Last weekend (17/18 Sept) saw the first ever NORA 92 Team Event head to Culham Moto Park in Oxfordshire. The circuit was in mint condition and the weather was on the side of the event, making for a hard fought and tense battle to claim the first victory and be the first names on the perpetual trophy. There were also some massive prizes to the value of over £9000 for the clubs that will certainly help them get through the next season, making it a battle worth winning!
There was also the matter of the individual class honours to be fought over, with 8 classes involved in the event and each club fielding up to six riders in each class. All of the riders points counted towards the individual score whilst the clubs best 5 scores from each moto would be tallied for the team score.
The youth class were first out on the fresh track and Ringwood MXC’s Harrison Roberts finished consistently in the top three all weekend giving him the class victory just two points clear of Corsham SSC rider Jake Ogorman, both riders picking up two moto wins on the way. Tyler Kirby managed to round out the top three after an issue saw him finish in eight in Moto 1. Cotswold riders Shane Jones & Lewis Roden, along with Severn Valley rider Kenzie Cole rounded out the podium places.
Severn Valleys Ollie Bubb rode a flawless event only to lose his points on a technicality, leaving victory in the hands of Thirty3 MX rider Isaac Ash, picking up two wins and two second places on the way. Corsham SSC picked up second and third places with Connor Williams and Kurt Evans both of which took a moto victory. Severn Valley’s Reegan Rodgers, along with Gus Mustoe and Jack Evans, representing Cotswold Youth &AMX taking to the stage completing the top six.
Danny Flude was in dominant form taking a maximum points haul for Thirty3 MX in the Small Wheel class, leading virtually every lap of the moto’s. Just three points separated second and third with Harley Pickett taking second for Cotswold ahead of DLMX rider Lewys Morgan. Thirty3 ride Archie Congdon, Corshams’s Jack Couzens and William Evans representing DLMX rounded out the top places.
Cotswold were strong at the front of the 65cc class securing three od the top six podium spots. Archie Stapley collected three moto wins on his way to victory over teammate Charlie Mitchell who took second place on a last leg tie break with Thirty3 rider William Dennis with both having a win two seconds and two thirds each. Elliot Shaw took fourth, again competing for Cotswold with Sebastian Brown and Jake Dixon representing Thirty2 and Severn Valley respectively taking fifth and sixth.
Corsham SSC rider Freddie Graham was making light work of the tough Culham track and took a maximum 250 point haul for the overall and team score. Four other riders each picked up second places with DLMX riders Sonny Saunders making it on to the second step of the podium with some consistent riding ahead of Cotswold’s Mason Staddon. Just missing out on the top three was Corsham rider Blake Bracey when a third leg seventh place cost him some valuable points. Ronnie Morgan took fifth for DLMX and Heeley Coyne made up the final podium place for Severn Valley MX.
The AMX group were the first of the adult classes on track and it was Ty Westcott of Thirty3 MX that set out his stall early on and went on to take a maximum score for the club, Ty also went on to sub for injured riders in the Open class. Jak Taylor of Severn Valley put in five excellent rides to take a third and four fourth place finishes to claim second spot ahead of two more Thirty3 riders George Hopkins and Leon Williams. DLMX rider Tommi Davies was kept out of the top four when a 14th in the final moto affected his overall score.
Andrew Gillett worked hard on Saturday to take two fourth place finishes but turned it around on Sunday bagging two wins and a second to claim the overall for DLMX ahead of Ringwood MXC’s Travis Reynolds who took one of the Saturday moto victories. Thirty3 MX rider Harvey James had issues in Moto 4 but four other consistent rides saw him take third place on the podium and adding a good points collection to the team total.
Last but not least it was the turn of the Vets group and it was DLMX star Glen Phillips that was setting the pace all weekend and took all five moto wins. Darren Banwell representing Ringwood MXC took two second places, helping him reach the second box of the podium six points ahead of Severn Valley team captain Tim Truman who not only raced all five Vets races but subbed form some injured riders on the AMX and Open groups.
The event was really about the club teams however and it was a close battle throughout the event with different clubs being strong in different classes meaning that the positions were up and down as the points were added in. Ringwood hit the front as the first of the Youth points were tallied up and this proved to be a good class for the club bagging them a total of 859 points over the weekend, the club were also top of the Vets group, who being last out on circuit always jumped the club up the table. Ringwood took 916 points from the vets, 121 more than Severn Valley in second. Cotswold Youth & AMX ended up top dogs in the Big Wheel class as well as the 65cc, the two groups amassing them 1809 points. Corsham SSC were dominant int eh Auto class taking 903 points, a massive 204 ahead of their closest rivals Cotswold. Thirty3 MX topped the remaining Small Wheel, Open and AMX groups with them particularly strong in the AMX.
A total of seven clubs were represented at the event and after block one the running order was Thirt3 MX heading the table from Ringwood MXC, Cotswold Youth & AMX third just ahead of Severn Valley SSC. Corsham SSC, DLMX and Dursley MX were all still in contention. There was no change to the order by the end of day 1 with Thirty3 extending their lead and the next five clubs all bunching together with just a few hundred points separating them. 
By the end of block three on Sunday morning the battle for second was getting fierce with Ringwood, Severn Valley Cotswold and Corsham separated by little more than 100 points and it was all to play for.
By the end of the weekend Thirty3 MX had gone on to become the first ever NORA 92 Team Champions with a total points tally of 6286, taking the victory by 520 points. Ringwood MXC headed the batch of four clubs within around 200 points to take second spot on the podium and Cotswold Youth & AMX did just enough to take the final podium place
RESULTS
RESULTSYouth Overall – Big Wheel Overall – Small Wheel Overall
AMX Overall – Open Overall – Vets Overall