Brighton and District Motorcycle Club were back on top form at their annual motocross event at the Piddingworth circuit.

It was cancelled last year due to the threat of Foot and Mouth and postponed the year before because of the petrol strikes.

Lady luck watched over the circuit off Ditchling Road this year, however, and near perfect weather was a major factor in its success for both riders and spectators alike.

The Mr Scooter sponsored Classic Pre '85 Sidecar class was started somewhat differently to usual with the few modern machines being set off 15 seconds earlier than the classic bikes to make two separate races.

Sidecar veteran Colin Philpott was back in the saddle after his recent injury and, with Colin Dunkley in the chair, they lead the way for the first sidecar race.

This proved to be his only finish of the day though. Martin Guildford and Rob Batten were happy to take the overall crown in the modern class with a second and two firsts.

The classics were a real crowd-pleaser. Brother and sister team Michael and Susannah Mead took a consistent 1-2-2 victory and the overall first place in front of their proud grandfather and race commentator Lofty Lucas.

Keith and Helen Lessiter, owners of the Mr Scooter shop in Haywards Heath and sponsors of the event, took overall fifth despite having spent most of the weekend helping to set up the track.

Visiting French sidecar team Pierre and Germain Sacchetini were sixth.

Just as he did two years ago, Dan Beamish, from Small Dole, swept the board again in the Expert class and won all three races with Simon Dearing and Simon Wise being the only real contenders in either race.

Wise lead the way for most of the last race, but finally succumbed to the pressure from Beamish two laps before the end.

Darren Lee starred in the junior races and finished up with an impressive 1-1-2. Lee lead all three races until the final few minutes of the last race when 16-year-old James Harris took the lead and eventually the chequered flag.

Brighton's Alaistair Brown, also 16, had a small mishap during the first race and limped back to the pits. However, he returned for his next race on his home track.

In the Ace Fourstroke class the lead was fought out by Simon Wise and Justin Robinson in the first leg. Simon Dearing's name was never far from the top three in all three races and he topped off his day with a 3-2-1 in the fourstroke class and two seconds in the Expert class.

Mark Gessey's classic Cheyney BSA seemed to find the track a bit tough going and did not make it to the end of the first race which was a shame as his was the only classic solo bike in the event.