May 10th, 2018.

2018 Nora-MX Quad Championship, Rounds 1 & 2, Grittenham, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Sunday 6th & Monday 7th May 2018.

The Nora-MX season started with a double-header at the sun-drenched Grittenham circuit over the bank holiday weekend. There was incredible racing amongst all six races, with regular club members joined by a mix of newcomers to the sport as well as endurance riders who wanted to see if they could pit their wits against the fast and furious Nora racers.


The Pro class saw four different winners; here's two of them Carl Bunce #585 and George Day #29

The Pro/Pro Am class saw four different race winners over the six races; a promising start and good indication that it could be a wide open championship this year.

Qualifying went the way of the young guns with Tom Day quickest with a time of 1:50.4, followed by Dafydd Davies just 0.14 seconds behind.

Davies took the race one win on the first day, leading from start to finish and, with a further race win at the end of the second day, he netted a third overall on day one (1, 2, 9) and second on day two (3, 6, 1). Getting caught up in a pile up in race three was the only blemish on his card for the weekend. George Callaway was very much the on-form rider in round one, coming back strong in race one to take a third and then following this up with two fine race wins to take the overall win on the day (3, 1, 1). That was as good as it got for Callaway though, as electrical issues during round two ruled him out of contention. George Day though was on consistent form, finishing in the top four on both days and taking the middle race win on the Monday. His finishes; day one (4, 4, 3) and day 2 (2, 1, 2) were enough to give him fourth overall and then the overall win but, more importantly, he’s now the championship leader. Carl Bunce started the weekend with a very strong second (2, 3, 4) and then won the opening race on day two. Machine issues later on in the day saw him slip down the leaderboard with seventh and ninth place finishes (1, 7, 9).


Masters group; Darren Bridge #22 and Chris Keitch #7

The Clubman/Elite class was dominated by pre-season favourite Ayrton Knowles on day one, with three straight wins, each time over Zak Orchard. Day two was a different story though as Orchard, who won the 250cc class in 2017, showed he was up for the battle and took the first race win. Knowles was back on top in the second race, setting up a final race decider. Unfortunately, Knowles had an "off" on lap one, which handed the race win and overall on the day to Orchard. Elsewhere in this group, enduro rider Axle Bone blasted on to the MX scene with six impressive wins in the Clubman sub-category. He’s clearly one to watch as the season develops. Nora-MX’s top female rider, Meelie Miller, had without-doubt her best day’s racing in the 35-strong Clubman class with a sixth overall on day two and impressively, a third in the final race of the day.

On the Novice class front was another top performance by a debutant; this time it was Harry Koller. He set the fastest qualifying lap in this group at just under two minutes (some three seconds quicker than the rest) and then followed this by taking six hole shots and six race wins. Ryan Hickman was the best of the rest with four second and two third place finishes over the weekend.


Frank Marsdon #4 and Connor Yates #77 from the 100cc class

The Masters class was a split gate between the Masters ‘A’ and ‘B’, so in all 38 quads on the starting line. Both classes were dominated by two riders. In the ‘A's’ Ed Davies showed his determination to hold on to his British Championship title with five hole shots and six wins. Geoff Otway managed to better this in the Masters ‘B’ class with a full house of six hole shots and six race wins.

Jago Jackson shone in the 100cc class. He owned the class, recording six fine wins with his closest rivals being Kieran Marriott on day one and Rory Wood on day two.

The 250cc class was dominated on both days by a mix of two riders who had moved up from the 100cc class of 2017. Robbie Wood took the win on day 1 (3, 1, 1) from new-to-Nora Jack Young (1, 2, 2). On Monday, it was Luke Berlyn's day with two wins and a second.


Alfie Walker #7 claims 250cc class hole shot with round one winner Robbie Wood #6 behind

Overall results Sunday:
Pro/Pro Am:
1st George Callaway, 2nd Dafydd Davies, 3rd George Day.
Masters "A":
1st Ed Davies, 2nd Chris Keitch, 3rd Jonathan McKnight.
Masters "B":
1st Geoff Otway, 2nd Richard Clark, 3rd David Marriott.
Novice:
1st Harry Koller, 2nd Ryan Hickman, 3rd William Dunlop.
Clubman/Elite overall:
1st Ayrton Knowles, 2nd Zak Orchard, 3rd Samuel Jeffrey.
250cc overall:
1st Robbie Wood, 2nd Jack Young, 3rd Luke Berlyn
100cc overall:
Jago Jackson, 2nd Kieran Marriott, 3rd Frank Marston.

Overall results Monday:
Pro/Pro Am:
1st George Day, 2nd Dafydd Davies, 3rd Sheldon Seal.
Masters "A":
1st Ed Davies, 2nd Jonathan McKnight, 3rd Greg Fisher
Masters "B":
1st Geoff Otway, 2nd David Marriott, 3rd Pete Bates.
Novice:
1st Harry Koller, 2nd Ryan Hickman, 3rd William Dunlop.
Clubman/Elite overall:
1st Zak Orchard, 2nd Gary Atkinson, 3rd Lewis Rowles.
250cc overall:
1st Luke Berlyn, 2nd Robbie Wood, 3rd Alfie Walker
100cc overall:
Jago Jackson, 2nd Rory Wood, 3rd Kieran Marriott.

The next round of the 2018 Nora-MX Championship will take place on Sunday the 20th of May at Milton Park, Northampton. One not too miss!

www.nora-mx.com

Words: Pete Chell
Images: John Cook