Brighton - South Eastern Championship for Fourstrokes and Sidecars

Above : The start gate by Joe Harris.

Report by Claire McDavitt from the club's website

The Brighton and D.M.C.C. were back on top form for their annual motocross at the Piddingworth circuit on Sunday after it had to be cancelled last year due to the threat of Foot and Mouth and postponed the year before due to the Petrol strikes. Thankfully, lady luck watched over the circuit off Ditchling Road this year and near perfect weather was a major factor in it's success with riders and spectators alike.

The Mr. Scooter sponsored Classic Pre '85 Sidecar class was started somewhat differently to usual with the few modern machines being set off 15 seconds earlier than the classic bikes to effectively make two separate races.

Sidecar veteran Colin Philpott was back in the saddle after his recent injury and with Colin Dunkley in the chair lead the way for the first sidecar race of the day, however, the victory was short-lived and this proved to be his only finish of the day. Martin Guildford and Rob Batten were happy to take the overall crown in the modern class at the end of the day with a second and two firsts.

The classics were in a race unto themselves and seemed to be a real crowd pleaser. Brother and sister team Michael and Susannah Mead took a consistent 1-2-2 victory and the overall first place in front of their proud grandfather and race commentator, Lofty Lucas. Keith and Helen Lessiter, owners of the Mr.Scooter shop in Haywards Heath and sponsors for the event took an overall 5th place despite having spent most of the weekend helping to set up the track. Visiting French Sidecar team Pierre and Germain Sacchetini seemed to enjoy their day's sport and boarded the ferry home with the 6th place trophy and a Brighton Club T-shirt each as a souvenir... unfortunately no Brighton Rock was available!

Just as he did two years ago, Dan Beamish from Small Dole swept the board again in the Expert class and won all three races of the day with Simon Dearing and Simon Wise being the only real contenders for each race victory. Wise lead the way for most of the last race, but finally succumbed to the pressure from Beamish two laps before the end.

Darren Lee must have borrowed Beamish's pot of luck for the Junior races and finished up with an impressive 1-1-2. Lee lead all three races until the final few minutes of the last race when 16 year old James Harris took the lead and eventually the chequered flag. Brighton lad Alaistair Brown, also 16, had a small mishap during the first race and limped back to the pits with a broken rear mudguard. A few drill holes and many cable ties later, Brown was back on the start-line and ready for his next race, determined to enjoy his first event as a competitor at his home track.

The competition was slightly more varied in the Ace Fourstroke class with the lead being fought 'til the end by Simon Wise and Justin Robinson in the first leg. Simon Dearing's name was never far from the top three in all three races and he topped off his day with a 3-2-1 in the fourstroke class and two 2nds in the Expert class.

Mark Gessey's classic Cheyney BSA seemed to find the track a bit tough going and sadly didn't make it to the end of the first race - a real shame seeing as his was the only classic solo bike in the event.

The Heavens opened for the final fourstroke race but only enough to dampen down the dust and further improve conditions for the remainder of the day. All in all a good day's racing was had by all and the race programme was completed with very few accidents. The club would like to thank all spectators and everybody who turned up to help over the course of the weekend and hope to see everybody again next year.

Results from the club's website

Fourstroke Leg 1 - 1. Simon Wise, 2. Justin Robinson, 3. Simon Dearing, 4. Rob Mead, 5. Allan Clark, 6. Derry Duffell.

Fourstroke Leg 2 - 1. Mead, 2. Dearing, 3. Greg Fitch, 4. Clark, 5. Jason Fountain, 6. Wise.

Fourstroke Leg 3 - 1, Dearing, 2. Mead, 3. Fitch, 4. George Welfare, 5. Clark, 6. David Alderton.

Junior Leg 1 - 1. Darren Lee, 2. Jonathan Gifford, 3. Niki Huntley, 4. Ian Cheshire, 5. Cliff Greening, 6. Steve Sapsford

Junior Leg 2 - 1. Lee, 2. James Harris, 3. Cheshire, 4. Greening, 5. Huntley, 6. Colin Cowley.

Junior Leg 3 - 1. Harris, 2. Lee, 3. Cheshire, 4. Greening, 5. Gifford, 6. Cowley.

Modern Sidecars (Overall)

1. Martin Guildford & Rob Batten, 2. Paul Munnery & Paul Bridgewater, 3. Guy & Mark Williams, 4. Alan & Chris Sturt, 5. Mike Smith & Ben Dighton, 6. Colin Philpott & Colin Dunkley.

Classic Sidecars (Overall)

1. Michael & Susannah Mead, 2. Phillip Boot & Lee Machin, 3. Ivan & Wayne Barker, 4. Steve & Rowena Long, 5. Keith & Helen Lessiter, 6. Pierre & Germain Sacchetini.