British Sidecarcross Championship Rd 2 - Canada Heights

By Dick Law on 11th Jun 24

News Motocross

Brett Wilkinson, with passenger Joe Millard riding their 700 WSP AMS, proved why they are the reigning British Champions and also the top UK team in the GPs by winning both races of round two of the 2024 British Sidecarcross Championship last weekend at the iconic Canada Heights circuit in Kent. And they did this without getting either holeshot.

While in the South Eastern Centre and Sidcup Club championship support races, Dylan Woodcock (450 Honda) took the overall in some style by winning all three races.

The hard-working track team of the Sidcup club had put in a considerable amount of work on the historic track, and it was in excellent racing condition, considering they had a round on the Dirt Store British solo championship at the venue just two weeks before.

Dan Foden, with stand-in passenger Steve Kirwin (670 WSP AMS), got the holeshot at the start of the first sidecar race ahead of Mike Hodges/ Ryan Henderson (701 WSP Husqvarna) with the pairing of ex-British Champion Stuart Brown and Lewis Gray (665 WSP AMS) third.

Wilkinson/ Millard had started fourth but it looked like, with their pace, they would only stay in that position for a while. By the end of the opening lap, they had passed the pairing of Brown/ Gray, and by the end of the fourth lap slipped by Hodges/ Henderson and into second place.

Closing in on the race leaders of Foden/ Kirwin at some speed, by the halfway point, Wilkinson/ Millard were in the lead and cruised to the race one win as the rest of the top crews stayed in the same position with Foden/ Kirwin second from Hodges/ Henderson finished in third and Brown/ Gray fourth.

George Kinge, with passenger Scott Grahame (690 S Dance Builders WSP KTM), spent the race in fifth with the pairing of Lee Foyle and Jack Wilkinson (540 WSP KTM) doing the same in sixth.

Before the start of the second sidecar championship race, the drama had already started. As the teams came in at the end of the sighting lap, Wilkinson came in and reported a problem with his race bike. He switched to his spare, which was already in the waiting zone, and took that to the start line.

The gate dropped, and once again, Foden and Kirwin got their second holeshot of the day and were followed around the opening lap by Kinge/ Grahame and Hodges/ Henderson with Wilkinson/ Millard fourth.

From there the flying pair of Wilkinson/ Millard started to make their way to the front. They passed Hodges/ Henderson before the end of lap one and then it took them three more laps to get past Kinge/ Grahame but they left it till the penultimate lap to snatch the lead and the race from the Foden/ Kirwin pairing.

Brown/ Gray spent the entire race in fifth place while Foyle/ Wilkinson had to pass Taylor Whitt/ Blake Stevenswood (590 VMC KTM) for sixth.

Anthony Miller/ Mike Curnow (610 WHT AMS) had a great race. They were 18th around turn one but ended the race in eighth place, passing 10 other teams on the way.

Overall, Wilkinson/ Millard topped the podium in the Championship class, followed by Foden/ Kirwin and Hodges/ Henderson.

In the Expert side of the race, Miller/ Curnow came first followed by Matthew Conner/ Guy Eastman (700 WSP Zabel) and Tony and John Murch (610 WSP Husqvarna).

“It's been a really good day for us today,” said a happy winner, Wilkinson, “Two race wins and an increased championship lead. We had a bit of trouble before the start of the second race as the clutch basket on the engine broke on the sighting lap, and it was a brand-new engine as well. Luckily, we had the spare bike handy. It has a smaller engine, but it got the job done with the same result.”

In second place, Foden said, "First place today would have been better, but second is still good. I was riding with Steve Kirwin for the first time, and he's not ridden in a British Championship race for over six years, I think. They don’t make them as tough as they used to, and he was definitely up for it, resulting in two second-places. The shame is that it looks like it's just a one-time thing, as he is now racing quads. He was just up for it this weekend and did better than expected.”

From third on the podium, Hodges said, “It's been a really good day for us. The track was excellent, not too deep and not too wrought, and we enjoyed it. Also, as I broke my pelvis at the start of the season and this is my comeback ride, my fitness level is not as high as it should be, so third overall is a good result."

On the SEMX side of the event, it was the usual centre rules with all-comer groups in qualifying, with the fastest 40 going into Group A, the next 40 into Group B and the rest into Group C.

Dylan Woodcock (450 Honda) got the holeshot at the start of the first race. He was followed around the opening lap by Ike Carter (450 Yamaha), Raife Broadley (250 Honda) and Joshua Bassett (250 Jim Aim Racing KTM), and the three riders stayed in the same order till the end of the race. Aaron Ongley (250 Kawasaki) gated sixth but charged his way forward to finish fourth.

Woodcock repeated his performance in race two, as he led from the drop of the gate to the finish flag. Carter's race didn’t last a lap and Broadley and Basset took full advantage of his disappearance by moving into second and third place, but while Broadley went on to finish second, Basset crashed a couple of times and recovered to 30th place. Ongley and Callum McCaul (450 KTM) finished third and fourth.

Woodcock got his third and last holeshot of the day in the third and final Group A race of the weekend. He was unchallenged for the rest of the race, meaning he led every lap on the day.

Broadley was in second place for the whole race as Ongley, once again, had to make his way from fifth to third place. This gave him third place overall behind Woodcock and Broadley.

Sam Menzies (450 Husqvarna) won the Junior side of Group A from Frankie Elwell (250 Honda) and James Jackman (250 Fantic).

With two race wins and a third place, Roger Frean (350 Husqvarna) won Group B from Freddie Saunders (450 Honda) and Grant Lambert (250 KTM).

Meanwhile, three race wins gave Chris Stemp (250 SB Services Triumph) the overall Group C. Is that the first motocross win in the UK for the all-new Triumph? Maybe, write in if you know different…

Sidecar British Championship

Allcomers A Expert

Allcomers A Junior

Allcomers B

Allcomers C

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