Report: Thor British Youth Nationals - FatCat

By Team TMX on 7th Apr 16

British Youth Nationals

The 2016 Thor British Youth Nationals finally kicked into life this weekend at FatCat Motoparc. The packed paddock enjoyed a mixed bag of weather, and fortunately the majority of the weekend saw dry conditions and even some Doncaster Sun!

The FatCat race track had been extended for this first outing of the championship. Making use of the insanely deep FatCat practice track meant that the lap times were long and conditions were tough. Reigning MX1 British Champion Shaun Simpson was on hand throughout the weekend in his role as BYN ambassador to offer advice and tips to everyone and anyone who wanted it. 

It was a one man show throughout the weekend in the 65cc Junior class. Reigning 65cc champion Charlie Heyman came out the blocks all guns blazing on his SJP Moto backed KTM. 

A hard fought championship run in 2015 has left a confident and composed head on the shoulders of the quiet young racer. This allowed Heyman to run away with proceedings at FatCat, taking five wins from five races. 

Following Heyman onto the podium was Alfie Jones. Jones had consistent results throughout the five motos. However he did have fierce competition from the likes of Ben Pratt, Bailey Johnston and Wal Beaney – who all put in solid performances around the tough circuit. 

However it was the little Northern lad Ollie Colmer on board his Judd Racing backed machine who claimed the final podium position. 

It was another tale of domination in the Small-wheel 85 class. Ike Carter on board his MBO Sport Husqvarna was head and shoulders above his competition. He made racing the deep sands of FatCat look effortless.

Carter took commanding wins in four out of the five races, but a slight mishap in race two meant that Ike could only manage to take second position. But that was more than enough to hand him the overall win.

Bobby Bruce looked impressive throughout the weekend on board his Husqvarna. Bruce was the only rider able to take a win away from Ike Carter. However a couple of less-than-stellar results towards the end of the weekend as the track got particularly gnarly meant that Bruce just missed out on the podium despite his race win in moto two. Jack Lindsay and Jack Grayshon on the other hand were a tad more consistent over the course of the five races, meaning that they joined Carter on the podium. Lindsey was third and Grayshon second.

Without a doubt that most impressive rider of the weekend, in any class, had to be Lewis Hall. His last to first charge in Big-wheel race two was hands down the most extraordinary thing ever witnessed at a British Youth National. Hall fell in turn two and remounted at the back of the pack. 

What happened next was stuff that could rival James Stewart's last to first charge at Budds Creek in 2003. Hall passed every single rider on track on his way to the race lead, but he wasn't done there. Once Hall made the move for the lead he proceeded to stretch a sizable gap over his nearest competitor. 

As the track got rougher and tougher Lewis Hall only got better, and it was just down right pleasurable to watch him rail his Team Green Kawasaki around the sands of FatCat.  

Despite the speed displayed by Hall the Big-wheel rookie was unable to keep his results as consistent as he would have liked. A few crashes and mistakes over the course of the weekend meant that Hall could only claim second position on the winners podium.

Callum Mitchell showed his sand riding prowess as his results improved through the weekend as the track got tougher and tougher. This saw Mitchell join Hall on the podium in third spot.

Taking top spot in this fiercely fought category will need a consistent string of solid results, and that's just what Rossi Beard was able to do. Beard was able to take two race wins when the track was at its smoothest in moto's one and three. But it was Beard's consistency that saw him take the overall victory. Rossi didn't score worse than third position all weekend.

It's good to see a healthy sized field of 125cc competitors line up to battle it out for the BYN crown. After graduating from the Big-wheel 85 class last season a host of new, young talent has now jumped up into the 125 class to give the established riders a run for their money.  

However, none of these riders had an answer to Callum Green. The likable lad commanded the show from the front on board his SJP Husqvarna. After a season of gaining experience and mixing it with the front runners in 2015, Green has entered 2016 ready to take home the gold – and that's just what he did. 

Green won every race by a considerable margin, his effortlessly style saw him pull away from the field as they battled with the conditions. 

An array of riders that included Tom Grimshaw, Ben Clark and Harry Kimber (all Big-wheel 85 graduates) battled throughout the weekend in some of the closest, most intense racing for the final podium positions.

In the end Todd Ritchie was the best of the rest as he managed to log five consistent results on board his Judd Racing Yamaha. 

Rounding out the podium was the American Slade Tressler on board his GL12 racing Yamaha. 

Green said "I'm really happy to finally get my first big win at the BYN, and to do it at my home race in front of everyone that's come to watch me is even better! I didn't think I'd be out front as much as what I was but I'm just happy with my speed and fitness and how it all went.”

Alexander Brown is the reigning BYN 125 champion. The young Scotsman has made the jump up into the open class for 2016 and looks to continue where he left off in the 125 class.

Things were looking good for Zander's plan as he stretched out an immense lead in race one, eventually claiming the victory on board his Apico Husqvarna. 

However things went off the rails for Brown in race two as a mechanical issue saw him exit the race early, allowing Dexter Douglas to take home the moto win. 

Brown bounced back strong however, he didn't drop a point for the rest of the weekend. But despite four wins from five races Zander was only able to claim the third position.

At first it looked as though Dexter Douglas would be the rider to make the most of Brown's misfortunate. However Douglas was unable to match the solid consistency of George Grigg-Pettitt. A string of five second place finishes handed George his very first BYN overall win.  

George was a bit shell shocked after taking his first win, "yeah this is my first overall. I struggled a bit this weekend with bike problems and stuff but Zander had a mishap and that put us up on top. I had seconds all weekend and I couldn't be much happier with how I rode! My plan for the season is to keep consistent and smooth and just see what happens...”

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