A PERFECT FOUR OUT OF FOUR FOR HUNT'S ENFIELD COMBO
Anglesey hosted the third round in the VMCC Historic Racing season; far up in the Northwest corner of Wales, on the rocky and scenic isle, almost in the shadow of Snowdon the competition continued.
The MAN Flying Systems Championship was once again dominated by the small but impressive machine and rider combination of no33 Mike Powell. Having taken the Cockerals Trophy at Cadwell and maximum points for the championship he extended his lead at Anglesey by winning three of the four Bantam races.
Both Martin Nash de Villiers and Ian Scutt were pushing hard to challenge Powell; de Villiers took the flag in the second race and won by 7/10ths of a second. Powell unfazed on the Sunday came back with two wins whilst recording a best lap of 57.89 secs/ 65.73mph. Consistent positioning for Michael Nash de Villiers secured him four 4th places. Michael works hard to promote and develop the Bantam Club which is now a well-established and integral part of the historic racing scene.
Having finished the previous meeting some 12pts behind the 350cc solos championship leader Stuart Tonge, BSA rider Martin Page rode hard to gain vital points in his bid to take the lead. In the first race he chased down the immaculate Matchless machine of Stuart Tonge, lap after lap reeling him in, with a personal best time of 57.41 secs giving him full opportunity to score top marks, which he did. Tonge held on to all 2nd places throughout the weekend and kept himself in equal championship position with Page. Pre-war Velo rider Nigel Lines brought himself into 3rd not only in each of the four races but also in the overall championship leader board.
When Cottenham combo Andy and Yvonne Hunt decided to return to sidecar racing it has to be said they did it in style. Their aim was to take no prisoners and give no quarter, as hard as they tried Steve Harpham and Daniel Toones 1952 Thunderbird was systematically beaten into defeat as the fire-engine red Enfield sped round the circuit. A perfect four out of four wins in the Sidecars Unlimited to 1958 class acquired them top points and a healthy place as they head towards the two close mid-season meetings a Lydden [29/30/July] and Darley Moor [Aug.5th].
Novice sidecar crew Gareth Comyn and Doug Jack were doing well on the first day, they gained a 5th and a 6th place whilst battling and chasing the Triumphs of Dave Hammerton/Niell Bartle and Sheelagh Neal/Dave White. Sadly the novices retired when part of the tappet block broke and flew round the engine; this caused near total destruction to the top end, but determined, as ever they will return.
The bike was in gear but the brain was not for Stuart Noble in the first race of the HartMcLeod 250cc championship. Noble tried hard after a slow start to catch the Rudge of Merv Stratford and Ray Hemmings on the Enfield, but he finished 4secs short of Stratfords winning time and a little behind second placed Hemmings. Having made a concerted effort to keep his mind alert Noble and his1958 C15 rode to victory in all three of the following 250cc races, recording a personal best of 58.99 secs/64.51mph.
Ray Hemmings held on to a further three 2nd places on the Cotrell Enfield averaging 61.25mph in his last race of the day. Unfortunately Mervyn Stratford had to finish the weekend early due to mechanical problems. In The Old Bike Mart pre-49 class Emilio Toones 1947 T100 took three of the championship races but the current championship leader Ian Bain still stays top of the leader board on his 1935 500cc ex-works Norton. Their battle was at its closest mid-day Sunday when Bain and Toone were wheel to wheel over the line and the Norton snatched the victory by .5 of a second. Toones fastest recorded best was in the last race, he held a clear lead and peaked at 65.35mph. Local Conway rider Terry Williams totalled four 3rd places and late entrant Toby Smedley cruised in with a 4th and a 5th on the 580cc Sunbeam on Sunday.
The Champions of Champions Handicap races were held part way through the weekend. This is to ensure there were sufficient surviving vehicles as Anglesey is a difficult track and at 10 and12 laps these races were sensibly held whilst the competitors still had a good degree of energy.
Yvonne Hunt had volunteered to passenger Chas Reynolds in his 1933 Morgan SS, they had some problems with the three-wheeler but it was not going to slow them down. Trying hard as they could Greg Bibby and Katy Bain could not get close to Cheshire driver Reynolds who won by 9 full seconds in the Brookes three-wheeler Champions race. Bain and his flying Norton were well positioned to keep no1 plate Lee Moore just out of reach of the flag in the Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Solo Champions battle. It was a scramble for Moore to claw his way through the pack; he crossed the line less than a second off Bain, with Stuart Tonge in 3rd, Tim Jackson in 4th and Phil Wade in 5th as a group with no more than a bikes length between them.