The 2011 Masters Cup competition reached its conclusion with the Cambridge City Race on 22nd October. Janet Gibson gained an excellent 4th in W70 overall, Richard Rae 5th in M65, and Martin Wilson 8th in M60. Well done to these regular competitors for completing this marathon competition of 16 events over the past ten months, with the best eight scores to count. After the event, we caught up with our heroes and asked their views on this new competition:
Did you always plan to compete in the MC once you saw it announced?:
Janet: I never knew what it was. Am I really 4th? I’ve not been following it!
Richard: It was very difficult to find any details anywhere; it was hidden away on the BO website. I cottoned on to it after a few events. I will always travel to good events on good terrain, so it did not really change my event plans. Gaining points did seem rather dependent on who didn’t turn up!
Martin: I saw the list of events, and realised that I would probably be doing most of them anyway. It seemed to be designed for the top five in the class to battle it out, favouring the person with the largest fuel tank, who is prepared to travel the furthest. Third place in the Welsh Champs gets the same points as third place over two combined long days at the JK, which seems odd. But as the season progressed I did become more interested.
Will you be focussing on the Masters Cup in 2012?:
Janet: Well, if I’ve got 4th this year, I’ll have to go after it again next year, won’t I?!
Richard: I’ll go to a lot of the events anyway, so I’ll be involved. I suspect it’ll get harder from now on, though, as people know more about it, and perhaps will attend more of the events.
Martin: The events for 2012 look a good mix. I move up to M65 next year, so I will be trying to get closer to the top in both the Masters Cup and the rankings. It’ll be a tough year, I suspect.
Actual scores for all classes in the 2011 UK Masters Cup can be found at http://www.oxfordfusion.com/ukmc/
Finally, congratulations to Richard and Martin for achieving Championship Badge standard during 2011. Details are in the latest Focus magazine. With only seven available events to count towards this award, it is perhaps more awkward to achieve than in previous years.
