The first motocross meeting after the national lockdown was held at Owslebury by Winchester motocross club on Friday 2nd April, the meeting saw lots of big-name entries across all classes. Winchester motocross club reaping the rewards of putting a meeting on straight out of lockdown with a huge entry.
Report by Fraser Line – Images courtesy of Click466.com
ADULT SOLO
Three full gates of adult solo riders were split after timed qualifying. Race 1 in A group was to going to be very competitive with the list of names booked in. Liam Knight for Gabriel Insulation KTM took the holeshot but it was local rider Taylor Hammal on board his Bike it MTX Kawasaki took the lead by turn 3, this comes a day after Steve Dixon announced the signing of the Durley based rider who will be riding a full GP programme in 2021. Hammal managed to escape the rest of the field and rode to the flag taking the win by 13 seconds. Teammates Liam Knight and John Adamson battled for 2nd place with Knight coming out on top, this was after Adamson set the fastest time of the race. Charlie Cole for Blades Bikes was well down the field after the first corner but managed to eventually come back through the pack and passed Ben Millard for 4th place with Milward and Josh Coleman rounding out the top 6.
Race 2 in A group was just as competitive, after a false start the riders were called back to the gate. On the restart it was Cameron Vickers who found himself at the front of the pack on his Vickers-Bland Honda CRF 450, however by the end of the first lap it was Liam Knight who had taken the lead with John Adamson right behind, race 1 winner Hammal was well down the pack and had plenty of work to do to catch up. John Adamson got caught up in lapped traffic and fell from his bike, this allowed Hammal back through into 2nd place, with the two riders narrowly avoiding contact, Hammal managed to stay in 2nd place with Adamson taking 3rd. Knight taking the win after managing the rest of the race well. Ben Millard kept Jamie Tempest and Ollie Cole off his tail for a well deserved 4th.
Unfortunately, Race 3 had to be cancelled due to the unexpected high amounts of dust, meaning Knight took the overall on the day.
The B&C classes saw some close racing.
EVO/SUPER EVO
A combined EVO/SUPER EVO race saw a shock entry from Billy Mackenzie the former GP favourite raced the CR500 that we will hope to see at Farleigh Castle later in the year. Billy Mac took all three holeshots and race wins and looked as fast as ever in the process. James Cole and Luke Dewey rounded off the podium places in the SUPER EVO class. EVO was won by George Gough who took all three race wins, Phil Lewis managed to see Fred Heath off for 2nd place with Heath taking the final podium place.
VETS
Factory Phil Mercer was as fast as ever in the VETS class and took all three race wins, Mercer is now unbeaten in the VETS class at Owslebury for quite some time and his lap times would have seen him near the front in the A group. Paul Whillians managed three 2nd place finishes giving him 2nd overall with Rory Wooton rounding out the final podium position.
TWINSHOCK CLUBMAN/ TWINSHOCK OVER 50
Owslebury is an “old-school” track and it would not be the same without its Twinshock class. The clubman class was won by Scott Reed who won the first two races on the day, Reed who was beaten in the final race by Matt Nash on his Honda red rocket managed to take the overall on the day. Stephen Miller JNR made a good comeback with 3rd place overall after having quite some time off his bike with a long term wrist injury. The over 50 class saw Keith Best and Gavin Cole tied on points after three races, Best taking the win due to a better result in race 3 which he won. Cole who had been fast out of the gate all day on his maico 490 managed to take 2nd on the day. Scott Wilkinson would have been favourite for the overall win after a 1st and 2nd in the two opening races, but he did not score points in race 3 meaning he was 5th in the overall standings. Spencer Briggs completed three good rides to take 3rd position in the overall.
The club are back in action on the May Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May. For more info go to https://www.facebook.com/WinchesterMotorcrossClub