MAX PAYNE!
By TMX Archives on 30th Mar 12
Each year, the AMCA Championship racing season fires into life with the staging of the Superclass an unlimited capacity event combining MX1 and MX2 contenders.Normally the title is decided over two rounds and six races.
For 2012 though it was all change with just a one-off shoot-out and three tense, but highly-competitive motos.
The venue for the battle was Whalley Nab in Lancashire, with Rossendale MXC the hosts.
Lee Payne from the home county took top honours, in the process bagging his first ever AMCA crown with a great
1-1-2 scorecard.
Despite being the fastest man to the first corner in all three clashes, reigning Superclass Champion Lee Dunham had to settle for the overall runners-up slot, with Matthew Williamson an impressive third.
After a typically frantic opening lap in the first moto, Lee Payne held the early advantage with Richard Cannings, Aran Agius, Matthew Williamson, Clinton Barrs and Lee Dunham in tow.
Back to full fitness after his 2011 campaign had been hampered by a major early-season knee operation, Payne – on a new KTM – controlled proceedings all the way to the flag to finish more than ten seconds ahead of Barrs, with Dunham in third.
After initially gating outside the top ten, Sean Eckersley and Shaun Pearce both recovered strongly to earn eventual fifth and sixth placings respectively behind two-stroke mounted Williamson.
For Cannings, this opener did not quite go to plan, as he was black-flagged for swapping bikes four laps into the contest when holding fifth spot.
Determined to make amends for that no-score, Cannings quickly took control of moto two, before becoming involved in atitanic struggle for honours, challenged by Payne.
For seven laps, Cannings looked the likely victor, before Payne swooped past with just three circuits to go.
FOR FULL REPORT AND POCTIRES SEE T+MX MARCH 30
AMCA SUPERCLASS CHAMPIONSHIP
Whalley Nab (Rossendale MXC)
SUPERCLASS: 1 Lee Payne 60 + 60 + 54 = 174 points (CHAMPION), 2 Lee Dunham 50 + 50 + 50 =150, 3 Matthew Williamson 47 + 43 + 47 =137, 4 Clinton Barrs 54 + 47 + 31 =132, 5 Shaun Pearce 43 + 45 + 41 =129, 6 Aled Bellis 35 + 39 + 45 =119, 7 Ryan Crowder 31 + 41 + 43 =115, 8 Martin Jones 41 + 35 + 39 =115, 9 Richard Cannings 0 + 54 + 60 =114, 10 Sean Eckersley 45 + 37 + 29 =111, 11 Scott Mathia 39 + 31 + 33 =103, 12 Michael Smith 33 + 29 + 35 =97, 13 Sean Bond 27 + 26 + 27 =80, 14 Aran Agius 37 + 0 + 37 =74, 15 Adam Castledine 29 + 27 + 0 =56, 16 Luke Meredith 0 + 33 + 0 =33.
AMCA MX2 Championship Qualifier: 1 Ryan Jones 180 points, 2 Matthew Hockenhull 173, 3 Jack Weston 145, 4 Stuart Owen 136, 5 Mitchell Fellows 129, 6 Marc Roe 127.
Expert MX1: 1 Tye Barrs 170, 2 Lewis Belfield 162, 3 Shaun Scrivens 157.
Expert MX2: 1 Adam Smith 174, 2 Jamie Thompstone 161, 3 Lee Harrison 141.
Senior MX1: 1 Robert Vernon 158, 2 Daniel Townsend 148, 3 Number 158.
Senior MX2: 1 Number 1 158, 2 James Rowbotham 157, 3 Dean Hazeldine 149.
Junior Group One: 1 Joe Smith 158,2 Ryan Fox 141, 3 Jake Thornton 136.
Junior Group Two: 1 James Pennington 161, 2 Sean Lowther 145, 3 Iain Bryceland 142.
