Who'll be Mepal?
By TMX Archives on 20th May 10
The third round of this year's Express Insurance sponsored Championship will be in the very capable hands of the ever popular Cambridge club as they take the BYMX show to the challenging soft sandy terrain of Mepal, near Ely. All four Youth classes are continuing to boil up into something very special and it may well be the case that round three in Cambridgeshire proves to be a pivotal affair for a number of the leading contenders.
Albie Wilkie started the season like a runaway train in the Junior 65cc, but the London Express has given the buffers a couple of glancing blows recently with unfortunate injuries disrupting his season. Albie fought through the pain barrier at Norley, thus keeping his championship lead intact with a 94 point total. If indeed he does make it to Mepal he might have to grit his teeth once more following his recent troublesome shoulder injury. Out of all the divisions on the boil the 65s is possibly shaping up to be the closest to call with Tom Hume on 90 points, Taylor Hammal 84, Keenan Hird 76 and James McFayden 72 with all of them proving they can be individual race winners.
In the Small-wheels Oliver Osmaston remains unbeaten with a perfect ten out of ten race wins so far. However the proceedings at Norley came to a close last years Junior 65cc Champion Conrad Mewse gave a hint with his final race runners up finish that he is now entering a form that may well challenge the four stroke Honda riders dominance. As in previous years the Small-wheel pack are proving to be a particularly hungry and talented bunch, hence be on the look out for storming performances from Josh Gilbert, Robert Yates, Sam Braithwaite, Sid Evans and Greg Hyett as they all hang tough in the frenzied chase for points.
In the Big-wheels Ben Watson is back at the top of the BYMX Championship standings after winning the opening two rounds, and will be back in his favourite deep sandy conditions - so you wouldn't really be backing against him. If anyone can upset Ben it will most likely be Wales finest Ben Howell as he looks to reduce his 12 point deficit.
With the two top draw contenders of Ryan Houghton and Jamie Mc Canney both sidelined following the injuries they sustained at Norley, the Youth Open section now comes into a much sharper focus at the business end with Connor Walkley and Nathan Watson seemingly having it all to play for. Connor has won the opening two rounds with three individual race wins to his credit but Nathan has proved with a brace of runners up place finishes and a similar three race wins to his name that there is very little to choose between the pair in racing terms. Gary Sharp is currently in third followed by Luke Norris, Tom Kelly and Bradley Pocock. Brad has been on the wrong end of a few unfortunate incidents in the series to date but with a brace of blistering wins in Cheshire to bolster his confidence it will be interesting to see how far he can now push on to improve his Championship position.