On arriving at the Thetford forest Friday afternoon the team we met by the Clerk of the Course, Andy Waters, who informed us that the event maybe cancelled if the high winds that were forecast for Sunday arrived, fortunately for all teams and riders who made the long journey to Norfolk this was not the case but heavy and persistent rain was the order of the day.

Picture by Martin Harding

5th in E2 class and 9th overall was a sound start for Ollie Moyce who was a little bit disappointed with his overall result which found him starting the day in 27th position on the start list and not in the top 10 seeded riders from last years championship but he quickly proved he deserved to be included in the seeded start list with his 9th overall.

“My test times throughout the day were not too bad but due to the weather conditions and having to pass slower riders on the going I ended up crashing quite heavily and losing a minute. If this hadn’t have been the case then I would have been further up the overall results. The bike was running perfectly as always and the team were a great help. I would like to thank everyone who was there to help and support me”

Ollie Moyce

Picture by Martin Harding

21 year old, Jamie Paget, again was not completely happy with his final result of 3rd in E3 class and 18th overall finding the very heavy conditions difficult to adjust to at the moment after his transition from riding a two stroke for the last 2 years.

“more time on the bike and adjusting to the huge amounts of power the 570 Husaberg produces should bring better results in the future. I had a slight misfire during the latter stages of the enduro so I rode conservatively to preserve the engine and ensure a finish”.

Jamie Paget

RESULTS

1. David Knight 530 KTM (E3)
2. Paul Edmondson 250 Suzuki (E1/4)
3. Daryl Bolter 250 KTM (E1/4)
4. Si Wakely 250 Husqvarna (E1/4)
5. Tom Sagar 450 Suzuki (E2)
6. Greg Evans 300 KTM/4 (E2)
7. Ashley Wood 250 Gas Gas (E2)
8. Rory Mead 250 Yamaha (E2)
9. Ollie Moyce 390 Husaberg (E2)
10. Phillip Mclaughlin 250 TM (E1/4)

The 1st round of the 2010 Hewitt National XC Championship got off to a cracking start at Chavenage Farm near Tetbury on Sunday 21st February.

Overnight snow had dusted the fields with a light frosting. The sun shone but the air was cold. The Midwest team of Ollie Moyce, Jamie Paget & Tyson Maytom-Jones had organised a training session the day before & their first job on Sunday morning was to chip the frozen mud off their wheels.

The first through was Ollie Moyce ahead of Aaran Poolman, Jason Fraser & Jamie Paget.

By the halfway point the sun had begun to work it's magic & the course began to dry. The Chavenage course is very compact & a good crowd had turned out to support the riders. Ollie Moyce held onto the lead, closely followed by Jason Fraser but with less than 30 minutes to go Jason's new Suzuki ran out of petrol. He had only had the bike for 3 days & he wasn't too sure of the capacity. Ollie Moyce went on to take the overall win. He had enough of a lead to stop for a splash & dash on his last lap. Midwest team mate Jamie Paget did well to get so much out of his Husaberg FE 570 in such slick conditions.

After the event Ollie Moyce said that he hadn't had the best of starts & he had struggled with arm pump on the first few laps but it was probably the same for everyone. Once the course began to dry out he really enjoyed the ride & he was looking forward to the first round of the British Enduro Championship this weekend.

Results, Expert Class
1. Ollie Moyce (Husaberg)
7. Arran Poolman (Husaberg)
8. Tyson Maytom-Jones (Husaberg)

1st Rnd Eastern Centre Championship – Tunstall Forest

A cold misty and grey day in Tunstall Forest near Woodbridge did not dampen the enthusiasm. Over 160 riders entered this popular season opener in East Anglia with a strong national field doing battle with the local boys. A slight drizzle had decided to accompany the Midwest riders (Ollie, Jamie and Aaron) but this fizzled away after an hour or so.

The schedule saw us doing 6 laps of a 12 mile loop with each lap getting tighter on time. We had to ride a test on each of the first 2 laps and then another at the end of the day!

Photograph by Anthony (GRUD) Ridge

Special test action kicked off at the end of the first and second lap with a sting in the tail for the championship class with a final test after the 6 punishing laps. Local Woodbridge rider, Aston Bird out on a new 450 Kawasaki put the mark down for the Eastern Centre finishing the first test a second and a half ahead of HuskySport Husqvarna rider Si Wakely with Midwest Husaberg rider Ollie Moyce tucked in third place 0.4 seconds behind Wakely. After the second test things were even closer with Bird still in front but Moyce had the fastest second test a second up on Wakely with Bird a few hundredths behind. As the event moved on to the tighter laps Bird had a slender lead 0.9 seconds ahead of Moyce with Wakely a further 0.7 seconds adrift.

However disaster struck for Bird at the end of lap 6 – after the tight final lap required to be ridden in 28 minutes he clocked in a minute early – dropping him from the final special test shoot out. Moyce made no mistakes and again topping the test times, just over a second ahead of Wakely with Bird a despondent third on the test but dropping to eighth overall. This left local championship riders Chris Hockey Julian Harvey and Jamie Roper to slot into third fourth and fifth places.

New Midwest Husaberg UK team rider, Jamie Paget still adjusting to the big four stroke after riding a two stroke last year, started the day steadily and as the day progressed grow more and more confident which saw his test times improve to finish 7th overall with no penalty points incurred. Third Midwest Husaberg UK team rider Tyson Maytom-Jones was still away on a skiing holiday so his place was taken by Aaron Poolman riding in his first year of enduros after a motocross career who again managed the conditions very well and admitted there was still a lot to learn before he returns in 3 weeks time for a round of the British Enduro Championship.

Thoroughly enjoyable day and great practice for the Muntjac! Thanks to all sponsors and helpers

Results

• 1st - Ollie Moyce(2) - Midwest Husaberg 390
• 2nd - Simon Wakely (3) HuskySport Husquarna 250
• 3rd - Chris Hockey (1) Yamaha 250
• 4th - Julian Harvey (9) Aim KTM 250
• 5th - Jamie Roper (15) Yamaha 250
• 6th - Bradley King (11) Gas Gas UK 300
• 7th - Jamie Paget (10) Midwest Husaberg 570
• 8th - Aston Bird (20) Kawasaki 450
• 9th - Jason Morland (12) Jim Aim Racing 250
• 10th - Steve Mason (22) Yamaha 250
• 11th - Richard Roper (16) Kawasaki 250
• 12th - Aaron Poolman (25) Midwest Husaberg 450

Travelled to Midwest on Saturday to check bike over and then on to Bagshot for the first round of the REME winter series. Conditions were cold and wet but I was keen to try the 570 in my first event since the Six Days, Portugal, in October.

I had a good start and entered the woods in 3rd position. It took me a good hour to adjust to the four stroke before i started to pull back time on James Jackman and Julian Harvey. The track deteriorated considerably and became a deep rut for most of it.

I caught Julian up on the last hour but there wasn't enough time to catch James.

I finished second and was pleased with the result. Bike was awesome! Still learning but cant wait to get out on it again.

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