DTRA National Dirt Track Championships Round 6

DTRA National Dirt Track Championships Round 6

Rye House Speedway provided an excellent venue for the last weekend of dirt track action on the 2014 calendar. A well-attended Saturday practice helped riders set up for a day of fantastic racing on Sunday across all classes. The morning meeting included the Rookies, Minibikes, Vintage and Youth classes with the Pro, Restricted and Thunderbikes racing in the afternoon.

The whole 2014 Pro Championship boiled down to the last final of the last round. It was set to be an epic race with twins Tim and Tom Neave joint first in the championship ahead of Aidan Collins the defending number 1 plate holder sitting in third position. Any one of those riders was in contention for the overall 2014 win. With team mate Oliver Brindley out with a broken hand it was left to Alan Birtwistle to try his best to represent the Kawasaki team and Peter boast was also looking to move up the leader board for Suzuki. Also looking strong in the heats on the day were Darren Trapmore and Richard Mason.

It was Aiden Collins with the hole shot and Birtwistle close behind followed by Tim Neave. Tom Neave got a bad start from the front row and was left with a lot of work to do. As Tom moved through the pack Alan Birtwistle and Tim Neave were putting increasing pressure on the leader Aidan Collins who was controlling the race well from the front. With two laps to go the line-up at the front was still Collins, Birtwistle, Tim and Tom Neave. With the yellow and black last lap flag in sight Collins and Birtwistle fought over the same spot of the track and managed to come to a complete stop in a three bike crash also involving Tom Neave. Catastrophically, Tom Neave was left with a bike he could not restart. Tim managed to avoid the incident and rode into the lead. Birtwistle held his second place and Richard Mason made a last lap move on Peter Boast for third place. Collins who managed an incredible remount managed an admirable fifth place. Unfortunately this was not quite enough for him to regain his number one plate.

The results-

1 Tim Neave

2 Alan Birtwistle

3 Richard Mason

4 Peter Boast

5 Aiden Collins

6 Darren Trapmore

7 David Homan

8 Mark Richardson

9 George Pickering

10 Derek Brindley

11 Vince Hurst

12 Tom Neave

The result means that 2015 will see 19 year old Tim Neave take the UK number one plate for the next season.

1 Tim Neave

2 Aiden Collins

3 Tom Neave

4 Alan Birtwistle

5 Oliver Brindley

6 Peter Boast

7 Darren Trapmore

8 George Pickering

9 Richard Mason

10 Mark Richardson

The action was not just in the Pro Class, the Restricted and Rookie finals both provided excellent racing. Justin Heavens took his first final win to secure a second place in the 2014 restricted championship behind series leader Les Wood, with Tom Clemants earning enough points to secure third place in the championship ahead of Ross Herrod.

Newcomer Mark Walker took the Rookie class by storm by winning the points final with his son Matthew managing a third spot on the podium. Championship leader Mike Johnson did just enough with his five points from the final to stay ahead of Christophe Decombard and David Gywther who will all move into the Restricted class in 2015.

Series Leader Dave Chadburn secured his 2014 Thunderbike title in style with another win in the final. The battle for second place in the final was also the battle for second in the championship, with Guy Sutherland taking second place ahead of Geoff Cain in third.

Skye Adams held off a challenge from Jordan Lee Miller to win the Youth Inter championship, although both lost out on the day to a newcomer to the dirt track Storm Stacy. Storm won all his heats and the final in his first outing with the DTRA.

A number of newcomers also mixed things up in the Minbike class. It was still Darren Trapmore who took the win and the 2014 championship but it looks like he will be under pressure in 2015. Newcomer Shane Jordon took second spot on the day ahead of Robert Neave.

The Youth Junior class was again dominated by ACU grass track Champion George Hopper with Leon Collier holding on with some excellent riding for second place.

Frank Chatokhine continued his dominance of vintage class with another straight win. Nick Ashley showed that consistancy is important by taking a third on the day and a second in the championships.