Report: AMCA MX1/2 Championship
By Mike Wood on 18th May 16
Luke Burton was the star of the show as Dursley & DMCC put on a great event which had it all with a large crowd for round two of the AMCA British Motocross Championship powered by Datatag and supported by Dunlop.
Following a day of top-class, spectacular action on the hillside circuit of Nympsfield, the end result was that Luke Burton (Rikki Priest Frasier Husqvarna UK) and Josh Waterman (JD IDS Transport KTM) both extended their respective points advantage in MX1 and MX2.
With a 3-1-2 scorecard, Burton also topped the MX1 podium joined by defending Champion Luke Dean and hard-charging young gun, Curtis Blamey in a great third.
Over in MX2, Waterman had to settle for second overall as the smooth FUS Moto4 Fro Husqvarna pilot Luke Mellows took a richly deserved win with Jansen Day in third.
While the MX1 and MX2 standings show the same leaders, in the 2T and Veterans title chases, though, it's all change.
James Lane (AJP Passion Racing KTM) now tops the 2T charge after taking Sunday's overall win from Ben Saunders and Jamie Powell, while James brother Simon Lane (LRT Honda) relieved Matt Gordon of the number one position in the Veteran class.
Both Lane and Gordon were also on the Nympsfield podium but taking the win with a super unbeaten performance was Terry House.
So on a track prepared by the organising Dursley MXC, Lewis King posted the fastest MX2 Qualifying time before it was time to go racing.
When the gate dropped, Mike Keenan must have been delighted as Chris Povey grabbed the holeshot with team-mate Luke Mellows in tow.
By the end of a frantic opening lap though, Mellows, Jansen Day, Paul Neale and Cory McShane had all pushed Povey back to fifth.
Using all of his track knowledge, local favourite Neale was a man on a mission getting up to second by lap four before eventually surging past leader Mellows on lap seven.
From there on Neale controlled all the way to the flag and took the win from Mellows, Day, McShane and Adam Wells.
MX2 series leader Josh Waterman had to work hard for his points in this race. After the start gate bounced and caught his front wheel, forcing Josh off-line, he was down in 20th spot.
Working hard he then got back to sixth, just ahead of King with Bradley Tranter eighth after initially starting 14th.
What a stunning clash MX2 moto two proved to be. Cory McShane got the initial jump only to be quickly passed by Mellows. For the opening few laps, Mellows and McShane locked horns in a great scrap but all eyes were on Waterman who, after gating sixth, was again on a serious charge.
He climbed up to second by lap five. For the remainder of the contest it then became Mellows versus Waterman for the win and McShane versus Neale for third.
At the flag, victory went to Mellows by the narrowest of margins over Waterman, McShane, Neale, Day and Tranter – who had moved up from 13th.
So going into the final MX2 moto, Mellows and Neale led the race for the overall, both riders proudly boasting a 1-2 scorecard at that point.
When the gate dropped both riders did not get the quick getaway they have been visualising with Mellows in tenth and Neale back in 26th.
At the front, Waterman showed just why he is the current MX2 boss, leading from gate to flag chased hard by Tranter.
In the early stages of moto three Josh Broadway held third before crashing, so then it was all about a fierce battle for that number three spot featuring Cook and Day.
That tussle raged right until the very last turn when Cook suffered a big off after getting cross-rutted.
With Cook out, King filled the vacant fourth spot as Mellows got back to fifth – enough to earn the overall win – while Neale had to settle for a hard-earned 11th.
Having his best ride of the day, Jack Timms bagged a solid seventh in this clash. Afterwards a delighted winner Mellows said: "This overall win was perfect for myself and team FUS. Since coming over to race in the AMCA, I have always had good results at Nympsfield.
"After making a switch of teams and classes for 2016 it's obviously all taken time to adapt.
"I really enjoy riding the MX2 bike and my speed is getting better each meeting.
"My home club Dursley MXC put on a great event on a well-prepared track and now I am certainly looking forward to round three at Frocester.”
Showing true grit and determination to keep a firm grip on the AMCA MX1 title, reigning champion Luke Dean, despite feeling unwell, started the day by posting the fastest qualifying time, then produced a superb moto one ride to lead from start to finish.
In the early stages, two-stroke champion Adam Harris brilliantly held second before eventually dropping down to tenth. Chasing winner Dean home was the impressive Curtis Blamey, despite coming under some late pressure from MX1 pace setter, Luke Burton.
Gating eighth, Burton was on a serious in MX1charge, but had to settle for an eventual third from Gary Gibson, Ryan Crowder and James Dodd.
Unfortunately, this moto was soured by news of an injury to Jack Cox, who suffered a fractured tibia and fibula after jarring his leg in a rut. Get well soon Jack.
In MX1 moto two, Burton was back to his very best, quickly overhauling fast starting John May to lead the contest.
For five laps though, May was right there and fighting hard, holding a menacing second and refusing to concede defeat until he unfortunately suffered a big crash. With his bike looking decidedly second-hand, the KTM rider initially dropped right back to 14th, eventually going further down the leaderboard to 21st.
At the front, while Burton controlled, the man on a mission was Cannings. Passing Blamey for second, he then rapidly reeled in Burton to finish less than a second down at the flag. Taking fourth this time was Dodd from Dean, Barrs, Mark Young and Crowder.
With both Blamey and Dean well down the leader-board, Dodd led the final MX1 charge before being passed by Gibson just one lap in.
It was getting hot at the front of this clash as Cannings, Burton and May joined the mix.
For Dodd though there was late heartache, as he crashed and dropped down to fourth.
In the closing stages, Burton then moved up to second and lap by lap rapidly closed in on leader Gibson.
But despite a valiant last lap effort by Burton it was to be a maiden AMCA Championship moto win for Gibson as a very determined Cannings took third from Dodd, May, Dean and Blamey.
Although satisfied to take another overall win and extend his early series lead, it was not all plain sailing for Burton, who explained: "After a long, sleepless night with my poorly little boy I wasn't feeling ready for racing and up for it on Sunday morning.
"I really struggled to keep any kind of concentration, so was very happy with my results for the day.”
Matthew Bath led the first Two-stroke moto of the day but by the end of lap one had dropped back to fifth behind James Lane, Jamie Powell, Ben Saunders and Kristofer Ayres.
Five laps in and Saunders was in control, only to then be overtaken again by his very determined rival, Lane, with just two laps remaining.
Also in the mix during this opening 2T clash were Richard Lloyd, Tony Griffiths, Rian Warren, Aston Illsley and Matthew Nash.
In an entertaining moto two, Nash, Illsley, Saunders and finally Lane led the way.
Once in-front, Lane turned on the gas to finish over 12-seconds clear of Saunders.
After Ayres had briefly controlled the opening lap of the final 2T moto, it was that dynamic duo of Lane and Saunders again.
And ultimately this clash was decided by a moment just two laps from home when the fast leaders approached a group of four backmarkers. While Lane cleverly found an immediate route through, Saunders frustratingly got held up and lost valuable ground.
So at the end of the contest it was victory to Lane from Saunders, Powell, Illsley, Ayres, Lloyd and Bath.
That win for Lane also meant that he claimed overall victory on the day and move to the top of the 2T series standings, 12-points clear of Saunders.
Going into Sunday's event, Tony Griffiths had held third in the early table but he dropped to 11th after mustering just 43 points at Nympsfield.
After only managing to complete two motos during at the opening round of the AMCA Veteran series after breaking a finger, Terry House bounced back in superb style on Sunday by bagging a brilliant maximum points haul.
House certainly had to work hard for his glory as Simon Lane led all three motos.
In race one, House gated ninth before taking control on lap six and earned glory with Matt Gordon third, Martin Atherton fourth, Darren Bennett fifth and Stephen Elford sixth.
In race two House took just three laps to hit the front with usual suspects of Gordon, Lane, Atherton, Gary Jones and Bennett in the frame.
After a fairly routine second moto, there was drama in the final Veteran clash as Gordon crashed heavily when about to pass leader Lane.
Dropping right back to 14th spot, Gordon had it all to do as House, after gating fifth, moved smoothly up to take control after just four laps.
From there on, House glided to another great win with Lane second, Jones third and Atherton fourth.
After his earlier tumble, Gordon displayed great character to fight back in style, passing Danny Blakeley for fifth on the run-in to the chequered flag.
Completing the programme was the Championship Non-Qualifiers races which saw Mitchell Benjamin take top honours in the MX1/MX2 class and Paul Jones prove victorious in 2T/Vets.
