Rednal Karting a few miles outside Oswestry in Shropshire was the perfect back- drop for Round 8 of the ACU British Supermoto Championship. A tight twisty tarmac section with nearly 50% of the circuit comprising of a mixture of jumps and fast dirt section makes it one of the toughest and demanding destinations on the British Supermoto scene. Innovative work by the Supermoto UK media team using local towns Facebook pages saw a sizeable crowd turn up for both days, many were whole families and judging by the comments at the circuit and on social media they had a fantastic time – surely a pointer to other clubs! The weather forecast was quite bleak for Saturday but in the end after a slightly damp start both days racing took place in fantastic conditions.
Michelin Premier Cup
All year the Elite battle has been between the SJP Husqvarna teammates, Chris Hodgson & Jay Smith, with the Cumbrian Hodgson having the upper hand, however Lancastrian Richard Blakeman, buoyed by his selection to the Supermoto of Nations team, muscled his way into 2
nd spot. Jay Smith was 3
rd with Richard Sharp completing an all Husqvarna front row in 4
th.
Race 1 got under way in dry conditions, Hodgson got the holeshot but was chased by Blakeman, who hung on to 2
nd for 6 laps but Smith was pressurising him hard and finally slipped past as Blakeman made an error. By then Hodgson was well clear at the front, Richard Sharp came out on top of his battle with Jordan Bannon to take 4
th.
Race 2 and the track was in perfect condition with lap times tumbling, Hodgson again got the holeshot but Smith was in determined move and pressurised his team mate for the full ten laps, setting the fastest lap of the race. The large crowd watching on was spellbound with the hard fought riding skills but Hodgson would not buckle and held on to win by 1/10
th of a second. Third place went to the impressive Richard Sharp using his off road riding skill to the max ahead of Blakeman who recovered to fourth after an early race fall on his Husqvarna.
Race 3 Hodgson was in no mood for another fight so he got the hammer down to take a flag to flag comfortable victory from Smith, Blakeman & Sharp and the tenacious Jordan Bannon in 5
th.
Suter Clutch Challenge Cup
Rapidly becoming the stand out racing on the Saturday, a full grid of intermediate riders battled it out for the top spot. Surrey slalwart Darren Lee was in a different class all day however with 3 wins from 3, second went to the rapidly improving Ashley Middleton on his 14 year old Honda CRF. SJP Husqvarna rider George Jarvis salvaged 3rd after a difficult day ahead of veteran Mark Stephens and ex Mini Biker Conor Bolsover in 5th.
NPS Novice Cup
A huge entry saw the novice races split into 2 groups, Daniel Hall was an impressive overall winner on his Supermoto debut pointing to a very strong future. Second overall wasseries leader Steven Lowe. Third place went to Cornishman Simon Snowden was third with two stroke fan Blaine Pearson fourth and really enjoying his first year in supermoto racing.
Mini Bikes
A good entry of mini Bikes amazingly saw 10 year old Casey Jones take the overall win from Conor Bolsover on his 65SX KTM, Ben Green was 4
th on his CRF ahead of Scotsman CeeJay Davies.
After overnight rain thankfully Sunday dawned cold but bright and the sun soon came out and glorious day followed allowing a full days racing on slicks for all competitors.
Michelin Elite Cup
Hodgson was imperious in the dry conditions looking smooth and relaxed as he set pole from his more aggressive teammate Smith by nearly 2 seconds. Richard Sharp was third and Richard Blakeman rounded out the top 4.
Race 1 with Sundays racing running slightly longer races a familiar pattern was set – Hodgson got the hole shot and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Smith stuck to his task and kept Richard Sharp at bay, Richard Blakeman had a difficult time with his knee popping out over one of the big jumps. He retired to the medical centre to have it reset and was bravely out for the following two races.
Race 2 was a carbon copy of race one, Smith got nearer to Hodgson in the early laps and his lap times weren’t far off but Hodgson just edged away remorselessly lap after lap to win by a comfortable 10 seconds. Richard Sharp was again 3
rd and Blakeman was rewarded for his grit with a fine 4
th. Jordan Bannon got 5
th after a great 3-way tussle with Charlie Light & Tim Johnson.
Race 3 was again a victory for Hodgson but this time Smith was much nearer in second, Sharp was 3
rd, Blakeman the likeable Lancashire tree surgeon was 4
th. There was a real battle for 5
th though with Jordan Bannon getting the place by only 2/10ths of a second ahead of an on fire Tim Johnson.
Open National
A large entry of National class riders tackled the fantastic track enjoying the dry conditions and put on some great racing especially for the podium places. Veteran Andy Mitchell was just too fast for the pack on his KTM 300 two stroke, George Jarvis kept him honest though with two 2nds and a win in race 3. Fifer Ryan Chalmers made the long trip very worthwhile with 3
rd overall and best clubman and South African exile Dirk Jordaan picked up 4
th and rider of the day award for his all action style.
Results Day One Michelin Premier Cup 1
st Chris Hodgson (Husqvarna) 105pts - 2
nd Jay Smith (Husqvarna) 96pts - 3
rd Richard Blakeman (Husqvarna) 88pts - 4
th Richard Sharp (Husqvarna) 86pts - 5
th Jordan Bannon (Husqvarna) 78pts – 6
th Charlie Light (KTM) 74pts – 7
th Tim Johnson (Husqvarna) 72pts – 8
th Andy Mitchell (KTM) 70pts – 9
th Dean Hillier (Husqvarna) 66pts -10
th Owen Connell (Honda) 42pts
Suter Clutch Cup 1
st Darren Lee (KTM) 105pts – 2
nd Ashley Middleton (Honda) 92pts - 3
rd George Jarvis (Husqvarna) 89pts – 4
th Mark Stephens (Honda) 81pts – 5
th Connor Bolsover (Honda) 76pts
Novice Cup 1
st Daniel Hall (Husqvarna) 102pts – 2
nd Stephen Lowe (Honda) 90pts - 3
rd Simon Snowden (KTM) 79pts - 4
th Blaine Pearson (Husqvarna) 78pts – 5
th Gage Pedley (Honda) 68pts
Mini Bikes 1
st Casey Jones (65SX) 97pts – 2
nd Connor Bolsover (CRF) 89pts – 3
rd Ben Green (CRF) 83pts – 4
th CeeJay Davies (CRF) 82pts - 5
th Gary Pigney (Open) 81pts
Results Day Two Michelin Elite Cup 1
st Chris Hodgson (Husqvarna) 105pts – 2
nd Jay Smith (Husqvarna) 96pts – 3
rd Richard Sharp (Husqvarna) 90pts – 4
th Jordan Bannon (Husqvarna) 80pts – 5
th Tim Johnson (Husqvarna) 75pts – 6
th Charlie Light (KTM) 74pts– 7
th Ollie Kemp (TM) 70pts – 8
th Dean Hillier (Husqvarna) 65pts – 9
th Owen Connell (Honda) 64pts –10
th Richard Blakeman (Husqvarna) 56pts
Open National A 1
st Andy Mitchell (KTM) 102pts – 2
nd George Jarvis (Husqvarna) 99pts - 3
rd Ryan Chalmers (Husqvarna) 84pts – 4
th Dirk Jordaan (KTM) 83pts – 5
th Ashley Middleton (Honda) 74pts
Clubman Cup 1
st Ryan Chalmers (Husqvarna) 84pts – 2
nd Ashley Middleton (Honda) 74pts – 3
rd Richie Leat (Honda) 64pts – 4
th Paul Robey (Husqvarna) 56pts – 5
th Peter Bennett (KTM) 54pts
Best Over 45 – Andy Mitchell (KTM)
Best Two Stroke – Andy Mitchell (KTM)