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Motion Fitness Autumn Race 1 at Surrey Hill

by Luke Webber/Paul Howard, 26 Oct 04. Results [ 1» ] Photos [ 1» ]

Despite wind and heavy rain throughout the week, Gorrick still managed to put on a superb race featuring dry singletrack, a couple of big puddles and just the one hill.

The sun made a special guest appearance for the day of racing which was close throughout. Even though this was the fourth time Surrey Hill has been used this year there were still a few new trails to master, with a couple of slidey bridges, some fast weaving singletrack, a couple of bombholes and probably the steepest hill ever seen by many of the competitors.

The Youth's got everything started and Matthew Hill (GT Racing Tuckton) had pulled a minute out on the first lap. Team-mate Jay Spetch was unable to respond and was left nearly two minutes down on Hill by the end of the second. Nathan Palmer (DeLaune) took third.

The SuperMasters were again back in action and in the absence of Paul Hopkins Jason Emery (PedalOn) took to the front and crept away from Darren Shepherd (Bikelab). Nick Onslow (PedalOn) rounded out the top three, five minutes off of the pace.

The Masters saw a large field of 41 and Kerry Scotson (Fernz) made a fast start to get clear of the crowd. Simon Burgess left it too late to mount a comeback after a storming first lap by Scotson and missed out on the win by just 14 seconds. Lloyd Bettles (Numplumz) came in a minute down in third.

Alan Tilling (slickrock.co.uk) took the bull by the horns in the Veterans race, leaving the others spectating a full five minutes behind. Ashley Roles pipped Alan Goldsmith to the post by just a few seconds in the fight for second and third.

In the Grand Veterans, Dave McMullen (Evans Cycles) continued his top form beating Tom Watkins by 7 minutes and Andy Smith (1st Gear Cycles/Gill) by 9 minutes.

Matt Steven (D:13/Verco) punched the air as he come through to win the Novice race after three very fast laps. Alex Darby (Singlespeed Lovin') was second ahead of Jake Moxham (Dysons Cycles).

The Sport race saw drama and tempers flare along with all of the usual action. Paul Davies (Panasonic) took a singlespeed and knees of steel to the hills and led the race from the off, however George Budd (Titus Cycles) was never far behind. At the feed zone he dropped a bottle which cost him vital seconds - something he was clearly unhappy about. But he kept his focus and regained his cool to reel in Davies on the last lap and take a well deserved victory. Tim Procter (Rugby Velo) finished third.

The Experts took on five laps and from the start Jamie Newall (Evans Cycles) was in a different class. Just 1:45:43 later he claimed top spot, six minutes ahead of a battling Brent Collyer. Mark Hockridge put in consistent lap times and claimed third.

In the women's races Viv Hazelton won in a field of eight Novices, Iwona Szmyd took the Sport victory, Sharon Laws (Titus Cycles UK) was outstanding in the Experts and Anita Hibberd (Berks on Bikes) came first in the Masters/Veterans. Lydia Gould (Hargroves Cycles) returned to winning ways in the Supermasters, followed by Deborah Wilkins (Nationwide CC) and Jackie Roberts (Beyond MTBs).

A fast fun course provided a fresh challenge and thanks to the weather holding out everyone had something to smile about (even the Sport rider who slid off of the bridge). The second Autumn race is on November 7th at Crowthorne Woods and there's also the Southern Exposure night races to provide you with your mountain biking fix throughout the dark and damp months. Some may say that the summer is great, but today reminded everyone just how fun a muddy puddle and a slide can be every now and again.

James Bracey receives his voucher
from Kate Brooker (founder of Motion Fitness)

Prize Draw Winners

The prize draw selected riders at random from the Novice and Sport races to win a Personal Fitness Test and Introductory Training Session at Motion Fitness in Sunningdale. The winners of the vouchers are:

Novice – Viv Hazleton, James Bracey & Kevin Johns

Sport – Mark Gibbons, David Ferris & Dan Giffin

Get your Night Race entries in now

Hopefully you've read about our two Southern Exposure night races by now. Please be aware that rider entries will be limited so send your entry form off today as we cannot guarantee places will be available on the day.

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