Whitley Mill Trial Rd - 7 of the S.E Centre Championship held at: Penshurst, Kent 4/7/04 Club hosting event: Owls M.C Ltd Gas Gas ace Richard Ely totally blitzed the expert field today to the tune of 9 marks clear of the second place rider Ashley Newbery. The monster mark margin was a huge irritation to his rivals and Ely stood alone on a pinnacle of excellence looking down on his squabbling second place challengers. However, the excellent performance was nearly over shadowed after the first lap respite. Ely was in trouble at section 14 when unrepentantly the Gas Gas ace's rhythm stopped completely and with a freak jerk of the bike he just managed to force the bike forward and power through some deep boggy mud. He seemed gripped by some sadistic primeval urge. Ely's (without sounding to cliché) natural instinct was kill or be killed in this section - It was totally remarkable he didn't 'five' the section and I have never seen a rider work so hard - absolutely awesome! Ely set a string of cleans over the course, which was unmatchable, but more importantly managed to stay largely out of trouble. He topped the score sheet, riding his bike like it never even made contact with the ground, floating on a sea of confidence, pulverising the competition. The small glimmer of light shines brightly for Ely, arguably the only expert able to challenge Newbery's current championship lead. Newbery's second place was still a defiant gesture to his challengers, including Ely, but the winning streak on Newbery has now been broken. Newbery's challenge for the win at Penshurst was to end at sections 14 and 15. The mud in these sections was like glue, very deep and capable of requiring two+ individuals to retrieve a bike. Furthermore a large array of fallen tree obstacles created a nightmare for Newbery. Newbery's lead in the championship is declining. He still managed a cracking ride and I expect he might be saying "I'll be back", to reap his revenge defeat. Today marked a turning point in the championship and banging on Newbery's door is Ely just 20+ marks adrift. If Ely maintains his performance today for the remaining rounds, the championship looks set to go to the wire. The Gas Gas legend Gavin Cooper's victory hopes hit the skids early on the first lap. He and Newbery had picked awkward launch positions in section 14 and 15, which cost them both dearly. Cooper's cool was stretched to the limit, when his Gas Gas decided on a different line on a bumpy drop in section 8 and didn't bother to pre-warn him - ouch! Cooper led the way for the final podium position, but the Owls rider was closely followed by the Sherco master himself, Stephen Foord, challenging him section by section. Foord completed a spectator first lap, but was hampered more badly by sections 14 and 15 on laps two and tree. This eventual handed third place to Cooper. Gas Gas rider Rowan Puttock was out of salts riding to 5th on the day, which was a little unexpected from the second place rider in the championship. Foord was the fourth-best on the day and is now within touching distance of his teammate, Adam Farley sitting fourth in the overall championship. There were concerns about the course when it started to rain, dramatic 'slip-slid' was at every turn, more so experienced by the Intermediate and Novice classes. Most walked the course a number times, which was wise considering how much the sections had changed. Ryan Chapman clung on to snatch victory in the Intermediate class, with some 14 marks clear of the second placed rider Andrew Ely. It was clear that Ely would need some big slips from Chapman to have any chance of the win, but he ran into his own troubles in the shape of a large dollops of Kent mud in a number of the sections. Colin Mote managed to limit his losses to take the final podium position and earned valuable championship points. The Novice class win went to the worthy Frank Puttock closely followed by Pete Southern, also within a handful of mark of Puttock. Reigning second in the championship Puttock was forced to sweep the sections for his rivals and this helped Derek Baker when he was neck and neck throughout the first lap with Southern. Shear grit determination allowed Southern to pull ahead on the final standings. My thanks go to the Land Owner, Observers and Owls M.C.C. by: Cliff Barnett