Round three: The Great Eccleston Show
25th Jul 2025
Round three: pullers pick up the pace
Round three of the 2025 BTPA championship series, sponsored by Mitas, took place recently at the Great Eccleston show, under the watchful eye of the North West Tractor Pullers Club.
The event got underway on Saturday afternoon, with Super Farm and Limited Pro Stock classes racking up the points tally ahead of Sunday's main event. But the weekend was made all the more punchy with a double-header for the Limited Pro Stock class, with a host of points available on both days.
Fierce temperatures from a prolific summer heatwave didn't deter competitors from trying, though it might well have hampered the crowd from cheering, as many were desperate to find shade, and escape from the 30-degree heat. The Super Farm class revealed a new class winner, with Ifan Thomas on the Evil Donkey taking the top spot and lifting the youngster to third place overall. There's now just eight points separating the top three in this class.
Jamie Humphrey is beginning to enjoy some payback for all the time and effort put into his Ford Limited Pro Stock called Blue Wicked. Jamie took the top spot in both day's points classes, and with it, cemented a 20-point lead over Ed Bateman with his Major Madness after a Sunday's eight-way pull off. There was also a close battle in the Pro Stock pull-off too, with just 25cm separating Kevin Carnegie's Xtreme Green from Wyn Thomas' second place Evil Dragon. Only two points now separate this pair in the title race. Diesel Dragon, thwarted by mechanical challenges this season, was unable to make the pull-off much to driver Nathan Jones' frustration.
Sunday's Super Sport Trucks saw five competitors fighting it out for podium places, with Stephen Charles' Brutus Thundertruck beating Duncan Clitheroe's Thirsty Turtle to the top spot.
The NWTPC ran a smooth event over the two days of pulling action, with the British sledge team delivering some top-flight sledging to make the competition as close as ever, in all classes. It sets a great scene for round four in Brechin, before we return to the Great Eccleston track over the August bank holiday weekend for the last round of the season, to find out who will become this year's British Champions...
Results from the Great Eccleston show pull, along with the latest points standing after round three, can be found here:
Round four - and the penultimate round of the 2025 BTPA championship series sponsored by Mitas - heads north to Brechin on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th August, and is hosted by the Scottish Tractor Pullers Club at Angus, DD9 6RL.