AMCA SIDECAR MX

Having missed the Powys Enduro and not having ridden since the Welsh on Sunday July 26th we ventured up to Anchor Hill, Kerry near Newtown to have a go at an AMCA Sidecarcross Championship round. 

It was wet so I decided to leave the 525 enduro engine in for this one, thinking that we'd be able to get better traction with the smaller engine.

Practice was wet and the track wet and slippery but it went ok.

For race 1 the conditions were perfect. We got an ok start, about 7th and managed to work our way up to 3rd. The 525 was struggling on the big hills against the big Zabels and 650 Husabergs but was flying on the flatter part of the track. 

We held third for some 3 laps before Steve France came flying past us. Arm pump set in and we soon lost sight of the leading three. We finished 5th.  Well happy with that.

Race 2 and after another mediocre start we managed to work our way to the front. We didn't stay there long though but it was good while it lasted! Coming down the big hill and over the ski jumps the bike seemed to land with the brakes on. Coming up the big hill to the finish line, she was crabbing to the left and was losing power until we stopped before cresting the top. We had three more attempts with the same outcome each time. Freewheeling back down after the fourth attempt we noticed the problem. The Sidecar wheel had clogged up solid with mud and couldn't turn! Iwan hastily scooped the mud away and we got going again. No problem. We finished 7th which left us a bit disappointed really. But we cheered up a bit when we learnt that we had 4rth overall. Well happy with that.

Looking forward to the next one now at Shobdon in two weeks time.

Welsh Sidecar Snippets

• Mark & Neil Rowlands had trouble with the bike cutting out in deep water and eventually pulled out of the event.
  
• Stewart Lines unfortunately had to withdraw his entry due to work commitments.
• Craig Radford broke a front shock on Thursday, borrowed one from David Williams and then had a big off at Cwmwythig injuring his neck/shoulder.
  
• Simon Bradford put a stick through his radiator in the Abbey check. He was fortunately at the end of the check and was able to reach Bill and Emrys to fit a replacement rad before any engine damage was done.
• Richard Chandler had a short day on Thursday when the woodruff key sheared. He fixed it overnight and won the clubman class on Friday.
• Newcomer Eirian Davies was very unfortunate to seize his 450 Husaberg on the last bit of off-road going on Friday - 6 miles from the finish. 
• At one point, Graham Jones and Simon Rogers were very nearly joined in their chair by sidecar no. 7 on the dusty Thursday morning Irfon Check.  Trying to avoid the worst of the dust "no 7" kept a little bit too close for comfort and didn't see the dayglo arrow pointing to the right. Gareth Andrew was very amused by the frantic gravity defying braking manouver and huge dust inducing skid in front of him. Graham Jones probably wasn't!!!
• Gareth Andrew put in some blistering test times both days and all on the same tyre!!! Hats off.
• Alun Davies and Rhys George were forced to push their outfit off the line on both days when it refused to kickstart. In doing so they showed quick feet and a good turn of speed. With their sparkling yellow kit they are now known as "Cool Runnings" after the Jamaican Bobsleigh team. 
• Out in his first enduro as a driver, Roger James impressively cleaned the Abbey check on Thursday which effectively won him the Clubman Class. He also won the award for the most tape collected around a front wheel at the Abbey Test!
• Everyone seemed pleased to have the Church Farm test back in the Welsh after a long absence. Riding it Friday would have been nice too.

Thanks

Thanks Terry, Trigg, Gethin and Andrew for servicing us over the 2 Days. The pickup's never travelled so quick in it's life. Top Job!