This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mollet

Jersey junior Jamie Howarth, number 39, competes in a 65cc race at Pleinmont. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin, 0544292)

GUERNSEY and Jersey parents are still seething that their youngsters were disqualified from a race during a controversial motocross meeting.

And one Jersey father has vowed never to bring his son to Guernsey to compete in the sport while the same race official of the Auto Cycle Union, the governing body of motorcycle sport in the UK, is involved.

‘It won’t be just me but others as well if that guy is officiating,’ warned Robert Endsor, whose son, Jamie Howarth, was one of  five junior riders disqualified. ‘It’s disgusting – what the ACU guy is saying is, you might as well leave them on the ground,’ he said.

‘It’s just out of order. How he is still standing I don’t know.

‘They are only eight years old and my son fell off in the second race and was helped by a marshal. Where is the consistency? You should use discretion with the young lads and if I saw one of the Guernsey lads fall off, I would help them out,’ said Endsor.

‘I have never seen so many people crowding around us Jersey lads. The Guernsey guys could not stop apologising,’ he said.

‘I felt sorry for the Guernsey lads. It’s not fair. It’s terrible what has happened.’

He called for the official, who has not been named publicly, to be thrown out of the sport.

‘Get rid of him – he is giving it a bad name. We are not racing in England and getting £1,000 prize money. It’s kids just wanting to enjoy themselves.

‘We don’t treat Guernsey lads like that over here. The word has gone around that we are unhappy and apparently he is ruining the sport,’ said Endsor, who admitted he was still livid a week after the meeting.

Guernseyman Jai Vaudin, 35, who is on the GK&MC subcommittee, claimed the ACU official had been too rigorous.

‘I have written to the ACU for clarification on the rules,’ he confirmed.

‘If he is going to be this rigorous, there is absolutely no point in children under the age of 10 taking part in this sport.

‘The ACU have a young riders’ development programme. Is this helping their development? No.

‘As a result of this, it has caused a major upset within the sport. It went totally against the spirit of the sport,’ he said.

‘I was absolutely livid and it took me until Sunday [the next day] to calm down.

‘My youngster, Alex, started back in October and went straight into the 65cc junior class where he is riding a fully geared motocross bike. He is a complete novice and he had been three hours in a field learning how to use the bike,’ he said.

‘He was upset. His words were, “If I can’t have help, dad, is there any point in me racing?”,’ said Vaudin.

‘He is not standing in any championship points whatsoever. At the weekend the track conditions were very boggy and slippery and geared for motocross. Because the children are using very small bikes, they have more chance of getting stuck in boggy areas and have not got the experience of more senior riders. There are a lot of falls and stalls.

‘As parents we can normally go on the track as floating marshals and it’s common sense to help them for safety and to enjoy the sport,’ he said.

‘I think the children should be allowed assistance so we can progress riders into the sport and not demoralise them. They are the future of the sport.’

Vaudin highlighted the fact that motocross was where Andy Priaulx started.

‘If we had a new rider there [on that day], I can guarantee they would not have come back. And who can blame them? What we need is a more positive attitude to help progress the children in the sport and not a negative one.

‘This has got to be a first in Guernsey for children taking part in a sport, especially in that age group of under 10,’ he said.

‘One of the Jersey parents said he will not return to Guernsey now – he is absolutely furious. His words were, “if this is the response I get coming over to Guernsey to race, then you can forget it”. It has left a sour taste in mouths.’