Two local riders, both set to contest the 2026 Enduro World Championship, teamed up to win the Ramsey MCC pairs event at Bride on Boxing Day.

Jed Etchells, who is jumping ship from Fantic to a UK-based team, shared Jack Keenan’s 350cc Gas Gas four-stroke for the three-hour annual event round West Kimmeragh.

Juan Knight, amongst the oldest in the race at 50, surprisingly grabbed the quickest getaway from the Le Mans start when riders had to run 30 yards across the track to where there partners were holding their bikes.

But by the end of the lap Max Ingham led on the 10-year-old 450cc KTM that David Knight rode in the 2015 ISDE in Slovakia. Ingham, seventh into the first corner, won the 2024 event on his own 250 Triumph with David Knight, but was this time paired with sister Yasmin’s long-time boyfriend Jamie McCanney who won in 2023 with Mikey Evans.

At the end of the lap Ingham was three seconds ahead of Etchells, who was right ahead of him at the start, then Beau Brown on partner Liam Smith’s 250 KTM.

Ingham’s lead lasted less than two laps before issues with the rear wheel caused him to pit. The spaces in the rear-wheel were not correct and the wheel began to move around in the chassis, resulting in the hub collapsing.

So, each lapping in the region of six minutes, the Gas Gas pairing of Etchells and Keenan grabbed the lead which they never relinquished.

Enjoying the event’s best conditions for several years, they quickly built up an ever-growing lead over the pairing of outgoing motocross Centre champion and mate Smith who recently took over from him as Isle of Man No1.

Others going well included Jamie Cringle/Jake Subachus, Ryan Cringle/Callum Purves, Craig Norrey and young Callum Christian and Bobby Moyer with partner Ste Asbridge.

Meanwhile, early leaders McCanney and Ingham had sourced another KTM rear-wheel and were in the groove again, picking off slower pairs ahead of them to battle their way back into the top 10 by half-distance.

Mikey Evans and Marcus Simpson, two TT men who raced in the Macau GP a matter of a few weeks ago, pitted to work on the rear-wheel of their machine which had lost several bolts from the rear sprocket.

Cringle and Purves retired with a broken frame on the 350 KTM after 17 laps when holding onto fifth place behind Etchells/Keenan, Brown/Smith, Cringle/Subachus and Norrey/Christian.

McCanney and Ingham - having charged hard to make up lost ground in the early stages - also called it a day in the closing stages when the borrowed KTM began to overheat. They had got up to sixth.

There were no such issues for runaway leaders Etchells and Keenan who remained fast and consistent, but most of all out of trouble to win the race by a safe distance from Smith and Brown.

They clocked up 32 laps of the near-two mile perimeter course in a tad under 3hr 03min - two more than Brown/Smith with Cringle/Subachus and Christian/Norrey next, both on 29 laps.

Steady throughout, Jack Collins and Will Duggan finished fifth on 27 laps, followed by Knight/Harman, Alex Bottomley/Grant Skeoch and Evans/Simpson all on 26. Despite the one-lap penalty, Knight and Harman were the winners of the over-and-under-40 class from father and son Russell and Orry Millward on an ageing Maico.

McCanney and Ingham did enough in 2hr 41min to be credited with ninth place, despite losing two or three laps in the first half-hour. There is no doubt they would have been close to the winners if they hadn’t hit the problems they encountered.

The best mixed crew were Jordan Corkill and Shantelle Thorpe in a solid 13th place.

The keen contest between the various TT pairings saw Evans and Simpson out in front on 26 laps, followed by Conor Cummins and David Rigby on 20. They were only four minutes up on double Superstock TT winner Dean Harrison and Paul Cassidy on the same lap count.

The oldest combined age were all-rounders Gary Flowers and Adrian Smith at 118, who finished 17th overall.

The youth race over one hour was won by Riley Faragher of Ramsey Grammar School from fellow 12-year-old Abe Cain of Castle Rushen High School and 14-year-old George Watterson of Andreas.

All of the youngsters did well to ride the full course for a full hour on their own.

Senior pairs (three hours): 1, Jed Etchells/Jack Keenan 32 laps in 3hr 2min 49sec; 2, Beau Brown/Liam Smith 30; 3, Jamie Cringle/Jake Subachus 29; 4, Callum Christian/Craig Norrey 29; 5, Jack Collins/Will Duggan 27; 6, Harvey Harman/Juan Knight 26; 7, Alex Bottomley/Grant Skeoch 26; 8, Mikey Evans/Marcus Simpson 26; 9, Max Ingham/Jamie McCanney 25; 10, Bobby Moyer/Ste Asbridge 25; 11, Kyle Batty/Harry Shand 25; 12, Peter Beaumont/Callum Cowley 25; 13, Jordan Corkill/Shantelle Thorpe 25; 14, Orry & Russell Millward 25; 15, Joe Cannan/Stan Kinnish 25; 16, Terry Gaines/Craig Wyers 24; 17, Gary Flowers/Ade Smith 23; 18, Tom Knight/Paul Goldie 23; 19, Illiam Christian/Richard Smith 23; 20, Carl Wynne-Smythe/Richard Lowes 22; 21, Ben Hardy/Ryan McDermott 22; 22, Matty Davies/Danny Grady 22; 23, Taylor Shipton/Max Turner 21; 24, Conor Cummins/David Rigby 20; 25, Dean Harrison/Paul Cassidy 20; 26, Ryan Davis/Alex Pressly 20; 27, Phil Gunnell/Peter Hughes 19; 28, Ste Bannister/Alex Trafford 18; 29, Tom Richards/Brandon Lindsay 18; 30, Sean Crone/Liam Wood 18; 31, Si Collister/Matthew Walmsley 17; 32, Michael Butler/Mark Inman 13. DNF: Ryan Cringle/Callum Purves 17; Will Cawte/Glen Kensall 11; Brandon Shaw/Nathan Cannell eight; Richard Murphy/Justin Hughes four; Stan Cubbon/Travis Meechan three.

Youth Solo (one hour): 1, Riley Faragher nine laps in 1hr 01m 56s; 2, Abe Cain eight; 3, George Watterson seven; 4, Carter Cubbon six. DNF Isaac Artus two.