Josh Gilbert heads the ACU Eastern Motocross Championship after round one at Blaxhall
By Rick Blyth on 3rd May 23
The Woodbridge DMCC hosted the Stebbings Car Superstore / PP Sports Insurance ACU Eastern Motocross Championship at Blaxhall on April 30 for the start of the season after the opening round was cancelled last month. Sunshine and a massive line up of 200 riders produced some fantastic racing throughout the day.
The Expert Championship class featured a full line up of 40 riders, including a handful of British Championship riders such as Josh Gilbert, Harri Kullas and Charlie Heyman looking to gain some race practice ahead of the upcoming British event, along with a number of top local Experts including Sam Nunn, Calum Mitchell, Luke Parker and Shaun Southgate.
When the gate dropped for the opening Expert race it was Harri Kullas who made the start and quickly opened a large gap over the rest of the field. In second it was team mate to Kullas, Sam Nunn who was battling with Josh Gilbert in third who was recovering from a poor start. By the second lap, Gilbert moved into second place and tried to close the gap on Kullas but was unable to make up the ground. The race ended with Kullas taking the victory over Gilbert, Nunn followed by Luke Parker in fourth and Charlie Heyman in fifth.
The second Expert race saw Kullas make another great start with current Eastern Centre Champion Luke Parker just behind, while Gilbert was recovering from another poor start. By the mid race point, Gilbert was into second and closed in on Kullas before making a pass for the lead and opening a gap to take the victory. Kullas came home in second ahead of Nunn, Calum Mitchell and Dylan Woodcock rounding out the top 5.
The final Expert race once again saw another great start by Kullas as Gilbert charged through the field to finish the opening lap in second. In the early laps of the race Gilbert battled with Kullas until his made a pass for the lead and started to open a gap and took the victory by 16 seconds and the overall. Third place went to Mitchell with Nunn and Woodcock rounding out the top 5.
With the season starting at Blaxhall, the Junior Championship saw some fresh faces looking to challenge at the front of the field. In the first race Tim Warnes took the early race lead while eventual race winner Charlie Nudds pushed through the pack from 11th on the opening lap to take the win, second went to Kai Thorpe ahead of Joe Hall in third and Jake Brown and Kayden Smith rounding out the top 5.
The second Junior Championship race saw Charlie Nudds take another race win ahead of Kai Thorpe and Joe Hall once again. Freddie O’Leary and Tim Warnes finished the race in fourth and fifth.
The third and final race saw Charlie Nudds make it three out of three race wins ahead of Connor Bunkle in second and Joe Hall in third. Fourth and fifth places went to Harrison Forde and Kai Thorpe.
Alongside the Expert and Junior Championship classes were the Support B, C and D classes. In the Support B class, it was won by John Hinz who tied on points with James Taylor. Hinz took the victory with a 3-1-1 scorecard over Taylor’s 1-2-2. Third overall went to Luke Nolan with Sam Rogers and William King fourth and fifth.
Support C saw Robbie Pearmain take the class win with a 3-2-2 over Joe Scillitoe with an 1-3-3 and William Bell in third with an 8-1-1. Luke Clifton and Tim Soane rounded out the top 5.
In the Support D class Lewis Wells went 3-1-1 for the class win ahead of Josh Smith in second and Justin Dennis in third. Tony Rooke and Thomas Davies took fourth and fifth place.
The Woodbridge DMCC’s next event is the fifth round of the Revo ACU British Motocross Championship at Blaxhall on May 28 with discounted tickets already on sale online at woodbridgemcc.co.uk
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