British MX Multichampionships 2005

Sunday 4th September 2005

The final round of the ACU MMX 2005, consisting of the British Fourstroke Championship, the Maximum Solutions British Sidecarcross Championship and the Ray Hockey Racing British Under-21 Championship

Photos

Page 1 of photos by Chris Helm

Page 2 of photos by Chris Helm

Page 1 of photos by Matthew Grant-Browning

Page 2 of photos by Matthew Grant-Browning

Page 1 of photos by John Powell (SE3MX.co.uk) - 451 on SE3MX.co.uk

Page 1 of photos by Tracey Thacker

Page 2 of photos by Tracey Thacker

Page 3 of photos by Tracey Thacker

Reflex Digital Imaging have 858 photos on their website

Reports

"Merc" from MXtrax.co.uk (orgional thread here)

With the sun blazing, a superb days racing took place at the Heights today. With Tommy Searle taking the title at the previous round, the championship fight had come to an end.....for top spot that is. With Lewis Gregory taking a comfortable second place, the race was still on for third, and it came down right to the wire. Read on to see how....

Qualifying kicked off with the riders being presented with a very rideable track, as we’ve come to expect from this venue. Due to the heat, it was always going to turn hard pack and a bit dusty in places, but the track was in prime condition and was good to produce some quick lap times through out the field. As usual, I was looking out for the riders who stood out as being the most comfortable.....and pretty much all them did. Apart from the usual Searle and Gregory show, the first 10-15 riders looked to be running a similiar pace. The only other rider their that looked to be maybe a cut above the rest was little John May. Him and Gregory put in some seriously quick laps to sit them both just off Searle in current classification.

Fellow Hooper Suzuki rider Alex Snow was also looking good, coming in not far behind. Our boy Dustin looked comforatble but was making some small mistakes that cost him a top ten qualifying position, he ended 12th just ahead of Shaun Frayne, Patrick Gilboy and Chris Bastik. Jamie Smith and Brian Hartland were also up there in the top ten. Qualifying times suggested this was going to be a close race....

First moto started with yet another Tommy Searle holeshot, but for just a moment it looked like he might have been pipped by a number of riders, one of them being Hanson Racing rider Dustin Whitehead. He was by far the quickest out the gate and had half a bike length on him as they started to hook through the gears, but the Molson Kawasaki was just to quick as Tommy started to cruise by on the way upo to the first corner.......and then as usual......check out!

Lewis Gregory was somewhere in the top ten along with 3rd place man in the championship Scott Probert, not great starts for either of them. Brian Hartland went down early on and left Alex Snow with no where to go but straight into him! Hartland DNF’d but Snow picked himself up and started to charge through, all be it with out a front brake God only knows how he finished that moto, but what was more amazing was that he actually started to pick people off! Top ride from the lad

Dustin was back in 10th, but managed to work his way up to 6th behind Dan Johnson, where he would stay for the rest of the moto, managing to fend off, and eventually pull away from a charging Jamie Smith. Chris Bastick was having an excellent ride in 8th, but was eventually caught and passed by front brakeless Alex Snow! Still a fantastic ride from Chris in his first full season of Brit U21 racing Jim Murrow retired on lap 2 with bike problems, which was a damn shame as he was running in 3rd spot and looking strong at the time.

But the real battle was taking place for 2nd/3rd/4th. John May was running 2nd but was causght by his team mate Gregory. This is where team work looked to come into play, Scott Probert started to close on the pair of them, but instead of Lewis making a move on his team mate, he sat behind him and just protected his position. Remember, May is 3rd in the championship closely followed by Probert! This created a dramatic ending to say the least, with only 3/4’s of the lap remaining, Probert momentarily got in front of Gregory but was soon re-taken on the next corner.

All this meant that Probert only had a couple of corners remaining to make a move.....and make a move he did! He came charging down the inside right on the back wheel of Gregory, but Lewis sore it coming and not only took a defensive line, but squared off the corner practically stopping the bike dead. Probert had come into the corner so fast he had no where to go and ploughed straight into the rear of Gregory’s Suzuki, sending him over the handle bars and into the wood fencing How he got up I’ll never know, but he did and luckily his bike was still running as well! He remounted to take 4th, but it could’ve been a lot worse for thr KRM Honda rider, atleast 3rd in the championship was still possible. So that one finished Searle (by a country mile!) from May and Gregory.

Second moto kicks off with......you guessed it......another Searle Holeshot! This time round, Hanson Rider Dustin got the drive to match his superb reaction and was third as they approached the big step-down. Not bad considering he’s running a mildly tuned 04’ engine! This time there were better starts for the majority of the front runners, it was shaping up to be a tight race. Alex Snow had an average start but soon set about picking up places, a 1/4 into the race he mananged to get by Dustin for 5th spot but give our boy a bit of a tow in the process, which was needed by half way as Dust was starting to look tired on the bike. A combination of not a lot of bike time recently and the hot conditions were playing there part, but he dug deep and managed top keep 7th placed rider Jim Murrow behind him and take 6th in the moto for 5th overall. A solid ride, but we’ve got a lot a more to come from him.

Searle had already checked out, with Gregory having to get round his team mate amougst others, Searle had managed to put a bag load of time on the rest of the field whilst everyone was jossling for position. He had such a big lead, he started to have a bit of a play over the big step-down, whipping the bike sideways and looking around him.....the kids got some serious style Whilst this was going on, thing’s went from bad to worse for Scott Probert...

He’d overtaken John May and was riding well, but then somehow his bike managed to lose it’s rear caliper and rip the rear disc clean from the hub in the process With no back brake and a disc dangerously rattling around the swingarm, Probert bravely finished the moto, all be it well down the order. The lad was reduced to tears at the finish, being consoled by the his mechanic and one of the Hooper Suzuki members, everyone felt for the lad. I’m not sure that finishing one place ahead of May would’ve been enough to take 3rd spot in the championship, but it was gutting all the same. He can hold his head high though, he’s had a superb season and really come of age this year. Definatley another one of the countries bright youngters to look out for in the future

So it ended Searle from Gregory, from May, with the championship finishing in the exact same order. That concluded a superb seasons racing in the U21’s, though there is still 2 rounds of the Maxxis Brit Cahmps to look to forward to, where you will see quite a few of the U21 field performing.....and performing well

Tommy Searle

“It’s a great feeling going into a final round knowing you’re already the champion, I was relaxed, focussed and looking forward to putting on a good show for the fans, I qualified in first position and felt good.

“I took the holeshot in the first race and checked out, I wanted to keep my lap times consistent which they were and I won by 30 seconds.

“Race two was the same again, another good start and by the third corner I was leading. I settled down into a good rhythm and put in some quick laps and won by 30 seconds.

“Today was fun, and with two good starts and two solid victories. Next weekend it’s the penultimate round of the British Championship at Whitby and I’m looking for a top three position to secure my position in the series.”

Innovate Honda

Held at the popular Canada Heights circuit, the MMX Championship ended on a high note over the past weekend.

Canada Heights' sweltering hot weather made it hard for the racers, dehydration being one of the biggest dangers on the challenging track. Qualifying saw Wayne Smith (pictured right) qualify third in the Fourstroke class, while Jamie Lewis qualified tenth in the Under 21 class.

Wayne's day could not have gone better. Being pushed wide in his first race, he was in fifth around the first corner. However, he soon set his sights on the likes of David Willet and Ben Lambert-Williams, while not losing sight of his main adversary in the class, Brad Anderson. After a slip of the brake in a corner, Wayne was able to push Brad aside and gain the lead, holding it to the end. His second race was, for the lack of a better word, perfect. Out of the first corner in third behind Anderson and Scott Robinson, he soon left Robinson behind him and began a fight for the lead. After taking the lead from Anderson, and soon being repaid, he promptly tried again and held it. A widening gap secured him the win for the day, but unfortunately still left him three meagre points short of the championship.

Jamie's first and only race was disastrous. After slipping on the slick track and going down, he got his bike started, but struggled to make headway as he was virtually unable to hold on properly, having bent back his thumb in the crash. As the race entered its final stages Jamie was able to close the gap on the rest of the field and pick off five competitors, ending nineteenth in the process. A visit to the paramedics after returning to the pits meant that Jamie would not go to the start for the second race.

The Innovate team as a whole ended the MMX season in the top ten. Wayne ended the Fourstroke Championship in second with 413 points, followed by Danny Smyth in seventh with 182 points. Alex Rach ended ninth with 177 points, and Jody Smyth in tenth with 169 points. Jamie ended the Under 21 Championship in ninth with 153 points.

Quote of the day:

Wayne Smith: "The season's been really good, I can't complain. That one race at Culham where I lost 27 points pretty much wrecked it, I pulled the points back and got only three points left in the end, but three points is three points. I've ridden the best I've ever rode, so I'm very pleased. Today was perfect, I got to the front fairly early and had to get the two wins. Brad had to get two fourths, but he got a second and a third and pipped me to the post. He rode really well, and congratulations to him."

Innovate wishes to congratulate Brad Anderson and Tommy Searle on their championship wins. Well done!

Sidecar Report - by Chris Helm

Under virtually clear blue skies, on the well prepared Canada Heights circuit, the final round of the 2005 Maximum Solutions British Sidecarcross Championships took place today. Although Stuart Brown had already won the title at the previous round his champion passenger was still not decided and there was still the possibility for the Watsons to take second place.

Brown / Peters continued where they had left off in Cloebury Mortimer and took the overall win with two first places and in Stuart’s case completed a clean sweep of 12 wins out of 12.

In timed training Brown was fastest, just over 1 second quicker than the Watsons. In third place were Scott Wilkinson / Gary Burt over 5 seconds behind Watson. They in turn were nearly 3.5 seconds faster than fourth placed, Topp / Batten

As the riders approached the first corner in race 1 Brown took the holeshot from Keane / Heighes, Wilkinson, Topp, with Watson in 6th. As the crews went back into the centre of the track Barton / Hutchman crashed and Neal damaged his hand and was unable to continue. At the front Brown held his lead but with just over half a lap gone Watson was up to second with Topp third and Wilkinson fourth. For the next three laps Watson put in some very quick laps and closed the gap on Brown. As the race neared half distance Wilkinson passed Topp but only held this third place for a couple of laps until his chain came off. Working his way up from eighth on lap 1 was Guilford / Peters who were now up to fourth and had Topp in their sights. During the second half of the race Watson slowed and the final gap between him and Brown was nearly 50 seconds. Topp was third and Guilford fourth. By the end Brown had lapped everybody up to sixth place.

With Wilkinson only managing to finish twelfth there was now only four points between him and Watson with one race left.

In the second leg Brown once again took the holeshot, this time from the Watsons with Lines third and Wilkinson fourth. Before the end of lap one Wilkinson was up to third. At the front Brown was not having it all his own way with Watson only a few lengths behind. On lap four disaster struck Wilkinson when his chain came off and then broke meaning his race was over. Provided Watson scored more than four points second place would be his.

The drama was not over though and as the race entered the last ten minutes the Watson bike stalled and between them they could not restart it. They lost over one lap before the engine fired up and were now down in fifteenth place. At the front Brown was now over two minutes ahead of Lines with Guilford third, which is how they finished. Watson continued with a sick bike and managed to finish in thirteenth place giving him the points needed to retain his runner-up position.

Brown took the championship win from Watson with Wilkinson third. Topp / Batten won the Centriplant fourstroke championship.

Marshal Matters - By Matthew Grant-Browning

I was reading a piece in last months Compass by Brian Edwards, about contributing to the running of club events, and it appeared to say that the rank and file avoid giving of themselves for work parties and track duties. Now having had the benefit of a Catholic upbringing ( and despite the fact that I have only been a member since August 2005) I took this to mean ME!! I immediately contemplated my position. Eventually I could not rest easy knowing that I was needed.

I e mailed Marge Clarke and pledged myself for the MMX Championships on September 4th.

I had not done any Marshalling before but surmised that it couldn’t be that hard, and anyway you get to see close up championship MX for nothing, a free burger and chips ( not to mention a Pepsi!!) and you get to parade around in a high visibility jacket with a flag!

On the big day I was up with the lark and set of on a hazy summer Sunday morning. The roads were clear and the trip from home to Canada Heights took 35 mins ( unlike in the middle of the day when an hour would be good going). I drove in and found the marquee where I was instantly recognised by Jamie Clarke who was all too eager to recall my last submission to the Compass ( see ‘Timber Woods’Sept 05 issue). Infamy , infamy, they’ve all……? I got my coveted Hi Vis jacket ,2 flags and my meal ticket. I found out where I was to be stationed ( Marshal point 14, the corner at the foot of Washboard Hill). I just had time for a quick cup of tea and a bacon bap, a visit to the lavvy and I made my way to my station.

As Practice got underway I settled into keeping watch on my bit and before too long I was rewarded with the opportunity to hold out my flag. Suddenly the ground ( pallet) gave way nearly launching me into an unsuspecting U21 year old that was braking hard into the corner. I managed to compose myself however. The shock only served to remind me of my quick and evidently inadequate toilet visit, and there were rumblings occurring, ( apparently Bacon Bap on top of yesterdays Chicken Satay is a volatile cocktail ). Practice was in full flow and I could not leave my post. I had to grimace and bear it until the rumblings subsided.

After Practice I had a quick chat with Jamie and made my way to ensure that the mornings discomfort did not return, let alone become a racing incident!!!
I was very pleased to partake of lunch and a quick wander around the paddock.

After my repast, I was making my way back to my outpost ready for the afternoons racing. I could not have wished for a better vantage point and thoroughly enjoyed a hot afternoon watching some brilliant racing. My flag was used several times in earnest which enabled me to feel that I was indeed necessary to proceedings.

For anyone that has not considered Marshalling at an event, WHY NOT? It is a good thing to do and racing cannot take place without it. What’s more everyone really appreciates it. I have to conclude by drawing a parallel between my experience as a track Marshal and my experience on the ‘Timber Woods’……..My feet are bloody killing me!!!

Matthew Browning, Marshal # 14

Check out Matt's photos here and here

Results

Here on Mylapps.com

Details

Admission : £10.00, Children under 14 FREE (if accompanied by an adult), OAPs £5.00

First Race 12:30pm

FREE parking at Canada Heights

Locals B&Bs / Hotels

Directions

Working Party Dates

Saturday 6th August

Sunday 14th August

Saturday 20th August

Saturday 27th August

Friday 2nd September

Saturday 3rd September

Turn up around 10am or phone in advance if unsure, Tea and Coffee (Water and some food) available

If you want to help on the big day (Sunday 4th September), in any capacity, please contact Jamie Clarke on 01634 201268 (evenings 6-10pm) or email

More Information

For more information on the whole series go to the series website