Conrad Mewse and Oriol Oliver unstoppable as MXGB series heads to Blaxhall
By Dick Law on 17th Jun 25
Despite still suffering from an ongoing wrist injury that’s limited his bike time, Crendon TRU7 Honda’s Conrad Mewse notched up another two dominant race wins at round three of the Motul ACU British Motocross Championships. And while Mewse was doing his thing in the MX1 class, Spaniard Oriol Oliver (Gabriel SS24 KTM) was in complete control of the MX2 division, winning both of his races in style.
The hardworking members of the Woodbridge club had put a lot of effort into the famous Blaxhall track and were rewarded by a massive crowd of spectators flocking to the Suffolk course for some great racing in all three classes.
After the confusion of the red flag incident at the last round at Canada Heights, series director Paul Iwin, his team, and the ACU changed the championship stoppage rule in just three weeks. A red flag with under three laps completed would mean a full race restart. If up to 70 per cent of the race is completed, it would result in a staggered restart, in race order, similar to US Supercross. If over 70 per cent is completed, it would be declared a result. Everyone was fully informed before racing and most were happy.
From the start of qualifying, it was evident that Mewse would be difficult to beat. He recorded the fastest time, almost two and a half seconds quicker than second-placed rider Josh Gilbert (Lexa MX Racing Honda). Following him were Adam Sterry (Chambers KTM), John Adamson (Lexa MX Racing Honda) and Jamie Carpenter (Crendon TRU7 Honda).
Chris Mills (MVD Yamaha) got the holeshot at the start of the first race, but by the beginning of the second lap, Mewse was in the lead. That was the last the other riders really saw of him, unless he was lapping them, which he did up to 11th place.
Sterry had slotted into second place with Gilbert third as, a lap later, Carpenter and Taylor Hammal (Bike it Kawasaki) pushed Mills down to sixth place.
The running order stayed the same till the halfway point when Sterry seamed to slow very slightly. This moved Gilbert into second and Carpenter to third. On lap 10, Tristan Purdon (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) also slipped by the ailing Sterry for fourth place. Purdon would also make a move on Carpenter with a lap remaining but other than that the positions stayed the same.
Mewse crossed the finish line over 42 seconds ahead of Gilbert. Purdon finished third, followed by Carpenter, Hammal, Sterry and Mills.
Adamson had a dreadful race, as he was involved in a crash on the opening lap that saw him drop to 19th place. He battled his way back to eighth, only to crash again, resulting in a 16th place finish.
Mewse led race two from the drop of the start gate to the chequered flag. But behind him, it was all happening. Sterry was the only other rider close to the leaders' pace and followed him home, albeit 30 seconds behind.
Gilbert, after passing Matheo Miot (SAS TPC KTM), who had gated third, found himself in a strong third place and was eyeing a podium finish. However, his race came to an abrupt end on lap 10 of 15 when his chain snapped. This bumped Purdon, Hammal, and Martin Barr (Apico Honda) up a position to third, fourth, and fifth.
Carpenter was not having a good race. “A rider crashed in front of me and I had a big crash landing on his bike,” he said. “I dug deep and came from there to finish the race in sixth, with the bike stuck in fourth gear and no front brake.”
Hero of the US Championship qualifying a week prior, Brad Todd (DK Off Road Honda), saw his day end early after qualifying. While waiting in A and E at the hospital, he remarked, “I became very ill and short of breath so I went to the paramedics and they said I couldn’t ride, and they tell the ACU that I couldn’t. But I was feeling so bad I wouldn’t have rode anyway. They are running some tests.”
Overall, it was Mewse from Purdon and Sterry on the podium, with Hammal and Carpenter just missing out. In the championship, Mewse now holds a race win advantage over Sterry.
“It’s been a fantastic day and a good day for the championship,” said a smiling Mewse. “Unfortunately, Adam (Sterry) and Josh (Gilbert) had a bad race each, but that means I have an extended lead going into the next round, which is always nice. Two wins, two fastest laps and fastest on qualifying, and you can’t get better than that. A perfect day.”
Purdon said from second place on the podium, “I was happy with my first race as I came from outside the top 10 at the start to finish third, but very close to Josh (Gilbert) in the end. I gave it my all in that first race, so I struggled a bit in the second. I had a bit of luck with Josh going out, but I don’t get much of that, so I am happy with my weekend.”
Third overall, Sterry said, “The first race was a bit of a disaster as I had no rear brake from about lap three. In a sand race, you can get away without a rear brake, but around here it’s too important. I was disappointed with that, but it was nice to finish on a high in the second race. I felt really good, and my speed was good too. I just have to work harder to close the gap on Conrad (Mewse).”
Gyan Doensen was the fastest in MX2 qualifying, but his Gabriel SS24 KTM teammate Oriol Oliver stole the limelight with two commanding race victories.
By the end of the first lap, Oliver was already extending his lead over the rest of the pack. He won the race unchallenged by more than 30 seconds.
But behind him the Dirtstore Triumph teammates of Billy Askew and Tommy Searle were keeping the fans entertained as Tommy put his young friend under pressure.
Askew had gated second with Ollie Colmer (Chambers KTM), Searle, and Doensen in fifth. At the end of the third lap, Searle found a way past Colmer and was in third place, but so great was the pace of the two leaders that a six-second gap had already opened up. For the rest of the race, the large crowd watched as, inch by inch, Searle closed the space between himself and his young teammate Askew.
Doensen slipped past Colmer for fourth place on lap eight, only to crash down to last place a couple of laps later.
As Oliver crossed the finish line to win his first race, Searle was in Askew’s wheel track with half a lap to go. They rounded the last corner and approached the finish line almost side by side, but as they crossed the transponder line, Searle was just in front by 0.001 of a second.
Colmer held onto fourth place, with Charlie Heyman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) in fifth.
The start of race two was a carbon copy of the first, with Oliver leading from start to finish. Behind him, local rider Jake Nicholls (Crendon TRU7 Honda) held second place, followed by Searle, Doensen, Askew, Colmer, and an injured Bobby Bruce (Bike it Kawasaki).
Three laps into the race and, apart from the leader Oliver, the order was completely shaken up. Askew had surged from fifth to second, while Nicholls dropped down to fourth, spending the next half of the race contesting that position with Doensen. Meanwhile, Searle nestled into third behind his teammate Askew.
The top three remained in the same order until the end of the race, as Oliver crossed the finish line just over 40 seconds clear of Askew, who had Searle 14 seconds behind him.
Nicholls was an excellent fourth despite his complaints about a lack of training and bike time, while Colmer fell from a comfortable fifth to 10th on the very last lap.
Overall, it was Oliver from Askew and Searle on the podium, while Nicholls and Heyman narrowly missed out.
“I have had a really positive day here,” said the overall MX2 winner Oliver. “I enjoyed the track as it was bumpy and technical - like a GP track. It’s good to get two holeshots and lead the race to stop what happened at Canada Heights. The bike and team were all good, and I am now looking forward to Matterley Basin next weekend for the British GP.”
Second-place man Askew said, “I was good to beat my teammate Tommy today. In the first race he just got me over the finish line by 0.001 of a second. I wasn’t that worried about that but was a bit annoyed about the way I was riding. In race two, I was happy to maintain the gap and keep him behind.”
Third place rider Searle said, “Me and Billy were the same on points, so I wouldn’t say he beat me. But he was riding well in the second race although I did get him in the first by the smallest of margins. I was happy with my riding as I always struggle to feel comfortable on this track for some unknown reason. It’s a very demanding track and I don’t seem to have the level of fitness you need anymore. So, to go two and three is good, and I am happy with that.”
In the Under 21 side of the race, Askew was the winner from Heyman and Colmer.
In the fast and furious 125cc class, Charlie Richmond (Yamaha) and Haydon Statt (HS Racing Yamaha) were separated by just under two hundredths of a second in qualifying.
Richmond led the first race around the opening lap with Lucas Moncrieff (3 Flo Yamaha), Statt, and Drew Stock (Yamaha) chasing him. But by the end of lap two both Statt and Stock had slipped by Moncrieff into second and third.
Two laps later, Stock powered his way to second place and set off in pursuit of the leader, Richmond, as Statt settled into third position. Then with two laps remaining, Stock seized the lead and the race victory from Richmond.
As race two was about to start, the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall. As the large crowd did whatever they could to stay dry, Stock got the holeshot from Richmond and Ryan Waggott (Radgie Ry Racing KTM), with Statt way down in ninth.
While Stock and Richmond maintained the same position throughout the race, Statt contended with both the weather and other riders to recover and secure a third-place finish. Harry Lee (Fantic) finished fourth while Waggott regrouped to take fifth.
Overall, Stock emerged as the winner from Richmond and Statt. In the championship, Richmond has a six-point advantage over Stock, with Waggott now in third place.
Results
MX1:
1 Conrad Mewse (Crendon TRU7 Honda) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Tristan Purdon (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) 20 + 20 = 40
3 Adam Sterry (Chambers KTM) 15 + 22 = 37
4 Taylor Hammal (Bike it Kawasaki) 16 + 18 = 34
5 Jamie Carpenter (Crendon TRU7 Honda) 18 + 15 = 33
6 Martin Barr (Apico Factory Honda) 13 + 16 = 29
7 Chris Mills (Racing MVD Yamaha) 14 + 14 = 28
8 Matheo Miot (SAS TPC KTM) 12 + 12 = 24
9 Josh Gilbert (Lexa MX Racing Honda) 22 + 0 = 22
10 Joel Rizzi (Dirt Store Triumph) 8 + 13 = 21
Championship positions:
1 Mewse 150, 2 Sterry 125, 3 Gilbert 100, 4 Carpenter 97, 5 Purdon 89, 6 Husband 68, 7 Barr 64, 8 Hammal 56, 9 Adamson 56, 10 Mills 55
MX2:
1 Oriol Oliver (Gabriel SS24 KTM) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Billy Askew (Dirtstore Triumph) 20 + 22 = 42
3 Tommy Searle (Dirtstore Triumph) 22 + 20 = 42
4 Jake Nicholls (Crendon TRU7 Honda) 14 + 18 = 32
5 Charlie Hayman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) 16 + 15 = 31
6 Ben Mustoe (ASA United GASGAS) 15 + 14 = 29
7 Ollie Colmer (Chambers KTM) 18 + 11 = 29
8 Josh Vail (Phoenix Tools Fantic) 12 + 10 = 22
9 Mathew Bayliss (SevenSeven2 Kawasaki) 8 + 13 = 21
10 Glenn McCormick (Chambers KTM) 11 + 9 = 20
Championship positions:
1 Searle 131, 2 Askew, 3 Bruce 93, 4 Mustoe 92, 5 Hayman 87, 6 Colmer 83, 7 Oliver 79, 8 Doensen 75, 9 Nicholls 75, 10 McCormick 70
MX2 U21:
1 Billy Askew (Dirtstore Triumph) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Charlie Hayman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) 20 + 20 = 40
3 Ollie Colmer (Chambers KTM) 22 + 16 = 38
4 Ben Mustoe (ASA United Gas Gas) 18 + 18 = 32
5 Josh Vail (Phoenix Tolls Fantic) 16 + 15 = 31
6 Gyan Doensen (Gabriell SS24 KTM) 7 + 22 = 29
7 Raife Broadley (Fantic) 15 + 14 = 29
8 Bobby Bruce (Bike it Kawasaki) 14 + 13 = 27
9 Bayliss Utting (Triumph) 13 + 12 = 25
10 Max Harris (KTM) 10 + 11 = 21
Championship positions:
1 Askew 136, 2 Bruce 118, 3 Mustoe 110, 4 Hayman 108, 5 Colmer 103, 6 Doensen 102, 7 Vail 84, 8 Broadley 77, 9 Utting 61, 10 Harris 59
125:
1 Drew Stock (Yamaha) 25 + 25 = 50
2 Charlie Richmond (Yamaha) 22 + 22 = 44
3 Hayden Statt (HS Racing Yamaha) 20 + 20 = 40
4 Harry Lee (Fantic) 16 + 18 = 34
5 Lucas Moncrieff (3 Flo Yamaha) 18 + 14 = 34
6 Ryan Waggott (Radgie Ry Racing KTM) 15 + 16 = 31
7 Alfie Geddes-Green (Yamaha) 14 + 15 = 29
8 Zane Stephens (13 + 13 = 26
9 Christopher Brindley (KTM) 12 + 12 = 24
10 Jack Brearey (KTM) 9 + 9 = 18
Championship positions:
1 Richmond 126, 2 Stock 120, 3 Waggott 119, 4 Statt 113, 5 Lee 87, 6 Moncrieff 84, 7 Stephens 65, 8 Brindley 61, 9 Geddes-Green 58, 10 Spratt 58
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