Ladies first as club signs off for season

Just under 200 racers of all ages from across the country descended on The Grange to battle it out across a range of disciplines which included, for the first time at a Telford-hosted event, a Ladies Open race.

"This was our final meeting of the season and we wanted to try something different," explained club chairman and secretary Sam Warren.

"We are trying to promote the girls championship next season and this was a chance to get an idea of how many would be interested. Ladies races are not very common and it all went down really well."

The ladies event was won by Nadiya Jones who claimed victory in races one and two before finishing second behind Bethany Farmer in race three.

Jones finished seven seconds clear of Hannah Pickersgill to win the opening race but was pushed hard by Farmer next time out, crossing the line just eight-tenths of a second clear after five enthralling laps.

Little more than an hour or so later, the roles were reversed with Farmer this time edging out her opponent to confirm her own second-place finish overall.

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The experts event was dominated by Luke Craig of the Ross Falcons Club who won all three races emphatically. Cannock's Jordan Saunders was second in races two and three to be second overall, while Telford's Rian Warren was a creditable eighth overall in a fiercely contested category.

In the seniors section, independent racer George Bailor won overall victory after following up victory in the opening race with two second places. Telford's Joseph Perrin claimed seventh overall.

Meanwhile, Shropshire success was led by the home club's Liam Williams who was third overall in the juniors category after an emphatic 10-second victory in race three.

Bridgnorth's Andy Mantle finished fourth overall in the heavily subscribed veterans event which had to be split into A and B sections depending on ability. Mantle was one place behind Worfield's Andy Marchant in the A category, which was won overall by John Littler from the Wirral Club.

In the B event, Shrewsbury's Nick Bull was rewarded for his consistent riding with fourth place overall. Daran Williams, from Hereford, finished top of the pile.

It was the third event the club had hosted at The Grange this year.

Warren added: "We have had more than 200 racers at one event this year, but this ran it close. For an end-of-season event we were really pleased with how things turned out and there was some really good racing.

"There were no other AMCA events on that day and we tried to make it as fun as possible, with a Halloween theme. In addition to the ladies race we had a lot of veteran competitors register, so many we had to split the event into two."

The winter break looming, Telford will soon begin planning their events for next year, with the season set to get under way in March.

"There are things we have to consider," said Warren. "We have to fit around landowners and also make sure we don't clash with other clubs.

"We currently have around 25 members so we have a really good base and everyone is prepared to muck in and help out."

Telford Motocross Club meet every other Monday at The Grange in Edgmond.