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On the original staging date for the opening round of the 2009 National Hewitt XC series back in February, eight inches of snow covered Chavenage, a venue that has endless potential and which sits in a gorgeous Cotswold valley with Gatcombe Park, the royal residence of HRH Princess Anne in the distance. For the re-staging of this Midwest MCC promoted event on Sunday though,there could have been no greater contrast in conditions as warm, Spring like sunshine greeted the truly fantastic 307 strong entry, again proving the immense popularity of not only the Hewitt series but also XC racing in general. At most venues, an entry of this size would create congestion, but such is the fast, flowing nature of the vast Chavenage expanses with its combination of motocross style blasts and open wooded sections that a majority of riders managed to comfortably complete the three hour blast with little difficulty. Once again Midwest MCC produced a quality event for their entry and so it was therefore rather fitting that the eventual top Expert honours in this Hewitt opener should be claimed by one of their main team riders, Ollie Moyce. However the Husaberg rider certainly had to work overtime for his win, snatching victory on the final lap of the event following a thrilling tussle with Matt Ridgway.

 

Right from the start, Matt Ridgway had been the early pace-setter, forging an advantage ahead of Ollie Moyce before the latter eventually hit the front. Then, came the first moment of drama as Ollie Moyce stopped to refuel in the parc-ferme. Whilst filling up, Ollie Moyce lost his balance and was trapped under his machine with the fuel spilling onto his race clothing.

 

Once upright again, Ollie regained his composure before racing off in hot pursuit of Ridgway, lap by lap reeling him into his sights. With just one lap remaining, Moyce had finally caught the Suzuki rider, locking him into his sights, and the battle of the young guns was well and truly on. On that final lap though came the race deciding moment in the only wet, muddy area of the entire circuit. On the exit from a rutted stream crossing, Matt Ridgway spun off and so close was the charging Moyce that he was unable to avoid collision, falling on top of his stranded rival. In the battle to remount, Moyce was quickest to climb aboard his machine and regain traction before blasting off to take the win.