Michelin MX Nationals Round Four Race Report

By Team TMX on 8th Aug 23

News Motocross

The fourth round of the Michelin MX Nationals, powered by Milwaukee experienced all four seasons as heavy rain, strong winds, bright sunshine and wildly swinging hot and cold temperatures all descended on Cusses Gorse near Salisbury.

But by cutting out one block of racing on Saturday afternoon and with the cooperation of the circuit operator, the event was a complete success.

As it’s been for most of the year so far, the Crendon Fastrack Honda riders topped the Pro MX1 podium as Conrad Mewse took both race wins from teammate Josh Gilbert with Harri Kullas having to settle for third overall on his CAB Screens Crescent Yamaha.

Dylan Walsh made a surprise appearance on a KTM after leaving the Revo Kawasaki team and won both Pro MX2 races from Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) while Joe Brookes made his first national podium appearance on his GRT Impact KTM in third.

Gilbert got the holeshot at the start of the first combined Pro MX1 and MX2 moto from Mewse and Kullas, with Tommy Searle (GTCI Revo Kawasaki) fourth and Brookes, the first MX2 rider, in fifth place.

For the first half of the race, Mewse stayed with his teammate Gilbert eyeing up any chance of slipping past for the lead. And on lap six, after Gilbert made a small mistake, he was through and into the lead and, eventually, the race win.

Kullas slipped by Gilbert for second three laps later, relegating the youngster to third place at the finish flag. Searle spent the entire race in a distant fourth place, while Tristan Purdon (Gabriel SS24 KTM) came from 11th at the start to fifth place.

Joel Rizzi (Honda) took over the MX2 lead after passing Brookes on lap two but a fast-moving Walsh passed both of them. With Rizzi still on his tail, Walsh eventually crossed the finish line in seventh on the track, but was the first MX2 rider.

Talviku did things the hard way as he gated 19th and had to fight past many of the 450s to finish in 11th place outright but third in MX2.

Once again, it was the same three riders in the lead at the start of race two as Gilbert got the holeshot from Mewse and Kullas with Tom Grimshaw (Chambers Racing) and Purdon heading up the rest. Walsh was proving that he was adapting well to the KTM, in eighth place, and was the highest-placed MX2 rider.

As the riders started their second lap, Rizzi limped back into the work area with the front brake caliper hanging off his machine, ending his day and any chance of taking the overall win.

Searle got caught up in one of the deep ruts and went down. He got going again in 12th place and finished his race in fifth.

On lap four, Mewse powered past Gilbert on one of the rutted downhills to take over the lead. From there he powered away to take his second race win of the day. Gilbert hung onto second which gave him second overall, with Kullas spending all race in third place to secure third overall. After passing Grimshaw, Purdon was fourth, with Searle knocking Grimshaw down another place with three laps to go.

As for the MX2s, Walsh had an uneventful race and crossed the finish line seventh in the race but first MX2 rider. But, if you thought Talviku had a challenging first race, his second was way worse. He crashed on the opening lap and came around past the lap-scoring van in 26th place but crashed again and dropped down to 28th. In the 12 remaining laps, he went almost unobserved to finish eighth on the track but second MX2 rider for second overall.

In contrast, Brookes had an easier second race as he had a great start and rounded the first turn in eighth place. After being passed by two 450s, he maintained ninth place with only Talviku passing him with a couple of laps to go. He ended up as the third MX2 rider for third overall.

“I couldn’t ask for much more today as I had a bit of a practice crash in the week which damaged my coccyx pretty bad,” said Mewse. “We went out on Friday and I had a go at riding and after while sitting in the back of the van that this wasn’t going to happen. So, to come away with the double win is great and what you need to do to get a championship. The road isn’t always smooth but we got it done today.”

“I am getting a bit annoyed with these second places,” said a philosophical Gilbert. “I had a double win at the last round but Conrad had a bit of an edge today.

“I bent the front brake disk in the first race so I rode most of the race without a front brake and felt comfortable on the bike. In the second one, I led for a couple of laps, but I think he just had a couple of better racing lines than me and felt a bit more relaxed. Once he got past me, I tried to follow him in his lines but wasn’t feeling as comfortable. Second overall is not ideal but onto the next round.”

From third place on the MX1 podium, Kullas said, “It seems third is my spot this year. Those boys are fast, and it’s a pity they don’t do the GPs. I rode a GP the other weekend and it would have been nice to see how they would have gone. They have the talent to do well, as they are fast. It's good to be on the podium but it’s natural always to want more but those boys are fast”.

With a new bike and new team, Walsh was content to have won the MX2 class. “It’s all been very last minute,” he admitted. “Matt Smith has helped me out a lot and so has Mitch Boyland – both are top blokes. Also, Steve Payne at Multitek Performance came out with me in the week to help with the ECU. Apart from that, it’s just a stock bike and a small package just to get me going. It’s been a tough year after my AMA Supercross crash, so it’s nice to get the ball rolling again.”

Talviku was second on the podium. “It’s been a difficult day today as recently I have been travelling non-stop with racing in the USA and some GPs,” he said. “Not so much pressure today, but I did my job. In the first race, I struggled with the track, and in the second, my front brake was stuck on, so I came into the work area to sort it rejoined was dead last but came through to finish second, so that was good.”

After his first trip to a national pro podium, a happy Joe Brookes said, "It's been a really good day. I got some good starts and opened up a nice gap and just kept it there really.”

With a third place and two wins, James Dodd (FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna) won the Expert MX1 event from race one winner Aaron Patstone (Brenron GASGAS) with Richard Bird (Allmoto Megabikes Yamaha) third.

With three race wins from three starts, Ashley Greedy (Darjen Contractors GASGAS) won the Expert MX2 class from teammate Mathew Bayliss who chased Greedy over the finish line two out of three times. Ben Mustoe (ASA United GASGAS) was third, just four points behind Bayliss.

Josh Greedy (Darjen Contractors Kawasaki), with a second-place and two race wins, won the Amateur MX1 division from race one winner Sean Wainwright (Fasteddy Racing Honda) with Luke Mellows (LM Kitchens Honda) third.

Raife Broadley (723 Race Bikes Fantic) was unbeaten in the Amateur MX2 class by winning all his races. He was chased over the finish line by Ben Clark (Rock Oil Husqvarna) on each occasion. Jake Curtis-Stevens (Kawasaki) was third with Dan Brough (Rutzz.co.uk Yamaha) just missing out on a podium position by two points.

It was tight at the top of the Clubman MX1 class as six riders finished within eight points of each other. Adam Paxton (Honda) took the overall win by four points as both Danny Webster (Husqvarna) and Billy Saunders (WMS Commercials Honda) finished on the same points in second and third. Tallon Aspden (LA Groundworks KTM) was fourth, just a single point off the podium, with Drew Lane (Lanes Construction GASGAS) finishing just one point behind him. Luke Oldfield (SR75 Suzuki) was two points further back.

It was a similar story in the Clubman MX2 class with Aaron Framingham (Fabrican KTM) taking the win by just four points from Matt Tolly (426 Motorsport KTM) and Max Flint (Planet Moto KTM) who were both on the same points.

Billy Askew (GTCI Revo Kawasaki) continued his winning ways by winning all three MXY2 races and has remained unbeaten in this championship so far this year. Bayliss Utting (Trell Contractors Honda) was second, with Harrison Greenough (KTM) third while Finlay Evans (GRT Impact KTM) missed out on a podium position by a single point.

Reece Jones (SJP Husqvarna) won all three of the MXY125 races from Luke Grundy (KTM) and Westley McGavin (KTM).

A rare mistake from Josh Vail (SJP Moto Husqvarna) robbed him of the overall in the BW 85 class as with a 3-2-1 scorecard Jamie Keith (MBR KTM) snatched the victory away. Vail won the other two races but crashed out of the lead in Sunday's first race. Charlie Richmond (KTM) was third.

Of the small number of SW85s taking part, Joel Winstanley-Dawson (Techsource KTM) took the overall win with a couple of wins and a second place from race three winner Lucas Lee (Husqvarna) and Caiden Brand (Husqvarna).

The series' last round will be at the legendary Hawkstone Park in Shropshire on September 2/3 when all champions will be decided.

Results

Pro MX1

Pro MX2

Expert MX1

Expert MX2

Amateur MX1

Amateur MX2

Clubman MX1

Clubman MX2

MXY2

MXY125

BW85

SW85

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