May 9th, 2017.

2017 Nora-MX Quad Championship, Round 3, Culham, Oxfordshire. Sunday 7th May 2017.




Burgeoning quad club Nora-MX enjoyed its largest entry for quite some time last Sunday, when 180 eager quad riders signed up for its third round at the challenging and technical Culham Moto Parc. The club also hosted round two of the ACU British Quad Championship.

Incidents and injuries meant the club was only able to complete two blocks of racing for each class. Fortunately though, both injured junior riders are reported to be fine and only managed one day off school each! The incidents elsewhere meant a few swings in fortune throughout classes, which in some cases impacted on the status of the championship leaders.

Zak Orchard had dominated the 250cc class at the second round at Grittingham and, despite pre-season favourite Scott Irons, cleaning up in qualifying with a fastest lap of 2m:37s, and winning the opening moto, Orchard looked strong - he finished second to Irons. In race two, and with just over a lap to go, the sparring duo looked set for another one-two until disaster struck for both riders when they collided in mid-air, ruling them both out of the race. Gloucester’s Josh Birch and Cardigan’s Catrin Davies stepped up and took a well earnt first and second, both in the race and on the day. Alfie Walker on his 150cc machine picked up an impressive third. Girl Power is now the name of the game in this category as Davies is the new championship leader by five points over Birch.

Next up was the 33-strong Clubman/Elite class. Championship leader Rhyds Owen seemed less at home on the Culham high jumps, and this opened the door to two different race winners on the day in the form of Iestyn Rowlands and Dean Dillon. Ayrton Knowles marked his return from injury with a credible second and third. Rowlands now leads the Clubman group, with Grey Thynne heading up the Elite.

Two straight wins and the fastest lap in qualifying of 2m:4.6s in the 100cc class were the order of the day for Luke Berlyn. He is now the only rider with a 100 per cent winning start to the season.

The Masters Support/Novice groups were separated by the split gate following its successful trial at the second round. Geoff Otway was on fine form with two clear wins over second-placed Matthew Kirk. Kirk proved to be the master of the holeshot though, with two crackers. The Novice group was owned by Scott Berlyn who dominated, to join his brother with two straight wins and the fastest qualifying lap. His smallest winning margin was and incredible plus-36 seconds.

The Masters “A” category was joined by the “Out of the Box” and Expert Support class. In the Masters “A” the, usually ‘main-man’ Ed Davies suffered a collision in race one to put him down in an uncustomary fourth. Even though he won the second race, it wasn’t enough for him to overhaul Jonathan McKnight from Ireland, who took the win on the day with first and second placings. The “Out of the Box” went the way of Matt Burroughs with two good wins and two large winning margins. The Expert Support was won by Tom Day with two wins, both over Jack Norris in second place.

Next up for Nora-MX is round four at a new-to-club track at Landrake, Plymouth (PL12 5EP) on Sunday the 21st of May 2017. The club will also host round three of the Cromwell Trucks British Quad Championship.

RESULTS – Overall on the day
250cc
1. Josh Birch (3,1), 2. Catrin Davies (4,2), 3. George Oliver (5,4).

Clubman
1. Iestyn Rowlands (1,2), 2. Ayrton Knowles (2,3), 3. Dean Dillon (5,1).

100cc
1. Luke Berlyn (1,1), 2. Robbie Wood (2,2), 3. Aled Davies (4,5)

100cc Auto sub class winner
Frank Marston

50cc Sub class winner
Olivia Dennis

Masters Support
1. Geoff Otway (1,1), 2. Matthew Kirk (2,2), 3. David Marriott (3,3)

Adult Novices
1. Scott Berlyn (1,1), 2. Rick Indge (4,2), 3. Joe Ross Holmes (2,4)

Masters A
1. Jonathan McKnight (1,2), 2. Ed Davies (4,1), 3. Clint Eagle (2,3)

Experts Supports
1. Tom Day (1,1), 2. Jack Norris (2,2), 3. Rob Orchard (3,3)

Out the Box
1. Matt Buroughs (1,1), 2. Danny Spencer (3,2), 3. Joe Williams (2,3)

Report: Pete Chell. Images. Nora-MX.