Provisional Results

Section by Section

Dave Pragnell 2015

The Dave Pragnell trial was held at Hut Hill by Southampton & District MCC on 22nd February.

The trial was a round of the Southern Centre Solo*, Youth A/B* & the George Allan Pre-65* championships. Unfortunately, the date clashed with the Telford classic show, after the show organisers changed their date. This may have contributed to the low turnout of 33 entries, mostly Novices & Intermediates. Rob Howard won the Expert class, Geoff Herbert won the Pre-65 class & both Twin Shock riders failed to complete the trial. The Intermediate class was narrowly won by Reynard Norris on 6 points from Mark Elms on 7 points lost! The day started with a beautiful blue sky & bright sunshine burnt the frost off quite quickly but the overnight rain had kept the sections very tricky & treacherous. The "Old Guard" of Dick, Dave, Keith & temporary member Steve Earle laid out some excellent sections which were enjoyed by the majority of the riders & observers.

I'd like to thank Waltham Chase for allowing us the use of the land, Sams Catering for providing hot food & drinks & everyone who helped to observe or officiate on the day.

SDMCC have donated £110 to Muscular Dystrophy as a result of the  Dave Pragnell 2015 trial.

Simon Bond

Provisional Results

Section by section

Jack White 2014

The Jack White trial, held by Southampton & District MCC at Sherfield English, Hampshire was a round of the ACU Southern centre Solo Star & George Allan Pre 65 series championship & was enjoyed by all.

The riders had a good time with interesting sections set out by Dick Ramplee, Keith Mitchell, Dave Freemantle & Geoff Herbert. I’d better also mention the gratefully received assistance provided by Martin Hare & Steve Shergold in giving some semblance of order to the riders.

The sections proved to be ride-able for the Pre 65 bikes whilst also taking marks off the modern bikes which is a fine balancing act. The trial was held under non-stop rules with Brian Francis on his new bike winning the expert class from a determined Matt Sleep. George Greenland won the Pre 65 by beating Karen Clarke by a single point & Mark Owen demonstrated his ability in the intermediate class by winning a closely fought contest with Alan Ranger, Simon Rye & Mark Shipp with scores of 7 to 16 points between them. Kevin Miller just beat Tim Owen in the Over 40 class & Adam Hardy managed to fend off John Long in the Twin Shocks.

Lewis Ranger decided the normal B route sections did not provide sufficient challenge, so upgraded to Expert & threw himself at somewhat scarier sections. All the observers were kept entertained by the riding & thoroughly enjoyed the day plus the Clerk of the course had a quiet day, so a success all round. As an added bonus the Muscular Dystrophy charity has benefited by £160.

I would like to thank Mr M Jewell, the owner of the land, all the riders, observers & officials who helped to make this a very enjoyable day, it would not have happened without the efforts of all of them.

Simon Bond

Provisional results

Section by section

70th Anniversary Open Day with Murray Walker

The Open Day to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of S&DMCC went extremely well.     

Over 170 people attended, with many past members enjoying a chat and scouring over old photographs to see who they could remember.   The BBQ went down well, and the weather stayed dry which was great.  

At 3 p.m we were honoured to have Murray Walker OBE, The Club’s Patron, officially re-launch S&DMCC in its new premises.  

Murray said he had looked up the meaning of ‘Patron’ and it means protector and benefactor.   He recalled  this would be  S&DMCC’s 6th Headquarters since 1944 and remembered that Club members had built  the previous Clubhouse in  Woodside Avenue themselves..  

He said his father, Graham Walker, had been a Vice President of S&DMCC and Murray had always associated the Club with Thruxton.   He related a couple of stories about times he was commentating for the BBC alongside his father and one was very amusing – In 1959 they were commentating on the 500 mile race at Thruxton organised by S&DMCC – Graham Walker was dealing with 1st position and Murray with second.   Back in those days there was no technology so Murray was walking around with a 30lb. pack of full radio equipment on his back.   The race lasted 7 ½ hours,  of which he spent most of the time  dashing up and down the pit lane - all on the day before he was due to fly off to commentate on the 24 hr Le Man Car Race in Paris.

Referring back to the Club he commented on all the Road and Track Meeting S&DMCC had organised and the Club’s Motorcycle Training Scheme, Flying Start, which deserved a lot of credit.   He also referred to his last visit to the Club when he launched the Southern branch of SERV (volunteer blood couriers).

He thanked everybody for coming and said it was great to be amongst bikers again – his first love is motorcycling.

The Open Day concluded with a social evening for members and invited guests.   There was a live band and much dancing and merrymaking and the night culminated with the Club’s current President cutting the huge anniversary cake

Dave Pragnell Trial 2014

Once upon a time, this event was known as the "Mixed Bag" but was re-named in honour of our long serving chairman Dave Pragnell. The 2014 event was very fortunate in the laying out & the trial itself. The formula of having Pre-65 riders lay the sections out for Pre-65 bikes seemed to be universally liked. Admittedly the leading Intermediate class riders didn't have too many problems but the Expert & Pre-65 riders lost a reasonable amount of points.

Ben Skinner won the Expert class, closely followed by Brian Francis only 3 points behind. The Pre-65 class was won by Ian Guy, beating Geoff Herbert by a single point! Reynard Norris beat Mark Owen by the same margin in the Intermediate class & Adrian Steele won the Over 40 class with a single point lost.

SDMCC raised  £140 for Muscular Dystropy at this trial

Simon Bond

Provisional Results

Section by Section

Jack White Trial 2013

Well, thank heaven for that!
The wind crack'd it's cheeks but there was only a light "spritz" of rain just before the end - which hurried-up the riders to a remarkable degree. The sections dried out during the day but retained enough "slippiness" to make the riders concentrate.
I've done the results & (subject to protests) Ben Skinner took the Expert class with 20 marks lost, mostly on Penny Page's & Zena Ramplees' sections.

Simon Bond

Provisional Results

Section by Section

Our New Home

At last we have moved to our new home at The Cranbury Centre, Eastleigh. After many false starts and delays, we are finally open for business as from 4th October. A big thank you to all the club members who have spent many hours painting, plumbing, building, sawing, cleaning and moving furniture. We are all looking forward to a fresh start and many years of comaraderie at our bright new clubhouse.

Poker Run a Winner

The recent Poker Run was a resounding success, despite the inclement weather. Several bikes set off in two separate groups, and visited 4 locations, picking a card at each stop off point and completing their poker hand on their return to the clubhouse. The winner was Lynne Humphrey with three of a kind, and the wooden spoon for the lowest scoring hand going to Jacky Kenward. Thanks go to Matt Meehan and his team of helpers for all their hard work organising the day.

A total of £451 was raised for our club charity, Naomi House.

Naomi House Report

The Cranbury Centre

After searching for a new home for a number of years, the club has finally taken on the running of The Cranbury Centre. Friday club nights will soon be held at the new clubhouse, once vital refurbishment has been completed. We will also be managing the centre on behalf of Eastleigh Borough Council, as it is a popular venue for local organisations and clubs.

Before we can move in lock stock and barrel, there are many tasks that need to be done - decorating, gardening and refitting for example, so any offers of help from club members and friends will be greatly appreciated.

These are exciting times for our club and we are looking forward to celebratng our 70th anniversary in our new premises in 2014!

Dave Barton (Honda Dave) 21/4/47 - 21/5/13

We were all deeply saddened to lose long standing club member Honda Dave on 21st May. Dave got his well-deserved nickname through his extensive knowledge of all things Honda motorcycles. He could be found most club nights sitting in his favourite corner, chatting enthusiastically about his bikes and his family. He was always cheerful and friendly, and despite the ill health that he suffered in recent years, he still managed to come to the club as often as he could.

The following tribute, written by his son Trevor, sums up the man we will all miss:

Dave Pragnall 2013 Results Sheet

Brian Boden

Sadly I have to report the death of Brian Boden on 30th November 2012.

As well as a tireless officer for our club, Brian was also my good friend for many, many years sharing numerous adventures together. 
We spent many years riding our local green lanes/trails and also visiting many parts of the country in our trail riding expeditions, we went to motorcycle shows and sporting events together and attended public enquires and council meetings, an effort to keep our green lanes open to the public.

Later Brian became heavily involved in trials riding, riding in many trials in Hampshire and neighbouring counties, and together with Edna they did more than their bit in the running of trials events.

The last time I spoke to Brian was on the phone just a short time ago, we recalled the great times we had together and our motorcycling adventures.
 
Our thoughts go out to Edna and family, Brian I will miss you.

Pete Wildsmith