Report: AMCA Superclass
By Mike Wood on 30th Mar 16
Just three days before round two of the AMCA Superclass at Bromsberrow, the participation of series leader Luke Burton appeared very unlikely after x-rays revealed the Husqvarna rider had a broken shoulder.
The injury had been sustained during the previous weekend's Maxxis British Championship opener at Lyng in a moto one crash.
Burton took further medical advice before deciding whether to ride or rest and with a heavily strapped shoulder, he made a late call to give it a go.
And what a performance he produced as he won all three tough motos to extend his lead at the top of the Superclass standings.
Showing great early season form, Richard Cannings got home in second while the podium was completed by James Dodd, who is getting stronger each week after missing just about the entire 2015 campaign due to injury.
In the Youth 85/150F class James Hanscombe continued to dominate with another cool maximum points scoring ride.
In a repeat of round one Lloyd Duggan-Thomas chased him home in all three clashes, while Lewis Glynn took the final podium step.
Despite wet weather before the event the circuit was in absolute prime condition thanks to some extensive track grading and the smooth lines were certainly appreciated by the battered Burton.
He quickly shrugged aside the pain of his injured shoulder to get into a rhythm and posted fastest qualification time – nearly three-seconds quicker than Jack Cox.
James Dodd was third ahead of Adam Harris, on his 250cc two-stroke.
When the gate dropped, though, it was Cannings' Honda leading the charge from Dodd, Clinton Barrs, Burton, Ryan Crowder and Lewis King, with Cox surprisingly back in 11th.
Three laps in and Burton was up to second spot and hunting Cannings down as a charging Cox moved up the leader-board to sit in a menacing sixth.
After finishing runner-up in the opening round at Long Lane, Cox was desperate to keep Burton in his sights but unfortunately for Jack the series was soon over.
He suffered a big crash on a fast downhill section, face-planted and suffered a lower back injury and bruised forehead.
With Cox out of contention Burton took control of the moto on lap six and claimed the victory ahead of Cannings, Crowder, Dodd – who suffered a puncture – and Andrew Smart.
For 250F rider Luke Mellows, this opening clash proved rather forgettable after crashing then being covered in petrol when his fuel filler cap came undone.
The FUS Husqvarna team were cheering loudly in Superclass moto two as Dodd claimed the holeshot before the immaculate Burton quickly took control and raced to a comfortable win.
Dodd had to settle for a rather lonely runner-up spot, as the main battle was for third.
Early in the moto Cannings had looked the most likely but he fell and in his haste to restart knocked his bike into neutral, leaving him floundering back in tenth.
He made some progress up the leaderboard before being caught in a fierce tussle with King, Smart and Bradley Tranter.
Two laps from home Cannings eventually reclaimed third ahead of third Smart, King and Tranter.
Proving the Superclass is not totally dominated by the 450F boys, the next seven finishers were Harris on a 250cc two-stroke and then Mellows, Stealey, James Wainwright, Chris Povey, Craig Robinson and Shaun Pearce all 250F-mounted.
A determined Cannings grabbed the final Superclass holeshot to lead from Dodd, Crowder, Burton, Tranter and Jack Gardner and the battle raged for several laps battle raged before Cannings, Dodd and Burton broke away.
Burton hit the front on lap four, which was cut short by a red flag after Dean Swift crashed. So with the result standing it was again a win for the remarkable Burton from Cannings, Dodd, Crowder and King.
Another outstanding effort saw Harris sixth just ahead of the hard-charging 250F duo of Mellows and Gardner.
So with just one round to come at Condover this weekend, Burton starts as favourite for the crown with Cannings, Dodd and Smart also still right in the mix for medal honours.
After setting a qualifying time over seven-seconds faster than his closest rivals, James Hanscombe scorched to a massive win in the opening Youth 85/150F moto.
Lloyd Duggan-Thomas held second throughout with Matt Lloyd in third, with the main battle for fourth between Harry Syson, Finlay James and Lewis Glynn.
Hanscombe led the moto-two charge until an uncharacteristic mistake let Duggan-Thomas lead for a lap before Hanscombe took over again.
At the flag it was another win to Hanscombe with Duggan-Thomas second and Glynn third after a strong charge from an early seventh place.
In the final Youth clash it was again Hanscombe from Duggan-Thomas as Glynn overhauled Lewis for third, with Lewis, Corbijn, Ryan Lancelotte and Jones also in the mix.
Backing up the Championship classes was some entertaining Support action particularly in the Expert group as Welsh teenager Curtis Blamey scorched to a maximum-points win.
On the way he defeated the likes of Simon and James Lane, Jack Waterman, Dale Halls, 2014 AMCA MX2 champ Ben Saunders and Jamie Powell.
In the Senior class, Lewis Syson bagged top slot while Neil Parry took home the Junior honours.
