On Sunday 8th of June the Norwich Viking MCC hosted round 4 of the ACU Eastern MX Championship, sponsored by Stebbings Car Superstore & Templant Rental Power. With damp conditions on the week leading up to the event, the club did fantastically well to prepare the track in the best possible way, leading to perfect conditions on raceday ready for the 200 rider strong field to take to the track. Luke Benstead came into round 4 with a 19 point advantage over Sam Nunn and a further 11 points back was Max Broadbelt, so all to play for in the Expert championship, and it was Nunn that would grab pole position in the morning qualification session. Race One in the Expert class would see Nunn fly from the gate and local rider Declan Whittle close behind following his every move. Shaun Southgate and Luke Benstead were dueling inside the top five early on, but it was another local rider, Calum Mitchell that was catching the eye with impressive speed and soon made his way into third and was chasing down the leaders. Nunn however was hitting his marks perfectly and never really looked to be troubled, he went onto win race one ahead of Mitchell who passed Whittle on the final few laps.The top five was rounded out by Joe Leeks and Southgate with Broadbelt in sixth and Benstead in seventh. Race two of the Expert class would see Mitchell Meadows grab the holeshot and lead the opening few laps with Southgate, Will Farrow and Sam Nunn battling close in behind. Nunn would swiftly make his way into second and eventually the pressure would tell for Meadows as he dropped out of the race with bike issues after being passed by Nunn. Benstead was in second mid-way through the race but looked to also be struggling with bike gremlins and would soon drop back out of the top five. Nunn controlled the race to finish first, with Broadbelt coming home second, Southgate was third and Calum Mitchell finished fourth. Another solid ride from Joe Leeks as he came home in fifth. In the final Expert race it was Callum Murfitt who grabbed the holeshot from Nunn, Whittle and Farrow early on. Murfitt would lead the following few laps but couldn't hold off Nunn who was determined to make it a perfect day at Cadders Hill. After a poor start Benstead battled bravely through the pack and soon into the top five. There was no stopping Nunn though as he sealed his third race win in fine style ahead of Whittle in second, Broadbelt in third and Murfitt in fourth, his best result of the afternoon. Benstead was fifth and Leeks coming home a solid sixth. The overall of the Expert class would go to Sam Nunn with a dominant display and maximum points ahead of Max Broadbelt in second and Declan Whittle in third. And with that victory Nunn now regains the championship lead heading into round five. The Junior championship class was stacked full of talent, with a real mix of youth and experience for the spectators to enjoy. In race one James Rowsell would take a start-to-finish win ahead of Alex Christopher and Alfie Geddes-Green. In race two it was again Rowsell that would be victorious ahead of the hard charging Travis Bixby and in third was again Geddes-Green. In race three Rowsell led every lap once more to finish off a good day at the office in the junior class. In second was Christopher and in third was Geddes-Green. The overall going to Rowsell for maximum points, second was Alex Christopher and in third was current championship leader Alfie Geddes-Green.
The support B group overall was taken by Scott Claydon with a 1-1-1, in second was Reggie Jacobs with a 4-5-3 and in third was Sidney Dawson with a 5-6-2 finish.
In the support C group Ben Carey won the overall with a 2-4-1, in second was Lewis Wells with a 1-5-3 and in third was Joseph Mulley-Forsdike with a 3-3-4 finish.
The support D group honours were taken by Alfie Thorne carding a 2-1-1 ahead of Ky Rolfe in second with a 1-2-5. In third was Perry Fiddy with a 3-3-4.
The Norwich Viking MCC look forward to hosting round 5 of the championship on the 27th of July.
Race report by Stefan Hicks Images courtesy of Narna Media