Report by Martin Harding

The event was held in Norridge Wood in the shadow of Clay Hill part of the Longleat estate near Warminster. The Midwest team had laid out a superb course mostly in the woods where the many drainage ditches kept riders concentrated along with the tree stumps and roots and not using the fire roads there was no rest for riders.

Late entry Tom Sager along with his father Paul both winning there class which added a lot of interest for the many spectators Tom spending time signing posters and having his photo taken with his supporters. With the temperature souring the race started at 11.00 o'clock with the 200 riders facing a tough 3 hour race with the course changing as the race progressed it became very unpredictable with most experts having one or more falls. First class away the Experts saw Steve Grimshaw and Rich Warner arrived at the first corner together, 1st Tom Sager 16laps, 2nd Darren Wheeler,3rd Rich Warner, 4th Derick Bawn 15 laps, 5th Anthony Dean.

Next away the Vets EXP. Alistair Bramwell got the hole shot followed by James Browning and Dave Potts, 1st Gary Baker 15laps, 2nd Alistair Bramwell, 3rd David Grimshaw, 4th Dave Potts 14 laps, 5th Lewie Davie.

Clubman 2t Fredie Davies got to the corner first with Bebjamin Wyles right on his back wheel followed by Trevor Jones, 1st Nathen Etheridge15 laps, 2nd Trev Jones 14 laps. 3rd Peter Kyte, 4th Benjamin Wyles, 5th Neil Pettit.

Clubman 4t Simon Evens and Stuart Davy Fought side by side from the line right into the corner with Andy Chub close behind. 1st Grant Churchwood 14 laps, 2nd Jason Webb, 3rd Mathew Lefever, 4th Asa Hurly, 5th Simon Evens.

The Veteran class saw the most closely fought start with three riders together in line at the first corner Ian Griffiths Tony Hobbs and Paul Sager, 1st Paul Sagar 14 laps, 2nd Tony Hobbs 13 laps, 3rd Trev Child, 4th Glen Woodland, 5th Garry Clark.

The sportsman 2 Stroke, Dan Price was the clear leader off the line, 1st Dan Price 14laps, 2nd Robert Dixon 13 laps, 3rd Robert Lees, 4th Scott Thompson 12laps, 5th Thomas Janikowsi.

The sportsman 4 stroke, A spectacular arrival at the corner by Nicholas Keen with back wheel off the ground with feet up at seat height standing on his arms nearly gaining control before colliding with James Tucker then falling off, 1st Scot King 13 laps, 2nd James Tucker, 3rd Kevin Parker 12 laps, 4th Steve Chesterton, 5th Tom Aston.

Expert class winner Tom Sager said he enjoyed the event and the woods were good but the ground became very unpredictable as the roots became exposed.

Full results
Photographs

Next Event Round 5 26th July

Results are in and now they are online.

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Tom Sagar joined in today for Round 4 of the Hewitt National Cross-Country series at Norridge Woods near to Warminster. He took the first place finish in front of Darren Wheeler and Rich Warner.

Full report to follow soon.

Results should be out Monday afternoon. I will try to get them on here ASAP. If you want to have an e-mail sent to you when we have published the results then please join the Newsletter.

Well I have been down to the track today and had a ride out on the FE450 Husaberg. Its a very nice bike, it coped with my lack of riding ability very well. The track is in excellent condition. See you all there tomorrow.

Wile I was there Simon told me that Tom Sagar will be turning up to compete. This should be a fun event to watch.

Different to what is written on the regs but we will be parking on the other side of the woods. Parking is at a similar location to the Clay Hill round last year.

View Norridge Woods in a larger map

Postcode: BA12 7QG, Cley Hill farm, Corsley Heath
Lat and Long for GPS freaks: 51.212583, -2.228165

Entry forms for Round 4 of the Hewitt National XC Championship are ready for download.

Get them here.

Location: Norridge Woods, Warminster
Date: 14-06-2009
Start: 11am

Well I have made a new feature for the Midwest MCC website. A newsletter that you can subscribe to a keep informed about all things Midwest MCC. But mainly its for informing you all about the release of Entry Forms and Results.

To subscribe just go to the Newsletter page and enter your name and your e-mail address.

Well Alan has done it again, he has made a short highlights video for round 3 of the Hewitt National Cross Country Series.

If you would like to purchase DVDs of the events please visit Alan's website or call into the Midwest Racing Shop

I have now uploaded a newer version of the results that now have the gate times as well.

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I have also updated the Current Standings. I am just showing riders that have points. See here

Results are in and now they are online.

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Only a short report for tonight. It was another fine day at Chevenage Farm. I got to have a go on the new Husaberg and I can say its wheelie good, must see if I can borrow it another day for a more in depth test ;-)

Full Results should be online Monday Evening. But for now here are the top 4.
1st - Darren Wheeler
2nd - Keith Jenkins
3rd - Rob Warner
4th - Tyson Maytom-Jones

Jack

Alan from Zebedi.co.uk has uploaded a few shorts to YouTube.

If you would like to purchase DVDs of the events please visit Alan's website or call into the Midwest Racing Shop

Entry forms for Round 3 of the Hewitt National XC Championship can be downloaded from here.

The event will take place on the 10th of May 2009 at Chavenage Farm near to Tetbury.

On the original staging date for the opening round of the 2009 National Hewitt XC series back in February, eight inches of snow covered Chavenage, a venue that has endless potential and which sits in a gorgeous Cotswold valley with Gatcombe Park, the royal residence of HRH Princess Anne in the distance. For the re-staging of this Midwest MCC promoted event on Sunday though,there could have been no greater contrast in conditions as warm, Spring like sunshine greeted the truly fantastic 307 strong entry, again proving the immense popularity of not only the Hewitt series but also XC racing in general. At most venues, an entry of this size would create congestion, but such is the fast, flowing nature of the vast Chavenage expanses with its combination of motocross style blasts and open wooded sections that a majority of riders managed to comfortably complete the three hour blast with little difficulty. Once again Midwest MCC produced a quality event for their entry and so it was therefore rather fitting that the eventual top Expert honours in this Hewitt opener should be claimed by one of their main team riders, Ollie Moyce. However the Husaberg rider certainly had to work overtime for his win, snatching victory on the final lap of the event following a thrilling tussle with Matt Ridgway.

Right from the start, Matt Ridgway had been the early pace-setter, forging an advantage ahead of Ollie Moyce before the latter eventually hit the front. Then, came the first moment of drama as Ollie Moyce stopped to refuel in the parc-ferme. Whilst filling up, Ollie Moyce lost his balance and was trapped under his machine with the fuel spilling onto his race clothing.

Once upright again, Ollie regained his composure before racing off in hot pursuit of Ridgway, lap by lap reeling him into his sights. With just one lap remaining, Moyce had finally caught the Suzuki rider, locking him into his sights, and the battle of the young guns was well and truly on. On that final lap though came the race deciding moment in the only wet, muddy area of the entire circuit. On the exit from a rutted stream crossing, Matt Ridgway spun off and so close was the charging Moyce that he was unable to avoid collision, falling on top of his stranded rival. In the battle to remount, Moyce was quickest to climb aboard his machine and regain traction before blasting off to take the win.