Pallington Forest- Final Round of the SCEC

After substantial rainfall on the south coast for 10 days, the Southern Counties Enduro Club team of helpers, worked exceptionally hard to put on the final round of the 2009 championship.

The event was originally to be held at Somerley Park, on the Hampshire/Dorset border but weather conditions and a few other considerations, dictated the event would have to be moved 15 miles west to Pallington Forest. This forest has not been used for 3 years and was holding up well, considering the amount of rain that has fell during recent storms.

The course was a mixture of good flowing forestry routes linked by fast trails, great untouched ground incorporating sections to test the best riders, which was only acerbated with the heavy rain on the Saturday night.

An extreme route was marked and by Sunday morning the 'bomb hole' that started the section was 4ft under water, thus a few changes had to be made at the last minute. This was still to be a section that only a handful would attempt and clear adequately.

The race got underway with the championship class heading off first, not long after 11am, just as the first drops of rain fell. Stan Watt from Front Row GB on the KTM400EXC, couldn't find enough grip from his start position and immediately fell into last place of the championship group, catching every particle of dirt from the first 20 riders.

As the field started to spread out, the front runners definitely had an advantage as at the back, Stan got completely covered in mud due to the extremely wet conditions, but started to pick his way through the pack, passing where he could.

The compulsory rear trials tyres were not working well and as the championship riders split between the extreme and normal route, Stan decided to take the shorter but harder extreme section. He immediately found the first set competitors digging holes in the sodden virgin ground and blocking his path. With some physical altercations, Stan eventually cleared the section to find a number of riders from the later starting groups well ahead of him on the course.

Lap 1 was difficult, getting used to the grip limitations of the rear trials tyre and trying to make his way through not only the championship riders but half the expert class as well. By the end of lap 2 Stan had made up substantial time and was closing in on the front riders.

Lap 3 saw Stan close on the back of the leading group of Mark Cornick, Richard Tucker, Dave Nuttall and James Jackman. Approaching a difficult climb in the forest, Stan went for the hardest route to clear quickly and move directly into the lead. Stan immediately extended his lead in the difficult conditions and held a good lead until goggles became a problem and ended up pulling in on lap 5 to change gloves, goggles and re-fit a loose throttle grip. 4 minutes lost and James Jackman, Richard Tucker and Mark Cornick moved back through as the leading group.

Stan pushed hard and eventually got back past Mark Cornick and James Jackman but had to pull in again due to goggle problems on lap 7. Stan ended up in a battle with Tyson Maytom-Jones for the last 2 laps, which only went to slow both riders, allowing Richard Tucker to pull away and secure the win, with Tyson eventually taking the battle for 2nd when Stan hit a slower rider on the final lap, culminating in losing 2 minutes getting the KTM back on the course.

A good result, finishing 2nd in the Championship Class and 3rd overall but Stan is disappointed not taking the win. The KTM400EXC performed very well considering the conditions and definitely a bike that could take some good results in forthcoming Hare and Hound Events.

Well done to SCEC for working endlessly getting the course together and all the marshals who spent a wet, cold and windy Sunday digging people out of the Dorset forest

THANKS TO;

- Edmondson Racing

- Talon Engineering

- Steve Plain Suspension

- Nookie

- Pro-Seal Racing

- Arai

FRGB