It’s been an interesting time in the Maxxis British Motocross Championship. Round three of the championship was unceremoniously cancelled two days before it was due to run because of the weather. Well, who would’ve thought that! But, it’s water under the bridge and there’s no point crying over spilt milk. So onwards the circus goes to round four at Canada Heights on the outskirts of London (well, sort-of).
Everyone’s been looking forward to this one; the Sidcup club who runs this round always preps the track well, and it is in glorious sunshine with temperatures later in the day to match Spain or Africa that racing gets underway.
Qualifying starts a few minutes late, but soon enough, current championship leader Mel Pocock for the Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM team puts in the quickest time, followed by Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Matiss Karro. In the subsequent super-pole, it’s Karro who takes pole though, with Pocock second, and, much to some surprise, Pocock’s team-mate James Dunn third!
The MX1 class sees the two world championship rivals, Hitachi Construction’s Shaun Simpson and Wilvo Forkrent’s Jake Nicholls, at the top both in qualifying and the super-pole. Third in both instances is the current champion, MBO Sport ASA Scaffolding Yamaha’s Kristian Whatley. Finally, the boys in the MXY2 class get their twenty minutes of qualifying time, and it’s St. Blazey MX Amped Honda’s Josh Gilbert on pole, followed by Dyer & Butler KTM’s Liam Knight and MXW Racing’s Ollie Osmaston in third.
The day’s temperatures rise to scorching point, and so does the subsequent racing. In the MX2 class, the first race is a mix of KTM bikes at the top. While Karro goes down on the start, his team mate Adam Sterry takes the lead. Sterry later loses the lead to Pocock, with Pocock’s own team-mate Ben Watson taking second. The second and third races are Karro’s; after learning his lesson in the first race, he chooses a different gate and goes for gold each time. While Pocock is second across the line in the second race, in race three it’s Pendrich Height Services Kawasaki’s Bryan Mackenzie, who slips into second after only three laps and runs a perfect race. Watson, third in the second race, uses smarts in the third race and holds a position that will give him a podium without going overboard. Karro, Pocock and Watson take the podium, but there are two casualties that are carted off to hospital; Dunn goes away with a dislocated knee that initially looks like a really nasty compound fracture, while MBO Sport’s Lewis Trickett spends most of his second race trackside with a dislocated hip. Ouch!
There is not much to be said for the MX1 race other than “wow”. Nicholls and Simpson set a blazing pace, one that very few are capable of keeping up with. In the first race, Nicholls has the advantage over Simpson, while Whatley is a distant third, over forty seconds down. In the second race it’s Simpson across the line first, with former British champion, Buildbase Honda Racing’s Brad Anderson nearly a minute down in third. The final race sees an upset as Nicholls goes down in the first lap and has to fight his way forward. He returns to eighth place at the chequered flag, while Simpson goes into cruise mode up front, with Whatley in second just yards behind. Former world championship rider Gert Krestinov, racing for Apico LPE Kawasaki, is third, having kept up with Simpson all the way to the two-lap flag. The podium is predictably Simpson, Nicholls, Whatley.
In the MXY2 class, it is a mash-up between Gilbert, Osmaston and team-mate Mitchell Lewis, with a dose of Knight thrown in. Just like the previous round in Lyng, Knight’s chances at a podium evaporate in the first race with a DNF. Gilbert runs a smooth race from start to finish, while Osmaston has his hands full with Lewis and Norman Watt Motorcycle Kawasaki’s Jason Meara. On the finish line it’s Lewis who has the upper hand, with Osmaston third. The second race sees Knight at the front for a lap before being forced to concede his place to Osmaston. Lewis is fourth behind Gilbert for the majority of the race. The podium is a two-way tie between Osmaston and Gilbert, with Lewis third.
There is no doubt that the loss of a round has sharpened the urgency of not making mistakes amongst both the adults and the youth classes, and it is becoming clear that consistency up front is going to count from now on. That said, this site wouldn’t be doing its job if it ignored the dynamics in the sport. It is unfortunate that there are rumblings of malcontent in the paddock about the loss of the third round. Being forced to run a seven-round championship twice in two years sans contingency does seem somewhat odd, and it is the sanctioning body’s job to ensure that this does not happen again. From what we understand, the powers that be recognise this and are working on a solution.
Maxxis British Motocross Championship – Results
MX2
1. Mel Pocock (HM Plant KTM UK) 67
2. Matiss Karro (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 63
3. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 57
4. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Apico Honda) 54
5. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Height Services Kawasaki) 49
6. Steven Clarke (Dyer & Butler KTM) 44
7. Michael Eccles (Silver Action KTM) 38
8. Steve Lenoir (Dantec Husqvarna UK) 32
9. Jordan Booker (KTM) 32
10. Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 32
MX2 Championship:
1. Mel Pocock (HM Plant KTM UK) 196
2. Matiss Karro (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 189
3. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Apico Honda) 161
4. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Height Services Kawasaki) 143
5. Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 130
6. Ben Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 123
7. Steve Clarke (Dyer & Butler KTM) 101
8. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda) 96
9. Steven Lenoir (Dantec Husqvarna UK) 90
10. Lewis Trickett (MBO Sport Yamaha) 90
MX1:
1. Shaun Simpson (HM Plant KTM UK) 72
2. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 60
3. Kristian Whatley (MBO Sport Yamaha) 57
4. Brad Anderson (Buildbase Honda Racing) 52
5. Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) 50
6. Gert Krestinov (Apico LPE Kawasaki Racing) 44
7. Shane Carless (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 39
8. Alex Snow (Phoenix Tools Rocket Honda) 29
9. Priit Rätsep (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 27
10. Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler KTM) 27
MX1 Championship:
1. Shaun Simpson (HM Plant KTM UK) 211
2. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) 194
3. Kristian Whatley (MBO Sport Yamaha) 165
4. Brad Anderson (Buildbase Honda Racing) 146
5. Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) 119
6. Gert Krestinov (Apico LPE Kawasaki Racing) 117
7. Elliott Banks-Browne (Buildbase Honda Racing) 100
8. Nathan Watson (Dantec Husqvarna) 99
9. Alex Snow (Phoenix Tools Rocket Honda) 95
10. Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler KTM) 86
MXY2:
1. Oliver Osmaston (MXW Racing Honda) 45
2. Josh Gilbert (St Blazey MX Amped Honda) 45
3. Mitchell Lewis (Honda MX World) 40
4. Tom Neal (Motoshack O’Neal KTM) 33
5. Jay Hague (Bike It Cosworth Dixon Racing Yamaha) 30
6. Jason Meara (Norman Watt Motorcycles Kawasaki) 29
7. Connor Clark (Imperial Car Centre Husqvarna) 24
8. Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) 22
9. Robbie Dowson (Graham Charlton’s Motorcycles KTM) 22
10. Sid Evans (CBS KAS Suspension KTM) 21
MXY2 Championship:
1. Josh Gilbert (St Blazey MX Amped Honda) 87
2. Oliver Osmaston (MXW Racing Honda) 83
3. Jason Meara (Norman Watt Motorcycles Kawasaki) 79
4. Tom Neal (Motoshack O’Neal KTM) 59
5. Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) 58
6. Connor Clark (Imperial Car Centre Husqvarna) 57
7. Mitchell Lewis (Honda MX World) 56
8. Jay Hague (Bike It Cosworth Dixon Racing Yamaha) 56
9. Robbie Dowson (Graham Charlton’s Motorcycles KTM) 35
10. Jordan Eccles (DRF Powerband KTM) 31