The fifth event of the Northern Off Road Club’s Cross Country Championship, held on a hot, sunny and dusty July Sunday at Gainsthorpe, Lincolnshire, produced a surprising leaderboard writes Gavin Lodge. Current series leader, Ashley Short was quickest over the opening run, but out of the event on run two, due to a broken rose joint.
Ian Gregg hit the front only to be overtaken by Steve Hickman on run three. Both Martin Hay and Ant Jackson looked likely to hang onto the leading pair’s pace, but Hay dropped out of contention with broken suspension on run five; Hickman and Gregg swapped times for the rest of the day, with Hickman taking his first ever NORC victory, with a winning margin of just nine seconds. Behind them, Jackson was unable to hold off a late charge by Robert Simmonite, who surged past to claim third spot, within the last couple of runs. Tim Sagar was fifth.
