Down to the real business!
By TMX Archives on 19th Mar 08
ATFER domination by Billy MacKenzie and Tommy Searle respectively at the Donington Park season opener just two weekends ago, the Maxxis British Motocross Championship gets down to the real business of hard championship graft on Sunday as round two of the series stops off to resume action at the spectacular and always superbly turned-out Canada Heights circuit.
After a comparatively tame and uneventful championship opener on the technical Midlands circuit, the action at Canada Heights looks all set to be a much
closer affair, especially in MX2, and the whole day could really be hard graft for the riders if the pretty ominous weather forecasts deliver what has been predicted.
With double Donington MX2 victor Tommy Searle
sitting out the rest of the domestic series to focus on his GP efforts, the door is wide open for a gaggle of riders to register their first wins of the season and, more importantly, establish themselves a lead a the top of the
championship.
On paper, there are anyone of eight or nine riders who have the speed and talent to take the win, and keep the action up at the sharp-end of things exciting for the fans, but after their performances at Donington, Molson Kawasaki's resurgent Stephen Sword, KTM UK's Shaun Simpson and Swift Suzuki newcomer Pascal Leuret will start as likely favourites.
Simpson, in particular, will be in particulalry determined fashion after a split fuel-hose robbed him of a
finish in the championship's opening moto, but Sword was very strong to finish runner-up to Searle twice at Donington and after the best part of two seasons out of racing he will be wanting to get back on the top step of that podium sooner rather than later. He could take some beating.
Leuret too looked silky smooth at Donington and after getting his first British round under his belt will be expecting to challenge for the win this time out.
All three though, are not guaranteed of anything and expect to see UTag Yamaha's impressive Martin Barr and Carlos Camapano figure up at the sharp-end, Barr especially, along with Sword's team-mate Gareth Swanepeol, DB Racing Honda's hard-charging Nev Bradshaw, Suso Suzuki's duo of Carl Nunn and Jason Dougan, who will be determined to score big after a woeful day of mechanical issues at Donington, and CAS Honda's Mike Brown who himself had a nightmare day last time out. He already sits 30 points adrift of Sword and will be wanting to get his title defence back on track asap.
With some very closely matched riders all the way through the field too, the MX2 class is likely to be the one to watch at Canada Heights.
The big question for the MX1 class is whether anyone can step up and challenge Billy MacKenzie for the win and the championship lead after CAS Honda's new boy, totally dominted proceedings at Donington. Virtually unchallenged all day, MacKenzie will line-up on gate on Sunday the undoubted favourite to do the same again at Canada Heights.
However, his rivals will not be wanting MacKenzie to get accustomed to winning and will no doubt give it everything to keep him in check and the big challenge is likely to come again from UTag Yamaha's Kenneth Gundersen who impressed in his return after injury, Swift Suzuki's Brad Anderson, KTM UK's James Noble, ARB Kawasaki's Mark Jones and Molson Kawasaki's new MX1 uprgrade Tom Church who will be looking to go one better than his second place finish in the opener at Donington.
Also look out for surprise Kiwi import Michael Phillips on the Nigel Arnold KTM, Pioneer Yamaha's Wayne Smith, MotoExtreme Kawasaki's Mark Hucklebridge, and Twisted 7's Bryan MacKenzie to push well inside the top ten also.
All the action at Canada Heights gets underway at 9.30am with MX2 qualifying, while the racing itself goes off at 1.05pm.
Canada Heights is situated on Button Street, Swanley, which is off the A20 between Farningham and Swanley.
For more details and ticket prices visit www.mxgb.co.uk