The day started quite miserably with drizzling rain and a very muddy paddock, which saw many vehicles having to be towed on. Telford club members worked tirelessly to get everyone parked and racing underway. As a result practice was delayed by 45 minutes but on the upside, the rain had left the track surface in perfect condition.

As the day progressed, weather conditions improved and racing ran clockwise, a must with nine classes of races. The track dried out a little and unfortunately, an incident in the Open Class Experts, at the end of the second block of racing, saw the air ambulance called and proceedings were further delayed. Organisers decided that, with the exception of the Sidecar race, all other races in the third block would be run as a three-lap dash thus giving everyone three races.

The Sidecar championship got off to an explosive start with Alan and Tony Grahame taking the holeshot in the first race, closely followed by Lines/Taylor and Bradford/Dunkley. The latter soon took the lead and their first race-win of the day, whilst Lines/Taylor crashed out in the second lap. A great third race however, where they fought their way back into second place, restored their standing somewhat. Bradford/Dunkley repeated their winning formula in Races two and three to max out in all three races – a great start to their Championship campaign. David Petty/Lee Machin put in great performances to take second overall, seriously challenging Bradford/Dunkley in the third race by nearly passing them on the long sweeping bend. Teme Valley’s Nick and Jason Davies stamped their mark as strong contenders taking third overall.

The Inter Juniors Race saw a three-way battle between Sam Morgan, Darren Llewellyn and Sam Winter. DJ Llewellyn took the win in Race one but two wins in Races two and three secured first overall for Sam Morgan, leaving Llewellyn in second and Morgan third.

One of the most exciting races of the day came in the Juniors Under 18. Sam Pickerill stormed off the gate in Race one, closely followed by Jason Crowe. Crowe crashed out soon afterwards paving the way clear for other challengers Dean Swift, Aaron Lowe and Stuart Yates. Anyone of these riders could have won on the day but with one win each, first, second and third places went to Dean Swift, Aaron Lowe and Sam Pickerill respectively.

Juniors Over 18 saw Andrew Duckhouse continue his winning form and take two out of three race wins for first overall followed by Steve Crowe, who took the win in Race two for second overall. Cannock’s Matt Davies put in three consistent performances for third overall.

Wolverhampton’s Matt Devonport was in top form in the Open Class Juniors, taking two out of three wins for first overall, despite a fall in the second race, which also took out fellow club member Tony Goody. Simon Butler put in three consistent performances to take second overall and three 3rd places gave John Randall third overall.

125 Seniors saw some very fast tight racing, leaving no room for mistakes. Harry Lawrence stormed off the gate in Race one but was soon caught up by Paul Conway who went on to take the win and first overall with Lawrence settling for second place. Other challengers on the day were Brian Petty and Stuart Roberts who finished on the same points but a race win for Petty in the Race three secured him a trophy place.

Mike Penn once again maxed out in the Open Class Seniors leaving Graham Smith and Mark Jenkinson battling for second and third places in that order.

AMCA 125 Championship rider Tom Fish maxed out all three races in the 125 Experts. The only problem that Fish encountered was the fast starting of his rivals Pete Weaver and Chris Haynes. Weaver constantly chased Fish down and was rewarded with second overall whilst Cannock rider Dale Halls put in three good performances for third overall.

In the Open Class Experts Charlie Hollis was the convincing winner taking all three race wins. With only a handful of riders on the starting gate for Race three, Andy Woodhouse gave Charlie a good battle in Race three but two wins in Races one and two was enough to secure second overall for Ashley Jenkins. Burntwood rider Stu Harper’s third placing in Race three bumped up his points to earn him third overall.

Telford Club really pulled out all the stops to put on a superb meeting, which saw the first round of the Sidecar Championship get off to a flying (quite literally) start. Well done to everyone involved.

Results

Sidecars

1. Simon Bradford/Colin Dunkley

2. David Petty/Lee Machin

3. Nick Davies/Jason Davies

Inter Juniors

1. Sam Morgan

2. Darren Llewellyn

3. Sam Winter

Juniors Under 18

1. Dean Swift

2. Aaron Lowe

3. Sam Pickerell

Juniors Over 18

1. Andrew Duckhouse

2. Stephen Crowe

3. Matt Davies

Open Class Juniors

1. Matt Devonport

2. Simon Butler

3. John Randall

125 Seniors

1. Paul Conway

2. Harry Lawrence

3. Brian Petty

Open Class Seniors

1. Mike Penn

2. Graham Smith

3. Mark Jenkinson

125 Experts

1. Tom Fish

2. Pete Weaver

3. Dale Halls

Open Class Experts

1. Charlie Hollis

2. Ashley Jenkins

3. Stuart Harper