::: HANTS AND DORSET YOUTH MOTOCROSS CLUB :::

MATCHAMS provided plenty of sun and sand, but life was far from a beach for more than 200 pilgrims who worshipped at the spiritual home of moto-cross on July 6.

Decades after the undulating dunes regularly tested the world’s best in the Hants Grand International, the Matchams circuit which virtually straddles the boundary of the two counties played host to the Hants and Dorset Youth Moto-Cross Club’s future champions..

And it was a former IMBA European campaigner Terry House who used his international experience to become the day’s undisputed sandmeister with three superlative displays of how to ride the rough sandy stuff while protégé Ben Milward posed for the pit straight photographers in his expert plus wake.

Although an elite echelon of the more proficient novices, headed by ever-improving Dave Lopez, made light of the conditions many among the packed entry, by contrast, foundered in the deep sand and fell by the wayside on a track that took no prisoners.

Kurt Freeguard had looked set to seal the Seniors but a third race DNF handed the laurels to Ryan Seabright while recent leader of the pack Danny Nash inherited runner-up spot ahead of a consistent Ashley Smith.

Visitors dominated the Inter 100s with former H & D hero Ryan Leat taking top honours and Ben Ansty making a spirited challenge to claim third spot behind Max Tranah who got better as the day and track wore on.

Such was the cut and thrust in the Inter 85 category that the consistency of Ross Keyworth with a first and two fourths and runner-up and Aaron Carmicheal with a first and two fifths outpointed rivals with less stamina and stickability.

And consistency was the key to yet another Dean Cummings triumph in the juniors, although he never won a race! Lewis Trickett took the flag first and second time out but never made the finish in the final heat won by eventual runner up George Baylis.

Autos, even on a shortened course, bravely battled the bumps but Oliver Jones was again matchless in the water-cooled category where Jack Jenner’s third race slip nearly let Tyler Ringwood-Hoare into second place overall. Alice Monks scored a victory for girl power by taking the third race win among the air-cooled autos headed by Carl Noble.

Expert Plus

1) 24 Terry House 2) 2 Ben Milward 3) 72 Phil Lewis 4) 74 Brett Wheeler 5) 95 Jonathan Courage 6) 1 Phil Whetren

Novice

1) 67 Dave Lopez 2) 77 Alan Parker 3) 74 Stephen Bain 4) 4 Richard Howting 5) 80 Martin Mabey 6) 49 Mike Matthews

Senior

1) 49 Ryan Seabright 2) 10 Danny Nash 3) 46 Ashley Smith 4) 3 Lee Cummings 5) 28 Lewis Hall 6) 8 Dan Lynn

Inter 100

1) 122 Ryan Leat 2) 311 Max Tranah 3) 91 Ben Ansty 4) 170 Billy Webster 5) 134 Lloyd Nightingale 6) 5 Damien Weedon

Inter 85

1) 441 Jamie Smith 2) 80 Aaron Carmichael 3) 20 Ross Keyworth 4) 98 Luke Wilkinson 5) 1 Alex Hussey 6) 88 Ashley Bailey

Senior

1) 2 Dean Cummings 2) 11 George Bayliss 3) 22 Jordan Murphy 4) 12 Ryan Butler 5) 50 Lee Wren 6) 28 Ross Churchill

Auto (watercooled)

1) 5 Oliver Jones 2) 9 Jack Jenner 3) 31 Tyler R Hoare 4) 3 Jack Whetren 5) 20 Jack Howe 6) 40 Jack Alderton

Auto (aircooled)

1) 37 Carl Noble 2) 2 Alice Monks 3) 18 Jac Monks 4) 7 Soul Ki Aries 5) 45 Nathan Wakefield 6) 6 Oscar Schmidt

IT STARTED as a grassy hillside – a welcome change from the barren bumps of Matchams a fortnight earlier – but it didn’t take long for the greensward to turn to dust beneath the wheels of another Hants & Dorset YMC huge entry for its meeting at Bere Regis.

On the other side of the hedge from the usual Rogers Farm circuit, the sweeping hillside track made for some fast and furious racing and close-fought dust ups in most groups.

Brett Wheeler returning to the Hants & Dorset fold where he served his Senior apprenticeship twice showed a clean pair of wheels to Jonathan Courage at the head of the Expert Plus pack before settling for a safe second and overall honours in the third heat.

Paul Curtis found the consistency that has deserted him previously to take the spoils in the novice ranks where it took a tie-break to separate last race winner Alan Parker and arch-rival Steve Bain for runner up spot after a day of mixed fortunes for both of them.

Danny Nash was back on form to make a clean sweep of the Senior section while Ashley Smith and Dean Hillier ate his dust in their nip and tuck battle for to decide the silver and bronze placings.

Marcus Feltham was equally peerless among the Inter 100s where after a first race blip Neil Watton posted two seconds but still came off second best in a tie-break for second overall with the more consistent Gary Malkin.

Yet another tie break was needed to settle the Inter 85s where Carl Miles won the opening Inter 85 encounter but had to play second fiddle to Tony Cook for the rest of the day while Luke Wilkinson was never far behind the leading duo.

Jordan Murphy was the fizziest of the orange squash at the front of the Junior pack taking all three races at the expense of Dean Cummings while Lee Wren held third perch on the podium.

While Oliver Jones notched up his customary maximum in the watercooled autos Tyler Ringwood-Hoare posted a solid three thirds to take second overall after Jake Jenner faltered in the final race.

In a battle of the sexes Carl Noble and Alice Monks took turns to chase each other over the line while Soul Ki Aries led the rest of the air-cooled gang in a game of catch up.

Expert Plus

1) 74 Brett Wheeler 2) 95 Jonathan Courage 3) 6 Mike Walbrin 4) 33 David Gane 5) 1 Phil Whetren 6) 34 Chris Adlem

Novice

1) 14 Paul Curtis 2) 77 Alan Parker 3) 74 Stephen Bain 4) 28 Paul Grubb 5) 41 Colin Ayres 6) 99 Mike Matthew

Senior

1) 10 Danny Nash 2) 46 Ashley Smith 3) 87 Dean Hillier 4) 19 Chris Patrick 5) 72 Alex Martin 6) 15 Dean Clark

Inter 100

1) 68 Marcus Feltham 2) 76 Gary Malkin 3) 7 Neil Watton 4) 64 Josh House 5) 2 Buster Whetren 6) 14 Tom Thorne

Inter 85

1) 63 Carl Miles 2) 31 Tony Cook 3) 98 Luke Wilkinson 4) 62 Liam Perry 5) 4 Ryan Carter 6) 2 Jody Samways

Junior

1) 22 Jordan Murphy 2) 2 Dean Cummings 3) 50 Lee Wren 4) 51 Jamie Mole 5) 37 Chris Gunther 6) 77 Robbie Lapham

Auto (watercooled)

1) 5 Oliver Jones 2) 31 Tyler R Hoare 3) 9 Jack Jenner 4) 3 Jack Whetren 5) 20 Jack Howe 6) 40 Jack Alderton

Auto (aircooled)

1) 37 Carl Noble 2) 2 Alice Monks 3) 7 Soul Ki Aries 4) 18 Jac Monks 5) 45 Nathan Wakefield 6) 6 Oscar Schmidt

RACING was hot, hot, hot and the ground hard, hard, hard despite the dowsings with a bowser when the Hants and Dorset flying circus touched down for a second time this season on the edge of the Henstridge airfield.

Even a swarm of microlights and autogyros which buzzed and flitted around the aerodrome couldn't match the pace, height, air time and engine noise of the pilots throwing their machinery off the mad made jumps with gay abandon.

And no one was flying higher than junior jockey Lee Wren proving his two-day success was no fleeting flash as he and runner-up George Bayliss left regular front runners Jordan Murphy and Dean Cummings in the comparative shade.

There was no respite from the heat of battle further up the older orange brigade as Jonathan Courage was squeezed hard by David Gane at the top of the expert plus tree with hardy annual Chris Adlem outpacing the budding talents of Richard Small and Matt Carter.

Summer visitor Paul Feltham made his presence felt in the novice mix but couldn't split the combination of Steve Bain and Alan Parker which has largely made the group their own this year.

Likewise Danny Nash tightened his grip on the senior category with another effortless romp to leave Dean Hillier and Ashley Smith to follow in his dusty trail.

In the ever-competitive environs of the Inters it was the turn of Marcus Feltham to make hay in the 100s while aptly-numbered Alex Hussey had the edge over Luke Wilkinson in the 85s.

With Oliver Jones taking his customary cake walk at the front of the watercooled autos attention focussed on which of the Jack pack would take second spot with master Jenner outpointing his namesakes.

Karl Noble was the class act of the air cooled autos where Alice Monks is making a habit of being runner up, this time at the expense of Harry Shearman.

Expert Plus

1) 95 Jonathan Courage 2) 33 David Gane 3) 34 Chris Adlem 4) 76 Richard Small 5) 41 Matt Carter 6) 27 Dean Taylor

Novice

1) 74 Stephen Bain 2) 77 Alan Parker 3) 95 Paul Feltham 4) 3 Mark Honeybun 5) 79 Richard Beattie 6) 41 Colin Ayres

Senior

1) 10 Danny Nash 2) 87 Dean Hillier 3) 46 Ashley Smith 4) 72 Alex Martin 5) 20 Adam Pope 6) 3 Lee Cummings

Inter 100

1) 68 Marcus Feltham 2) 7 Neal Watton 3) 64 Josh House 4) 88 Ross Hill 5) 14 Tom Thorne 6) 76 Gary Malkin

Inter 85

1) 1 Alex Hussey 2) 98 Luke Wilkinson 3) 20 Ross Keysworth 4) 31 Tony Cook 5) 63 Carl Miles 6) 4 Ryan Carter

Junior

1) 50 Lee Wren 2) 11 GeorgeBayliss 3) 22 Jordan Murphy 4) 2 Dean Cummings 5) 51 Jamie Mole 6) 37 Chris Gunther

Auto (watercooled)

1) 5 Oliver Jones 2) 9 Jack Jenner 3) 20 Jack Howe 4) 3 Jack Whetren 5) 31 Tyler Hoare 6) 40 Jack Alderton

Auto (aircooled)

1) 37 Karl Noble 2) 2 Alice Monks 3) 23 Harry Shearman 4) 45 Nathan Wakefield 5) 7 Soul Ki Aries 6) 6 Oscar Schmidt

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MAX UNMATCHED AT MATCHAMS

NATIONAL youth squad member Max Anstie lived up to his name and credentials with a maximum in the junior category when Hants & Dorset YMC made a return visit to the barren sands of Matchams.

The junior jockey showed the rest of his group and any older riders who had the nous to take note just how to ride the notorious Matchams bumps and berms, as his green machine flattened the orange fizz that normally bubbles to the top in the 65s class.

But for most of the rest it was a gruelling grind for bike and rider battling with the shifting sands and a high attrition rate saw a number fall by the wayside, not least Inter 85 bronze medallist Carl Miles wiped out on the table top in a post flag collision with another rider.

A no-score for first race winner Scott Clifford meant Luke Wilkinson soared to the top of the Inter 85 young shavers, though Tony Cook was rarely more than a whisker away.

The results showed that Oliver Jones didn’t have it all his own way in the Autos and twice followed Jack Jenner across the line, but still topped the charts thanks to a first race win tie-break.

Meanwhile, the air-cooled, tiny-wheeled autos fell to Karl Noble with Nathan Wakefield taking advantage of a last race slip by Alice Monks to secure runner up spot.

Visitor Luke Priddle emulated his illustrious father to top the inter 100s where Damien Weedon ws riding like a man possessed to grab second place overall ahead of an on-song Lloyd Nightingale after hard-charging Neil Watton came to grief in the final encounter.

Even the front runners among the novices appeared to be struggling with the conditions but not even new member and third race winner Ben Booley could manage to split the Bain-Parker axis which dominates this group.

Ricky Fenton completed a clean sweep in the depleted expert plus field where gritty Phil Whetren was a deserved runner-up ahead of young guns Joe Clark and Michael Bailey.

In a day of ups and downs for most of the senior runners consistency almost paid dividends for Lee Cummings whose fifth and two thirds gave him just one point fewer than overall winner Danny Nash whose two race wins were almost negated by a third heat disaster while Ryan Seabright’s copy book was badly blotted when he struggled home a lowly 27th in the second race.

RESULTS – Matchams 31st August

Expert Plus

1) 50 Ricky Fenton 2) 1 Phil Whetren 3) 15 Joe Clark 4) 57 Michael Bailey 5) 33 David Gane 6) 88 Luke Dewey

Novice

1) 74 Stephen Bain 2) 77 Alan Parker 3) 14 Ben Pooley 4) 3 Mark Honeybun 5) 13 Lee Freemantle 6) 69 Scott Travers

Senior

1) 10 Danny Nash 2) 3 Lee Cummings 3) 46 Ashley Smith 4) 2 Ross Copsey 5) 190 Chris Bennett 6) 49 Ryan Seabright

Inter 100

1) 152 Luke Priddle 2) 5 Damien Weedon 3) 84 Luke Nightingale 4) 16 Gareth Blakemore 5) 68 Marcus Feltham 6) 7 Neal Watton

Inter 85

1) 98 Luke Wilkinson 2) 31 Tony Cook 3) 63 Carl Miles 4) 4 Ryan Carter 5) 33 Sam Nicholls 6) 7 Ben Weedon

Junior

1) 9 Max Anstie 2) 4 Lewis Trickett 3) 2 Dean Cummings 4) 22 Jordan Murphy 5) 168 Charlie Creech 6) 50 Lee Wren

Auto (watercooled)

1) 5 Oliver Jones 2) 9 Jack Jenner 3) 3 Jack Whetren 4) 31 Tyler Hoare 5) 20 Jack Howe 6) 40 Jack Alderton

Auto (aircooled)

1) 37 Karl Noble 2) 45 Nathan Wakefield 3) 18 Jac Monks 4) 6 Oscar Schmidt 5) 17 Lewis Dowding 6) 19 Keiron Knight

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THE ROCKS may have rolled away but there was enough chalk dust to keep even John McEnroe happy when Hants & Dorset YMC made a return visit to the aptly-named Foxholes track at Bishopstone.

Not that there was much dust when the novices acted as ground breakers to find the recently watered hard packed chalk more slippery than an ice rink, with several notable names measuring their length in practice.

Steve Bain and Alan Parker recovered to renew their rivalry and the bravado of young gun Ben Bosley kept the crowds entertained, but it was returning renegade Mark Bridgewater who stole the show and the laurels.

Likewise erstwhile Inter 100 kingpin Richard Leat made a triumphant return to the Hants & Dorset ranks to wrap up an emaciated expert plus line-up thinned further by the withdrawal of several regular front runners including Chris Adlem, Matt Carter and Jimmy Hendry.

By contrast the ever-populous Juniors were swelled by several visitors although home grown heroes held sway with Dean Cummings ruling the roost over a resurgent George Bayliss who relegated Jordan Murphy to an unaccustomed third overall.

Alex Hussey bounced back from a first race fourth to steal the next two Inter 85 races and with it the overall verdict from Tony Cook ahead of first race winner Luke Wilkinson whose edge was blunted with a second heat fifth place.

Lewis Palmer and Neil Watton indulged in some epic scraps in the Inter 100s with the laurels going to the former while a spirit performance by Tom Thorne, showing no ill effects from the concussion that knocked him out of Matchams, made the other front runners work hard for their placings.

But the scorers needed no head scratching to determine that with three wins apiece Oliver Jones (water) and Carl Noble (air) were the automatic winners of their respective cadet classes.

And Ryan Seabright finally managed to prise loose the stranglehold Danny Nash has had on the Seniors group and three thirds added up to second spot for the consistent Ashley Smith.

Expert Plus

1) 46 Richard Leat 2) 33 David Gane 3) 94 Clifford Lee

4) 87 Carl Warwick 5) 64 James Bartholomew 6) 15 Joe Clark

Novice

1) 177 Mark Bridgewater 2) 74 Stephen Bain 3) 77 Alan Parker

4) 14 Ben Bosley 5) 5 Steve Groome 6) 41 Colin Ayles

Senior

1) 49 Ryan Seabright 2) 46 Ashley Smith 3) 10 Danny Nash

4) 19 Chris Patrick 5) 75 Danny Riggs 6) 3 Lee Cummings

Inter 100

1)1 Lewis Palmer 2)76 Gary Malkin 3) 7 Neal Watton

4) 68 Marcus Feltham 5) 5 Damien Weedon 6) 14 Tom Thorne

Inter 85

1) 1 Alex Hussey 2) 31 Tony Cook 3) 98 Luke Wilkinson

4) 20 Ross Keyworth 5) 33 Sam Nicholls 6) 63 Carl Miles

Junior

1) 2 Dean Cummings 2) 11 George Bayliss 3) 22 Jordan Murphy

4) 50 Lee Wren 5) 51 Jamie Mole 6) 28 Ross Churchill

Auto (watercooled)

1) 5 Oliver Jones 2) 3 Jack Whetren 3) 9 Jack Jenner

4) 40 Jack Alderton 5) 31 Tyler R Hoare 6) 20 Jack Howe

Auto (aircooled)

1) 37 Karl Noble 2) 45 Nathan Wakefield 3) 2 Alice Monks

4) 77 Harris Fisher 5) 18 Jac Monks 6) 7 Soul Ki-Aries

AFTER laying fallow since the rain-affected two-day two years ago, the Langton Long track near Blandford was dusted off for the Hants and Dorset YMC penultimate championship meeting on September 28.

But it was the club that was ‘dusted off’ by the track as the parched ground turned into impenetrable clouds of choking, blinding dust which forced organisers to curtail the meeting to just two blocks of races.

A good start was not only essential to ensure visibility but a track of two halves – searingly fast straights linked by single line tight chicanes and awkward off-camber turns – made overtaking difficult.

Sam Nicholls, always there or thereabouts in the Inter 85s this season, took full advantage of the conditions to post a first race win which he followed up with a third second time out en route to overall runner-up spot behind Luke Wilkinson while regular front runners spluttered in their dusty wake.

The only dust Alan Parker was eating was from the lapped backmarkers as he trounced the novice group where the consistency of Richard Beattie was rewarded by a second overall ahead of Steve Bain on a borrowed bike.

Jac Monks threatened an upset in the air-cooled autos when he won the first race but normal order was restored when Karl Noble took the second heat and with it the overall, while the water-cooled boys found their own level with Oliver Jones leading home Jacks Jenner, Whetren and Howe each time out.

Dean Cummings also enjoyed the visual benefits of leading from gate to post in the junior encounters where Jordan Murphy and Lee Wren held station in second and third while Edward Yule logged a best ever fourth overall.

After Joe Clark – or more accurately dad Craig - was left to push his bike back to the pits after their first race clash, the Experts Plus field was a two-horse race between David Gane and Richard Leat with each taking a first and second while canny Chris Adlem pipped Jamie Chapman for third spot.

A second race slip by Danny Nash in the second senior encounter paved the way for Neal Paddington to make a triumphant return to the Hants and Dorset fold where he learned his craft as a junior.

And Inter 100 victor Ryan Leat, riding as a visitor, was other returning prodigal who covered himself in glory, albeit only after a tiebreak gave him the verdict over home club hero Lewis Palmer.