September 23rd, 2020.

Dragon Quad Racing Round 4, September 20th 2020, Shay Gate Farm, Lancs, with ATVs Only and GML ATV

The final Round of the ATVs Only DQR Club 2020 championship took place last Sunday at Shay Gate Farm in Colne, Lancs.

Sunday morning arrived with grey skies and light rain, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Youth riders as they excitedly lined up for 1.5 hours of racing.


Ayrton Knowles Adult Expert +

Oliver Pinder and Ethan Best battled it out again in the 250cc Hybrid Class with Best taking the top spot and Pinder second. In the 250cc class, Charlie Wheatley led away with the rest of the pack in hot pursuit. Cai Evans was sitting in second, with James Maybury in third until around the one hour mark when it all changed. Wheatley had a snapped chain and Maybury crashed, both managed to get back out though albeit a lap down. Evans took the win with Louie Holt in second and Morgan Junge third.

In the 125cc class Alex Edmed-Kellaway was again on top form and took another win with Ronnie Burnett second and Jake Robson third.


Cai Evans Youth 250

Next up were the Minis, a class for 8-13 years catering for 50cc riders, 90cc riders and 100cc open riders over a shorter 30-minute course. There were lots of eager youngsters ready to race and some great racing followed. The 100cc class saw Stephen Collins taking the win from Luca Balsano, Luke Waddington took the 90cc class win from Izzy Lloyd and Tyler Wilcock won the 50cc class.


Tyler Willcock Miniquad 50

The afternoon’s Adult racing got underway just after midday and the weather had improved with blue skies overhead for the 2.5 hour race.

A first visit to DQR this year for Kevin Meenagh from Ireland saw him lead away from the flag ahead of Alex Bethell in second, and Ayrton Knowles on his DQR debut in third. Bethell pushed Meenagh hard in the opening laps and the lead swapped and changed a number of times before Bethell eventually made a pass stick and held on for the win with Meenagh second and Knowles third.

Will Dunlop was back on the top step in the Expert class with Michael Williams in second and William Mayze in third – another rider enjoying his DQR debut.

Moose Pittaway and Dale Roberts were pitched in a race-long battle for the Clubman honours. Pittaway eventually got the better of Roberts to take the win with a margin of just 0.75 of a second. Tom Stevens was third.

Jake Best made it back-to-back wins in the Sportsman class. Vassna Willcock was second, and Lee Carpenter third.

In the 4x4 Lights class, Harry Stevens had his first DNF of the season, when his race was cut short on the last lap, leaving Gareth Badger to take his debut class win and make the trip from Northern Ireland worthwhile.

The 4x4 Clubman class was as competitive as ever, and Laura Linton rode an impressive race to win from Joe Bacon in second and Derek Burns third.


Stuart Marley 4x4 Expert

In the 4x4 Expert class the battle was on between Jason Wildman and Simon David. It was close racing from the off, with Wildman taking the lead from around half race distance and eventually the win – and his first DQR finish this year. David was the class runner up and Kevin Watson third.

CLICK HERE for full results on Speedhive.

A note from Ashley Holt of the Dragon Quad Racing Club;

“Well done to all the winners and every rider who took part, and to all the champions in their respective classes. A big thanks to all our members and supporters this year, to all the riders who have taken part and to our sponsors ATVs Only and GML ATV.

"And finally, a big thankyou to the DQR Team as without you these fantastic events would not be possible! We now look forward to 2021 and hopefully a full season of British XC Championship racing. Keep checking our social media pages for the latest updates throughout the off season.”

Images: Lisa Ann Williams-Holt