MX Diary: Ryan faces fight for Nats fitness
By Team TMX on 25th May 16
Theres a change of venue for Sundays fourth round of the Acerbis Amateur Nationals.
Originally scheduled for Polesworth, the event will now be held at Warmingham Lane in Cheshire.
The MX1 class was thrown wide open at round three at Hawkstone Park when series leader Ryan Voase, after winning the opening moto, crashed out of race two.
Initially it was feared the former GP rider had broken his ankle – fortunately this isn't the case but a question mark hangs over his fitness for Sunday.
The last word from Ryan was he was hoping to ride this week before making a decision.
With Ryan failing to score in four races at Hawkstone the remaining wins were shared out between Ty Kellett, Cory Nemeth and round one winner Brad Cavill.
But consistent rides from Harry Bradley earned him the overall and series lead from defending champion James Lassu.
There's some serious talent in the MX1 class this season and with just 13 points separating the top three the lead could easily change from race to race.
In MX2 Alex Butler has a more comfortable 20-point cushion as he enjoys the switch up from a 125cc stroker but it's Brad Wheeler who's the rider on a charge.
Two race wins at Hawkstone earned him the overall and after a slow start to the season he's starting to build.
Danny Wright is tied with Wheeler on points with defending champ Lewis Meadows a further 49 points adrift after missing the opening day's action last time out.
The 125cc class has seen three different overall winners from the first three rounds with Maxxis championship regular Todd Kellett, making his 2016 series debut, taking home a maximum from Hawkstone.
With Kellett unlikely to be racing at Warmingham Lane the overall is expected to be disputed between round one winner and series leader Jack Drogan, round two winner Ash Harland and third-placed Stu Davies.
Scotsman Paul Johnston has taken all three overalls in the 250cc Two-Stroke Open class and he's opened up a commanding 95-point lead in the title chase from Dylan Hodgkins with Fraser Gardiner third.
That's not to say Johnston has had things all his own way with other race winners Jake Preston and Leighton Holmes both capable of making life hard for the runaway class leader.
In the Ladies class WMX regular Stacey Fisher will be defending a perfect record at Warmingham Lane aboard her 125cc stroker with 13 wins from 13 starts giving her a handy 46-point cushion over Silje Otte with Nieve Holmes third.
Ongoing teething troubles with his hybrid CR500-engined, CRF-framed special have cost defending Vets champ Brian Wheeler a bunch of points so far this year and he sits third in the standings, 30 points behind leader Jez Bailey and 11 behind second-placed Richard Collins.
If he can iron out the kinks then Wheeler has to start favourite but he can't afford to drop many more points to the super-consistent Bailey who has finished on the podium at every round so far.
Consistency has also been key for Junior Open class leader Jamie Bevin, who was third at FatCat and second at Culham before taking his first overall at Hawkstone Park.
He holds a 48-point lead over Ross Neville who won at the opening two rounds but failed to score in the final two races at Hawkstone.
Warmingham Lane is located a few miles from junction 18 of the M6. Postcode is CW10 0HJ.
Practice starts at 9am with the first race at 10.15am.
