This weekend the seventh round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship took place at the Langrish hillside circuit near Petersfield. The Bank Holiday Monday meeting saw some fantastic racing take place under clear blue skies.
The MX2 class, Langrish marked the return of both Arnuad Tonus and Zach Osborne following their early season injuries. The day started with Zach Osborne take the pole position in the morning qualification session ahead of team mate Arnaud Tonus and Nicolas Aubin.
In the opening race of the day it was Zach Osborne that took the victory over Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha team mate Mel Pocock and Bryan Mackenzie on the Pendrich KTM. Elliott Banks Browne took the fourth place over Graeme Irwin and Arnaud Tonus who suffered a problem on the start line.
In the second MX2 race of the day would see Tonus take the victory after a race long battle with Osborne, Banks Browne would go on to finish in third place with Pocock and Aubin rounding out the top 5.
The third and final MX2 race of the day would again see Tonus take the victory over Osborne and Banks Browne, with Pocock and Mackenzie rounding out the top 5. At the end of the day it was Osborne that took the overall from Tonus and Banks Browne. The red plate is still held by Pocock with a 16 point advantage going into the final round.
In the MX1 Class it was to be a faultless day by Kevin Strijbos. In the morning qualification session it was local rider Jason Dougan that took pole. In the opening race of the day it was to be a clear victory by championship leader Strijbos, with Shaun Simpson in second and Jason Dougan in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Martin Barr and Alfie Smith.
The second race of the day for the MX1 would again see Strijbos take victory over Simpson, Dougan was running in second until he had a coming together with Simpson and went down. Third place in the race would go to Gert Krestinov, ahead of Dorren Coutts and Alfie Smith.
The final MX1 race of the day saw Strijbos make it three out of three races at Langrish. Alfie Smith was having a stunning ride in second until crashing heavily. Second place would again go to Simpson, with Krestinov in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Jamie Law and Jason Dougan. Also by taking the top step of the MX1 podium, the Belgian GP star also lifted the coveted Ken Hall Trophy in the process.
Also taking place at the Langrish round was the final round of the MXY2 Championship, despite riding with an injury, Dan Thornhill (Grittenham MX Suzuki) did enough in the two MXY2 motos to clinch the title. In a determined way, the teenager overcame a recent injury to secure his first major title in front of nearly 4,000 fans. Thornhill, riding with a hand injury, dug deep to return calculated 6-10 finishes which was still enough to put him comfortably in front of Robert Muscat (Honda) in the overall standings despite Muscat going 2-3 in the two motos.
However, it was James Harrison on the Lanes Kawasaki who recorded two perfect race wins, but this was not enough to put him in the top three overall in the series, whilst Dixon Racing Academy rider, Fraser Wakeford took the lower step of the podium.
The final round of the Maxxis ACU British Championship takes places at the Little Silver circuit near Exeter on 7th October. For more information please visit www.mxgb.co.uk