Motul MXGB: Duns Drama

By Dick Law on 3rd Sep 25

News Motocross

While Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM,) won the battles at rounds six and seven of the Motul ACU British Motocross Championship at Duns, just north of the Scottish border, Conrad Mewse (Crendon TRU7 Honda) won the war and was crowned MX1 British Champion with two second-place finishes.

The Duns venue looked and rode like a GP track. The racing surface was prepared and watered to perfection, despite the strong wind that whistled up the valley all weekend and the light rainfall. Many grooves formed in most of the turns, providing riders with multiple line choices, which allowed for some decent overtaking. Also, the hard-working MXGB boys and girls dressed the track to make it look like a picture that would please any sponsor.

Herlings was in impeccable form, finishing fastest in both qualifying sessions and securing four holeshots on his way to four race wins. He led every lap in all four of his races. But then again, he is a five-time world champion.

In Saturday’s race one, Herlings got the holeshot, with Mewse slotted into second place by the end of the opening lap. Mewse kept the Dutchman honest for the rest of the race and crossed the finish line just under one and a half seconds behind him. Adam Sterry (Chambers KTM) wasn’t feeling that well, and it showed. He gated third with Josh Gilbert (Lexa MX Honda) in his wheel tracks till the halfway point, where a small mistake allowed Gilbert to slip through into third place while Sterry hung on to fourth.

Joel Rizzi (Dirt Store Triumph) gated fifth but slipped down to 10th place by the end of the race, while Taylor Hammal (Bike it Kawasaki) did the opposite. He gated ninth but passed Dan Thornhill (Chambers KTM), Brad Todd (Honda), and John Adamson (Lexa MX Honda) on his way to fifth place.

In Saturday’s second race, as Herlings did his thing in the lead, Sterry had finished the opening lap in second, from Mewse, Gilbert, and Hammel. It took four laps for Mewse to find a way past the struggling Sterry and move into second place. The top five remained in that order until the end of the race, with Herlings crossing the finish line nearly 18 seconds ahead of Mewse.

Tom Grimshaw (Apico Honda) began his race in sixth position, but a crash on the second lap pushed him back to 11th. He then worked his way back through the field to finish in eighth, just behind John Adamson (Lexa MX Honda) and Brad Todd (Honda).

Sunday's races began like Saturday's, with Herlings setting the fastest qualifying time and leading the first race from the very drop of the start gate to the checkered flag.

Sterry was feeling even worse but still managed to get second. Behind him, Gilbert, Rizzi, Hammal, Adamson, and Grimshaw all lined up to take full advantage of any weakness.

As for would-be champion Mewse, nerves must have affected his start because he was well down, by his high standards, in eighth place. It took him three laps to reach fifth and two more laps to get to second. But by the time he was in second, Herlings had built up such a substantial lead he stood no chance of catching up, let alone challenging for the lead.

Gilbert took third from Sterry on lap 10, with Hammal dropping down a further place two laps later.

As they lined up for the fourth and final MX1 race of the weekend, all Mewse had to do was to beat Sterry to the flag to become a five-time champion.

Herlings secured his fourth holeshot of the event and went on to win his fourth race by over 26 seconds.

But behind him, Mewse had managed a good start and was in second. He controlled his pace and brought his Crendon TRU7 Honda home for a strong second overall and, more importantly, the championship title.

Gilbert was having a great ride. He started fifth and overtook the ailing Sterry on the second lap. He then snatched third place from Hammel, two laps later, which put him third overall, behind, of course, Herlings and Mewse.

Brad Todd was running a strong sixth for almost half the race till a hard pass from Adamson left him in the dirt on top of one of the jumps.

Grimshaw had a poor start, dropping to 14th place, but he managed to work his way through the pack to finish ninth and was the last rider on the lead lap not lapped by Herlings.

“British champion for the fifth time, it seems a bit surreal at the moment," said the 2025 MX1 champ Mewse. “I am over the moon and I got it won a round early. I just don’t get easy winning a title and I had to raise my game to the next level to get it done. It’s been a hell of a day and the bike has been awesome all year and it ripped the last start of the day just when I needed it. The rest of the starts weren’t that good, perhaps my mind was elsewhere then. It’s probably been my best year, on paper, but worse behind the scenes, with injuries."

“It’s been a great weekend for me,” said a happy Herlings. “Fastest in qualifying on both days, led every single lap, four holeshots, and won all four motos. In my first race yesterday, I was still feeling my way around, but in the other three, I felt really strong.

“The track was technical and will be excellent training for the GP in Turkey next weekend. I have been racing a lot of different tracks over here in the UK, and I have never raced a bad one - they are all good. And to be honest, some are better than the GP tracks.” 

Third place overall on Sunday, Gilbert said, “I am really happy as I have enjoyed the track all weekend. Perhaps more so today as the overnight rain made it sticky and rutty. I was a bit disappointed yesterday as I missed out on the podium despite scoring the same points, but we put it right today with two third places. I am feeling stronger on the bike now, which may be a bit late in the year, but better late than never.”

Joe Brookes has been improving his speed steadily throughout the season, and he demonstrated this by setting the fastest MX2 qualifying time on Saturday’s round six. However, he only just edged out the other riders, as the top six were within a second of each other.

Ben Mustoe (ASA United GASGAS) led the pack around the opening lap of race one from Brookes, Oriol Oliver (Gabriel SS24 KTM), Charlie Heyman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna), Kay Karssemakers (Bike it Kawasaki), series leader, by one point, Tommy Searle (Dirt Store Triumph) and Calum Mitchell (Worx Total Triumph).

Oliver overtook Brookes for second place on lap two, as the one-time series leader, who was recovering from a poor start, was making his way forward. Billy Askew (Dirt Store Triumph) took a nasty tumble. He hit a kicker over one of the large tabletops and came down hard. He was slow to get up and appeared a bit dazed. Dirt Store team boss Jon Giffard told us afterwards, “Billy took a big hit, and he is saying he doesn’t feel right. So, as a team, we have decided to sit him out for the rest of the weekend. His championship was effectively over with the crash, and we must put safety first.”

A couple of laps later, Heyman crashed at almost the same spot.

On lap three, Oliver overtook the flying Mustoe to take the lead, while Karssemakers and Searle capitalised on Heyman’s crash to move into third and fourth. Brookes had to settle for fifth, with Heyman recovering to sixth place.

Brookes got the holeshot at the start of the second race from Searle and Mustoe, with race one winner Oliver back in eighth place and in the thick of the action.

At the halfway point, Searle slipped past Brookes for the lead and the race win, while, with two laps to go, Mustoe dropped from third to fifth place as first Heyman found a way past and then, after crashing twice in the race, Oliver passed him on the very last lap.

Sunday’s first MX2 race was all about Brookes as he led from the very start and went on to win his first British Championship race.

Searle pushed him all the way but had to settle for second. Mustoe was running in a strong third until, first Heyman found a way past, and then a lap later, after another bad start, Oliver slipped past. Oliver eventually finished third with Heyman fourth and Mustoe ending his race in fifth.

Heyman took the holeshot in the final MX2 race of the weekend, but by the end of lap two, Oliver had overtaken him for the lead and the victory.

Later in the race, Heyman slipped off and finished in seventh place.

Eddie-Jay Wade gated fifth but moved past Karssemakers, Brookes, and Heyman into second place on lap six. However, Karssemakers re-passed him two laps later to finish second, with Wade hanging on to third.

Brookes finished fourth, earning his first overall podium in third. As for the series leader Searle, he started seventh and moved up two places by lap eight. He passed Mustoe and gained another position when Heyman slipped off. He finished the race in fifth, which was enough for first overall, although he ended on the same points as Oliver.

“I was just after good points the two days up here,” said a happy overall winner and red plate holder, Searle. “Whoever came up with the idea of a two-day meeting, I hope they have got it out of their system and don’t suggest it again next year. I did what I needed to do today, though it didn’t help having a bad start in my second race. I was tired today, as I had a big weekend last weekend and another big one today.”

Second overall, Oliver said, “The track was a bit rough, but I like these conditions. It was slippery on Saturday and I crashed a number of times in the second moto. Today was more to my liking and, with a good start, I got a win.”

The on-form Brookes said from third on the podium, “It’s been a really neat weekend for me, especially with my first adult MX2 race win. It was also nice to put together two good race results for a decent overall, but good starts helped a lot.”

The 125 class was all about Charlie Richmond (Yamaha). Two days, four races, and four wins say it all.

He led Saturday’s race one from start to finish with Ryan Waggott (KTM) and Hayden Statt (Yamaha) doing all they could to keep him honest.

Waggott led race two until the last two laps, when Richmond took the lead, nearly winning the race at the finish line. Statt and Drew Stock (Yamaha) spent the entire race in third and fourth positions.

It was more of the same on Sunday’s round seven, as Waggott led the first race for four laps until Richmond blasted past to claim his third victory. Statt and Stock pushed Waggott back to fourth place, and after swapping positions a couple of times, Statt was second with Stock third.

Richmond led the final race of the weekend from start to finish as Statt, Stock, and Waggott competed for second place. Around the halfway point, Statt made a mistake and dropped back to fourth, with Waggott taking second and Stock third.

Overall, at round six, Richmond was the winner ahead of Waggott and Stock, and the same finishing order was maintained in Sunday’s round seven.

So, one champion has been decided, but two are still up for grabs at the eighth and final round at Lyng in Norfolk in three weeks' time.

Motul MXGB Round Six Results

MX1

MX2

MX2 U21

125

Motul MXGB Round Seven Results

MX1

Championship positions

1 Mewse 338 (Champion), 2 Sterry 279, 3 Gilbert 251, 4 Hammel 192, 5 Adamson 159, 6 Purdon 149, 7 Thornhill 143, 8 Husband 135, 9 Barr 113, 10 Grimshaw 107

MX2

Championship positions

1 Searle 259, 2 Heyman 230, 3 Mustoe 219, 4 Oliver 203, 5 McCormick 168, 6 Nicholls 166, 7 Askew 164, 8 Colmer 143, 9 Karssemakers 136, 10 Vail 133.

MX2 U21

Championship positions

1 Heyman 270, 2 Mustoe 253, 3 Vail 195, 4 Askew 194, 5 Colmer 182, 6 Doensen 167, 7 Broadley 163, 8 Karssemakers 152, 9 Brookes 126, 10 Bruce 118.

125

Championship positions

1 Richmond 323, 2 Waggott 294, 3 Statt 254, 4 Stock 249, 5 Lee 213, 6 Moncrieff 191, 7 Stephens 174, 8 Brindley 147, 9 Evans 122, 10 Grainger 104

More like this…

Eastwood storms the Heights

Conrad Mewse Clinches 2025 British MX1 Title at Duns

Fox teases with launch of MX26 Racewear Collection