Matterley delivered on all fronts
By Anthony Sutton on 8th Jun 18
Wow! What a weekend! Those of you who werent at Matterley Basin for the British GP absolutely missed out because it was one of the best rounds of the FIM world championship that I can remember for quite some time.
While Jeffrey Herlings totally stole the show on Sunday afternoon with his two come from behind rides to snatch last-gasp victories from under the nose of Tony Cairoli who led 25 of the 28 laps raced there were a million more remarkable goings on that really need mentioning.
While you had to be an early riser to catch it live on Sunday morning, Brad Andersons overall victory in the EMX300 class was gritty as hell considering Brad who turned 37 on Tuesday by the way could barely walk all weekend after wanging his knee.
For many, the EMX250 class provided the best action of all as the up n coming youngsters put on one hell of a show. To sum it up there was flat-out bar-banging action from the front to the very back of the pack and all 38 riders who completed race one stayed on the lead lap while 34 of the 35 did the same in race two.
The overall classification had nine Brits in the points with several more just missing out including first reserve James Carpenter who got a run out in race one but not in race two I guess someone was a little late to the waiting zone on Saturday!
While Steven Clarke and Josh Spinks were rewarded with trips to the podium an unofficial Save of the Weekend trophy (there is no trophy though, sorry) goes to Mel Pocock who narrowly avoided disaster on the first lap of race two when he came up horribly short on the triple step-up. The impact very nearly bounced him off but he somehow held it all together while narrowly avoiding running team-mate Martin Barr off the track.
Did anyone see Yuri Quarti projectile vomiting on the sighting lap of the second EMX250 moto? Despite being a tad nervous the Italian managed to keep his lunch inside during the moto but finished just outside the points! Does that count as a gutsy performance? Maybe
Martin Zerava aced the VMX class ahead of former world champion Mickael Pichon. Top Brit was evergreen Phil Mercer while Mervyn Anstie didnt disappoint in the six laps he squeezed in before binning it on the finish line double. Fortunately, there was no lasting damage and hes still just as daft now as he was before. Phewsh!
It was nice to see Tommy Searle back on it and hes definitely found his mojo again. The Bike It DRT Kawasaki rider was using some very creative lines and giving 100 per cent each and every time he took to the track which was awesome to see.
The other Brits in the MXGP class seemed to suffer somewhat although in real terms a 10th overall for Max Anstie was decent enough as was Shaun Simpsons 11th second time out.
Graeme Irwin picked up a couple of points on his return to action following treatment and recovery for those horrific looking burns he suffered at Blaxhall.
The current British MX1 champ rode a really strong first race and only narrowly lost out to Gautier Paulin in the last turn after battling with him in the closing stages. It was a bloody good ride for 19th and serves as a reminder of just how tough the MXGP class is.
Ben Watson tried really hard in MX2 but his starts let him down massively. After that he was mustard though and one of the few riders to make upward movement through the lap charts.
It was a tough day at the office for the other British MX2 regulars with Adam Sterry a no-show for moto two after finishing a very decent 12th in race one. Conrad Mewse did make it to the line for the second race but failed to make any progress through the pack after making a terrible getaway. Meanwhile, Josh Gilbert toughed it out for points in both motos in his GP debut well done that man!
A couple of outstanding performances that probably went totally unnoticed by the masses were those of the track prep team who worked tirelessly to keep the racing surface in prime condition which is always tough when the sun is as strong as it was. The racing surface was better than Ive ever seen it at Matterley thanks to some very intelligent playing with over the course of the weekend.
The commentary team also did an ace job. It aint easy for those guys but they somehow held it all together and kept the large crowd informed and entertained for the full duration of two very long days!
And finally, thanks to Steve Dixon and his team for making it all happen. Its obviously a hell of a financial risk putting on an event like this and I imagine its a very laborious task at times too when you have to comply with so many regulations and laws.
Steve takes it all in his stride though I guess the phrase a real labour of love sums itup best
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