Maxxis flashback - 2011 Little Silver
By TMX Archives on 12th Mar 15
In MX2 Steve Dixon had signed 19-year-old Swiss Arnaud Tonus for his Bike-It Cosworth 250cc squad alongside reigning British champion American Zach Osborne. Tonus had finished seventh in the world in 2010 as Ken Roczens Suzuki stablemate.
The all-foreign outfit would make a fearsome combination, thrilling to watch for spectators, terrifying for their competitors and shrewd business on the part of team owner Dixon.
Over in MX1 the pack had very little in the way of a shuffle after 2010's Hawkstone Park final round washout. Reigning champion Evgeny Bobryshev had departed these shores and had left the door wide open for a Brit to win their own domestic big-bore crown.
Outgoing 2009 MX1 series winner Brad Anderson remained with his favoured PAR Honda team looking to regain his '09 pace. Ando's title challengers would surely materialise from the Buildbase CCM squad who retained the services of Scot Stephan Sword and Englishman Tom Church.
Steve Dixon had his hand in the pie with Jason Dougan at his disposal while the racing at Little Silver would be enhanced by the entry of Shaun Simpson as a wild card aboard his new mount, the LS Motors Honda.
The Action
Qualifying went unsurprisingly to the monstrously quick Dixon boys who nailed one and two on the grid but the first holeshot of 2011 was taken by MX2 ‘new boy' Ray Rowson who flew round the tight left hander and shot off up the hill on his new Samsung Yamaha.
Rowson would last until lap three before being disposed handily by 2010 MX2 title rivals Osborne and HM Plant KTM star Jake Nicholls. Ipswich lad Nicholls chased hard but to no avail and was caught at three-quarters distance by Tonus who had begun slowly but used his 20mins + 2laps effectively to card second at the flag. The tone for 2011 had been set. Heat two was much the same for the ‘White Knights' who bolted away from the field on lap one. Tonus led early but had to let his more experienced team-mate through after just five minutes.
The weather may have been a tad nippy - Devon in early March is never likely to be balmy - but the healthy Maxxis crowd were treated to an uplifting exhibition of GP level racing. The Cosworth Yams barked out their enormous crackle as they circulated this hillside racetrack seemingly on rails and never more than a couple of seconds apart.
For the record Nicholls, Matiss Karro (MVR-D Hon) and Elliott Banks-Browne (DB Hon) completed the top five but were more than 35seconds back come the races end.
Moto three is no different to the previous two encounters as the two all-white rocketships disappear under the Maxxis archway after another flawless getaway. The Swiss Tonus has been used to playing second fiddle to Ken Roczen in the past and with his current team-mate looking to set a similar tone Arnaud plans to upset the applecart early in 2011.
This time around he leads the moto and seems to be stronger than earlier in the day...Osborne cannot make that crucial pass despite coming close on occasion. The extra effort required by Zach did his 250F no favours and just as he was about to launch another mid-moto attack his Yam expired and left Tonus the spoils for the race and the overall. Karro gleefully accepts second place in the moto and the overall as he and Nicholls share the podium on 56 points apiece.
If the outcome of the MX2 action was relatively predictable then the action MX1 meant tearing up the betting slips and just enjoying the blood, sweat and tears.
Bike-It Yam's Jason Dougan leap-frogged early pacesetter Brad Anderson in moto one and remained unsurpassed to rubberstamp the opening win of 2011. Stephan Sword was the man to watch as he progressed from sixth to hound Anderson late in the race.
Just as he made his move before the end of lap 10 disaster struck as his rear tyre rolled off the rim for a DNF. While Sword stormed back to the pits, a seemingly spooked Anderson dropped the ball and let wildcard Simpson snare the 22points for second place.
CCM (partly) made up for the disappointment of heat one by sending Tom Church to a gate-to-flag victory in the days' second moto. Luckless Sword befell the same fate as race one...this time while second although much earlier on.
Sword's lap four exit left fellow Scot Simpson to chase Church all the way to the flag finishing as he did just 0.7secs behind. Ando dropped the ball again losing third to Kristian Whatley (Samsung Yam) with just one lap to go.
Stephan Sword let his anger do the talking in the final moto taking off like a scolded cat to take a well deserved win. Simpson was the fastest man on track but ran out of laps to score his third runner-up spot. Simpson would take the overall having not led a lap all day but was pleased none the less. Tom Church's consistency gave him second overall while a 1-5-5 gave Jason Dougan a podium and a platform on which to build.
Brad Anderson was not at all pleased to collect only 52points but his demeanour would surely have been buoyed slightly by the rotten luck of title rival Sword who had a paltry 25points for all his efforts.
All in all a brilliant days racing which set the scene for an awesome 2011 season.
