The second round of the Maxxis ACU British Championship took place on Sunday 1st April in front of a large crowd. The competition to stand on the podium held in bright sunshine at Canada Heights was so strong that the podiums featured a number of new faces.
In a dramatic start to the afternoons racing both MX1 and MX2 Championship leaders hit serious problems in their respective opening races. Unfortunately in the opening MX2 race Arnaud Tonus suffered a heavy crash which also claimed Graeme Irwin after he landed on the Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha. Both riders had to go to the local hospital with Tonus suffering a suspected broken collar bone. This opened up the way for Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda) to head home Steven Lenoir (Samsung Yamaha) in the first MX2 encounter to hoist himself right back up into the championship hunt after a poor first round three weeks ago. Neville Bradshaw (Evotech Stevens Honda) was the only rider on the same pace as the two leaders to finish in third just three seconds adrift in a thrilling climax. The fourth place went to Mel Pocock who produced a stunning ride to come from a shocking start to recover to fourth ahead of Elliott Banks Browne in fifth.
In the first MX1 race of the day, series leader Kevin Strijbos suffered a poor opening lap which saw him having to battle his way through the field in the MX1 class to eventually finish 9th. Fastest qualifier Matiss Karro (STR KTM) made a mistake which resulted in a small crash early in the MX1 moto which put him back behind Kevin Strijbos (HM Plant KTM UK) in the early stages. Meanwhile it was Stephen Sword (Tyco Suzuki by TAS) who led for two thirds distance before being caught and passed by Marc de Reuver (Lanes Kawasaki) who was coming under pressure from Shaun Simpson (Monster Energy Bike It) in thrid. Kristian Whatley (PAR Honda) rode a lonely race for fourth to make amends for his performance at the opening round three weeks ago.
The second MX2 race of the day featured a superb race long battle between Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) and Mel Pocock. Banks Browne took the race win by just a tenth of a second ahead of Mel Pocock (Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha) whilst only Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda) and Neville Bradshaw (Evotech Stevens Honda) stayed on the pace with less than five seconds covering the top four at the end of twenty five minutes of hard racing. Bryan MacKenzie (Rockstar KTM) just squeezed fifth ahead of Stuart Edmonds on the Tyco Suzuki by TAS.
In the second MX1 race there was a huge crash at the first bend which included Simpson, Whatley, De Reuver and Dougan to name a few. Karro took advantage of the situation and sneaked the lead, this time with the red plate holder Strijbos making a better start in second place. Stephen Sword (Tyco Suzuki by TAS) held onto the two leaders in the opening stages, but had to settle for a lonely third at the end of the race. With three laps to go, Strijbos put on a charge and caught Karro and managed to get alongside the Latvian rider on a tight right hand bend and both went down. They retrieved their machines and re started quickly in the same order and went on to finish the race well ahead of Sword. Martin Barr rode a long and lonely race in fourth ahead of Nez Parker. Amazingly Whatley came back from the first corner crash to finish in seventh place.
The final MX2 race of the day saw Elliott Banks-Browne make the start ahead of Neville Bradshaw and Steven Lenoir. Inside the top 5 Mel Pocock was pushing forward and was soon into third place. The race was red flag towards the end of the moto on the grounds of safety of a fallen rider. The race result was declared with Banks-Browne taking the win over Bradshaw and Pocock, Lenoir and MacKenzie rounded out the top 5. Monster Energy Bike It Yamaha rider Mel Pocock uphold team honour and stepped up to the mark to take third overall on the day, but more importantly the red plate as series leader.
The final MX1 race of the day saw Shaun Simpson take the victory after Matiss Karro crashed out of the lead. The second place went to Kevin Strijbos with Karro recovering to third place, along with Gert Krestinov in fourth and Stephan Sword in fifth place. Strijbos still maintains the championship lead by 16 points over Karro.
Canada Heights also featured the opening round of the British MXY2 Championship and in the opening race it was Oakleaf Kawasaki youngster, Tommy Alba who took the win. Unfortunately, due to an on track accident, the race had to be stopped after three quarters distance, but by this time Alba had built up a four and a half second lead over Robert Muscat who in turn was a further three seconds clear of Chris Bayliss (Wooldridge Honda MX). In the second race of the day for the MXY2 class, first race winner Alba crashed out of the race at the halfway point. James Harrison on the Lanes Kawasaki took the victory in the second race and the top step on the podium at the end of the day. Dan Thornhill took second place in the second race for third overall on the day. Robert Davidson on his Honda finished in third place and second overall on the day with 5-3 results.
The Championship now takes a five week break whilst some of top teams go on the Grand Prix trail before returning to British Championship action at the Lyng Circuit in Norfolk on May 6th, for more information please visit www.mxgb.co.uk
To View the race day Programme from Canada Heights please see below