www.hrc1.org
www.hrc1.org
NOVEMBER NUMBER 118
NEWS AND COMMENT
***IT’S ALL BEER AND SKITTLES***
READ ALL ABOUT IT!!
We are arranging an evening at the
Bull’s Head, Ewhurst having visited to see what is available. The
skittles alley is in a separate building equipped with its own bar and
open fire. It will be open from 7 – 11 pm though of course the pub
is open earlier. They require a minimum of 30 people at £11
(HR will charge £10) per head and this includes food with 3 options,
Chicken Chasseur, Steak & Kidney Pie or Vegetarian Lasagne, all served
with potatoes and peas. The food is served about 8.15 pm. The
club has to make a deposit to book a date now and confirm numbers and selections
a week prior to the event. Maximum number is 60 and partners, offspring
(not too young) are all welcome and everyone will get to roll a ball or
two! Target date is Saturday January 29th or Saturday February 12th
- will confirm date asap…..
IF WE KNOW ……….
Who’s coming and we’ve got at least 30 heads. A booking form is inside this Newsletter. Please complete and return it in the next day or two, no money required at this stage. Or you can phone details to Dick or Fiona or email Fiona on fionahusband@hotmail.com.
WE PROMISE A GREAT EVENING
IF OVER SUBSCRIBED IT’S FIRST
COME FIRST SERVED!
OUT AND ABOUT
Away from the closed world of Horsham
Riders Club trials other events take place, somewhere every weekend.
So where we spot or hear of members rides it is reported.
Worthing Twin Shock Trial
Appropriately Clint won this event
run in memory of mate Ray Bean. Clint riding his TLR Honda (they’re
going for 2 ½ grand now!) lost only 9 marks. In 2nd place
on a 410 Matchless was Len Hutty, and lugging that heap about he unsurprisingly
dropped 23.
Also in the novice category it was
good to see our racing scribe Garry B in top spot on that old red Fantic
which he rides amazingly well, dropping 11 marks to the second guys 14.
OK Supreme Long Distance Trial
– Leamington Lakes
Mike had another good ride on his
Pampera and came in 3rd losing only 2 marks to the winners clean sheet
but John Richmond fell off on the long side and came to ‘arm. Least
he thought he’d broken it and they got an ambulance in which a charming
nurse lugged his limbs this way and that saying ‘does it hurt?’ as he didn’t
pass out they sent him home and Mike had to drive.
Waterside MCC Club Trial - Farley
Not really worthy of mention but
Pete Penton’s name appears 3rd in the experts – it’s his first local event
since moving to Corfe Castle – he’s gone West!
Remembrance Day Problem
It comes up every year and we always
apologise to the group for the date clash when they put the Group event
on a week early (AMCA rules). However as only about 5% of our members
ride groups we still run our club trial for the benefit of the other 95%.
Lakes Two Day Trial - Cumbria
Now this is high up the national
list of events with world class riders Jarvis and Connor taking part –
not the sort of event you’d think Mike would enter even if they did have
a Clubman route. With about 200 taking part all but 22 were in that
group with the winner losing 74 apparently the Clubman said it was a bit
OTT and Mikes score? – 252! (but one idiot was on 323!)
HAVE YOU GOT NEWS FOR US FROM ANOTHER WORLD – Let Dick know.
LAST MINUTE.COM – XMAS NEWS
Have you penned that article you
promised the editor a long time ago – there’s just time to get it in the
December issue if you do it now!
THE GREEVIES
NATIONAL Club Trial (?) at Northlands
As it was Group day we only anticipated
40 riders, how wrong can you be - 62 turned up, some who enjoy self flagellation
were pleased, others enquired ‘who set this one out!’ It wasn’t that
there had been overnight rain, just that the clay was wet anyway without
the carried water, so some high numbers will go on your ladder record.
The aptly name Greevies team Kevin
Thompson, Pete Bowker, Chris Ronalds and Paul Hill set long sections and
nearly ran out of flags, on site early they had a long day complimented
with the large entry, only Pete and Paul took part in the trial (what did
the others know?) At signing on Tea Bag had no bike, it was being
overhauled by a mate who had a ‘Dear John’ letter, whilst the machine was
not hostage yet, it wasn’t Dave’s either.
Nice to see Colin Harwood back in
the saddle though not for long, after he’d looked and watched and taken
a five here and there the bike looked safer on the trailer. Parking
problems abounded in the wet, latecomers had to block the passage,
Duncan had had a lay in, Alan Lavender
was talked into entering whites, a situation he regretted by section 6,
saying that they were unsuitable for fat old men!
It was Pete Brooker who came up
with the best tale having been an hour trying to start his van and doing
all manner of things to get it to go, he goes indoors only for her at home
to timidly and tentatively suggest it could be the key, he tries another,
the van starts, STUPID MAN, says Mrs. B.
Whilst the old geezer at the caravan
was still trying to sell the Skittles night the trial started and those
who were to get the low scores shot off - not Adrian Bee who for the next
30 mins kicked his Sherco until his inner liquids exhausted themselves
through the pores - when it did go a fog descended over Horsham.
Whites, we finally got 5 of them
with Alan entering as an Inter - ‘Oh well - I’ll win it if I’m the only
one’. Then Duncan came along so things didn’t look so promising till
his brake rod broke doing these big stream jumps so Alan had his win (on
107!) In the Experts visitor Dan Clarke had a super time only dropping
6 marks, his feet hardly touched the ground and from the sections I saw
neither did the bike. It’s always a shock to see Clint not in No.
1 spot - he said it was hard and that we’ll be hearing from his solicitors!
Then seeing how well John Penfold’s
TLR Honda had gripped on the blue route Clint said this Mont has to go,
obviously thought he’d have been better on his Honda. Pete Bowker
having set the route didn’t say it was hard but his 71 loss told the story.
Tea Bag walked the route with me,
it seemed the real difficulties started at section 4.
We enjoyed watching fallers and
pushers, Andy Martin, John Pocklington, those that struggled and got up,
Jesse and Pete B and the cream John Penfold, Duncan, Robert Lavender and
Dave Blackman.
It was also an eye opener to see
Nick H’s 125 Scorpa grip away on quite low revs to go up with ease as did
young Ben Philpot but it got much worse. Section 5 had a nasty gully
- we saw umpteen 5’s then along came Adrian Steele and cleaned it.
Impressed we moved to section 6
where blues had a ditch crossing requiring a prayer before riding, Jesse
even managed a dab there but Adrian surprised with a 5. In particular
these sections were getting bypassed by several later on but Tony Flegg
pressed on not seeming to notice some bits and got 2nd place only 2 back
from the leader. Garry B found it a bit OTT on his old Fantic, riding
with Kevin B, he should have been encouraged seeing him drop 75% of the
maximum possible! Jesse led Dave B by just one mark, when Mark J
handed in his card, I asked how it went, he replied ‘OK only dropped 19.….
I mean 119! Only 59% of the riders finished the blue route, even
Benge dnf but he was still smiling.
Yellows has a slightly easier (?)
time than blues but all those that normally finish on single digit marks
on this route had another think coming when Over 50 leader Ray Broghton
and schoolboy Andrew Warr tied to lead yellows on 27 ml. Graham Knight
on 31 was first HR member home with Michael’s Hyden and Geal level pegging
to lead the HR schoolboys, all other Dominics (another name for HR boys)
hit 80+. Ken R is one used to single digits and he lost 59, then
came groups of 80’s, 90’s and 100’s, need I go on except that Katie was
pleased to beat Andy M by 7!
However most managed to struggle
round missing a few bits here and there and Mick Dunstan thought it was
a good 8 quids worth of torture. Paul Hill finished some and rode
his bike back to Southwater, if he didn’t scrounge a lift.
Ben Philpot, aged 10, our youngest
Schoolboy has maintained his domination on the Red route when the courses
get a bit drier he’ll be climbing a grade. Niall Spreadbury and Sam
H both finished, scores up a bit but it’s a real good result to just finish
in this one.
Finally thanks to all those Greevies
who lived up to their title and thanks to Clint for helping clear up,
a hard but enjoyable day had finished, so were we.
(pics from Steve Hook)
Footnote :
1. Jack Northover’s mum says the
only thing he reads is HR Newsletter so I have to put in some long words
to ‘learn him’……….like ‘BOTHER’ I’ve just had a 5!
2. I’ve got 22 names on the skittles
list, give me 8 more and then we can book it.
RESULTS
White
Blue
Yellow
Dan Clarke E 6
Adrian Steele O40 30
R Broughton O50 27
Clint Leggett E 26
Tony Flegg N 32
Andrw Warr SBC 27
Pete Bowker E 71
John Penfold O40 42
Graham Knight C 31
Alan Lavender I 107
kevin O'Riordan O40 48
Michael Hyden SBC 40
dnf Duncan Archer
Garry Budgen N 68
Michael Geal SBC 40
Sam Aldrich N 87
John Pocklington N 44
Red
Bob Reed N 88
Tom Kear C 46
Ben Philpot SB 30
Ian Spence N 102
Daniel Pople C 48
N Spreadbury SB 60
Jesse Brooker SBB 103
Kevin Geal C 52
Sam Husband SB 105
Dave Blakman N 104
Ken Rickets O50 59
R Willett O40 105
Richard Spence C 66
dnf Chris Wills, Dave
Martin Mark Johnson N 119
Connor Osbourne SBC 80
Kevin Brooker N 146
Pete Brooker C 84
Dominic Jarrett SBC 84
dnf Glen Jarvis, John Mitchell Nick Herridge C 84
P Main, Paul Pearson, Colin Jack Northover SBC
87
Harwood, Paul Pidgeon, Dan Rob Lavender SBC
92
Pidgeon, Benge, Charlie
Sam Osbourne SBC 94
Mick Dunstan C 99
Analysis Enter
DNF '%
Paul Hill C 102
White 5 1 80
Andy Pyke C 105
Blue 22 9 59
Andy Mckay C 112
Yellow 30 6 80
Katie Husband SBC 119
Red 5 2 60
Andy Martin C 126
Total 62 18 71
dnf Dominic Philpot, Dave Mears
Adrian Bee, Rob Hyden, Spencer
Page, Lee Heather
Brands Hatch
Indy Circuit
Back to Brands for our last meeting
of the season had us competing in the BEMSEE Club Nationwide Championships
Saturday & the MRO Championships Sunday. The weekend was going
to be a little different to normal as the newly crowned World Superbike
Champion James Toseland was coming along to do some demonstration laps
on Sunday as well as getting his Trophy presented in front of us all.
Our champion had already been decided but there was still a fight between
2nd & 3rd to be decided & I had to make sure I got a few points
to secure 4th place. Rain had been promised for Saturday but I was
lucky enough to get the bike scrutineered before it started & so got
back to the pit lane garage in time to swap my wheels over in the dry.
It wasn’t really wet for practise
but wet enough for wet tyres, so off we went to test the conditions &
familiarise ourselves with the circuit once again. By the time we
had our first race it was wet, but not quite “puddles”. Starting
on the front row I got away OK & found myself in 3rd, quickly passing
Richard Norris & Greville Ball who were too busy fighting with each
other for 2nd & 3rd in the championship to be worried about the race
itself! Phil Polden came by me & then got himself into 2nd place
which wasn’t what I needed if I came unstuck. The leader had already
cleared off into the distance, putting in lap times that would have been
respectable in the dry, and then came the attack from the MRO regulars
who had started a bit further down the grid. This became a good fight between
five of us & Phil gradually came back to me as the other three made
a small gap on us.
Last lap & I had to have a go
at Phil going into Paddock, which paid off, but knowing he’s strong into
Graham Hill Bend I made sure the line was covered & beat him to the
line to finish 6th. It’s always good to race with Phil as (I think!)
there’s a lot of mutual respect & as we were sharing a garage, lots
of opportunity to “discuss” the race….
Next race was proper wet!
This time starting 2nd row, we got
away OK & after the first couple of laps I was up into 3rd spot. I
then got knocked back down to 5th where I thought I was quite comfy.
Going into the last lap I was still
in 5th & noticed I was catching a back marker, which shouldn’t be a
problem. Riding in the rain definitely spreads the field out, you
get the front runners really going for it as though no one told them it
was wet & then you get the ones at the back who think they’re riding
on ice, which is not meant to be disrespectful, it’s just the way it is.
So I’m catching this back marker & all of a sudden I’m on him going
into Graham Hill Bend, but not quite close enough to make a pass going
in. Well, it is the last lap of the last race of the season & I’m comfy
in my 5th spot, so I took a wider exit to go round the outside. Stupid
idea, he’s bound to drift out, so I went to cut back up the inside by which
time I’ve lost all my speed, come out of the power band & four bikes
all come by me putting me back to 9th place. I dithered big time &
paid the price! Bugger! So not happy with my last result but happy
in the knowledge that I have got 4th in the championship.
Saturday night in the bar was busier
than normal, as everyone waited for James Toseland to turn up & play
the Grand Piano that had been bought in for the evening. When he offered
if anyone wanted to join him I was forced (!) to get up & sing, which
was a good moment to put in the memory banks. Sunday’s weather forecast
was better & we went out for practise on a drying damp track, but by
the time we went out for qualifying it was dry.
I was quite pleased to hang onto
a couple of the quicker guy’s & even got by one of them to post a time
good enough to get 11th spot on the grid, out of 31 starter’s.
Last race of the season, right in
the middle of the 3rd row & determined to make up for yesterdays mistake.
Lights on, wait for what seems like forever, lights out & go!
I think this was one of my best starts & I got up with the second row
starters going into Paddock. For the first few laps I hung onto Jay
Fernandez & Mark Waring as Mark tried everything to get by. This has
been great this season as you learn so much from being able to watch the
quick guy’s antics at close quarters. Eventually Mark got by
but soon pulled out with bike trouble.
Soon after this I noticed a front
wheel appear up the inside going into Paddock, it wasn’t close enough so
I just took my line & carried on until the next lap when I could see
the front wheel again & also a bit of blue fairing, which probably
meant Richard Norris having a go. But he still wasn’t close enough to take
seriously so I carried on. It was good to know that someone was there
as it made me hurry up a bit, or so I thought until Ollie Lindsell came
by going into Druids.
This turned into a good tussle for
about three laps as I out braked him, & also me, into Paddock allowing
him to come straight back by on the exit. A bit more positive next lap
made the move stick & I didn’t see him again. Coming into the
last lap I defended into Paddock & again into Druids to find someone
trying to come round the outside on the exit of the bend. I was already
drifting towards the outside when I saw a rider who can sometimes be a
bit “enthusiastic” trying to go where there wasn’t any track, and then
he gave me an elbow as if to say “excuse me”. Well I gave him an elbow
to say “go away” & then chopped him off going into Graham Hill Bend.
Thinking I had done enough I went round the final turn & buried myself
behind the screen to find him giving me a shoulder charge at about 120mph!
So fairs fair & he got one back
as we crossed the line. When I checked the results he wasn’t even
on the same lap as he had crashed earlier!! Anyway it made me grin
& I finished in 7th place, my best result in the MRO which made up
for yesterday’s little error.
Those of you who have followed me through the year may remember me saying I would like a top five in the BEMSEE championship & would be happy to score points at MRO level. Well, to finish 4th in the BEMSEE with some podium finishes on the way I’m really pleased about. The results I’ve had in the MRO gave me a 13th championship position, which is way beyond what I hoped for, so all in all a bloody good season! Of course you can’t do it all on your own so thanks to everyone who has helped, supported & shown an interest along the way, now, where’s that Trials bike?
Garry
Kindling for sale
Dad's really mean! He won't just buy me a new trials bike. So, to earn some money towards it, which dad will match £ for £, I am splitting kindling wood (environmentally friendly fire lighters). So, if you would like some delivered to the next trial, please phone Jesse Brooker on 01273 832912.
Prices: 25kg builders sack full (size not weight) £4.00 3 bags for £10.00 (much cheaper than the petrol station stuff!)
TRADE ADS(£5 per year for members businesses only - helps you and the club)
MERLIN MOTORCYCLES sells Gas
Gas, Sherco, Scorpa, Four Stroke Montesas & Beta Trials
and Gas Gas Enduro bikes. Offers spares, service & tunning too.
Also imports Honda XR’s and Yamaha XT660R and WR 450 F. www.motomerlin.co.uk
MERLIN BOOKS sell motorcycle
books and videos, new and secondhand - free catalogue or Secondhand motorcycle
books always wanted www.merlinbooks.com
Mike Husband 01403 257626
HEADLINE ENGINEERING For
aluminium and stainless welding - helicoil thread repairs - cylinder head,
brake discs/drums refining - all machining work - one off and prototypes.
Phone Derek head 01306 712565
CLUB CLOTHING We have a stock
of riding shirts in stock available in M, L or XL at the highly competitive
price of £25 each. Quality is good, many members have found
they wash and last well. Why spend more on one covered in adverts
when you can wear a shirt with the HR logo? Phone Dick or Fiona for
sales pressure. CLUB STICKERS 4 for £1 for car or bike