The third round of the ACU Eastern Motocross Championship rolled into the sandy Blaxhall circuit near Woodbridge on Sunday 15th May. The clear skies and mild weather produced the ideal conditions for a fantastic day of racing. With nearly 160 riders the racing got underway just after lunch with the meeting being supported by local Mercedes-Benz dealer Orwell Truck and Van
In the Premier Class most people were looking at British Championship stars Lewis Tombs and Nathan Dixon to dominate at the front. In the opening race it was young Jordan Moxey took the start and early race lead ahead of Dixon while Tombs was working his way forward from a top 10 start. It wasn't long before Tombs had taken the lead and would go onto take the race win ahead of Dixon and Aston Bird in third place. Fourth place went to Declan Whittle ahead of young raising National star Dylan Woodcock in fifth, who was also the first Junior. The second Junior rider in 16th overall was Tom Grimshaw and Jack Bintcliffe was the third junior in 22nd.
The second Premier Class race saw Shaun Southgate make a great start and lead early on with the race one winner in third. Unfortunately Nathan Dixon suffered a crash in the opening laps and was forced to retire from the race. Back at the front Southgate and Tombs were battling for the lead before Tombs would move into the lead and take the race win ahead of Southgate and Bird in third. Fourth place went to Luke Parker with top youth rider George Grigg-Pettitt in fifth. Sixth and first Junior was once again Dylan Woodcock with second junior Tom Grimshaw in 15th and Jack Bintcliffe the third junior in 21st.
The third and final Premier Class would see Brad Woodroffe take the holeshot ahead of Southgate and Dixon. On the opening lap Dixon quickly moved into the lead and looked open a gap per the chasing pack while Tombs worked his way through traffic. As the race went on Tombs moved into second and closed the gap on Dixon as the pair battled for the win. It would be Tombs the win and made it a trio of wins on the day. Behind the leading pair it was Southgate in third with Bird in fourth and Woodroffe in fifth. Once again Woodcock was the leading junior in 7th with Jack Bintcliffe in 13th and Tom Grimshaw in 14th.
In the Intermediate Class it was William Raffle who dominated the class by taking all three races wins. In the opening race his victory was ahead of Sean Bond and Sam Cook in second and third. In the second race Raffle took the win over Jordan Cutting and James Cobby, while in the third race in Cutting and Cobby who again rounded out the top 3 behind Raffle.
The Support Group A would see one rider dominate all three race with Mason Cockerill taking a trio of race wins. Second overall in the class went to Steven Cadd with two seconds and a third during the day while Andrew Cattermole and Darren Stone shared third overall with a string of top 5 finishes.
The final class of the day was the Support Group B and it was Steven Bennett who took the win in race one over Haydon Jarvis and Thomas Pearmain. The second race would see Pearmain take the win over Bennett and Simon Jarvis. In the final race Pearmain made it two out of three race wins over Haydon Jarvis and Simon Jarvis.
Words: Richard Blyth
Photos: Ray Lawrence Photography
Results Premier Class Race 1
1 – Lewis Tombs, 2 – Nathan Dixon, 3 – Aston Bird, 4 – Declan Whittle, 5 – Dylan Woodcock
Juniors 1 – Dylan Woodcock, 2 – Tom Grimshaw, 3 – Jack Bintcliffe
Race 2
1 – Lewis Tombs, 2 – Shaun Southgate, 3 – Aston Bird, 4 – Luke Parker, 5 – George Grigg-Pettitt
Juniors 1 – Dylan Woodcock, 2 - Tom Grimshaw, 3 – Jack Bintcliffe
Race 3
1 – Lewis Tombs, 2 – Nathan Dixon, 3 – Shaun Southgate, 4 – Aston Bird, 5 – Brad Woodroffe
Juniors 1 – Dylan Woodcock, 2 – Jack Bintcliffe, 3 – Tom Grimshaw
Intermediate Class Race 1
1 – William Raffle, 2 – Sean Bond, 3 – Sam Cook, 4 – James Cobby, 5 – Elliott Gardner
Race 2
1 – William Raffle, 2 – Jordan Cutting, 3 – James Cobby, 4 – Sam Cook, 5 – Sean Bond
Race 3
1 – William Raffle, 2 – Jordan Cutting, 3 – James Cobby, 4 – Elliott Gardner, 5 – Sam Cook
Support Group A Race 1
1 – Mason Cockerill, 2 – Steven Cadd, 3 – Tom Crees, 4 – Darren Stone, 5 –Andrew Cattermole
Race 2
1 – Mason Cockerill, 2 – Tom Crees, 3 – Steven Cadd, 4 – Andrew Cattermole, 5 – Thomas Fazah
Race 3
1 – Mason Cockerill, 2 – Steven Cadd, 3 – Thomas Fazah, 4 – Darren Stone, 5 – Andrew Cattermole
Support Group B Race 1
1 – Steven Bennett, 2 – Haydon Jarvis, 3 – Thomas Pearmain, 4 – Simon Jarvis, 5 – Sam Cushion
Race 2
1 – Thomas Pearmain, 2 – Steven Bennett, 3 – Simon Jarvis, 4 – Haydon Jarvis, 5 – Sam Cushion
Race 3
1 – Thomas Pearmain, 2 – Haydon Jarvis, 3 – Simon Jarvis, 4 – Steven Bennett, 5 – Cory Smith