Sunday 6th May saw the sleepy village of Lyng in Norfolk host the third round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship. Following the bad weather leading up to the event, the venue was in superb condition when the action started at 9am.
The day started with the MX2 Qualifying sessions which were dominated by the Buildbase Honda rider Nicholas Aubin with local hero Elliot Banks Browne on the HM Plant KTM UK machine finishing second and with Graeme Irwin (Samsung Yamaha) slotting into third. In the MX1 class series points leader Kevin Strijbos on the HM Plant KTM UK machine ahead of Tyco Suzuki by TAS, Stephen Sword and Jason Dougan on the Route 77 Energy MVR-D Honda. The MXY2 class would see Brad Todd took the pole position over Dan Thornhill and Sam Winterburn in third.
Following the lunch break the first MX2 race set off from the line under a light rain shower. It was local rider, Elliot Banks Browne who made a perfect start for a start to finish win in ahead of Graeme Irwin who took second spot, whilst red plate holder Mel Pocock on the Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha took third. Steven Lenoir on the Samsung RFX Yamaha took fourth ahead of Bryan MacKenzie on the Rockstar KTM took fifth.
The opening MX1 race of the day looked to be a dull race after series leader Kevin Strijbos cleared off at the front, but in a dramatic climax to the opening MX1 encounter, Shaun Simpson on Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha closed down the gap on Red Plate holder Kevin Strijbos. After staying with the two leaders in the early stages, Stephen Sword finished in a comfortable, but lonely third place, whilst Matiss Karro took most of the race to catch and overtake Jason Dougan.
In the first of the two MXY2 encounters, it was Dan Thornhill on the Grittenham Meredith Suzuki who took a narrow win from one of his championship rivals, Chris Bayliss (Wooldridge and Helyar Honda) by just under two seconds. The third place went to Jack Kelly on the Malin Honda ahead of MXW Racing Honda’s Robert Muscat in fourth and another Championship contender, Robert Davidson (Asna Racing Honda).
The second MX2 race of the day, saw series leader Mel Pocock take his only race win of the day after Elliott Banks Browne crashed out of second place early on. Graeme Irwin would eventually take the second place finish ahead of Bryan Mackenzie in third, whilst Steven Lenoir and Elliott Banks Browne rounded out the top 5.
In the second MX1 race of the day, Kevin Strijbos took another clear victory ahead of Shaun Simpson. Third place went to a distant Marc de Reuver ahead of the STR KTM pairing of Matiss Karro and Nathan Parker.
The second and final MXY2 race of the day saw Dan Thornhill take the victory over Robert Muscat in second place and Chris Bayliss in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Ben Howell and Ben Watson, while it is Dan Thornhill who now takes over at the top of the standings.
In the final MX2 race of the day, Elliott Banks Browne once again took the victory in front of his home crowd, with Mel Pocock taking the second place to retain the Red Plate and the series lead. Third place in the race went to Steven Lenoir, with Bryan Mackenzie and Graeme Irwin rounding out the top 5.
Kevin Strijbos again took the victory by some twenty seconds over Matiss Karro and Marc de Reuver in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Shaun Simpson and Gert Krestinov.
The next round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship will take place in three weeks’ time at Milton Park near Northampton. For more information about the event please visit www.mxgb.co.uk.
For anybody that wasn’t able to attend on Sunday, below is a short video from Lyng produced by Greenlight TV