating Mark Rayers – who had slipped from his early first place charge into second spot - by just over three minutes.

Toni Burrows took sixth spot in the Experts.

Although having set such a startling first lap pace, Clubman Over 40 rider Jim Munden still had to work really hard to ensure he stayed there when the chequered flag dropped. This he managed, despite No281 Hannes Tanzer’s charge on a KTM250 which netted him second place but seven minutes behind. Ian Clarke No307 fought his way through to number one spot in the Sportsman class passing Jay Cross who had to eventually settle for second.

The battle for the lead in the junior class was closely contested throughout the entire three hours, but when the flag dropped it was KX85 mounted No355 Dominic Thomas who took first place from No361 Harvey Darkrob Withy on a KTM250. Only just behind came No353 Scott Jenkins Kawasaki250 who took third place from No358 Dylan Baynton KTM85 in fourth.

Ollie Hicks rode well which netted him 2nd placed Clubman 2t.

Final comments…

Xmoor Club wish to extend their most grateful thanks to all the marshals and helpers who did such a great job on the day in very difficult conditions – and of course without whom these races could not run.

In any event such as this where it is a brand new track and especially over such a large circuit. It is impossible to predict how well the going will hold up under differing weather conditions. As it happened it was unlucky that overnight rain ‘greased’ the surface so badly making it very tricky for the less experienced riders. However the Xmoor club acted quickly and marshals wisely re-routed as and when problems became apparent. This was unfortunate for some riders, but most importantly, it kept the track ride-able for all.

The weather finally cleared late in the day after the race had finished and typically, during clearing up in the breeze the sun came out. The conditions improved so much so quickly, that I even heard someone say ‘Now even mum could have ridden the whole circuit’.

Re-routing tracks is always a difficult call but sometimes an absolute necessity. I have been caught by it in the past and have no doubt gained at times and lost at others. - But that’s Enduro!

The Xmoor club had put on an amazing event in what was on the day, very difficult conditions. Despite the initial weather creating an arduous race, all I spoke to had had a thoroughly good time – even those that had retired early!

Race Results:

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