Oll's well at Bevercotes
By TMX Archives on 16th Jul 08
A great track, first class promotion by the organising Ollerton MXC and plenty of stunning racing were the ingredients which made the third round of the AMCA MX championships at Bevercotes, on Sunday, a true winner for both the association and the sport of motocross.Out on the expertly prepared and AMCA-owned circuit, Phil Mercer tightened his grip at the head of the MX2 class with another impressive overall win, joined again on the podium by the super quick pairing of Lee Dunham
MX1
Over in MX1 though, Ben Saunders is the new series leader as early pace setter Gary Davies finished the day in sixth overall behind David Campbell, Brad O'Leary, Charlie Hollis and Clinton Barrs.
During timed qualification, Saunders had already made his intentions perfectly clear by recording the fastest lap although it was to be O'Leary who led a frantic opening MX1 moto at Bevercotes with Barrs, Campbell, Hollis, Davies and Saunders all in hot pursuit. Before the completion of lap one though Barrs had crashed, thus relegating himself all the way back to a distant last place. At the front, O'Leary was coming under intense pressure from Campbell whilst Saunders had sneaked up into third.
Typical of the thrilling action on offer, first Campbell took control before being passed himself in the closing stages by eventual winner Saunders. Early leader O'Leary was still to take third at the flag ahead of Hollis, Davies, Tom Fish, Aaron Crowder, Jamie Powell and Rick Du-Feu, whilst Rich Meakin earned a hard fought 10th following a super scrap with former AMCA champion Jonathan Slesser.
Just outside the top ten, Clinton Barrs eventually recovered strongly and earned a very gallant 13th after his first lap fall.
Despite Crowder leading the second MX1 charge to the first turn, it was O'Leary who again quickly took control of proceedings. With Brad in determined mood at the front, a fierce battle raged behind him as Hollis, Campbell, Saunders and Barrs locked horns.
As Saunders eventually stamped his authority on that particular contest, there was to be drama just a little further down the leaderboard as Davies stalled his motor, unable to quickly restart he was to lose several valuable points scoring positions.
At the business end of the contest, Saunders was now rapidly reeling in leader O'Leary, just failing in his attempt to snatch a late, late victory. Whilst reigning MX1 champ Campbell produced another strong ride for third, Hollis, Fish, Crowder and Du-Feu all again posted top ten finishes, joined on this occasion by Barrs and James Russell. Following his earlier stall, Davies was to get back to 11th at the flag.
Determined to make amends, Davies made a flying start to the final MX1 moto only to see the race quickly red-flagged. In the re-run, it was Saunders who now grabbed the holeshot and there he remained all the way to the chequered flag.
With Campbell comfortable in second, the main focus was on the tussle for third spot as Barrs and Davies locked horns after both riders had found a way past fast-starting O'Leary. In a scrap that went right down to the wire, Barrs just held on with O'Leary in fifth, Hollis sixth, Crowder seventh and the very impressive Fish eighth. Earlier in the moto, Russell had again been well on course for another top ten finish before overshooting a soft downhill berm.
MX2
After his last moto win in the final MX2 moto at Condover, Owen Delaney again looked in determined mood as he grabbed the opening holeshot in the MX2 action at Bevercotes on Sunday.
Whilst Delaney led, Lee Dunham, Phil Mercer, Scott Mathia, Jamie Dobson, Andy Marchant, Lee Payne and Matt Porter gave chase. Showing just why he is the current MX2 series leader, Mercer hunted down Dunham then blasted past Delaney who was now struggling with a failing clutch. Briefly, Payne also moved past Dunham and up into third before a fall halted his progress.
So taking the first MX2 win of the day was Mercer ahead of Delaney, Dunham, Payne, hard charging Jack Taylor having a great ride for fifth, Mathia, Sean Frayne, Simon Lane, Dobson and Rob Clark. After falling on turn one, James Lane showed great character to recover for 18th at the flag.
In a reversal of fortunes, James Lane grabbed the moto two holeshot whilst Delaney was the man to now find himself involved in turn one problems.
As the MX2 pack completed their opening lap, James Lane still led the way but this challenger was none other than his brother Simon. Side by side the battling Gloucester based brothers disputed the lead in a couple of rip-roaring laps.
Gradually, Mercer, Dunham and a very impressive Frayne gate crashed the Lane's private party, eventually relegating them backwards with James finishing in fourth spot and Simon in fifth.
Taking his second win of the day, Mercer was again first past the post with the consistent Dunham hot on his heels and Frayne in third.
Not enjoying the best of fortunes, Matt Porter was sixth in this clash after a stall in moto one whilst holding a strong eighth spot had relegated him down to a lowly 21st spot. With Delaney forced out with a broken silencer, the result of his earlier collision, the top ten was completed by Payne, James Shaw, Aran Agius and Mathia.
In a storming final MX2 clash, Payne made a flying start but was soon under intense pressure from Dunham.
With the front two setting a blistering pace, Mercer was moving up to hold third spot, being forced to jump aboard his spare bike after being slightly concerned by a worrying engine noise in his number one machine shortly before the start.
Quickly adjusting himself to the different characteristics of his number two bike set-up, Mercer then used his vast experience to good effect by rapidly reeling in the battling leading duo. On the final lap he then made a pass on Dunham after the MotoXtreme rider had overshot his intended racing groove.
With Payne having his best ride of the day to take the win, the pace of the top three had meant that the chasing Frayne in fourth was some 24 seconds behind Dunham in third. Whilst Porter took fifth and James Lane sixth, Carl Benjamin had his best ride of the day in seventh.
Earlier in the moto, Mathia was also holding a strong top ten placing before crashing out and requiring medical attention.
Bevercotes support action saw Derek Read (twice), and Luke Spence share the Non-qualifiers moto wins with Read the overall victor ahead of Phil Lloyd and Aaron Lowe.
In the remaining races the local Experts, Seniors and Juniors enjoyed two motos apiece on the superb circuit. Overall class winners wrapping up a very entertaining Ollerton MXC promotion were former championship rider Ray Syson, Jake Moss and Sam Hardwick respectively.
AMCA MX1 CHAMPIONSHIP -
SPONSORED BY RDH MOTOR HOMES
Rd 3 - Bevercotes (Ollerton MXC)
MOTO ONE: 1 Ben Saunders (450F Delkevic Kawasaki), 2 David Campbell (450F Honda), 3 Brad O'Leary (450F Direct CCTV/ AMS KTM), 4 Charlie Hollis (450F Mission Control Honda), 5 Gary Davies (450F Cradley Kawasaki), 6 Tom Fish (450F Murray Harper International Transport Suzuki), 7 Aaron Crowder (450F Sandifords Honda), 8 Jamie Powell (450F Stevens Yamaha), 9 Rick Du-Feu (450F Delkevic Kawasaki), 10 Richard Meakin (450F Honda), 11 Jonathan Slesser (450F Honda), 12 Danny Blakeley (250cc Silvesters Yamaha), 13 Clinton Barrs (450F Fowlers KTM), 14 Sean Eckersley (450F Delkevic Kawasaki), 15 Elliot Barrs (450F MotoXtreme Kawasaki), 16 Andrew Summerton (450F Suzuki), 17 Chris Neesam (450F Kawasaki), 18 Paul Coward (450F CAS Honda), 19 Stuart Rawlings (450F Honda), 20 Ben Smith (450F Kawasaki).
MOTO TWO: 1 O'Leary, 2 Saunders, 3 Campbell, 4 Hollis, 5 C Barrs, 6 James Russell (450F Kawasaki), 7 Fish, 8 Crowder, 9 Du-Feu, 10 Slesser, 11 Davies, 12 Stephen Tillotson (450F Delkevic Honda), 13 Eckersley, 14 Summerton, 15 Blakeley, 16 Powell, 17 Coward, 18 Neesam, 19 Meakin, 20 Stefan Garton (450F KTM).
MOTO THREE: 1 Saunders, 2 Campbell, 3 C Barrs, 4 Davies, 5 O'Leary, 6 Hollis, 7 Crowder, 8 Fish, 9 Du-Feu, 10 Powell, 11 Slesser, 12 Blakeley, 13 Tillotson, 14 Eckersley, 15 Meakin, 16 Coward, 17 Summerton, 18 Rawlings, 19 Russell, 20 Smith.
OVERALL: 1 Saunders 72 points, 2 Campbell 64, 3 O'Leary 61, 4 Hollis 51, 5 Barrs 44, 6 Davies 44.
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: 1 Saunders 170 points, 2 Davies 156, 3 O'Leary 150, 4 Campbell 144, 5 Hollis 133, 6 C Barrs 122, 7 Fish 107, 8 Du-Feu 95, 9 Powell 83, 10 Crowder 80, 11 Tillotson 69, 12 Russell 59, 13 Eckersley 55, 14 Meakin 55, 15 E Barrs 54, 16 Blakeley 51, 17 Slesser 50, 18 Neesam 23, 19 Coward 21, 20 Gary Threadgold 17.
AMCA MX2 CHAMPIONSHIP -
SPONSORED BY COMPLETE SCAFFOLD LTD
Rd 3 - Bevercotes (Ollerton MXC)
MOTO ONE: 1 Phil Mercer (Delkevic Kawasaki), 2 Owen Delaney (T+W Racing Yamaha), 3 Lee Dunham (MotoXtreme Kawasaki), 4 Lee Payne (Malin Floors/ Rocket Centre Yamaha), 5 Jack Taylor (KTM), 6 Scott Mathia (Wulfsport KTM), 7 Sean Frayne (Honda), 8 Simon Lane (Sutton MX Honda), 9 Jamie Dobson (Honda), 10 Rob Clark (Suzuki), 11 Jonathan Stokes (KTM), 12 Aran Agius (Thornbury MX Kawasaki), 13 Carl Benjamin (Thornbury MX Kawasaki), 14 Craig Chamberlain (Honda), 15 Andy Marchant (KTM), 16 Darren Dobson (Honda), 17 James Shaw (Delkevic Kawasaki), 18 James Lane (Sutton MX Honda), 19 Daniel Parker (KTM), 20 Michael Reynolds (Yamaha).
MOTO TWO: 1 Mercer, 2 Dunham, 3 Frayne, 4 J Lane, 5 S Lane, 6 Matt Porter (Select Homes Honda), 7 Payne, 8 Shaw, 9 Agius, 10 Mathia, 11 J Dobson, 12 Marchant, 13 Benjamin, 14 Shaun Scrivens, 15 Gavin Hookham (Kawasaki), 16 Brad Nixon (Honda), 17 D Dobson, 18 Joe Meachin (Yamaha), 19 Ashley Hudson (Yamaha), 20 Parker.
MOTO THREE: 1 Payne, 2 Mercer, 3 Dunham, 4 Frayne, 5 Porter, 6 J Lane, 7 Benjamin, 8 Marchant, 9 S Lane, 10 D Dobson, 11 Shaw, 12 Delaney, 13 Hookham, 14 Chamberlain, 15 Taylor, 16 Scrivens, 17 Reynolds, 18 Aled Bellis (Honda), 19 J Dobson, 20 Sean Tranter (Yamaha).
OVERALL: 1 Mercer 72 points, 2 Dunham 62, 3 Payne 57, 4 Frayne 52, 5 S Lane 41, 6 J Lane 36.
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: 1 Mercer 191 points, 2 Dunham 164, 3 Payne 141, 4 Porter 117, 5 Frayne 98, 6 S Lane 97, 7 Shaw 87, 8 Mathia 86, 9 Delaney 82, 10 J Lane 78, 11 Taylor 69, 12 Agius 63, 13 J Dobson 59, 14 Marchant 56, 15 Chamberlain 41, 16 Benjamin 34, 17 D Dobson 33, 18 Clark 30, 19 Hookham 27, 20 Bellis and Tranter 22.
CHAMPIONSHIP NON-QUALIFIERS OVERALL: 1 Derek Read (250F Honda) 72 points, 2 Phil Lloyd (250F Honda) 51, 3 Aaron Lowe (450F Kawasaki) 50, 4 Ian Teverson (250F Honda) 46, 5 Lee Chiswell (250F Yamaha) 43, 6 Brandon Benjamin (250F Thornbury MX Yamaha), 42.
EXPERT SUPPORT (SPONSORED BY OLLERTON HOUSE HOTEL)
Overall: 1 Ray Syson (250F Yamaha) 30 points, 2 Mark Hawkins (450F KTM) 22, 3 Ben Clarke (250F Yamaha) 15.
SENIOR SUPPORT (SPONSORED BY J R AUTOS AND PLANT HIRE)
Overall: 1 Jake Moss (125cc Yamaha) 30 points, 2 James Bower (250F Honda) 24, 3 Craig Ulliott 20.
JUNIOR SUPPORT (SPONSORED BY NEW LOOK INTERIORS)
Overall: 1 Sam Hardwick (250F Honda) 30 points, 2 Jordan Graham (250F Kawasaki) 22, 3 Jack Maddocks (125cc KTM) 16.
AMCA SIDECAR-CROSS CHAMPS
Rd 4 – Hillworth Court Farm, Longdon (Upton MSC)
1 Simon Bradford/ Neil James (525 KTM) 25 + 22 + 25 = 72
2 Steven France/ Lee Machin (650 WSP) 22 + 25 + 22 = 69
3 Jamie Stevens/ Scott Graham (650 VMC) 20 + 20 + 20 = 60
4 Andy Grahame/ Neil Friary (650 EML) 18 + 12 + 18 = 48
5 Alan Peever/ Anthony Phillips (580 KTM) 15 + 18 + 15 = 48
6 Ron France/ Stewart France (650 EML) 13 + 15 + 16 = 44
7 Stewart Lines/ Marc Cooper (410 Yamaha) 16+16+8=40, 8 Brian Beresford/ M Machin (650 VMC) 10+14+14=38, 9 Stephen Evans/ Darren Bishop (650 Husaberg) 12+13+13=38, 10 Colin Griffiths/ James Morrell (650 BSU) 9+11+12=32, 11 Tony Grahame/ Melissa Griffin (500 Honda) 11+10+11=32, 12 Matthew Taylor/ Nick Morgan (580 KTM) 7+9+10=26, 13 Alan Grahame/ C Cook (650 EML) 8+7+9=24, 14 Mark Banks/ Michael Geraghty (700 Zabel) 14+0+6=20, 15 Neil Warrington/ Chris Whatmore (700 WJM) 6+5+7=18, 16 Duncan Coley/ Adam Capewell (500 Kawasaki) 5+6+5=16, 17 Ross Bowers/ Dan Phelps (610 Husaberg) 4+8+0=12.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 9) rounds: 1 Simon Bradford 277 points, 2 Steve France 256, 3 Stevens 222, 4 Lines 187, 5 Tony Grahame 157, 6 Andy Grahame 155, 7 Ron France 148, 8 Evans 138, 9 Banks 134, 10 Griffiths 116, 11 Peever 110, 12 John Grahame 109, 13 Beresford 99, 14 Bowers 76, 15 Alan Grahame 63,...
NEXT ROUND: Jul 27 – Cleobury Mortimer (Wolverhampton & DAC).
SOLO CLASSES
Expert MX1: 1 Brad Turner, 2 Philip Delaney, 3 Karl Harrison.
Expert MX2: 1 Tim Truman, 2 Kevin Williams, 3 Mark Truman.
Senior MX1: 1 Ryan Thomas, 2 Steve Vernall-Smith, 3 Grant Reed.
Senior MX2: 1 Corie McShane, 2 Wayne Powell, 3 Jack Bennett.
Junior Unlimited Group One: 1 Lee Truman, 2 Jordan Pugh, 3 Tony Lewis.
Junior Unlimited Group Two: 1 Jon Hanby, 2 John Windridge, 3 Ryan Williams.
Inter Junior: 1 Jack Hill, 2 Paul Dunn, 3 Sacha Williams.
For full report and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, July 18, 2008