NORTHALLERTON enduro rider Robbie Wallace was in action at rounds three and four of the British Enduro Championship last week at Helmsley in the Yorkshire Two-Day enduro on his Motoconnection and Paul Mackley Couriers-sponsored Husqvarna 125.

The event was held on the Duncombe Park estate where Robbie was competing in the 80 strong clubman section in the 125 E1 class and hoping to improve on his fourth place in the championship after the first two rounds.

Round three on Saturday saw a bright but windy morning, with the track consisting of a 22-mile lap in woodland with an extreme section near the end with some demanding hill climbs. The clubman section ran over three laps equating to over four hours of riding as the teenager led the clubman section away hoping for a good run.

The track was relatively dry which made for a fast and enjoyable first lap, Robbie keeping on time and setting two fairly quick special test times. At refuelling, he reported a satisfactory run with no issues, taking on board plenty of liquid as the day warmed up. Lap two was also uneventful apart for a small spill on special test two dropping a few seconds. Digging deep for a final push on lap three, Robbie finished the day sixth in class and 23rd overall clubman.

Hoping to improve on round four on Sunday, the morning weather brought heavy rain and a windy day. Setting off in driving rain it looked like it was going to be a difficult day as Robbie dispensed with his goggles half way around the first lap due to them steaming up. The special test proved to be very greasy over the wet tree roots times and next came the extreme section where a lot of riders got stuck on the hill climbs. Robbie managed to complete them without too many problems coming into the time control with only one minute to spare.

As the track conditions deteriorated, the organisers decided to end the event after one lap was completed meaning Wallace was disappointed as he was coping with the conditions well. At the point of the stoppage, Robbie was lying fifth in class and 21st overall clubman scoring more good points in his title quest.

THE battle for the REIS Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series headed for round four in Wales last weekend when a capacity entry contested the Plains Rally where a number of the region’s crews made the trip to Welshpool.

Continuing their great start to the season, Hamsterley driver Stephen Petch and Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress had a steady run to bring their WD-40 backed Ford Fiesta R5 plus home in seventh place overall and in doing so, leapt up to second place in the standings.

Just nine seconds back on them was Ripon’s Charlie Payne who was accompanied by experienced Welshman Paul Spooner where they claimed eighth overall in their Ford Fiesta, just two places ahead of fellow Riponian Matthew Robinson and co-driver Kim Baker who were having a rare four wheel drive outing in their Ford Fiesta.

Stanley co-driver Jack Morton endured a problematic day in guiding Damian Cole to 44th overall and 12th in class in their Ford Focus WRC while Ripon pairing Andrew Robinson and Kevin Wilson finished 76th overall and seventh in class in their Ford Escort. Durham’s David Coatsworth and Pickhill co-driver Chris Pattison finished 93rd overall and tenth in class in their 1400cc MGZR out of the 129 finishers.

Sadly for two crews, the event ended in retirement with Thirsk’s Charlotte Wainwright going out on SS2 in the VW Polo she was sharing with Matthew Thompson and Teesside driver Peter Stephenson and co-driver Alex Lee retiring their Ford Focus WRC on the final stage.

REDCAR BEARS’ early season bad luck continued as following the injuries to Stuart Robson, who is now back riding, then Hugh Skidmore who is still sidelined following a dislocated shoulder, there were more injuries in the match at Plymouth last week.

In the first heat of the match, Jan Graversen fell and injured his foot which later proved to be a broken toe meaning he was been sidelined since while reserve rider Rafal Konopka injured his arm and missed one meeting but is riding again.

Last Thursday’s home match against local rivals Workington Comets saw the Bears were still using a replacement rider for the injured Graversen while the Comets were using one also for their injured ace Rusty Harrison. In addition, Comets number one Kenneth Hansen was riding in Denmark so his place was covered by ex Bear Luke Crang from Darlington.

With all the recent heavy rain the Referee considered the track required further preparation work before the meeting could go ahead but after a short delay the meeting was on. In heats one and two the points were split but in the third heat, the Comets scored a 5-1, which gave them a four point lead. Following heat four, in which the points were again split, both team captains and the referee carried out a further track inspection where it was agreed that the conditions were not safe to continue and the meeting was abandoned meaning the fixture will be rescheduled.

The Bears next meeting is away to Berwick Bandits tomorrow with the next home meeting against Ipswich Witches on Thursday, May 28.