After heavy rain forced the cancellation of February’s event, Sunday 23^rd April saw round one of the Southern Counties Enduro Club Championship.

Being held at the ever popular MEXE ranges in Bovington and run in conjunction with the Royal Marines Enduro Club, the 3 hour hare & hounds event sold out quickly and boasted a capacity entry.

Despite a forecast of showers at best and rain at worst, the MEXE ranges were blessed with near-perfect conditions, dull and overcast. Having entered the event myself, I was a little saddened by the lack of sunshine at first, but as the course weaved its way through all that the tank training ground has to offer, it wasn’t long before I appreciated the more rider-friendly temperatures.

Bradley King negotiates the rock section

Bovington is blessed with a good mix of all things Enduro - loamy wooded trails, sandy Natterjack-esque tracks, almost trials-like technical sections and small welsh style bogs. That’s small as in width and as an unfortunate few found to their peril, not in depth.

Split into 7 classes – Championship, Expert, E1 Clubman, E2 Clubman, Sportsman and Service (although the Service riders looked pretty lonely), each class was started at 1 minute intervals from 11am. By the end of the first 4 mile lap Gary Wright had a slim lead over Stan Watt who was in turn followed by Charlie Richards. Even with the Expert class starting a minute after the Champs, young Bradley King had almost managed to catch the leading Championship group and was only 11 seconds behind Richards. Watt then covered his second lap in 11m 46s to take the lead, undoubtedly helped by his recent success in the Tuareg Rallye and being no stranger to sandy conditions. Once at the front, Watt steadily increased his lead to leave the chasing pack behind him whilst King kept his Kawasaki KX125 pinned to slip past Richards for a few laps.

Lines had to be chosen with care

With the Enduro past its half way mark, tiredness was playing a significant part. Wider parts of the course were becoming rest areas for a few who simply took the time to watch faster riders go by.

By the 2 hour mark, Watt had a 4 minute buffer between himself and 2^nd placed Gary Wright, who in turn had a considerably smaller buffer of just 2 seconds between the rear of his bike and the front fender of Richards. Bradley King was a further 2 minutes behind the battle for 2^nd place – could this be due to a fuel stop?

Watt meanwhile continued to lap at the 12 minute mark while Wright and Richards finally swapped places and Richards increased his buffer to a mighty 3 seconds, talk about tight. King had dropped another minute but had a comfortable gap of a further 3 minutes back to Gary Holland in 4^th place.

Only a mechanical fault could have denied Stan Watt a well deserved first place and sadly for the chasing duo, it wasn’t to be. Richards and Wright remained close for the remainder of the race, finishing 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. King finished 4^th overall and claimed 1^st place in the Expert class.

Stan Watt cruises to victory

A special mention must go to the rider who forfeited his own race to help another injured rider. What a gent.

Also, an extra special mention must go to number 307, Nathan Copp who boldly discovered just how deep a rain filled, Challenger tank rut can be. It’s a gold star to you both.

The final word has to go to Stan Watt:

"The MEXE race is the most physically demanding Hare & Hound event within the South Coast area, when trying to travel at speed. It offers little opportunity to gain composure before entering into the next section of turns, climbs, whoops or bogs. That said, the course flowed incredibly well and seemed to be planned for all abilities. A thumbs up all round."

For details on the second round, visit www.enduro.org.uk

Championship: 
1^st Stan Watt, 2^nd Charlie Richards, 3^rd Gary Wright.

Expert: 
1^st Bradley King, 2^nd Brad Armstrong, 3^rd Steve King.

E1 Clubman: 
1^st Paul Vincent, 2^nd Michael Brooks, 3^rd Kelvin Vincent.

E2 Clubman: 
1^st Michael Clift, 2^nd Chris Collins, 3^rd Lee Davey.

Over 40: 
1^st Peter Archer, 2^nd Gary Warr, 3^rd Patrick Wills.

Sportsman: 
1^st Chris Brown, 2^nd Paul Hart, 3^rd Ian Bee.