During the Winter months, there had been major concern that the sport of grasstrack might lose one of its organising clubs, the Ledbury MCC. Thankfully though and much to the total relief of riders, spectators, fellow clubs and indeed everyone involved in the sport, Ledbury regained their enthusiasm and decided to run again in 2026!
Words and Images by Mike Wood
So, it was time to go racing at Pencombe on Sunday as they staged their first of two planned events this year, the ‘Ledbury Leader’. And, what an event it was, played out on a superbly prepared and relatively smooth circuit that just lent itself to an abundance of close, fast and highly competitive action to thus satisfy the very decent crowd in attendance.
Top of the bill at Pencombe was the 1,000cc Right-Hand sidecar battle for the Tony Brown Challenge Cup and some big, tasty prize money. And, that action was red hot, including two top-class battles as the Tony Brown cup holders, Terry Saunters/Liam Brown, took on Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth. In their first outing, Saunters led all the way, riding a very clever inside line to deny Cossar on numerous occasions. Showing their incredible racing skills, the duo was literally brushing each other in a high-speed head-to-head until it got a little too close for comfort when Cossar locked up on the pits turn, taking evasive action and being forced to restart last. In the second Saunters v Cossar contest, it was almost a repeat with Saunters leading all the way again as Cossar tried every possible racing line to make a pass. On the final turn, Mark went for the big outside move but couldn’t quite find the grip to steal the win!
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Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb, like Saunters, was also to go through the heats unbeaten with the exciting pairing of British Masters Champion Gareth Winterburn, who had Frankie Courtney in the chair, also scoring a couple of wins. Other highlights in the heats were Stefan Blyth/Morgan Blyth having a great tussle with Tom Marvell/Stephen Russell in race 26, and Will Penfold/Ricky Pay passing Peter Lloyd/Andi Wilson to take 2nd on the final lap of race 50 in leg four. So, after those earlier epic Saunters v Cossar battles and Whitelam being unbeaten, who would take the all-important final glory? Well, with a superb start and textbook ride, it was the immaculate Cossar all the way from Saunters who could never quite get close enough to challenge and make a move. In that final, Whitelam got home in 3rd from the very consistent John Hand/Adrian North. For Winterburn, the final was over on turn one as he spun to a halt!
The 500cc sidecar racing at Pencombe was to be equally as exciting and dramatic. After Mitch Godden/Paul Smith had been out gated then forced to chase and pass Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin in their opening heat, they then met Richard Webb/Anthony Goodwin in a super second heat. Webb had also won his first outing, and he got the jump on Godden to hit turn one in pole position. From here onwards, the chase was on, but Webb rode a super cool race to deny Godden’s every move and take a great win. Incredibly, just yards after crossing the finishing line, Webb’s outfit then shed a chain!
After taking that win, though, Webb’s next outing was not quite as successful as he was left on the start line when the tapes rose, thus finishing in last place. Going into the final, Godden, Webb, Goodwin, and Shane Freeman/Tobias Vere had all picked up heat wins. In the all-important last race, though, Godden controlled from gate to flag with a classy ride ahead of Goodwin, Webb and Freeman, who just edged out Barrie Bennett/Rowan Lucas following a super tussle.
In the 500cc solo class, it was James Shanes all the way in the heats, with Darryl Ritchings and Martin Williams also scoring a brace of victories. For Cameron Taylor, though, it was a day to forget, falling on turn one of his opening heat, then crashing on the last lap of his third ride when challenging Ritchings. Having dominated the heats, Shanes then led the final with Ritchings in 2nd, but coming under intense pressure from the hard-charging Charlie Wood, who had shown plenty of speed throughout the day, whilst Williams was making progress after not enjoying his best start of the day! As the immaculate Shanes galloped to victory, Ritchings drifted very wide on the pits turn, allowing both Wood and Williams through. In the closing stages, Williams then passed Wood as Jordan Derrick, quick off the gate all day and very competitive, got home in 4th from Dylan Huthwaite, Thomas Vining and Austin Riches as early challenger Ritchings coasted home in 8th.
The 350cc solo contest was all about four straight heats and no final. In those heats, Tim Curnock was in simply brilliant form, storming to all four victories. Both runner-up Steve Garside and third-placed Karl Miles scored a brace of 2nd placings throughout and featured in an outstanding battle in their third outing. Taking 4th overall in this class was Luke Tuck from Max Broadhurst and George Pardoe.
Equally as dominant as Curnock was the 250cc solo class winner, young Thomas Vining. The talented racer from the Channel Islands won all four of his heats, with Simon Hammersley, Ben Phillips, Stephen Brook, and Ledbury MCC secretary Adam Hawker also recording race victories. Quick out of the start, Phillips also led the final, but early on, Vining found an inside gap to hit the front before racing clear. In a super tussle for 2nd, Hammersley also fabricated a clever inside pass on Phillips who then just held onto 3rd despite a big, last turn attempt by Aidan Arthur who was making a welcome return from injury. Shane Knight, Hawker and Stuart Main were the next riders’ home.
Setting the tone for the day, Mark Sopes, Tony Atkin, Ian Clark and Kevin Gwillam produced a simply stunning opening GT140’s heat in which they could be covered by the proverbial blanket! Passing and repassing, it was Clark who eventually got home first from Atkin and Scopes with Gwillam 4th. From here onwards, the GT140’s racing was epic, featuring those riders already mentioned along with the likes of Wayne Broadhurst, Duncan Burton, Isaac Collins-Bullock and Matthew Klassen. So, to the final and at the first attempt, Broadhurst led the way as both Clark and Atkin were forced to work through the pack. Unfortunately, though a couple of laps in Atkin suffered a horrible, high-side crash requiring medical attention, get well soon Tony! In the rerun, it was to be another GT140’s classic as Scopes, Clark and Broadhurst disputed the lead, which changed on several occasions in a simply superb tussle. Just getting the verdict, it was a victory for Clark from Broadhurst, Scopes, Burton, Gwillam and Collins-Bullock.
Despite that nasty crash in the GT140’s final, earlier Tony Atkin had reeled off four heat wins in the Classic solos with Jason Prynne proving to be his closest challenger on each occasion. After finishing level on points, John Shipley took 3rd overall courtesy of beating Luke Tuck in their final ride. John Priest was 5th overall with Mike Dowling in 6th.
So that’s a very successful event, number one of 2026, completed, and Ledbury MCC would like to thank all meeting and race sponsors, Tony Brown’s daughter Tina and indeed everyone who made Sunday’s event possible. It’s now onto the next one at Sparrington Farm on Sunday, August 2nd!
Results
1,000cc Right-Hand sidecars Tony Brown Challenge Cup
Final 1 Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth 2 Terry Saunters/Liam Brown 3 Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb 4 John Hand/Adrian North 5 Gareth Winterburn/Mark Courtney. Other placings 6 Tom Marvell/Stephen Russell joint 7 Peter Lloyd/Andi Wilson and Simon Beaney/Brook Fowler 9 Stefan Blyth/Morgan Blyth 10 Will Penfold/Ricky Pay 11 Russell Hall/Samuel Hall.
500cc Sidecars
Final 1 Mitch Godden/Paul Smith 2 Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin 3 Richard Webb/Anthony Goodwin 4 Shane Freeman/Tobias Vere 5 Barrie Bennett/Rowan Lucas Other placing 6 Nick Bull/Samuel Hall.
500cc Solo
Final 1 James Shanes 2 Martin Williams 3 Charlie Wood 4 Jordan Derrick 5 Dylan Huthwaite 6 Thomas Vining 7 Austin Riches 8 Darryl Ritchings. Other placings 9 Simon Hammersley 10 Glyn Drake 11 Liam Cox 12 Jake Breeze 13 Joe Crewe 14 Cameron Taylor.
350cc Solo
1 Tim Curnock 2 Steve Garside 3 Karl Miles 4 Luke Tuck 5 Max Broadhurst 6 George Pardoe 7 Marcus Crutchington 8 Stephen Dowling 9 Christopher Brook.
250cc Solo
Final 1 Thomas Vining 2 Simon Hammersley 3 Ben Phillips 4 Aiden Arthur 5 Shane Knight 6 Adam Hawker 7 Stuart Main 8 Stephen Brook Other finishers 9 Isaac Collins Bullock 10 Tomas Roch 11 Jacob Phillips 12 Daniel Miller.
GT140’s
Final 1 Ian Clark 2 Wayne Broadhurst 3 Mark Scopes 4 Duncan Burton 5 Kevin Gwillam 6 Isaac Collins-Bullock 7 Matthew Klassen 8 Tony Atkin Other finishers 9 Tom Beer 10 Archie Palmer 11 William South 12 Patrick Holford 13 Tomas Roch 14 Lindon Bowley.
Classic Solo
1 Tony Atkin 2 Jason Prynne 3 John Shipley 4 Luke Tuck 5 John Priest 6 Mike Dowling 7 Kevin Beer 8 Stuart Main.
