Muddy conflict
The Normandy Motor Cycle Club staged the first of ten proposed Sidecar Championship events sponsored by ACU Wessex Plant Hire for 2019 at Dunsfold, Surrey, in early March.
The Ray Thomas Sidecar Trial brought a rise in entry numbers of 28, which will no doubt gather momentum as the series unfolds. Clerk of Course Richard Thomas and his team plotted out 36 quadruplesection routes at the Rams Lane venue of Sethern Farm.
The weather forecast for Sunday was rain, and it duly arrived on schedule late on Saturday evening, turning well-planned sections into a very muddy conflict. The scores after two laps said it all.
At the sharp end in the Class A Championship, experience seemed to tip the scales as Jon Tuck and Matt Sparkes set the standard on both laps with an opener of 22, four under the defending champions Josh and Luke Golding. The second circuit produced a ten-mark difference. Nigel and Gracie-Mae Scott trailed in their first premier class outing but the reward was 15 championship points. As far as the Class B Intermediates were concerned it was the same story, sky-high scores.
Manx crew Jack Corlett and Beth Thomas dropped 77, leaving Sean and Paul Cuckow to pick up the 17 championship points – a distant 29 points in arrears. In the Class C Clubmen Paul Fishlock and Sam Atherton turned in a 14 and nine, which was enough to take the Clubman class from Karl Jarvis and Jana Grossman by 24 marks. Jake Pope and Harriett Shore were only four marks down on Jarvis and Grossman.