Jed Etchells dominated rounds three and four of the ACU EnduroGB Elite championship at Helmsley in Yorkshire over the weekend.

It followed an improved performance in rounds three of the EnduroGP series in Finland a week earlier.

The Helmsley event featured relentless liaison sections, challenging terrain and two demanding special tests in dry and dusty conditions.

Early championship leader Jamie McCanney set the quickest time on the opening test with the Triumph, but later incurred a knee injury and failed to complete Saturday. He did not start day two.

Fellow Manxman Etchells delivered a near-perfect performance on his Moto-Fit Racing Sherco to secure the Elite class victory on both days. He was 33.55sec clear of KTM’s Jack Edmondson on day one and a reduced 7.61s ahead in round four on Sunday.

Jack Keenan of St Jude’s continues to make his mark in the championship class, finishing ninth out of 18 riders on Saturday on the Fast Eddy Triumph (third E2), improving to seventh on Sunday ahead of fellow Junior World Championship rookie Sam Hughes. Keenan was first of the E2 class riders on Sunday.

Ashley Kelly of Strang finished 22nd in the Expert class on day one and 23rd n Sunday astride his new 250cc Triumph. Jack Collins was 26th overall on Saturday (sixth E2) but a DNF on Sunday.

Jack Keenan’s older brother Will was runner-up to Richard Ely in the over-35 class on day one and a close third on day two astride his Gas Gas.

Teenager Stan Cubbon was fifth clubman on day one and third on Sunday, just 16s off the top spot with his 200 Beta. Orry Millward was 10th and 14th on his KTM.

Mike Turner returned from a head injury incurred in the opening round to finish fifth and third in the veteran over-50 category.

Attention shifts to the upcoming rounds here in the north of the island hosted by Ramsey MCC on July 4-5 (the weekend before the Southern 100).

Jed Etchells returned to somewhere near his regular spot in the world standings with a 16th place on day two of the Finnish round at Salpausselka over the weekend leading into TT fortnight.

He was 21st on the Moto-Fit Racing Sherco on day one, seventh E3, and fourth Brit again on Sunday when he was fifth in class.

At the sharp end, Italy’s Andrea Verona beat Josep Garcia of Spain by a mere eight 10ths of a second on day one, while Garcia was 1.3s in front on Sunday when leading Brits Steve Holcombe and Brad Freeman were third and fourth.

Jack Keenan was 17th in the Junior class on Saturday, 23rd on Sunday (10th and 13th J2). He was second of the British juniors on both days behind Sam Hughes, the rider he beat at Helmsley a week later.

The next two rounds are back-to-back in Portugal on June 12-14 and 19-21.

The second half of Ramsey MCC’s TT enduro series takes place at West Kimmeragh, near Bride this Sunday.

Signing on for the Hare & Hounds event will be from 9am for a 10 o’clock start. There will be a youth race (8-14s), dependent on numbers, with two races of at least 45 minutes each (morning and afternoon) for 15s and over, no quads.

The event will run even if there is racing on the Mountain Course.