After having their original staging of the Herefordshire Grand Prix event abandoned on April 13th when unexpected wet weather made track conditions treacherous, the Ledbury MCC quickly decided to rerun. So, this coming Sunday, May 11th, it’s all systems go again at the usual venue of Sparrington Farm, Pencombe, HR7 4SL with practice at 10.30 am and the first race due off at 12.30pm.
Words and Images by Mike Wood
The original meeting was shaping up to be a fast, exciting day of action fought out on a smooth, well-prepared track, so expect more of the same! And as a gesture to spectators, there are cheaper admission costs this time around with adults being charged just £12, Concessions £10 and Children under 16 FREE. As per the first staging on April 13th, the new date as attracted a top-class entry with exactly the same classes providing the entertainment. For the solo’s it’s, 250cc,350cc,500cc, GT140, Upright and Pre-75, with also sidecar racing for 500cc and 1,000cc Right-Hand.
With those lovely Tony Brown Challenge trophies and some tasty prize money still on offer, the 1,000cc Right-Hand sidecars are again out in force. Although some of the original entries are not available for the rerun, Terry Saunters/Liam Brown, Clint Blondel/Max Chadwick, Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb, Will Offen/Ricky Pay and Neal Owen/Jason Farwell have all confirmed that they will be present and having started the new campaign strongly should be right in the mix this weekend. Having blown an engine at the Team Tournament, hopefully Tom Cossar/Ryan Wharton will also be on the start line on Sunday, as they can certainly be considered as potential winners! Talking of potential winners, there’s one very interesting addition to the start list, and that’s Michael Austin/Wayne Rickards. They were in fantastic form at the Team Tournament and are certainly a crew to look out for as the meeting unfolds!
Also, in fine early-season form on the grass and shale is Darryl Ritchings. Having topped the 500cc score charts at the time of abandonment last time out, this weekend, there are a couple of very interesting new challengers in the entry. Edward Kennett and Charley Powell will both be on the start line, and when you add the likes of James Wright, Luke Harris, Arran Butcher, Ryan Ashcroft and Jack Roberts, this suggests that the race for top honours in the 500cc solo Herefordshire Grand Prix is going to be red-hot! As per usual, the fast Roberts will be doing a double entry by also competing in the 350cc class, and he certainly looks like the rider they will all have to beat! Jack was in simply superb form at the Team Tournament, going through the card in style. On his 350cc mount, Jack will face several familiar rivals such as Steve Garside, Max Derrick, Ben Phillips, Liam Ashcroft, Jamie Fenn-Smith, Barry Powell and co.
Having been very impressive during the abandoned first staging of the Herefordshire Grand Prix, Dylan Huthwait again makes the very long trip from Norwich to take his place on the 250cc start line. Dylan will face some fine regulars in this class, including Graham Thomas, Austin Riches, Shane Knight and Ben Phillips, who all impressed first time out on the Sparrington Farm bowl. Going back to that first bash on April 13th, Mark Scopes, Ian Clark, Wayne Broadhurst and Kevin Gwillam were right on the gas in the GT140. This weekend, they will resume hostilities, and it should be another thriller! During the original staging, Tony Atkin was having his first-ever outing on the small engine machines. Since that debut, Tony has managed another couple of meetings on the GT140’s so he could be one to watch this time around!
Tony will also be competing in the Upright solo’s and that looks like it could well be very interesting. John Cox, Darren Phillips, Tim Curnock, John Priest, Jason Prynne and Martin Adams, amongst others, will all be looking to get the better of Atkin. Completing the programme is the 500cc sidecar class, and it’s great to see all six of the crews who competed at the abandoned event again entered. Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin led proceedings when rain stopped play, so can they do it again? The only way to find out is to make sure you are at the Herefordshire Grand Prix rerun this weekend.
Camping is available onsite at Pencombe from Friday, May 9th to Monday 12th with hot and cold food and drink also being sold. As per the last event, there’s also going to be racing 24 hours before the Herefordshire Grand Prix as the Formula Grasstrack club hold their next meeting. For that one admission is FREE with practice at 12 noon and the first heat due off at 1pm.
