Tuesday July 12, 2011 at 12:20pm
Back on Sunday July 10th the Phoenix Tools Premier Motocross Championships made its way down to North Devon to Waggadon Farm, Nr Torrington for round 5 in the series. This was a re-scheduled round due to the cancellation of the last round which was intended to take place at Cusses Gorse and what a round it was as the track was heavily watered on the Saturday evening and early morning before practise, but by the time racing began the track was in prime condition and was to produce some high class racing in front of a moderate crowd.
In the Phoenix Tools MX1 class Andrew Gillett had set the quickest time in qualifying, but it was Chris Wratten who had the early lead from the Belgium star Maarten Cremers who seemed to be in a real hurry and he was to take the lead by the end of the opening lap, but up in to 2nd had come John May who could see that Cremers was easing away and May was soon to close the gap. May was to catch Cremers and piled on the pressure, and it paid off as May hit the front on lap 4, but a lap later Cremers regained the lead momentarily until he was forced to ease off a bit as he had picked up a rear wheel puncture much to his disgust and this was to let May go on to take the win. In the second moto it was wildcard Josh Waterman who had the early lead but a crash on lap 2 was to let Cremers up in to the lead and with a clear track in front of him he started to pull away. Luke Hill and May were to have a scrap for 2nd in the early stages with May eventually moving up and was to put in two really quick laps and closed right up on Cremers at a rapid speed which Cremers was aware of and he was to dig deep, but it was May who again was gifted the win on the last lap as Cremers back wheel washed out from under him and down he went. The last race was the best race of the day with Cremers leading from the start with May back in 10th off the line, but by the end of the opening lap May was there in 2nd giving chase and by the end of lap 3 he was right with Cremers and these two had left the rest behind. May was pushing all the time and he took the lead on lap 4, but a lap later Cremers regained the lead and this was to go on for a further three laps with the lead swopping and changing all the time which was thrilling the crowd, but in the end it was Cremers who got a backmarker between himself and May on the last lap which was to gain him a few yards and he was to take the win to much applause and was to give him 2nd overall on the day, but most importantly it has lifted him up in to 2nd in the Championship standings trailing May by 64 points.
In the St Blazey MX2 class it was Championship leader Jamie Skuse who was quickest in qualifying and it was Skuse who was to carry on with this speed in all three races with a fine display of riding and was to take a hat trick of wins, but there was some good battles behind him between wildcard entries Sunny Thompson and James Dodd and Championship leader Luke Mellows who was most consistant in all three races to take 2nd overall on the day just piping Dodd who was 3rd overall, but this has now moved Mellows up in to 2nd in the Championship at the halfway stage In the M D Racing Over 35 class it there was also some good racing with North Devon rider Keith Hanson taking the win in the opening race in front of plenty of local support, but unfortunately for Hanson in race 2 he was hampered with no back break lever, but did manage to finish in 2nd behind Martyn Tucker after passing Chris Brown on the last lap. Tucker was to dominate the last race after taking the lead on the opening lap from wildcard Mark Magill with Rob Lewis who had got a broken index finger taking an excellent 3rd passing Hanson in the closing stages.
The Petersen Racing Junior Championship class it wasn’t the best of days for Championship leader Bill Farleigh who had taken a heavy blow to his shoulder after crashing in qualifying and then was to go down with his nearest rival in the Championship Michael Rowe at the hairpin in the first race. Wildcard Daniel Johnson was to take a hat trick of wins, but he was pushed hard in the opening race by fellow wildcard Tommy Alba and had to keep his focus in the other two races as Harvie Templeton-Banks wasn’t too far away and would have pounced on any mistakes.