The Champ is back! 2026 Lincolnshire Enduro Championship Round 4 – Report & Results

The 2025 Lincolnshire Enduro Club Experts champion, Dan Johnson, waited until round six to register his first win of that year. That was swiftly followed by another victory a month later. In defence of his own crown, the Melton Mowbray man got his maiden win of this year a little earlier this time out, at round four of the Dust Devils sponsored 2026 race series.

Race Report by Martin Southwick – Images courtesy of JJ Taylor

Over an 8.4-mile course at probably the fastest event of the year for the club, riding his Upshift Training/JDL Motorcycles sponsored Husky 350, Dan’s win was by some three minutes over runner-up Scott Altass. The lap at Dembleby was perfect and consisted of forays into the local quarries, twisty field sections, wooded spots and the super fast straights the track is becoming known for ! The weather played its part too; it was ideal for the 130 entrants. Scott had a first lap advantage of just three seconds over the eventual victor, and early lap times were very similar for the pair. Lap times on the fifth were exactly the same, but it was lap six where things began to show; it was here that Dan’s slight superiority raised its head when he gapped Scott by half a minute. The remaining lap times were close too, but that sixth circuit was where the ‘damage’ was most seen. Dan now leads the Experts table by twelve points going into round five in one month’s time. Preston Flynn took the other podium spot on the day. That probably doesn’t show the full story, however. The timing sheets suggest that Preston was giving Dan a run for his money too. Four of his laps were quicker than the eventual winner, and up until lap four, he was lying in the runner-up spot. His fifth lap was a little slower, but it was lap ten where a big gap appeared, and he had to yield to Scott. A fifth position on the day sees George Pearce in the ‘Silver’ place overall for this year.

READ MORE: BRITISH ENDURO NEWS

Only one rider over any of the classes has taken full points so far. Harry Hinkley now has a ‘Hat trick plus one’ in the increasingly popular Adventure bike group, and obviously heads the title race. It was a fairly big winning margin over runner-up Neil Tapper, who keeps the pressure up and is only five points in arrears for the year. Equally, another five points adrift is third-placed rider on the day, Chris Belford. Sticking with the bigger bikes, Ian Jackson and Shaun Avison seem to swap first and second places between them in the Trail/Classic class. Shaun came out on top this time, but only leads that title challenge by a single point. Kelly Brabbin was third on the day.

Even with a ‘no show’ in the Clubman class, Matthew Knowles still leads the way for 2026. Second overall is now Evan Sharpe, with a third spot in this race. Jack Gabb was the winner on the day, with Rowan Borrett bringing up the rear just under a minute later. The gap between second and third was towards two minutes.

The biggest winning margin of the day came in the biggest group, the Sportsman 2T’s. Dean Skerratt came home a full lap ahead of the other twenty-four class contenders! Dean may not feature at the top of the ‘league’, but it is getting meaty up there. James Cole came home second, thus cementing a similar place in the title chase for the time being. Joining him on points now is Ted Johnson, who secured eighth on race day. However, with a fourth on Sunday, Matthew Valentine leads the way but only by two points. Another big win was witnessed in the 4T Sportsman group. With his first win of the year, Ross Pearson now betters the winning lead he already had from two points to five overall. Jo Miles was the runner-up but doesn’t appear on the leader board, whilst Bradley Hill came home third. Damian Mumford lies second in the title chase, being one step away from a podium spot in the event.

Another large class is being held to ransom by a rider who has only dropped one point all year. In the Over 50s section, Alex Owen took his third victory of the year, forty seconds in front of runner-up Alan Vissian. In turn, Alan has only dropped five points going into round five in July and is in second overall. Justin Lawson had his best result yet, taking thirteen points for a bronze medal placing. This result sees Justin sneak into third spot for ’26. A rider absent from the previous races in the Over 40’s class, Anthony Trawford took maximum marks from race four, being twenty seconds in front of the winner of round three, Paul Hanks. Double winner from races one and two, Lee Hattersley succumbed to third spot this time out. As with all classes, a few lads have already used their ‘dropped round’ in the group so it may be slightly imprudent to suggest a favourite at present. Michael Harris (Fifth on race day) has had his slender lead of five points cut to just three at the top of class. As per the Trail/Classic class, it appears to be split between two lads, Mark Peckitt and Kevin Bartle Sr in the Over 60’s group. Kev came out on top this time, to go with his win back in April. Mark was runner-up at this event, but has already had two wins for the campaign. Jon McKinney came away with third place.

Two novices completed the three-hour race. Well done to both lads, Tom Bushby and Jamie Epplestone.

Hole shot winners (sponsored by BP Aircon and Refrigeration) were Anthony Trawford and Scott Altass. Random lap time winners, sponsored by “Properly Protected Ltd” were Rhys Hill and Harry Hinkley. Pepperells Solicitors sponsored a ‘random finisher’ £50 prize at the event. Finisher number 6 Mark Vardy was the recipient this time out. The club also has a new sponsor. YST Carpets & Flooring sponsored a £50 prize for a Mid Pack Maverick. The recipient this time out was Aidan Weston

The next event, which sees a return to the same venue at Dembleby, is on the 12th July.

Entries will be available asap. https://www.facebook.com/groups/LincolnshireEnduroClub for members…… and here for non members https://lincolnshireenduro.wixsite.com/lec2016

Results