Little Red riding good
By TMX Archives on 22nd Apr 09
AFTER much anticipation the combined first rounds of the Red Bull Pro Nationals and Elite Youth Cup got under way last weekend at a sun-soaked Landrake Moto Parc.A total of 4,000 fans, 80 Pro and 220 Youth riders, plus some breathtaking racing made it a memorable weekend for all.
Saturday's action started with the 65cc class with some great racing. A clear candidate for rider of the weekend was Conrad Mewes, who swept wins in all five races. The first holeshot award went to Sid Evans. However, it wasn't long before Mewes found his way through. Evans did his best all weekend but Mewes always had the edge.
It wasn't so clear cut for the final podium spot as Henry Williams, Connor Hughes and Callum Heasman traded blows, swapping race results. In the end it was that order for the overall.
The Small-wheel 85cc class saw a dominant performance from Ben Watson, but he couldn't quite manage a clean sweep after going down in the second race.
Behind him, the podium spots were never a foregone conclusion. Tom Neal looked to be the best of the rest and took second overall, although the real battle was for third, and that eventually went to Matthew Callaghan who was lying in fourth going into the last race behind Oliver Osmaston, who unfortunately for him had his lowest score of the weekend in tenth, pushing him back off the box.
The battle for supremacy in the Big-wheel 85cc class was close. Going into the last race Rob Muscat had a 12-point lead, but all his consistent results came to nothing as he took a seventh place, giving him third overall.
Sunny Thompson had an up-down day on Saturday, but obviously he found something extra on the Sunday and won both his races to take the overall by just one point. James Dunn ended the weekend in second. Try as he might James just couldn't bridge the gap to Sunny and had to be content with missing out on the overall.
The Rookie's class really was a pleasure to watch for all concerned. In the end it was Lewis Trickett who took the overall win, but his weekend didn't start off well after being taken down inadvertently by Connor Walkley. Walkley went on to win that moto but Trickett got his revenge in the next moto and stamped his authority on the weekend.
Jake Shipton took second overall and picked up a couple of second placed motos along the way. Christian Taylor stayed out of relative trouble to stand on the final Red Bull podium.
With the unique opportunity for some of the UK's younger pros to race the Elite Open class it was no surprise to see Red Bull KTM UK rider Graeme Irwin take advantage of the opportunity. He won all three races but he really had to work for it.
Alfie Smith pulled a huge holeshot in moto one and checked out as Irwin was buried in the pack. It took Irwin well over half the race to claw back at Smith and finally take the lead.
The second race was much the same for Irwin as he passed early leader Lewis Tombs only to crash and find himself back down in eight.
However, with a few laps left, Irwin carried his momentum into the lead. Alex Rockwell got out in front in the last moto as Irwin again made life difficult for himself but it wasn't long before he was back in the lead.
FOR FULL REPORT, SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009
Junior 65cc class warrior, Conrad Mewes, took control to remain unbeaten!