AFTER a lengthy dry spell, the scene was set for what promised to be a big, season-opening Herefordshire Grand Prix grass track meet hosted by Ledbury MCC, reports MIKE WOOD.

But typical of the unpredictable Great British climate, cloud rolled in during the afternoon before a heavy, short April shower totally changed track conditions.

Despite the club giving the surface time to recover and working hard with remedial repairs, rain on a baked, hard surface created what resembled a skidpan, thus leaving clerk of the course Adrian Croft to unfortunately make the inevitable decision and call time on proceedings early in the third leg.

This was heartbreaking for all concerned after Ledbury MCC had prepared a fantastic, fast, smooth racing strip for riders and a large crowd had been thrilled by the action to that point.

Opening the Herefordshire Grand Prix was a 500cc solo heat as Darryl Ritchings produced a classy gate-to-flag win.

Ritchings then went on to be unbeaten, winning another couple of heats with James Wright (2) and Alfie Bowtell the other 500cc solo victors.

Graham Thomas (250cc), Jack Roberts (350cc) , Tony Atkin and John Cox (Uprights) all scored a couple of race wins each on their way to topping the scorechart in their respective classes.

The GT140s proved to be particularly competitive at Pencombe with three riders, Mark Scopes, Ian Clark and Wayne Broadhurst, finishing level on points at the top whilst John Priest and Graeme Brown were the top Pre-75 solo riders on the day.

The always spectacular sidecar classes again provided great entertainment.

In the 500cc class the pairing of Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin won both completed races whilst in the big 1,000cc class five different crews won races.

At the time of abandonment, it was Tom Cossar/Ryan Wharton and Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb leading the way.

The next Ledbury MCC event at Pencombe is on Sunday, August 3, when they host the ACU British International Masters, the biggest date of the 2025 grasstrack racing calendar.

Class standings at the time of abandonment

250cc solo 1 Graham Thomas 2 Austin Riches 3 Shane Knight 4 Ben Phillips 5 Dylan Huthwaite 6 Tim Greig.

350cc solo 1 Jack Roberts 2 Steve Garside 3 Dave Mears 4 Barry Powell 5 Tim Curnock 6 Liam Ashcroft.

500cc solo 1 Daryl Ritchings 2 James Wright 3 Arran Butcher 4 Jack Robeerts 5 Cameron Taylor 6 Martin Williams.

GT140 solo joint 1st Mark Scopes, Ian Clark, Wayne Broadhurst 4 Luke Wicks 5 Kevin Gwillam joint 6th Duncan Burton and Connor Sargent.

Upright solo joint 1st Tony Atkin and John Cox 3 Phil Kynman 4 David Hollingsbee 5 Luke Tuck 6 David Hammersley.

Pre-75 solo 1 John Priest 2 Graeme Brown 3 Mike Dowling 4 John Weeks 5 Martin Adams 6 Andrew Rowson.

500cc Sidecars 1 Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin 2 Barrie Bennett/Rowan Lucas 3 Shaun Hughes/Louis Bennett 4 Richard Webb/Ant Goodwin 5 Mike Skelding/Louis Skelding 6 Nick Bull/Sam Hall.

1000cc RH Sidecars joint 1st Tom Cossar/Ryan Wharton and Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb 3 Matt Fumarola/Andi Wilson 4 Neal Owen/Jason Farwell 5 Clint Blondel/Max Chadwick joint 6th Simon Beaney/Brook Fowler, Robbie Simmons/Frankie Courtney and Terry Saunters/Liam Brown.