04/11/10 - GT Wall & Sons 2010 Hafren Rally - 10th October - Report courtesy of Bob Mullins from Enduro News

Autumn is the season of mist and mellow fruitfulness and Hafren Dirt Bike Club had an abundance of both for this Sunday's Hafren Rally when a warn wind from the Southwest brought with it a blanket of low cloud that covered Mid Wales. The start was in the Sweet Lamb Motorsport Complex near Llanidloes and scrutineering began at 7.30am. For the hardy souls who camped overnight the pre-dawn gloom was illuminated by neon strips and the bright smiles of the signing on girls. They had their work cut out with a full entry of 260+ riders to bei dealt with for many of whom this was their first event. There was a wide variety of machines ranging from the mighty Adventurers to the diminutive serows. There were even a couple of Suzuki PEs from the time when there was a World glut of shocks and all bikes had to be fitted with two. Each was check over and tested for excess noise. Stuart Brackwell's CRF 450 was very loud and he was sent back. Craig Bound's bike was still covered in mud from the previous day when he was organising a training day with Tamsin Jones and Gwent Police. Every bike was fitted with 3 printed number plates which many will keep until the ink has faded to remind them of the day.

The riders were flagged away from 9.00am. The format was similar to previous years with two and half 45 mile laps for the majority and one & half laps for the beginners. There were 3 tests per lap which were timed on laps two and three. The first test was a mile from the start. It began with a rocky hillclimb that glistened ominously. Event sponsor Mark Molineaux retired when needed a big dab to save his bike and he jarred his knee. The visibility on the top of the mountain was down to 50 feet but the over the years the shail tracks that meander over the moorland have been sculpted into berms that carry the riders around each bend. It is one of the reasons the Hafren Rally has proved to be so popular. The course descended back to the start where the riders could sought out anything they had forgotten before traveling North into the forest. The second test was more technical than the first so the poor visibility was less of a problem as the speeds were slower. There was a steep descent over a rock slab that was worth looking out for as a heavy landing could have dislodged a couple of nuts. After the second test there were a couple of optional loops - marked with green arrows - which gave the more adventurous riders a chance to see some "more challenging" going. The green arrows did not imply greenlaning.

By 11.00am the low numbers were starting their second lap and the sun was starting to punch it's way through the cloud. Within half an hour the skies had cleared and revealed the majestic panorama of the Hafren in Autumn. A posse of fifteen lads from Sussex parked up after each test just to take it all in. Jonathan Williams set the fastest test times on his KTM 530 & Craig Bounds won the Sports bike class on his BMW 650 Challenger, Stephen Hague was the runner up in the Trail bike class and Tony Sprowson was 3rd Robert Butler was 2nd in the Sportsbike class and young Alistair Brown was 3rd. Sam Toy in 4th missed out on the podium but he and the Dr Shox team were 3rd in the pub quiz at the get together in Llanidloes on Saturday night. Congratulations to Bob Hamilton who finished 15th in the Trailbike class on a 30 year old PE 400. Daniel Race dislocated a couple of fingers loading his bike but he still turned up and made himself useful starting the riders on the first test. Cambrian Rally's Clerk of the Course Mike Corkery was checking out the opposition and picking up a finish in the Sportsbike class. Craig Atkinson snapped his chain. Roger Brown at 61 proved that age is no bar to riding offroad and in fact over half the finishers were Over 40. The big hills tested many riders. Tony Bethwaite burnt out the clutch on his Gasgas 125 and Anthony Colwell's two wheel derive wasn't drive enough. 76 riders were classified as non finishers but this figure contained a lot of non starters.

Event Photos Can Be Found Here

RedBikeJohn's Report and Photo

Many thanks to Bob Mullins of Enduro News for sharing this report with us - original content can be found here