Monday September 19, 2016 at 12:46pm
Last Sunday the Phoenix Tools Premier Motocross Championship made its way back down to Cornwall to Landrake Moto Parc for the penultimate round in the series and the final round of the Evo/Super Evo Championship. The track as usual had been prepped to a high standard and was to produce some really good racing. In the Gabriel Insulations Expert class entries were a bit thin on the ground, but there was a welcome return for Jamie Skuse on the Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki who unfortunately missed the last round through having to have his appendix out and with it had lost his Championship lead to the MotoXtreme/Stones Supplies Kawasaki of Jordan Carter who went in to the penultimate round with a 44 points lead. In the opening race it was Skuse with the best start from Kelvin Townsend and the 2-stroke of James Kensington. Skuse who hadn’t been on a bike much in the last 7 weeks was powering away at the front as was Townsend and up in to 3rd by the end of the opening lap was now Tommy Alba (Pictured No 681) on the D S C Cornwall Kawasaki who was keen as not to let the leading two get away. Skuse was to ease away from Townsend on lap 3 and Townsend was soon to be caught by Alba who was desperate to get pass, but Townsend was to keep him at bay for several laps until Alba sneaked through on the inside dropping down in to the valley, but he wasn’t going to catch Skuse who took the win. In the second moto it was Townsend this time with the early lead from Championship leader Carter with Skuse and Alba tucked in behind. Townsend really had the throttle wound back in this one and was soon to have a cushion over Carter who had Alba now in 3rd breathing all over him pressing to take 2nd which he did on lap 3. Alba was to gradually close in on Townsend which turned in to a real tussle for several laps until lap 8 when Alba got through and from there was to ease away to take the win with Skuse coming through in the closing stages to pass Townsend to take 2nd. The last moto saw Townsend again with the early lead, but this was short lived as Skuse and Alba both got pass on the opening lap. Alba was all over Skuse like a rash ready to pounce on any opportunity that was given which eventually came on lap 4 when a slight mistake from Skuse let Alba through and from there Alba literally sailed away to take the win from Skuse who now trails Carter by 29 points going in to the final round in a few weeks. In the Over 35’s class Championship leader Wayne Shimell had dumped the 350 TyreMarks Husqvarna and was out for a bit of fun on a 125. Ben Harmon was to dominate the opening race on the Cheddar Mx/M D Racing Honda after passing early leader on the Ace Comfort Cooling Kawasaki James Price, but had to work hard in the second race as he was put under huge pressure from wildcard Darren Banwell on the Cheddar Mx KTM who literally was within half a second of Harmon at the line. The last moto again saw Price with the best start, but a mistake on the opening lap was to see Harmon take over at the front with Banwell in tow. Banwell was to stick with Harmon like glue and with just 2 laps remaining he was to hit the front and went on to take the win from Harmon, but all the cheers were for Shimell who took 3rd and with it was declared 2016 Over 35 Champion. In the Over 40’s class there was no stopping Championship leader Stuart Rawlings on the 450 Honda who notched up yet another hat trick of wins on the day and he also wrapped up the Over 40’s Championship with a round to spare as did David Ford on the Projuice KTM in the Over 50’s who took maximum points to win the Championship. In the Junior Championship it was still the Bridgestone KTM of Harry Linton who headed the standings and was the man to beat, but the day didn’t start very good for Linton as two mistakes on the opening lap of the first race saw him well down the field. Wildcard Edward Turner was a man on a mission in this one and eased away at the front from Jamie Dixon on the P & S Auto Services KTM and the Tony Maunders Racing Honda of Jay Lewis who were to have a good battle mid race with Lewis eventually moving up in to 2nd, but he had a lot to do to catch Turner, but he didn’t need to as Turner ran in to the back of a backmarker on the last lap and went down and through came Lewis to take his first win in the Championship, with Ben Cryer taking 2nd and Linton after his earlier mistakes taking an excellent 3rd. In the other 2 races there were no mistakes this time from Turner who notched up both wins, but with Lewis taking a 2nd and a 3rd he was to take the overall on the day. In the Evo/Super Evo class which was the final round it was a very nervous Championship leader Adam Plant who had a 27 points advantage over Ricky Brown as a few teething problems was to hamper him during the Day. Brown looked set to win the opening race, but a rear wheel puncture saw him soldier home in 2nd behind wildcard Paul Gaylard, but there was no mistakes in the other 2 races with Brown winning both, but it wasn’t enough as Plant took a hat trick of 3rd’s to become Champion. Report and Photos by Dave Rich OVERALL RESULTS Gabriel Insulations Expert Championship 1st Tommy Alba (450f D S C Cornwall Kawasaki) 2nd Jamie Skuse (450f Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki) 3rd Kelvin Townsend (450f Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha) 4th Jordan Carter (450f MotoXtreme/Stones Supplies Kawasaki) 5th Josh Taylor (250f JTR/Moto 33 Yamaha) 6th Luke Craig (250f Richard Craig Yamaha) M D Racing Over 35’s Championship 1st Ben Harmon (450f Cheddar Mx/M D Racing Honda) 2nd Darren Banwell (250f Cheddar Mx KTM) 3rd Wayne Shimell (125 Tyremarks Husqvarna) 4th James Price (450f Ace Comfort Cooling Kawasaki) 4th Jonathan Morrissey (250f Kawasaki) 6th Luke Dewey (450f New Milton Tyres Suzuki) M D Racing Over 40’s Championship 1st Stuart Rawlings (450f Honda) 2nd Richard Green (450f T R Green Engineering Husqvarna) 3rd James Knatchbull (350f Husqvarna) 4th Rob Lewis (450f Tony Maunders Racing Honda) 5th Laurence Watkins (450f MVRD/Totally Transporters Honda) 6th Shaun Stowell (125 S J Stowell Furniture KTM) M D Racing Over 50’s Championship 1st David Ford (450f Projuice KTM) 2nd Alan Packer (450f Simpsons Honda) 3rd Dave Watson (250f Honda) 4th Adrian Toy (250 KTM) Tony Maunders Junior Championship 1st Jay Lewis (450f Tony Maunders Racing Honda) 2nd Ben Cryer (350 KTM) 3rd Harry Linton (250f Bridgestone KTM) 4th Edward Turner (450f Yamaha) 5th Gareth Northam (????) 6th Bradley Barfoot (450f Yamaha) Junior B 1st Marcus Alba 2nd Wayne Slater 3rd Ashley Volz 4th Cole Baker-Edwards 5th Brian Hutchings 6th Elliott Woodward Tyremarks/Framptons Evo/Super Evo Championship 1st Ricky Brown (CR 250 Tony Maunders Racing Honda) 2nd Paul Gaylard (????) 3rd Adam Plant (CR 500 Adam Plant Flooring Honda)