Ropers clean up in round four of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/ACU Eastern Enduro Championship

Roper was the winning name in round four of the G H Motorcycles/Husqvarna/ACU Eastern Enduro Championship, with three riders with that surname victorious.

The latest round of the series took place at Home Farm, in Hadham, and marshals were put to the test, as much as the riders, by pulling, pushing and lifting bikes out of the way.

Conditions changed by the minute, with several early, heavy downpours making the steep sides more treacherous for anyone trying to traverse the gully either side of the track.

The rest of the track was made up of established woodland, with perfect going punctuated by logs, narrow turns and deadly, slippery tree roots.

Open farmland allowed for some speed, when not taped up, to create a chicane.

The special test on laps two and three of the seven laps required involved some tricky ditches along the bottom field, which created a few problems, and sadly the wooded section caused the early retirement of Joe Phillips, after a crash in the woods.

Phillips, who was chasing Sudbury Motorcycling Club member Jake Roper’s rear mudguard for another one-two finish, may have to wait for the next round, at Blaxhall on July 7, to continue that battle.

The Roper household must have celebrated a great Father’s Day, as wins came for father and son in the Clubman section and Expert Vets section.

Jake Roper fended off the challenge of Iford’s Jack Austin and the Sudbury duo of Joseph Hall and Jo Henthorn to win the Clubman class.

Meanwhile, Phil Roper came out on top in the Expert Vets class, with Gavin Hockey and Lee Monger completing an all-Sudbury top three.

Another Roper, Jamie Roper, won the Championship class after a quiet few seasons recovering from injuries.

Braintree’s Will Hughes finished in second place, ahead of Sudbury member Myles Saunders in third.

Luke Parker, of the Norwich Vikings, Jason Morland, from Halstead, and Sudbury’s James Barker rounded off the top six.

Diss rider Lee Whitney won the Expert class competition, ahead of Bury St Edmunds’ Tom Sargent, while the top six finishers in the Clubman Vets all came from Sudbury.

Paul Belton led the way, followed by Jason Carsbolt, Simon Davies, Jeff Turner, Martin Gunton and David Keeble.

Top honours in the Supervets class went to Sudbury’s Graham Mays, with the Sudbury trio of Andy Mason, Jez Moss and Nigel Ross following him across the line.

Kyle Betts, from Diss, won the Novice class, with Sidcup’s Huw Williams his nearest challenger.