May the force be with you!
By TMX Archives on 5th Mar 08
THE opening round of the 2008 Remedies Bar Motocross Championships took place on Sunday at Garlands Moor, near Holsworthy, Devon. Heavy rain had fallen prior to the meeting so things were a bit slippery to begin with and a lot of track maintenance was required which put the days schedule slightly behind. As a result there was only time for two blocks of races.
Defending Expert Open Champion, John May, got his campaign off to a flying start by winning both motos, even though he was forced to work hard both times. Jamie Skuse led the early laps of race one, until May took over. Luke Mellows moved up to join the action and he ousted Skuse on lap four and then put on a charge. By half race distance he caught May and pressured him until lap nine when he powered ahead of May and took the lead.
However it proved to be a short-lived situation as May came right back on the next lap, and went on to take the win. In race two, May had a blistering start, followed by Kip Herring and Luke Mellows, who were both on the gas and determined not to let May get away.
Herring made a move on May on lap four and took the lead. On the very next lap Mellows also passed May, and, two laps later, he passed Herring to take the lead.
Skuse was on a mission and was closing fast. May was signalled to get a move on – and he did! On lap eight he relegated Herring and within a further two laps he shot pass Mellows to regain the lead. May went on to take the chequered flag with Skuse pipping Herring on the last lap to finish third.
There was no stopping defending Expert 125cc Champion, Daniel Preston, once he hit the front. He too opened his 2008 campaign with two convincing wins, but there were some fierce battles behind him in both races between Ben Griffith, Darren Shears and Luke Hill.
The scrap in race two between Shears and Hill was especially good as they were locked together for several laps with neither rider giving a inch. However, in the end, it was Hill who held on to take second place.
In the Over 35 title races there were two wins for local kingpin Gary Down who seemed to relish in the slippery conditions. Defending Champion, Sean O'Neill, suffered a tumble on the opening lap when he got cross-rutted on one of the jumps and had it all to do. Rob Lewis didn't get the best of starts and was on a mission. He clawed his way from eighth at the end of the first lap to finish a brilliant second. In race two there was some really close racing between David Ford and Shaun Brooker with them swapping positions all the time, but in the end it was Ford who finished second behind Down.
Scott Williams put together two brilliant rides and took maximum points by winning both Junior Championship races.
REMEDIES BAR MOTOCROSS CHAMPS
Rd 1 – Garlands Moor, nr Holsworthy
Remedies Bar Expert Open – Race One: 1 John May (450F Meredith Suzuki), 2 Luke Mellows (450F KTM), 3 Jamie Skuse (450F Mayhem Honda), 4 Jordan Carter (450F Stones Honda), 5 Kip Herring (450F Off-Roaders Yamaha), 6 David Yelland (450F Phoenix Honda).
Race Two: 1 May, 2 Mellows, 3 Skuse, 4 Herring, 5 Carter, 6 Wayne Shimell (450F Phoenix Honda).
Remedies Bar Expert 125cc Champs – Race One: 1 Daniel Preston (250F MotoXmanix Kawasaki), 2 Ben Griffith (250F St Blazey Suzuki), 3 Darren Shears (250F St Blazey Suzuki), 4 Luke Hill (250F Maunders Kawasaki), 5 Josh Waterman (250F Kawasaki), 6 Will Worden (250F KTM).
Race Two: 1 Preston, 2 Hill, 3 Shears, 4 Terry House (250F Dexreco Suzuki), 5 Griffith, 6 Lee Skinner (250F Phoenix Honda).
Phoenix Tools Over 35 Champs – Race One: 1 Gary Down (450F Honda), 2 Rob Lewis (450F Honda), 3 Steve Davey (450F Maunders Honda), 4 David Ford (450F KTM), 5 Steve Chugg (450F Kawasaki), 6 Mark Pickard (250 Yamaha).
Race Two: 1 Down, 2 Ford, 3 Shaun Brooker (450F KTM), 4 Jamie Jones (250F Yamaha), 5 Sean O'Neill (450F Yamaha), 6 Greg Pascoe (144 KTM).
Petersen Racing Junior Champs – Race One: 1 Scott Williams (250F Suzuki), 2 Kelvin Townsend (250 KTM), 3 Jason Fraser (250F Husqvarna), 4 Michael Williams (250F Suzuki), 5 Wayne Butt (250F TM), 6 Tom Moore (250F Suzuki).
Race Two: 1 Williams, 2 Butt, 3 Luke Priddle (450F Honda), 4 Charlie Layzell (250F Yamaha), 5 Rob Drinkwater (250F Yamaha), 6 James Cole (250F Suzuki).
Junior B – Race One: 1 Lloyd Jones (450F Kawasaki), 2 Lewis Woodford (250F Yamaha), 3 Ian Byrne (250F Kawasaki), 4 Tony Bayliss (450F Yamaha), 5 Ben Ardren (250 Kawasaki).
Race Two: 1 Jones, 2 Woodford, 3 Tom Bridewell (250 Yamaha), 4 Tommy Layzell (450F Yamaha), 5 Byrne, 6 Luke Sansom (450F Suzuki).
Junior C – Race One: 1 Ricky Roberts (450F Yamaha), 2 Luke O'Brien (250F Yamaha), 3 Shaun Stowell (450F KTM), 4 David Colton (250F Honda), 5 Kevin Foyle (125 Kawasaki), 6 Matthew Holcombe (250 Yamaha).
Race Two: 1 Roberts, 2 O'Brien, 3 Simon Collins (125 KTM), 4 Holcombe, 5 Colton, 6 Andy Howard (250F Honda).