MX Diary: Michelin circus hits the Heights
By Dick Law on 20th Jul 16
The Michelin MX Nationals series travels to the South East this weekend for round four at the Sidcup clubs famous Canada Heights circuit in Kent.
Riders love the challenging track and with most of the classes full it's shaping up to be an action-packed weekend with lots of competitive racing.
Graeme Irwin (Buildbase Honda) will be looking to consolidate his 35-point lead in the Pro MX1 championship over Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Honda) with Brad Anderson (Verde KTM) needing a good result after missing the last round in Duns.
Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Yamaha) is only two points behind Anderson with Josh Spinks (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) and Dan Thornhill (Cab Screens Husqvarna) both within striking distance of the experienced pair of racers.
But points may be snatched away from them all by a wildcard rider as Frenchman Steven Lenoir (Dyer & Butler KTM) will be definitely mixing it with the leaders.
MX2 series leader Martin Barr (Buildbase Honda) will want to make up for a disastrous Maxxis round last Sunday and rebuild his confidence to maintain his 36-point advantage over second-place man Lewis Tombs (Geartec Yamaha) who won the Expert class at a centre championship event at this venue a couple of weeks ago.
Jake Millward (Verde KTM) is in a strong third place in the championship.
And just as with the MX1 class a wildcard entry may steal valuable points away from the leaders as Mel Pocock (Hitachi REVO Husqvarna) will want to get on the podium after missing out by just one point at the last British championship round.
The Bell Expert MX1 championship chase is hotting up as Shaun Southgate (Herts MX Honda), Luke Parker (Herts MX Honda) and Brad Cavill (KTM) are separated by just seven points at the top of the table while in the Fly Expert MX2 class Henry Williams has a 60-point lead over Adam Wells.
Michael Ellis (P&H KTM) has Taylor Hammal (Dyer & Butler KTM) closing in on his lead in the MXY2 class after an overall win at Duns but with still a load of points up for grabs before the end of the year Jamie Carpenter (Holeshot KTM) and Dexter Douglas (Husqvarna) are not out of the picture yet.
In the 85s Joel Rizzi (RFX KTM) has a commanding lead over Sam Nunn (GMX KTM) in the Big Wheels while Ike Carter (MBO Power Husqvarna) remains unbeaten in Small Wheels.
The Canada Heights track is always well prepared and produces good fast racing and can easily be reached from the M25 and A20 roads.
Weekend admission is just £10 for adults with no charge for under 10s and if you want to camp in the Kent countryside it's £10 for the weekend but don't arrive before 2pm on Friday. Postcode is BR8 8DX.
