With Christmas almost upon us and 2006 drawing to a close, the Southern Counties Enduro Club held their final event of the year at Inside Park near Blandford Forum in Dorset.

With the previous scheduled event cancelled due to monsoon-like weather, the forecast for Sunday 10^th December looked to be yet another day for ducks, but with a large dollop of good luck the weather seemed to be holding albeit with the likelihood of yet more rain for later in the day. At least clouds of chocking dust wouldn’t hamper the riders.

With a full to bursting entry of approximately 200, the start was blessed with a wide field into which a series of special test style Motocross turns were threaded before the course then wound its way into the wooded section. After zigzagging through the trees, across a field and over a couple of bumps, it was Supermoto time as the course followed a mud-covered concrete track past someone’s front garden (how very understanding) and into another wooded section. From here the course was a mix of rutted tracks and woodland terrain in which tree roots would challenge the unwary, before reaching the final faster turns on the start/finish line.

Steve Rogers tackles the wooded section.

First to tackle the turns were those in the Championship class and after the first 7 mile lap it was Luke Mellows who led Gary Wright by just 13 seconds with Ian Putt a further 4 seconds behind. From here the first 3 positions stayed the same with Mellows building a further 1 minute gap over Wright with each hour that passed – not too shabby considering that Mellows was aboard a 125 on a course that was incredibly fast in places.

I was sandwiched in the Clubman E2 class, which was the longest line-up of all. The flag dropped and with my customary poor start, I rounded the first turn in the bottom third of the class – great. What a blessing roll-off goggles can be.

Once away from the tight and technical going, there was plenty of room to pass other riders, and again, the more challenging parts of the course remained roomy enough to keep things flowing nicely – provided the slippery going didn’t claim more than a handful of riders. The long and rutted woodland tracks were not only a test of concentration, but also one of luck as catching a slower rider required either the dark art that is rut-changing or a degree of patience should you have found yourself in the wrong groove. Eenie, meenie, miny mo. Once at the end of the twisty sections, concentration levels were given a boost by the fast turns at the end of the lap.

Then the predictions of the Met office came true. Although it wasn’t exactly cats and dogs out there, the rain made any exposed tree roots very slippery indeed, so choosing the correct line was absolutely vital. Visibility also proved to be difficult and it’s a minor miracle that my roll-offs lasted the full distance. One final pull of the cord back in the pits and voila, the roll-off film was finished. Perfect timing with the chequered flag.

All in all, a great course to round off the 2006 Southern Counties Enduro Club championship.

Gary Wright on his way to 2nd place.

Special mentions have to go to the following:

Barry Mitchell, Richard Swaffield and Kevin Pippard, proving that even the Sportsman class which is primarily for those who are new to the sport, needn’t be uncompetitive. After three hours, a lone rider managed to squeeze between Mitchell and Swaffield denying the trio a one, two, three finish.

Simon Wakely who was marshalling the course aboard his Trials bike. It’s tough enough for someone of my dubious talent to sit out and watch others race, but it must be tougher still when you ride at a world level.

And finally, to Gary Warr’s Dad who fixed a tow rope to his nice, shiny 4x4 and helped tow my van out of the car park.

It’s a gold star to you all.

Championship: 1^st Luke Mellows, 2^nd Gary Wright, 3^rd Ian Putt.
Expert: 1^st Mark Cornick, 2^nd Andy Scudamore, 3^rd Mick Gregg.

E1 Clubman (up-to 125cc 2-stroke or 250cc 4-stroke): 1^st Dave Nuttall, 2^nd Paul Vincent 3^rd William Richards.
E2 Clubman (over 125cc 2-stroke, or 250cc 4-stroke): 1^st Mark Stokes, 2^nd Michael Clift, 3^rd Mr Joff (even Enduros can be formal).

Over 40: 1^st Jack Twentyman, 2^nd Dennis Harrison, 3^rd Michael Hughes.
Sportsman: 1^st Barry Mitchell, 2^nd Richard Swaffield, 3^rd Kevin Pippard.

Full results of this event and details of the 2007 events be found at: www.enduro.org.uk