Canada rites...
By TMX Archives on 11th Mar 09
MAKING the spectacular Canada Heights circuit look easy to ride, despite the deteriorating conditions after a heavy duty rain and sleet storm halfway through proceedings, factory KTM pilot Shaun Simpson opened the defence of his British MX2 crown with two dominant race wins as consistent early season flyer Brad Anderson rode his PAR Homes Honda to the MX1 honours on Sunday.
Traditionally, the organising club, Sidcup and DMCC gets the domestic championships up and running at its Kent track just off the M25 motorway, near the Dartford Crossing, south of London. After snowstorms greeted riders and spectators at the fixture last year, it was hoped for a complete change of weather, and they got it early on.
Glorious sunshine, if not with a nippy wind, greeted the, also traditional, large crowd for the first round of the series, however, things didn't stay so sunny for some.
With Simpson throwing his factory gauntlet down to the rest of the MX2 pilots to come take his crown, DB Racing Honda's South African import, Neville Bradshaw, took up the challenge and grabbed overall runner-up spot just two- points ahead of third placed man and former British 125cc champ Stephen ‘Soon to be a daddy' Sword.
As Anderson swept to the overall MX1 honours with a first race win and a third place in race two, Carl Nunn and his lightning fast MVR-D Suzuki snatched the runner-up spot with the last race win helping no end.
Third place went CCM pilot Tom Church's way after some decidedly gritty racing through the gloop after the sleet storm halfway through the event.
MX2
AS he had done seven days previously at the Hawkstone International, Simpson again blitzed his opposition into submission during the Qualifying session to finish on Pole position just over 2.5-seconds quicker than second fastest man, Stephen Sword.
Okay, Swordy is still recovering from an early season throat infection, but if he wants to show Simpson ‘who's the daddy' before his fiancé, Jody, gives birth to their first child in April, he will have to get on those vitamin pills right away.
Elliott Banks-Browne – EBB for short – really opened some squinting eyes from the early season sunshine with a stunning ride to third fastest, just over 3.5-seconds slower than Simpson with reigning World Junior champ, Matiss Karro, starting to show what he's no doubt really capable of doing, leading a gaggle of young up-and coming riders into fourth choice of gate.
The tension was heart-warming in the chilly wind as the riders lined up for the opening race of the 2009 MX2 season.
The uncharacteristic front-dropping gate clanged down and the season blasted in to being with Welshman Shane Carless and South African Neville Bradshaw first to the corner at the top of the hill.
Herjan Brakke, Jake- Nicholls, Sword, Karro and Simpson all turned together and set off in pursuit.
However, the rule of thumb for the ‘Everts-trained' Simpson is to get into the lead early doors and try hard to open up a gap quickly. This worked within a lap.
He was out front, where it is now becoming evident he belongs, and the gap between himself and second placed man Carless, who had lost Bradshaw to a fall within the first lap, grew almost instantly.
Carless succumbed to the pressure of the rejuvenated Jake Nicholls on lap-three before the fast starting Moto1 KTM planted his face in the Kent sand, dropping him down the rankings leaving Nicholls alone in second spot to vainly attempt to catch Simpson.
However, this shows Carless' fourth spot in the previous week's first Hawkstone International race wasn't a fluke, he really has the desire to be up there in the top echelon of British MX2 motocrossers.
MX1
WORLD MX2 rider in 2009, but having a go in the British MX2 series for this season: "...just for a bit of variation,” Utag Yamaha's friendly American, Zach Osborne, just squeezed out CCM Racing's Tom Church for the Pole position on Sunday morning.
Just under a thousandth of a second split to two for first choice of gate.
Belgian Cedric Melotte is obviously starting to get to grips with the CAS Honda with third quickest. time half a second ahead of his team-mate, Billy MacKenzie.
Virtually just two-seconds covered the top ten in MX1, so the gloves were definitely off for the start of the 2009 season.
After a hard and consistent winter's training, Brad Anderson whipped his PAR Homes Honda up the hill to cross the holeshot line with ‘Jumpin' Jim Murro, Church, Mark Jones, Osborne and the two CAS teamsters howling at his back.
Murro lost traction and went down within the first few hundred meters after a great start however.
Anderson led the pack through the trees and over the spectacular leaps with at first Osborne through into second before the American had to give best to a charging MacKenzie on lap two.
The Scot and Anderson battled all around the circuit with MacKenzie having a brief spell at the front before the Northumbrian battled back to the front again four laps later.
Behind them, Osborne was fending off James Noble and his MVR-D Suzuki after Noble had dispensed with firstly Melotte, and then Church to take over in fourth spot.
Osborne unfortunately crossed-rutted quite substantially and dropped out the reckoning to the back of the pack – eventually finishing 23rd.
This left Noble free to attack the pair at the front who were oblivious to the Yorkshire man's approach. However, he too was under attack from the man who appeared the fastest on the track at the time, the Belgian Melotte, who shot past Noble for third place on lap 11.
FOR FULL STORY SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
American supremo Zach Osborne (338) hunts down eventual overall MX1 winner Brad Anderson...