Saturday September 3, 2005 at 12:00am
The MX1 class is desperately tight with any one of five riders still able to lift the coveted title.
Realistically the chase has been an all-Honda affair with Team RWJ’s James Noble fronting the campaign since the journey last June to Desertmartin in Northern Ireland for round five. Multitek Honda’s Paul Cooper and defending number one Josh Coppins, who secured runner-up position in the FIM World Championship last weekend at the Grand Prix of Holland, both lie within three points of the leader.
Coppins has been the main protagonist of late and after missing the first round due to a dislocated shoulder has been rapidly gaining ground in the points table by winning four meetings and eight motos from ten including the last six in succession. Cooper could be out of the running after missing the sixteenth round of the World Championship on Sunday due to similar problems with his stamina encountered at the beginning of the season.
In the smaller cylinder MX2 category Carl Nunn rests on the verge of his first national success after five times collecting the number two plate. The factory KTM rider has finished in the top three in a phenomenal ten consecutive races, winning half of that amount. The 25 year old from Bury St Edmunds now needs to finish in front, or within several positions, of nearest challenger and fellow GP peer (Motocross of Nations Great Britain team-mate even) Billy Mackenzie to seal long-awaited spoils on the domestic scene.
Molson Kawasaki’s Tom Church, currently second in the standings and formerly Nunn closest rival, has unfortunately had prematurely curtail his 2005 activities due to a broken ACL in his knee that required surgery two weeks ago.
The trip to the coastal town sees the ACU organised contest return to northern England for the first time in almost ten years. The event has been made possible thanks to the efforts of James Noble’s brother John who has been working diligently on the course and surrounding infrastructure in order to get the circuit up to standard and also in preparation for the crowds expected to arrive as early as Saturday afternoon.
Home advantage could be a useful ally for James Noble at a vital time in the Championship. He has already scored a victory at Lyng in Norfolk for round three and more success at Skelders would be even sweeter. Noble, a skilled machine operator who created his own practice circuit, worked on the course to add those special touches that only a competitive rider can appreciate. ‘We have two whoops sections and a big set of rollers at the top, we had some guidelines from the ACU and we only put in a rhythm section a couple of weeks ago,’ he explained. ‘The layout has some technical parts as well as some nice sweeping corners. We want it to be rider friendly and hopefully that will make a good show for the fans.’ ‘John has done his research and worked very hard. He comes to every British Championship and as many GPs as he can. T
There are many people around our way who are into motocross and were prepared to help out to bring the Championship to Whitby. I went in and did all the whoops, jumps and rhythm sections on the track but he has had to worry about all the chestnut fencing, getting the entrance road built and other daft little things.
He could not believe how much soil goes into one big table-top jump! It just disappears!’ Noble is one of Whitby’s truly unsung sporting heroes. The motocross ace finished Maxxis runner-up in 2004 and has been an ever-present in the FIM World Championships since 2001, scoring numerous top ten results and regularly finishing each year as Britain’s leading rider in the MX1 Grand Prix. He joins Mackenzie and Nunn representing his country at the prestigious Motocross of Nations event at Ernee, France on September 25th. ‘It would be really something to get a win this Sunday,’ he remarked. ‘After all the track is only three miles from my house!’
Skelder Banks can be found at be found on the A171 Guisborough Road around 2 miles outside Whitby in North Yorkshire. Practice and timed qualifying precedes the programme of six races starting at noon. Entrance is £15 per adult with concessions for children, students and OAPs. A full colour A4 size programme will give details of all riders.
The official website of the series (that averages almost 5000 hits per month) is: www.mxgb.info
MX1 Championship points 1 James Noble, Honda, 297. 2 Paul Cooper, Honda 296. 3 Josh Coppins, Honda 294. 4 Yoshitaka Atsuta, Suzuki 252. 5 Jussi Vehvilainen, Honda 246 MX2 Championships points 1 Carl Nunn, KTM 340. 2 Tom Church, Kawasaki 292. 3 Billy MacKenzie, Yamaha 253. 4 Wayne Smith, Honda 242. 5 Brad Anderson, Yamaha 204 Hi-res photos for editorial purposes can be downloaded for free from the official website. The website for the series can be found at: www.mxgb.info The pages include news, results and photos (available for media download) rider profile shots and info on the circuits.