FatCat Moto Parc near Doncaster played host to the sixth round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship on Sunday. The superbly presented sand venue featured a completely different layout for the event, and even heavy rain on the Saturday couldn't stop the racing from being first class.
With the championship moving towards the closing stages, the racing at FatCat was always going to be close as the championship contenders looked to gain any possible advantage. Once again it was KTM riders who dominated in the sandy conditions.
The MX1 class saw current championship leader and Leirop GP winner Shaun Simpson take three convincing race wins. Despite strong opposition from wildcard Tommy Searle, Simpson produced three strong starts on his Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM and managed to control the races from the front each time. After qualifying on pole most people expected Team CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Searle to take the battle to Simpson but after mounting a couple of determined challenges at mid race distance the Kawasaki rider had to settle for a brace of runner up positions. Third overall on the day went to the Dantec Husqvarna rider Nathan Watson who scored consistently taking a fourth and two third place finishes.
Reigning champion Kristian Whatley took fourth place overall on the MBO Sport ASA Scaffolding Yamaha after taking a third place finish in the opening race, along with a fifth and sixth place in the later races. Rounding out the top five on the day was Brad Anderson on the Buildbase Honda.
In the MX2 class in was Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Matiss Karro who dominated the day’s action in the deep sand and took three race wins to turn a three points deficit into a 23 point advantage after his main championship rival, Mel Pocock on the Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM had a difficult day and finished fourth overall with 3-7-6 finishes.
The MX2 class had some of the closest racing with a handful of riders circulating lap after lap in close company but at the end of the day it wasHitachi Construction Machinery KTM’s Ben Watson who squeezed out Adam Sterry on the Wilvo Forkrent KTM for the runner up spot after both recorded a 60 points haul. Mel Pocock finished fourth overall with Neville Bradshaw on the Putoline Apico Honda taking fifth overall.
FatCat also marked the second round of the Veterans Championship and it was reigning champion Phil Mercer who took the overall from Brian Wheeler as the pair shared race wins. Mercer leads the championship by 1 point over Wheeler as they go into the final round. Third overall on the day went to Terry House.
The next round of the championship takes place in three weeks’ time at Cusses Gorse in Wiltshire on the 10th August.