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French makes dominant return at Winter Scramble
Words by Michael Eustace
7 July 2008
A TURN-out of 86 solos and 6 sidecar crews braved the cold to compete in the Pre-65 Motocross Club's winter classic scramble at Marks Tey in Essex on Sunday.
The Pre-65 over 250cc races saw Cheney BSA-mounted Roger French make a return to the sport to battle it out against hot favourites Dan Howe, Dave Roper and newly crowned National Greeves Series champion Ian Webster.
French could only make second position in the first of the four races as an on-form Howe took the win and proceeded to ride consistently to take three second place finishes.
Aboard his 500 Jawa Metisse, Webster was the victor in race two and Roper, who rode for England’s over 50s Classic Motocross Des Nations team this year, came away with two race wins.
The first Pre-65 upto 250cc race saw French take the holeshot ahead of Sam Appleton, Michael Eustace and Mike Bell. French’s machine, however, was positively on-song and he took a clear victory ahead of Appleton and Eustace.
In race two, French again took the holeshot until Greeves Hawkstone-mounted Eustace made a pass entering turn two. French soon regained the lead when a loose footing saw Eustace fall from his machine until French pulled out with a mechanical problem. This left Appleton to take the win, with the rapidly improving Mike Bell in second position.
The first Pre-74 race almost spelled disaster for Webster when his Greeves Challenger stalled off the start line. After some frantic kick-starting, the machine flew into life and he was off to catch leaders Danny Albins and Warren Bennett, who were almost half-a-lap ahead.
Barely four laps later, Webster had caught the pair and, in the last 200yards, took the lead only to hit a false neutral over a jump, leaving him to salvage second place behind Albins.
The result of the second Pre-74 race was a CZ one-two with Bennett and Norman Capstick finishing first and second, respectively, with Albins in third.
Webster had fallen from his machine, after that false neutral in race one saw his Greeves stuck in second gear, and sustained two suspected broken fingers in the process. Despite this, he won the final two races, with the machine screaming at several parts of the dry course.
The Pre-85 Sidecars provided plenty of entertainment with brother-sister combo Michael and Susannah Mead coming away with three wins and two second places. Their main rivals were Colin Gilder and Mark Eastall, who won the other two races. Michael and Susannah’s parents, Terry and Allyson, were also in the mix and finished third and then second in the final two races.
RESULTS
Pre-65 over 250cc
Race 1: 1 Dan Howe (441 BSA Metisse), 2 Roger French (500 Cheney BSA)
Race 2: 1 Ian Webster (500 Jawa Metisse), 2 Howe, 3 French
Race 3: 1 Dave Roper (500 Triumph Metisse), 2 Howe
Race 4: 1 Roper, 2 Howe, 3 Chris Collins (441 BSA)
Pre-65 upto 250cc
Race 1: 1 Roger French (250 Cheney BSA), 2 Sam Appleton (250 BSA), 3 Michael Eustace (250 Greeves)
Race 2: 1 Appleton, 2 Robyn Slater (250 BSA), 3 Mike Bell (250 Greeves)
Race 3: 1 French, 2 Appleton, 3 Bell
Race 4: 1 French, 2 Appleton, 3 Bell
Pre-74
Race1: 1 Danny Albins (380 Greeves), 2 Ian Webster (360 Greeves), 3 Warren Bennett (380 CZ)
Race 2: 1 Bennett, 2 Norman Capstick (380 CZ), 3 Albins
Race 3: 1 Webster, 2 Graham Brown (380 CZ)
Race 4: 1 Webster, 2 Albins
Pre-85 Sidecars
Race 1: 1 Colin Gilder/Graham Eastall (550 Yamaha EML), 2 Michael Mead/Susannah Mead (840 Mead BSA), 3 Ron Sayer/Anthony Sayer (920 Norton Wasp)
Race 2: 1 M Mead, 2 Sayer, 3 Gilder
Race 3: 1 Gilder, 2 M Mead, 3 Sayer
Race 4: 1 M Mead, 2 Gilder, 3 Terry Mead/Allyson Mead (840 Mead BSA)
Race 5: 1 M Mead, 2 T Mead, 3 Gilder
Battle of the Singles: 1 Howe (441 BSA Metisse), 2 Roper (500 BSA), 3 Ray Humm (441 BSA Metisse)
Battle of the Twins: 1 Dave Roper (500 Triumph Metisse), 2 Pat Aldridge (500 Triumph Metisse), 3 Geoff Cook (500 Triumph Metisse)
2-Stroke Allcomers: 1 Ian Webster (360 Greeves), 2 Warren Bennett (380 CZ)