Cusses Gorse 2023 Times Are Changing Last weekend the SXS Racing Team heading to the ever popular Cusses Gorse in Salisbury. There was a cloud hanging over the event as it was the last ever race at the venue as it is due to close later this month. This is a huge loss to off road racing and a large hole to fill in the SXS Calendar for future years. That aside there was racing to be done and that’s exactly what we did. Open Pro Qualifying In this class the main battle remains for the minor places, so this session was an important one. The powerhouse car of Paul Severn pinned himself to the top early, but the result changed lap after lap as the track bedded in. It was close to say the least, but Championship leader Paul Severn took the top spot chased in hard by the returning Kevin Haran. Shaun Jenkinson got the best of the minor places taking third place ahead of rivals Adrian / Callum Loveridge in fourth. Tom Welbourn was disappointed in fifth after a blown shock brought his session to [...]

SXS Racing RD5 Scarva NI We Danced & We Danced Every year the British SXS Championship rolls into Northern Ireland and every year the bar seems to rise. Although the conditions stayed true to 2023 in that it rained and was generally miserable, the event and social atmosphere made this event one of the best ever. Its hard to make sense of the community that SXS Racing has become but I guess its one thing we can all look back on and smile. The track build was a challenge as the hillside track was holding water and there were also challenges around spectator safety with the shape of the land. All this solved it was time to get racing. So that’s what we did. Open Pro Qualifying This session was the first time anyone would take to the track. It would also highlight the challenges the drivers faced with the steep climbs and the aggressive off cambers. That said everyone seemed to settle in well. Tom Welbourn set the fastest lap of the session followed home by guest Miguel Prat visiting from Spain, a great result for [...]

The One That Nearly Wasn’t This track has always been and always will be special to SXS Racing. PAR Homes is still the only track in the UK that is designed solely for this style of racing, and it shows in the quality of the racing held there. However, there has always been a catch. The weather once again tried to have its say as torrential rain hit on the day leading up to the event, causing serious concerns about the event taking place. The team held onto hope and made the decision to postpone Saturday's racing to keep the surface sealed, as it was holding up well. It worked, and we managed to get the whole event off, with only the strange order of events being affected. A massive thank you to all the team behind the scenes who made this all possible, and a particular thank you to Paul Rowlands and the PAR Homes Team for all their support over the weekend. Let's have a look at what went on. Group 1: Open Pro & Veterans Pro Class Qualifying This session seems to get more interesting [...]

Delightful Duns After what can only be described as the worst start ever the Championships luck finally changed as we headed for Scotland. The weather forecast was perfect and the conditions during the track built couldn’t have been much better as the Duns track took shape for the weekend ahead. The competitors started their long drive north and it was time to get things started at last. Let’s go racing. Open Pro, Vets & Rookies Qualifying The Open Pros were set for a shake up and some missing key names meant there were points up for grabs. The field knew this, and the times were competitive from lap one. Paul Severn took full advantage and even with a turbo issue managed to take Pole for the first session beating home Shaun Jenkinson and locking off the front row. Adrian / Callum Loveridge wrestled the conditions to take third spot ahead of the class newcomer Tom Fletcher in fourth as he learned the limits of his new machine. Tom Welbourn pushed hard in the Open rookies to take the top spot in his Polaris Pro XP followed in [...]

Rain Stops Play The start of any racing season is always a challenging time, but this year has taken it to a whole new level. A bad spring across the UK has already seen round one rescheduled due to a flooded paddock. So going into this event, there was a definite tension around the weather. The track build went exactly to plan, and the team put in a fast-flowing circuit with wide corners to maximise racing. The early birds had already started to arrive, and the paddock energy was building nicely. The dozer had just pulled off the track after grading it to near perfection, and all we had left to do was to put up banners and the remaining flags to dress the venue, and we were good to go. Unfortunately, nature had other plans. I'm not sure how you would describe the weather that hit us, but it was once in a lifetime for many. Torrential rain fell, bringing ice and water in waves that just seemed to never end. The track initially held up, but it just couldn’t cope with the volume of water as [...]

Weather Impossible Last weekend saw the return of one of the best UK venues for SXS Racing and it was one everyone was looking forward to. The build-up was unusual for a track in Wales as the ground was baked solid after a week of extreme hot weather. That said, the forecast wasn’t great and the decisions regarding watering the track were difficult. A good downpour on Friday helped us out and the track was ready. It was time to hand over to the drivers. We were go for qualifying. Open Class Qualifying The conditions were perfect for what was set up to be cracker. Sean Haran flew out the blocks after a return from injury and battled most of the session with rivals McCann and Severn. Lap ten is when the pole lap came, and it was Sean Haran on front of the grid. Paul Severn wasn’t far off and certainly looked to enjoy the battle taking second place ahead of Mark McCann in third. Sean Jenkinson took fourth place setting an all-expert top four and a great first corner of race one. Louis McGuffog was next [...]

What Goes Up, Must Come Down Last weekend saw the Polaris British SXS Championship head to the Lakes in what was to be a challenging weekend. Changing weather meant the event team hand to move things around to get everything done in drivable conditions so that is what they did. Delayed slightly but the stage was set. Open Class Qualifying The session seemed to flow the way most would expect. Mark McCann took pole for the experts followed in by championship leader Paul Severn setting up a battle into the first corner, which many had hoped for. Third place went to Louis McGuffog settling quickly into his new RS1 followed by Shaun Jenkinson in fourth. Tom Welbourn again chipped away at his lap time in a mature drive to fifth ahead of Adrian / Callum Loveridge in sixth spot. Jess Braker was the next car over the line in an off colour seventh for the flying youngster. Could she improve as the day progressed? Eighth place was taken by Olly McGuffog in another solid session for the first-year rookie. Rianna Harris and Jeremy Levick closed off the back [...]

Round 3 Duns Excitement was high for the big trip north and those who travelled were rewarded with a cracker. Close racing across all classes on a real top-class track that rewarded many and punished a few. Open class were the first to take to the track so let’s see what went down. Open Class Qualifying This session was an interesting one as everyone looked to see if the big power pros could get their power down, or if the small power cars could benefit from the track changes. The answer wasn’t really a surprise as Mark McCann put his pro firmly on the top spot with a blinding lap time that nobody could touch. Next in was Shaun Jenkinson ahead of the other championship contenders Sean Haran and Paul Severn. The lap times did tell a story as the gap was unusually big as some adjusted quicker than others to the new reversed track. Next in was the battle of the fastest rookies led by Tom Welbourn on the same second as the expert in fourth spot. Jess Barker pushed hard to keep up but fell just [...]

Cusses Gorse After an amazing start to the season, round two was upon us and it had lots to live up to - it didn’t disappoint. A world level venue paired with another strong attendance set up a great weekend racing in all classes. Here is what happened. Open Class Qualifying This session took up exactly where the last round left off and it was tight at the top. Mark McCann took pole but Paul Severn in second place was just five tenths behind. Shaun Haran secured third place with another of the experts Adrian / Callum Loveridge in fourth. Fifth place was the first of the rookie’s home as Jess Barker beat her Godfather Louis McGuffog for the rookie top spot. David Watsons consistency again proved important placing him seventh on the grid. Wayne Harris had a good session moving up the pack to eighth beating good friend Nick barker in ninth no doubt fuelling some humour in the pit area. Tenth place belonged to Rio Longdon which marked the front car of five all on the same second, again proving there is competition all over the [...]