Wild & Woolly 26/12/17
Northampton
Motorcyclists Club's 92nd Annual
Wild & Woolly Scramble
Report:
Fraser Law & Phil Gee
Photos:
www.motoxphotos.co.uk
A bright and sunny Boxing day morning greeted riders and
spectators alike for the 92nd running of the epic Wild and Woolly scramble. Run
by the Northampton Motorcyclists Club, and kindly sponsored once again by EBC
Brakes, the ‘World’s Oldest Motorcycle Scramble still running’ did its best to
live up to last year's close finish. A record crowd of over 6000 spectators
turned up to witness great racing and loads of action in the mud holes. It is
also a social occasion to catch up with old friends and raise lots of money for
local charities. Held as usual at Arm Farm , Blisworth the traditional 1 hour
plus a lap event was running in the reverse direction from last year.
Whilst the temperature was initially only 2 degrees it
soon warmed up as the sun rose and the heavy overnight rain left the circuit in
prime condition for a mud race. 48 riders ranging from age 15 to 56 had signed
up to take on the 80 water crossings that would make up the 20 laps. As the
clock approached 11am they lined up in the crisp sunshine having braved the 2
laps of practice. Silence fell as the hour edged closer for the traditional
dead-engine start. On exactly 11 o’clock as has happened on the previous 91
occasions, the starter’s flag dropped and the engines roared into life for a
race that would turn out to be a classic.
The field made up of local
clubmen from MX and Enduro and topped off by some fast Experts , had some
familiar faces as always. Veteran 10 time winner Ryan Griffiths (450 Honda) ,
and 4 time winner Jack Lee (300 John Lee Beta) were hoping to add to their
tally. Ady Smith (300 KTM Offroad Experience KTM) , was hoping to go one better
than last year’s second place, where he narrowly lost out to Nev Bradshaw ,
after pushing the South African for the full race distance. With Nev on family
duty this year, Ady certainly looked to be the pre-race favourite.
Riding the Woolly for the first time were 15
year old James Thompson, 16 year old Callum Sedgewick and 17 year old Lewis
Huckerby all mounted on 125 Yamahas.
Coming around the track towards the spectators for the
first time it was Ady Smith who hit the water first water. Close behind Jack Lee
had slotted into second, Ryan Griffiths third and another podium contender
and current South Midland Expert Champion Michael Mclurg (450 Honda) was 4th.
Smith chose to hit the first water crossing just right of centre, while Lee went
to the left and nicked the lead on the run down to the next corner as the
rest of the field dropped into the mire for the first time. The typically huge
local crowd cheered over the fences, as the two leaders splashed their way
through the first lap, clearing the final crossing and heading out into the
field. Here the twists and turns of the canal bank and the natural ridge and
furrow whoops would give the riders little rest for the hour’s race duration.
As Lee led, Smith went after him through the whoops, and
as they came to the chicane before the number cleaning station, Smith jumped
back to the front, only for Lee to steal it immediately back. This first time
around Ryan held third place from fast charging Ste Marlow and Michael McClurg.
Towards the end of lap two Ady’s silencer parted company with his bike, robbing
him of valuable power but making it easy for the spectators to identify the
leading pair. This was to set the tone for the whole race, where the two Enduro
aces would trade places at the front , while Griffiths and Mclurg would be
squabbling over the battle for third. Behind them the battle for top junior
rider home was being fought for by the youngster Sedgewick, and the very much a
veteran Alan Vissian on his 300 Beta. Charley Lee (300 John Lee Beta), Jonathon
Lee (300 Sherco) and Stuart Scott (LMS Honda 450) were next in close attendance.
With none of the water holes causing too much trouble on
the opening laps, the leaders had a clear run through with Smith still holding
the lead. Lee used his long legs to his advantage, making light work of the
water crossings, while Smith was faster over the ground between the mud holes.
Soon the front runners started to lap into the tail of
the field making every line choice more critical. The intensity of the race
stayed high, with both riders knowing even a single fall could decide the race
at this early stage. On lap four Jack took over the lead and held it for two
laps. There was never more than about twenty yards between the two leaders, Ady
briefly getting back in front on lap seven before Jack once again took over for
the next two laps. At the 30 minute mark Smith made his speed though the whoops
count, to regain the lead. As they came to the first water crossing , Lee
seeing his regular left hand side line blocked , decided to take the centre. As
he exited the water carrying more speed , he clipped the rear wheel of race
leader Smith and went down. For the first time in the race, there was a
discernible gap at the front and while Lee was on the ground for only a few
seconds, it meant that visual contact with Smith was lost. It didn’t last long,
as a hold up for Smith in crossing three and a few back marker issues, saw Lee
get back to within a few seconds quite quickly.
Behind them Ryan Griffiths on the first of the 450 4
strokes in what seems to have become a 2 stroke dominated race of late, and
Michael McClurg fought closely for third. On lap five Michael had managed to
squeeze past Ryan which is never an easy thing to do. On lap nine Ryan got back
into his preferred third position and held it for a further three laps. McClurg
was not giving up however and repassed Griffiths on lap twelve. It took
Ryan another six laps to find a way past the determined Michael, but when he did
he managed to hold it to the finish. Michael had to pit on three separate
occasions for new goggles, such was his determination to get past.
Meanwhile at the front Ady Smith lead most of the second
half of the race, closely shadowed by Jack Lee. Was he biding his time and
stalking his prey, or giving it all he had to keep in contact with the leader?
Jack certainly looked calm and in control however different he may have been
feeling. By this time the guys running small tanks were into their fuel stops,
Sedgewick being the first of the top ten to stop, the 125 using too much fuel to
risk going the distance. Some the leaders and those with Enduro experience were
running larger tanks and so had enough fuel to reach the finish. The closeness
at the front meant both leaders were getting filled in with mud a lot, but it
was Lee who had to discard his goggles first. Having run out of roll offs, it
was this that handed the advantage to Smith , who opened up a six second lead
before having to also ditch his goggles with three to go.
Lee closed the gap, as he seemed able to do when ever
needed , and as the clock ran down, both riders knew it was theirs for the
taking. They upped the pace and as the last lap flag came out, Smith seemed to
have briefly broken clear, again getting a six second lead over the line for the
final circuit. BUT it wasn’t over, Jack attacked the back whoop section in full
on supercross style and closed right onto Ady’s back wheel. As they came down to
the final crossing Lee jumped into the water, passing Smith and filling him in
with the now very muddy slime . Unable to see, and getting cross rutted, Smith
went down. Lee emerged with the lead, cruising the final quarter of a lap to
take the win! While Smith came home a dejected second fifteen seconds adrift.
Griffiths may not have added to
his win tally , but a solid third place on the lead lap was a great reward for
his efforts, holding off Mclurg by twelve seconds at the flag. Alan Vissian took
a creditable fifth running under the radar for most of the race, finishing on 18
laps. Callum Sedgewick took a fine 6th on his 125 Yamaha also completing 18
laps. Rounding out the top 10 all completing 17 laps , were Jonathon Lee (7th),
Charley Lee (8th) ,James Plant(9th) and John Abbott (10th).
With only three non-finishers, it wasn’t the most brutal
of recent Woolly's. But the bumper crowds were again treated to a fantastic hour
long battle , which went right down to the final water splash. After getting
over his initial disappointment post-race, Smith paid credit to winner Lee
saying ' he pushed me hard the whole race, and made a great move in the last
crossing, neither of us wanted second'. Hopefully the pair will again be back to
do battle in the 2018 race. Jack Lee who’d originally planned not to ride this
year explained his change of heart, ‘I got told to man up, get out my bike and
show them what I can do. I have just been out there getting the hours in and it
helped so much.’ He went on, ‘I like the Wild & Woolly, it is a big event for
me. It has always been about survival but is a lot easier now and its harder to
match my speed with the top experts like McClurg , Smith etc. But I just need to
get on with it and go for it. The race started well, I liked being at the front
but felt I dropped my speed, so when Smith was going well I let him stay there
but I showed a wheel to let him know I was still close behind. The last lap I
said to myself Go For It. I caught him up after the first water hole and got
passed him by jumping the last water hole. It was a mega end to a good race and
I'm over the moon. Well done to everyone.’
Results:
1 Jack Lee, 2 Ady Smith, 3 Ryan Griffiths, 4 Michael
McClurg - 20 laps
5 Alan Vissian, 6 Callum Sedgewick – 18 laps
7 Jonathan Lee, 8 Charley Lee, 9 James Plant, 10 John
Abbott – 17 laps
11 Sean Flannigan, 12 Fred Saunders, 13 Tom Kruger, 14
Trevor Jeeves, 15 Stephen Marlow, 16 Lewis Huckerby - 16 laps
17 Dean Devereux, 18 Graham Howe, 19 Joe Gubbins, 20 Tom
King, 21 Jack Evans, 22 Garry West - 15 laps
23 Stuart Scott, 24 James Thompson, 25 Christian Livesey,
26 Phil White, 27 Giles Hamilton, 28 Roger Titman, 29 Luke McQuarrie - 14
laps
30 Matt Huck - 13 laps
31 Daniel Abbott, 32 Robert Drage, 33 Ryan Blackwell, 34
James Higgins, 35 Nathan Skinner, 36 Jamie Berry - 12 laps
37 Richard Lowe, 38 Callum McClurg, 39 Jake Willis
- 11 laps
40 Ben Hall - 9 laps
41 Ashley Batten, 42 Matt Mason - 8 laps
43 Ralph Cooper Hobbs - 7 laps
44 Jack Turner - 5 laps
Trophy winners-
1st – Jack Lee- Ladies Cup
2nd - Ady Smith- Griff Jenkins Bowl
3rd – Ryan Griffiths- Harrison Cup
Oldest Finisher- James Higgins- Doug Desborough Cup
First Junior- Alan Vissian- Margaret Anderson Cup
First Novice- Sean Flannigan- Ashley Rogers Cup
Youngest Finisher- James Thompson- Doug Griffin Tankard