ROUND TWO

ROUND TWO REPORT

Tom Sagar delivered two emphatic wins at the weekend to firmly defend both his GBXC and GBXC Sprint cross titles. Sunshine and showers over both days of racing did little to extinguish the fire in Sagar's belly.

The GBXC series finally fired on all cylinders at Preston Combe in Devon as the GBXC Cross Country series was preceded by the very popular GBXC Sprint Cross Championship at one of the best XC venues in the country. Preston Combe is a regular venue on the GBXC calendar attracting many riders from Devon and the surrounding area in addition to the GBXC regulars.

The huge GBXC course took in a host of natural features, rolling across open fields, through gullies and twisting through several different woodland sections while the Sprint Cross lap included much of the same but over a slightly shorter course.

A large Pro/Expert class were first to face the challenges of Preston Combe with all makes of bike well represented. Tom Sagar on the Fast Eddy Honda, Mark Roberts and the Wootton brothers on Kawasakis, the usual glut of KTMs, a couple of Yamahas and a mass of Husqvarnas from the Husky training centre at Wheeldon Farm.

Tom Sagar made his intentions clear from the very first of six Sprint tests. He posted the fastest time in the first test and then went on to improve his laptime by four seconds to eventually post the fastest test time of the day which saw him finish with an overall time of 39.35.1, the only rider to break the 40-minute mark.

It was obvious that Tom had really got to grips with his Honda and although several showers throughout the day made the powerful 450 a handful at times, Tom's consistency and thoughtful approach really paid off.

Mark Roberts on his CF Racing Team Green Kawasaki was in a comfortable second place some two minutes clear of Front Row GB's Carl Jones who seemed to have fully recovered from his wrist injury.

Andrew Bull won the Clubman class by quite a margin over Garin Rosser despite a huge crash on one lap, which destroyed his front pipe and ripped his brake reservoir from the bars. Danny Morris eventually found his form and surged up the ranks to take third place.

Jason Hope lead the Veterans for five tests but failed to go out for his final run so Andy Daniels again posted his annual good result in Devon. Martin Jones followed in second with Hope demoted to third place.

Report by Tim Tighe.