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| Snow succeeds to become 2010 King of Dirt!
After two days of tough competition at Dirt 3-2-1 - which was proudly sponsored by Pidcock Motorcycles Ltd - Albion Kawasaki's Alex Snow lifted the Off-Road World Pro Class King of Dirt crown with a solid all-round display of riding skills. The two-day event featured four different disciplines - motocross, supercross, endurocross and sprint enduro - and Snowy excelled in three of them but decided to leave the super specialised sport of endurocross well alone and save some energy!
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The weekend started with a surprise win for the Totnes-based youngster as he dominated the all-new to Dirt 3-2-1 Sprint Enduro event that saw riders attacking an enduro style special-test circuit against the clock 10 times throughout the day with the overall score being decided by the accumulative total. After setting the fastest time on the first two laps Snow settled down to be consistently quick throughout the day and set a further fastest time on the eighth tour. After 10 laps were complete Alex won by just over 10 seconds ahead of Proppa.Com Honda's James Noble who himself had a similar lead ahead of Matt Moffatt who rounded out the podium on his Danger UK KTM.
With the sprint enduro in the bag Snow and the Pro Class contenders headed to the SX arena for their next race event. After a series of heats, semis and an LCQ the pro class was whittled down to 12 finalists who battled it out in a 20 lap main event.
Snow snatched the holeshot but came under immediate pressure from New York badass Ryan Blizzard on the Meredith Suzuki who moved into the lead on lap two then laid down the fastest lap of the race on the next tour to pull well clear of the pack. PBM Kawasaki's Gordon Crockard meanwhile was working his way though the field and moved into second when Snow briefly stalled his motor which also allowed Lakeland Spa Suzuki rider Jamie Law past as well.
For the next 15 laps Crockard whittled away at Blizzard's lead and by the time the last lap board came out the Ulsterman was all over the American's rear wheel. But despite his best efforts the Crockstar had to be content with second as the Meredith sponsored rider held steady to the flag.
In the KoD standings Snow continued to lead with his 1-4 scorecard giving him 84 points which placed him ahead of Noble on 78 and Crockard with 77 after two race events.
As riders were allowed to drop their worst score for the weekend the majority of the leading contenders decided to wisely drop the endurocross event with only Crockard attempting to take on the enduro and trials stars in this most specialised of disciplines.
And it was the Crockstar who holeshot the main event in front of MPS Husqvarna's Alex Rockwell and 12-time world trials champion Dougie Lampkin on the Beta. But the man on a mission is Cumbria's Jonny Walker who moved from sixth to first in the space of a lap before slipping off the logs and allowing Lampkin to take over out front. From that point on Lampkin would stay in the lead position to cross the line ahead of Walker and defending Dirt 3-2-1 endurocross champion Ben Hemingway.
There was some controversy to come however as Walker was docked 30 seconds for gaining an advantage by leaving the course which cost him four positions. The riders who benefitted from this were both the Hemmingway brothers, Cripps and Crockard who were all elevated one position so the final podium looked like this - Dougie on top, Ben Hemmo second and Cripps third.
Crockard's fourth place ensured he took over the lead in the King of Dirt standings overnight on 116 points ahead of Rockwell 105 with Snow holding down third on 84 with the knowledge that both Rockwell and Crockard had a score to drop while both of his from Sunday's Dirtbikebitz.com motocross would have to count.
With the sun blazing on Sunday morning the Pro class competitors took to the recently extended FatCat racetrack for the timed practice session. Proppa.com Honda rider Nathan Parker fired a warning shot to the competition by setting the fastest lap of the session which was almost a second faster than Snow in second. 250F pilots Bryan MacKenzie and Kristian Whatley filled the next two places with Crockard fifth, Blizzard sixth and Noble seventh.
When the gate dropped for moto one though it was Jack Rowlands who took the holeshot with Snow, Law, Noble and local youngster Callum Luxton all right there in the hunt. Rowlands holds onto the lead until lap three when Snow powers past to take over out front but the fastest man on the track is Parker who's making up ground from a mid-pack start.
By lap 11 Nez is out front with Snow - whose mind is firmly focussed on the King of Dirt title - running a safe second which is how it stays until the finish. Bry Mac meanwhile powers his 250F Kawasaki through to third, Blizzard ends up fourth, the real J-Law is fifth and Crockard sixth.
With just one moto left to run the points at the top of the King of Dirt table were tight. Crockard still lead the way on 151 with Snow second on 127. However, Crockard had a score to drop while each of Snow's had to count so the outcome of the final moto was critical for both. The best Crockard could hope to score for the weekend - even with a final moto win - would be 162 which meant Snow only needed a fifth place or better to ensure he took the title.
Gordy's chances of taking the final moto victory were dashed completely when the radiator cap blew off on the startline as the riders were held longer than anticipated. With Crockard coated in boiling coolant and headed back to the pits the path was paved for Snow to take the KoD title.
Parker meanwhile dominated the second moto as Blizzard chased hard ahead of Law. After a race long scrap Kristian Whatley managed to get the better of Snow who crossed the line fifth safe in the knowledge the King of Dirt title was his.
"I'm really pleased to take the King of Dirt title," said Alex. "This weekend has been quite different to normal but it has been a lot of fun because we got to try some different things and also ride some supercross again. I had my mind set on taking the King of Dirt title coming here and it's really good to be taking it home with me - as well as a much fatter wallet!"
Off-Road World King of Dirt awards were also up for grabs in the youth and amateur divisions where Jake Penny (Clubman), Michael White (Rookies), Scooter Webster (BW85cc), Joele Hart (SW85cc), Harry Kimber (65cc) and James Hanscomb (Autos) all picked up the prestigious titles.
Click here to view results. |
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FatCat Moto-Parc Ltd, Holmewood Lane, Armthorpe, Doncaster, DN3 3EH
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