Following a seven week summer break the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship returns to action at the famous Hawkstone Park circuit for Round 7 on Sunday 11th August.
With three classes of racing taking place, there is sure to be plenty of exciting action on track as they enter the final stages of the season.
In the MX2 class reigning Champion Elliott Banks Browne leads the way on the HM Plant KTM UK machine, but after finishing in fifth overall at the previous round Putoline Honda rider Neville Bradshaw has managed to close the gap at the top of the standings. Now sitting just 36 points behind, Bradshaw will be hunting down the KTM rider during the last 6 moto’s of the year.
Frenchman Steven Lenoir currently holds third place in the standings on the Evotech Stevens KTM and will be hoping to close the gap on the leading pair in the Championship, while keeping a close eye on Graeme Irwin just behind in fourth place. The Heads and All Threads Suzuki rider produced a great opening race victory at Desertmartin and will be hoping for more of the same.
Bryan MacKenzie on the Pendrich Kawasaki currently sits in fifth place in the points standing but following his first overall victory in the Maxxis Championship at Desertmartin. The likeable Scot will be pushing for more race wins between now and the end of the season.
Other riders to look out for in the MX2 class include Steven Clarke, another one of the HM Plant KTM UK machines, following his strong results since returning to British Championship action at Milton Park. While Martin Barr on the VMX Moto KTM/Nutt Travel machine showed at Desertmartin that he is back on form and aiming for podiums at the final two rounds after an injury stuck season.
In the MX1 class it is man of the moment Kristian Whatley who leads the way on the MBO Sports Yamaha, Whatley currently holds a 28 points leads over second in the Championship. In second place sits the Team STR KTM rider Jonathan Barragan who will be looking to close the gap on Whatley after the disappointment of a DNF at the last round which cost him valuable points.
Uncertainty surrounds third place rider Tanel Leok’s appearance today, this comes following a change of team and machinery to the TM Factory squad. With Leok unlikely to be racing, Buildbase Honda’s Nico Aubin will be looking to move into third in the Championship standings.
Team STR KTM rider Matiss Karro is a rider on a mission and sits fifth in the standings having missed two rounds of the Championship already this year. Matiss has been on fine form finishing in the top 3 in every race he has entered, including a stunning hat trick of race wins at Desertmartin. Karro will be looking to take victory again here at Hawkstone, but we could also see Karro looking to help is teammate Barragan close the gap on Whatley going into the final round.
Other riders to look out for in the MX1 class include former British Champion Brad Anderson who has recently made the switch from the Maxxis Kawasaki by LPE team to the Buildbase Honda team for the remainder of the season. Brad will be hoping that the change of bike will help him return to the podium. Another rider to look out for is Jamie Law on the Dyer and Butler KTM who has started to come into form after a well-deserved fourth overall at Desertmartin.
Hawkstone also marks the second round of the British Veterans Championship and it was reigning Champion Phil Mercer that took the Championship lead following a double victory at the previous round. Gary Hoptrough currently sits in second place in the standings just 6 points behind and will be looking to bridge the gap here at Hawkstone. Rob Herring and Greg Hanson sit tied on points in third place ahead of Terry House in fifth place.
Hawkstone Park can be found just off the A49 near to the village of Hopton using the postcode SY4 4NA. Action will start at 9am for practice with the first MX2 race leaving the start line at 12:15pm. Tickets cost £45 for a Family Ticket, £20 for Adults and £5 for Children. Camping is available at a cost of £10 per pitch from the Saturday, for more information please visit www.mxgb.co.uk.