Sunday July 11, 2010 at 11:39pm
This years BYMX Championship has without doubt a definite slant towards the sandier circuits - and following a brief flirtation with hardpacked dirt at round four Dean Moor, round five of this years Express Insurance sponsored series returns to the looser stuff this coming weekend July 17th /18th with a visit to Doncaster Motoparc Finingley.
In the Junior 65s Albie Wilkie looked a class apart in West Cumbria but the London Express can fully expect the challenge to be stiffer this time around with the South Yorkshire sand potentially acting as a leveler in the tiddler class. Albie currently holds sway in the championship stakes with Taylor Hammal in second place 9 points adrift of him. Keenan Hird is third in the table 17 points off the lead and the realistic championship challenge for the BYMX 65cc crown barring complete disaster is between these three guys.
In the SW 85cc section Oli Osmaston will be back on the start line following his recent injury and the contest for the SW honours is now going to be a true classic with a five way battle at the business end as we go forward towards the seasons climax at Cusses Gorse in September. Currently Cornish-man Josh Gilbert has a slender one point advantage over Robert Yates at the top with Conrad Mewse 14 points off the lead in third- Conrad has a points total of 151. Oli Osmaston is in fourth on 150 points and Sid Evans is in fifth on 149. Tight or What!
Thirteen year old Adam Sterry riding the four stroke Honda has been the very model of consistency so far in this years BYMX series with only a loose drive sprocket at Norley blotting what has a been a superb season long copy book. Adam took the BW85 series lead at Dean Moor with a thunderous show and he will have to dig deep once more at Finningley if he is to hold off the two stroke challenge and retain his championship lead. Both Ben Watson and Ben Howell will see round five as the perfect opportunity as will sand specialist Jack Kelly. In the championship table Adam has a one point lead over Ben Watson, and a four point advantage over Ben Howell in third- and it's fair to say any one of the three could be leading the championship at the close of play in Yorkshire. It's also fair to say in both of the 85cc sections it's quite possible for the lead in the championship to change hands at all three of the remaining rounds such is the tightness at the top of the points table.
In the Youth Open Class LPE Kawasaki teamster Connor Walkley struck what could be a decisive blow at Dean Moor by winning conclusively and opening up a 16 point gap in the title hunt. Under the new BYMX points scoring system for 2010 sixteen points is a more than healthy cushion. Nathan Watson on the HM Plant Red Bull KTM sits in second place in the championship and he really needs an overall win to reclaim at least six of those points if he is to apply any pressure for the final two rounds. Tom Kelly is third in the standings 25 points off the top but he blitzed the field with a five race winning show the last time in sand at Mepal - so definitely watch out for Tom. Gary Sharp as another confirmed sand specialist will also be well worth keeping a close eye on as he too could be challenging for the overall honours along with Harry Mckenna who has been in fine form just lately.
Finningley will also see the resumption of the ACU adult Two Stroke Championship where James Dunn will be going flat out to grab the lead in the 125cc section following the unfortunate injury to series leader Josh Waterman and in the 250s Matt Moffat will be keen to keep his Championship lead