Event Reports

 Since then Hawkstone has always had iconic status for me, so getting a chance to ride a hare and hounds on some of the circuit was just too good a chance to miss.WOR had a full 2 days of races to try to generate as much revenue as possible due to the extremely massive cost of hiring the venue, a red practice day, 2 Motoduro’s and a quad race on the Saturday, and on Sunday a kids race, a  sportsman/veterans race and a premier clubman, expert, pro race.

 All races were very well attended and there was a really good vibe in the paddock on Saturday night, unfortunately we had missed all the Saturday racing due to having to recover from a night out on Friday and cleaning/prepping the bike from the welsh 2 day.  After Walking a bit of the course I could tell the riding was going to be excellent as the motocross track and the surrounding area is all sand, the wooded sections were extremely loamy and some large deep whoops were in places from previous races, unfortunately the motocross hill was not to be included, but on the plus side the “bombhole” and the “girling leap” were included in the course. 

Sunday was tipped to be the hottest day of the year and for once the forecasters were correct, the weather was stunning and very, very hot. The kids had there fun first and some were extremely fast in the very dusty un-watered sand, which was to be a major problem of this event (if not for this year). 

The 2hr veterans/sportsman race set off and as the classes set off the dust got increasingly worse as the dust just settled in the air, there was a large start line crash in one group, and I definitely saw one rider go over the bars, ‘but I suppose that’s racing’ in these conditions. I watched a fair bit of this race and it was a joy to watch riders dropping into the “bomb hole” and you could tell riders were having lots of fun, the fun was at a cost though as many riders succumbed and retired due to the increasing heat.

 My race started at 1.30pm and all classes were very well represented, the race time had also been shortened to 2 hours due to the heat of the day. The start had been shortened greatly to cut down on the amount of dust kicked up and I was to be set off in the last group (clubman 2 st).After promising to the wife to take it steady on the start as she was worried about the dust/vision levels I ended up 4^th  into the first corner (sorry wife)!!!!!

 The good start ensured I could get out of the dust on the first couple of laps, on the second lap a very steep rocky descent was put in, with a sharp turn and tricky off camber climb out from the bottom, the descent had been used for the other bike races, but did not include the added on climb, lots of riders struggled here and this bit was unfortunately cut out.

In some places following the bike in front was near impossible as you could not see for the fine deep dust kicked up from bikes in front, the dust did subside as the field thinned out though, the circuit was a joy to ride on and the harder you rode the better it felt, you rarely needed the brakes as large deep berms quickly built up in the corners, ride in, throttle off, hit the sandy berm and fire the bike out as hard as you could, absolutely brilliant!

The heat was really unbearable and sustaining a quick pace was for me not possible as I was feeling really drained of energy, I slowed down to conserve energy, it was not long before man 17 rider Ash Wilde came steaming past, conditions ideal for the motocross rider, I was quite pleased to see Stuart Owen pass me on my 4^th lap, a man 17 rider who is getting faster race by race.

Once I got confident on the jumps I was soon dropping into the “bombhole” and trying for a bit of distance on the jumps, the expert and pro class was really flying over the jumps. The sandy conditions were causing lots of problems for riders not used to riding sand, Lots more riders were struggling with the heat and many riders were hiding in the woods taking a much need breather/drink, fitness was going to be just as a big issue as rider skill.

 At 1 hour 15min I got the signal to pit and went in for fuel and some more drink, unfortunately I think the heat got the better of me and I felt really not quite right, as if somehow someone had filled my body full of lead, the wife managed to get some cold water and tipped it over my head and back, ‘which was a bit of shock to say the least’, and I recovered in about 10 to 15 minutes, with so much time lost, a good result was out the window and I went back out to get a finish, once back riding I felt a lot more settled and managed a couple of good laps, untill I started to feel the heat again, I then rode slowly for the last 2 laps to get to the finish.

 Ash Wilde did 16 laps and won the experts, he managed 2^nd overall beating some very good pro riders.

Stuart Owen did extremely well and managed 14 laps and got 4^th in experts.

I managed to get 11 laps and  23^rd in clubman 

 If it was not for the heat, I think this would have been the best hare and hounds I have done for a while, a stunning iconic location, amazing weather, fantastic sandy riding and a really flowing fun course.

Due to the nature of the terrain no other course I have ridden,  can offer this sort of riding experience. A great effort by all at WOR and I hope this venue/event becomes part of the usual WOR calendar as I now want to ride the course in normal UK conditions, cold and wet!