ACU Eastern MX: Southgate and Leeks take victory at Blaxhall - report and images
By Team TMX on 26th Jul 22
Blaxhall hosted the fourth round of the Stebbings Car Superstore / PP Sports Insurance ACU Eastern Motocross Championship on Sunday in blistering heat.
In the days before the event, the Woodbridge DMCC club pumped tankers full of water onto the race circuit to ensure the track was in good condition to cope with the race-day heat.
And with a rider line-up of 160 across four groups, the action on track was equal to the searing conditions.
Declan Whittle
In the opening premier class race for the top Expert and Junior riders, Luke Benstead made a bright start. He led for almost the entire race, only for a crash with a lap to go to hand the hard chasing Shaun Southgate the win.
Championship leader Luke Parker claimed second while Benstead remounted to finish third but would take no further part in the meeting due to an issue with his machine.
Luke Benstead
Lewis Tombs took fourth place ahead of Declan Whittle, while in the Junior class, Joseph Leeks took the win over Jake Rackham and Ben Hayward.
Thomas Murphy
The second premier class race saw Southgate again claim the Expert race win after battling with Tombs for the whole moto. Third place went to Declan Whittle, with Max Broadbelt and Thomas Murphy making up the top five. In the Junior class, Ben Hayward took the win ahead of Jake Rackham and Joseph Leeks.
Shaun Southgate
The final premier race of the day saw Tombs nailing the start and leading the race from start to finish to claim the race win ahead of Parker and Southgate in third, to give him first overall.
Fourth and fifth places went to Whittle and William Farrow. It was Leeks who claimed his second race win of the day over Rackham and Hayward.
Luke Parker
At the end of the day, Parker remained in the lead of the Expert Championship and in the Junior class, Leeks extended his championship lead.
In Support Group A, Matthew Pope claimed the overall victory after taking two seconds and a race win in the final moto. Second overall went to Charlie Nudds, who won the first two races, but a crash in the final moto dropped him to sixth and second overall on the day. Third overall was Scott Claydon, ahead of Gareth Lane and Jack Whitlam.
Zak Roberts won Support Group B, tied with Carl Booth on points but claimed the overall with the better final race result.
Third overall went to Aiden Weston, with William Bell and Steve Atkins making up the top five.
The last Group of the day was Support Group C, won by Charlie Starsmoore with two seconds and a race win in the final moto. Second overall went to Toby Souchotte, with David Homan in third. Jody Cutler and Tony Rooke completed the top five.
The Stebbings Car Superstore / PP Sports Insurance ACU Eastern Motocross Championship returns to Blaxhall on August 21 for the season's fifth round.
Results
Premier Race 1
Experts 1 Shaun Southgate, 2 Luke Parker, 3 Luke Benstead, 4 Lewis Tombs, 5 Declan Whittle
Juniors - 1 Joseph Leeks, 2 Jake Rackham, 3 Benjamin Hayward, 4 Sean Ottway, 5 Freddie O'Leary
Premier Race 2
Experts 1 Shaun Southgate, 2 Lewis Tombs, 3 Declan Whittle, 4 Max Broadbelt, 5 Thomas Murphy
Juniors 1 Benjamin Hayward, 2 Jake Rackham, 3 Joseph Leeks, 4 Finley Jarvis, 5 Connor Bunkle
Premier Race 3
Experts 1 Lewis Tombs, 2 Luke Parker, 3 Shaun Southgate, 4 Declan Whittle, 5 William Farrow
Juniors - 1 Joseph Leeks, 2 Jake Rackham, 3 Benjamin Hayward, 4 Finley Jarvis, 5 Connor Bunkle
Expert Overall
1 Shaun Southgate 70, 2 Lewis Tombs 65, 3 Luke Parker 54, 4 Declan Whittle 54, 5 William Farrow 42
Junior Overall
1 Joseph Leeks 70, 2 Jake Rackham 66, 3 Benjamin Hayward 65, 4 Connor Bunkle 44, 5 Cullen Hawkins 44
Support Group A Overall
1 Matthew Pope 131, 2 Charlie Nudds 125, 3 Scott Claydon 121, 4 Gareth Lane 104, 5 Jack Whitham 103
Support Group B Overall
1 Zak Roberts 121, 2 Carl Booth 121, 3 Aiden Weston 115, 4 William Bell 108, 5 Steve Atkins 100
Support Group C Overall
1 Charlie Starsmoore 131, 2 Toby Souchotte 116, 3 David Homan 111, 4 Jody Cutler 108, 5 Tony Rooke 102
Images: Jason Cutter; Words: Richard Blyth; Editing: Andrew Hill
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