Event Reports

I was looking forwards to the next weekend down at the Sprint Enduro in Northants.
To anybody who is thinking about doing one of these sprints just do one, they are brilliant, pure racing.
Go and almost bag bars with World, European and National Enduro, Motox and Trials champions and the best riders in the country all in one arena, superb fun. Just join in and if I can get round any average clubman can. A friendly atmosphere, quiet and relaxed but very slick and professional this is racing at its purest form. You against the clock and you get to pan your bike around an amazing course!
Going down was Stuy, Craig and myself, plus Brenda and Phil Reynolds, Owen, Heather and Josh.
We got there on Friday with plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere, walk the course and look at the extreme sections (oh yeah, I forgot to mention they put extreme bits in). These particular ones consisted of logs, concrete blocks, water pipes, big tyres, little tyres, rock sections (narly) doubles (if your brave) more tyres and car ramps then out on to fast big corners. Tight twisty woods with roots and sandy corners. Then an old railway embankment which we used like a giant half pipe up and down half a dozen times more flat outness, a bit more tyres, rocks and a water splash just to get the white bits then more fast grassy grippy corners then bag it home across the beam job done. You get to do that 8 times on Saturday. My best time was 10.42 which was average time for the back end of the clubman and the fast boys were doin 9s.
Then you’ve got the really fast boys. You've got under 19, u23, experts, elite and clubman which is a mix of club/vets. The elite boys were pushing 8s unbeliveable! On walking the course on Friday in the rock section (there were two but one was particular bad) I saw my name chizzled in a big ugly rock. I bet you can guess what's coming next? yep sure enough, BOOM! I had hit my target. Bike facing the opposite way and upside down, me sprawled face down on getting up to various Ooos, ahhs and sniggers which was mostly Stuy and Craig. Nice vee shaped dint in my new acropovic can and bent rear disk. The next lap went something like the first but then I had it dialled and did 4 good tests in a row, then the last 2 were crap.You get about twenty mins inbetween tests so plenty of time to do what you have to do, but at the end your bolloxed.
I got completely spoilt by Heather and Brenda and it was a superb day with good racing in good company.
Sunday they reverse the course, which made it slightly easier over the extreme bits as this way was the natural flow of enduroland.
I got a good start blasting round and feeling good then on my second test, half way round, I lost my ability to change gear. I kept it in 4th and got back to tighten it up. Shit! its already tight! it must have snapped gear shaft. After about three mins Owen had pulled it apart like a surgeon. Go and get one I’ll have it in before your times up. Off I ran but to no avail, I have a habit of busting unobtainable parts.
Both Stuy and Craig were flying round putting in good times doin 8.50s. So both had good results. Stuy binned it on the last test and landed on his arse and he ran round rubin it for 2 mins. Not a good move as the extreme sections were where most of the crowed was watching, ha.
So all in all, it still remains the best fun you can have without taking your clothes off.Regards, Graham Howes.