Round two of ‘From the Horse’s Mouth comes from Sunday’s Leinster Club Enduro Sprint at Belmont Deseme. Excellent venue, great weather, lots of spectators and a tasty course had most people rolling home happy.
Graeme Vigors (1st Expert): “I wasn’t sure about the course at first but overall I enjoyed the race today. There was a lot more tricky wooded sections this time which possibly should have been more suited to enduro riders but I was determined to give it a shot and prove them wrong! I managed to get some clean fast laps in during the morning and was able to open up a nice lead that I felt would be good enough to win. After that I was able to relax and ride looser. I really wanted that last lap to be my fastest of the day, so after giving the rider ahead a big gap at the start I pushed as hard as I could. Unfortunately, maybe too hard and had a small stall and a few mistakes out on the grass track sections so it didn’t happen. But I chuffed to have bagged another win at these sprints, I’m enjoying the racing and to win is an added bonus!”
Robert Lynn (2nd Expert): “ I’m happy with second today, it’s a good result. Graeme was really strong again today, especially in the morning. I felt I was riding well during the morning but for some reason my times weren’t there. After lunch everyone dropped their times which made it harder to catch the rider starting in front, so maybe in that sense that’s how I improved as I was pushing harder without knowing. I managed to win the final two tests which was a bonus! Once the course cut in, it flowed really well and was fun to race. For their first time running one of these events the organisers did really well and were quick to react to any hiccups. Running it with trials, pit bike racing and other races on the same day made for a great event and was nice to see so many people spectating out in the woods.”
Jim O’Neill (3rd Experts): “In fairness I didn’t make things easy on myself today. I crashed on a drop-off on one of the grass sections and lost a lot on time, so I was sort of playing catch up after that! There was a lot more woods in this sprint than the previous one which was difficult at first. Early on I was attacking it wrong, I wasn’t smooth enough and ended up falling a few times. After speaking to a few people, I adjusted my approach and tried to be smoother. Better lines developed and I improved my times and really began to enjoy it. Although I mainly ride motocross this event was good for me, I learn’t a lot, how to ride different terrain and all the bike time was a bonus. By coming back to third at the end I was happy with that”
David McNulty (1st Senior): “Today was my first time out on my new bike, a Husaberg 250TE and first time back riding two-strokes, so to win so soon was surprising. The bike felt great, much lighter and more agile than the four-stroke I was used to, which made things much easier in the woods. My biggest threat was Richie Leonard and I knew it would be between us for the win today. Luckily he was starting in front of me so it was the perfect target to aim for! In places I could see him and knew then I was gaining time so I kept pushing hard. My only mistake came when I crashed trying to show off for the spectators over a jump but nothing too major, just embarrassing! I’m delighted to win and to get third overall was a big confidence boost too!”
Thomas Kinlan (1st Clubman): “Overall everything went very well today, no major upsets. My first three laps were really strong and I think that made the difference. After that I had a couple of small falls and actually managed to fall twice in one test! Otherwise I felt I rode strong and had a good battle with Jonnie Mercier after the lunch break swapping test wins. Thanks to Noone Motorcycles for the loan of their Beta 350, it was mega. Really strong power which made the difference in the woods I think.”
Conrad Wynne (12th Senior): “It was a great day out and I really enjoyed myself. Early on I was a bit slow to start but afterwards I soon got into a good flow of things. I’m still finding my feet with the bike as I haven’t been able to ride it too much but I could see myself improving as the day went on. These sprints are a nice format and are great way of increasing your speed on the special tests. Having instant times lets you see where you are and what you need to improve on. Aside from a bit of a gap between runs overall it was really enjoyable and I think with enduro, hare and hounds and now this, the sport has a great mix of racing.”
Paul McLoughlin (Event Organiser): “I quite happy with how things went today. Although I’ve ran a lot of trials events it was my first time running something like this but I think we coped quite well and have learned a lot. The turn out of riders was great and was good to see them support the Wicklow Hospice Foundation. The rider feedback was promising and everyone when home happy. I feel we have got a really good venue here with a lot of potential, so hopefully we will be able to run more events in the future. By mixing the sprint in with the Leinster club’s celebrations, added a fun atmosphere to the day and the spectators seemed to enjoy themselves as well. I’d just like to thank everyone who played their part, the riders, time keepers, marshals, officials, those that helped set up and take down the track and anyone that helped throughout the day.”