This weekend round seven of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship heads to the stunning hillside venue of Langrish near Petersfield on Bank Holiday Monday (27th August), running alongside the traditional Ken Hall event on the Sunday.
Sunday’s event will include classes for both Twinshock Solo’s and Sidecars, along with a round of the Dave Thorpe Evo Championship with the main attraction being the fifth round of the ACU British Quad Cross Championship, as Paul Holmes looks to extend his Championship lead.
Heading into round seven of the Maxxis at Langrish series leader, Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha, Mel Pocock will be looking to extend his points lead over the HM Plant KTM UK rider Elliott Banks-Browne. Pocock currently leads the MX2 championship by 16 points with just six races remaining in the Championship. The leader pair will both have their work cut out with the return of both Zach Osborne and Arnaud Tonus, following their injuries earlier in the season.
Other riders in the MX2 class looking for strong results will be Neville Bradshaw on the Evo Tech Stevens Honda after regaining third place in the standings following a troubled round at Hawkstone for the Emberson RFX Yamaha rider Steven Lenoir. Nicolas Aubin on the Buildbase Honda currently sits in fifth place following a strong showing at the Hawkstone event, jumping from 7th place up into the top 5.
Meanwhile in the MX1 class Kevin Strijbos on the HM Plant KTM UK machine has slowly been edging ahead in the Championship chase. Following a clean sweep of race wins at Hawkstone, Strijbos now leads Shaun Simpson by 49 points, with the injured Matiss Karro in third place. The naturally hard pack circuit at Langrish will hopefully play into the hands of Shaun Simpson as he looks to close the gap going in the final round at Little Silver.
Third place in the standings at the moment is the Team STR KTM rider Matiss Karro who will be missing from the starting line-up for the rest of the season. This gives both Gert Krestinov and Martin Barr the chance to progress forward in the Championship standings and into the top three. Krestinov currently sits in fourth place on the Route 77 Energy MVR-D Honda, with Martin Barr a further 21 points behind on the Tyco Suzuki by TAS.
The Langrish event this weekend will also mark the final round of the MXY2 Championship. Current Red Plate holder Dan Thornhill leads the Championship by a comfortable 29 points and looks set to wrap up the title at Langrish. Second place in Championship sees Robert Muscat lead Robert Davidson by just 9 points with two races remaining. Young Ben Watson currently holds fourth place in the Championship ahead of four riders all battling for that final top 5 positions. Those four riders include James Harrison on the Lanes Kawasaki, Oakleaf Kawasaki‘s Tommy Alba, Chris Bayliss and Fraser Wakeford and all four riders are separated by just 10 points.
Action on the August Bank Holiday Monday will start at 9am with practice and the first MX2 race leaving the start line at 12:15pm. Tickets for the Maxxis Championship on the Monday cost £20 for Adults and £5 for children under 14, for more information see www.mxgb.co.uk.