Revo ACU British Motocross Championship - Hawkstone Park
By Team TMX on 19th Jun 23
News Motocross British Motocross Championship
It was hot and humid at round five of the Revo ACU British Motocross Championship. Hot on and off the track as, yet again, the Crendon Fastrack Honda teammates of Conrad Mewse and Josh Gilbert dominated the MX1 podium.
But, in the MX2 class, the highly likeable Bobby Bruce (ASA United GASGAS) recorded his first championship race win. He finished the event on the same points as the overall class winner and championship leader, Isak Gifting (426 Motorsport, Stebbings GASGAS).
Luckily for the organisers, marshals and the reasonable sized crowd, the forecast thunder and lightning with the heavy rain that comes with it didn't materialise, and the sandy historic Hawkstone Park track stood up well over the two days of championship races.
Harri Kullas (Cab Screens Crescent Yamaha) got the holeshot at the start of the first MX1 championship race and led Gilbert, Mewse and Tommy Searle (GTCI Revo Kawasaki) around turn one. But by the time they had crossed the finish line for the first time, Mewse was in the lead and had already opened up a sizable gap over the rest of the pack, headed by Kullas who had Gilbert snapping at his heals like a Jack Russel.
While all this was happening, Evgeny Bobryshev (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) was in a heap with some other riders, including Ivo Monticelli (ASA United GASGAS), in turn one. Monticelli finished the first lap in 24th with Bobryshev a few places further back.
Back at the front of the race, Mewse kept opening up a bigger and bigger lead as his teammate Gilbert kept piling on the pressure, hoping that Kullas would make a mistake and let him through.
Behind them, Searle, who was still suffering from a crash at the first round which he aggravated in a training crash, was in a lonely fourth place as wildcard rider Gavin Stevenson (Honda) slipped down the running order from fifth at the start.
With three laps to go, and with the top three riders staying in the same order, Searle was suffering as first Bobryshev slipped past, followed by Tristan Purdon (Gabriel SS24 KTM) and John Adamson (ASA United GASGAS) as Searle finished the race in seventh place to score some valuable championship points. As for Monticelli, after his first lap incident, he finished 10th.
Mewse got the holeshot at the start of the second race from Monticelli, Searle, Bobryshev, Gilbert, and Adamson as Kullas found himself 12th with a lot of work to do.
Both Monticelli and Searle made mistakes on the second lap, which let Bobryshev and Gilbert through into second and third, leaving Searle and Monticelli to battle over fourth place. Kullas, meanwhile, was making strong progress towards the business end of the race.
For lap after lap, Gilbert did all he could to take that all-important second place from Bobryshev until he made it happen and slipped into second place on lap 10. While all this was going on, Kullas was in fourth and closing in fast on Monticelli and, on the very last lap of the race, took third from him and, with it, third overall.
Searle hung on to sixt with Adamson seventh and Ashton Dickinson (Talk Templant KTM) eighth.
Mewse now has a 17-point lead over Kullas in the championship, with Gilbert just two points further back. This year's is sure to be one of the three.
“It’s been a perfect day for me," said a smiling Mewse, "Fastest in qualifying and the 1-1 in the motos – I even got a holeshot in the second race. It just couldn't have got any better. But we have been working very hard and it's shown today. The team have been grafting alongside me and my mechanic Rob, has been working none stop. And I couldn't do this without the support of my girlfriend, Meg. It's just a fantastic day overall for me and the team, and we have extended our championship lead as we have won both races in the last two rounds and looking forward to the next round at Schoolhouse".
Gilbert, who must be getting fed up with finishing behind his teammate, said, "I think today was just damage limitation, and I just didn't feel comfortable with the track, and from the very first lap of practice, I just knew it was going to be a long hard day. I just struggled with finding the bike set-up to feel OK around here, so to come away with second overall, it's defiantly damage limitation. But it's still all to play for in the last rounds.”
From third place on the podium, Kullas said, "It was my second start that let me down today. I can't remember when I have made a worse start, but I was coming through the pack OK for the first two or three laps, but when I got to eighth or ninth place, I thought I would take a breath for a couple of laps and get going again. But I didn't get going again and started to make mistakes here and there. I picked off a rider occasionally, but it was too late to make it to second place. I had nothing for Conrad Mewse today. He was really fast, and as soon as he was in front, he was gone. I think my riding was good, and I gave it my all, and that's all I could do.”
The first MX2 race was all about Bruce as, after qualifying second to Gifting, he got the holeshot, opened up a sizable lead and maintained it to the chequered flag to take his first championship race win.
Mel Pocock (GTCI Revo Kawasaki), Bailey Johnston (Verde Shiloh KTM), Charlie Cole (Blade Bikes Kawasaki), and Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) followed Bruce around the opening but on lap two Johnson crashed back to ninth and Cole starting to slip back into the pack.
Series leader Gifting had gated seventh with Elliott Banks-Browne (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) one place behind him as the pair of fast riders started to make their way forward. But, on lap four, Pocock slipped back to fifth, and Gifting moved into second place, and perhaps that occurrence caused a bit of aggravation between the pair as words were exchanged after the race and actions carried over to race two.
While this was going on, Banks-Browne was minding his business as he made the third place his own while Pocock ended the race in fourth place. All but unnoticed, the young Taylor Hammal (Gabriel SS24 KTM) came for a 10th-place start to a respectable fifth.
Carlton Husband (Phoenix Even Strokes Kawasaki) was the biggest mover in the race. He crashed on the opening lap, lost the peak on his helmet and came around at the end of the lap dead last in 28th place. He then charged through the pack to take eighth place from Sam Nunn (CAB Screens Crescent Yamaha) on the very last lap.
Once again, Bruce got the holeshot at the start of the second race from Pocock and Johnston but this time Gifting was in fourth from Jamie Wainwright (WPH SBE KTM), Hammal and Husband. But as Pocock and Johnston slipped back into the pack, it took three laps for Gifting to catch and pass Bruce for the lead and ultimately the win.
Wainwright seemed to fade after four laps as he slipped from third to eighth place, with Hammal taking that place to the finish flag. Banks-Browne, once again, stayed out of trouble to finish fourth, with Talviku having an up and down sort of race, for fifth.
Overall, it was Gifting from Bruce, on the same points, as Banks-Browne secured third with Hammal just missing out on his first podium by two points. Gifting has a 41-point lead over Bruce in the championship, with Banks-Browne third, two points behind Bruce.
"In the first race, my start wasn't that good,” said overall winner and championship MX2 leader Gifting. "In the first race, when I got into second place, my bike just didn't feel that good on the track with bike set-up and stuff so I couldn't catch Bobby. But in the second, me and Bobby clashed a bit up the start, but eventually, I got out in the front and checked out a bit. Everything was going well until Pocock tried to kill me again but this time he went down and I came home with the win.”
Bruce was second overall, saying, "The first race was awesome as I got a good start and managed to get a decent lead, which is always nice, and controlled the race for my first championship race win. I was hoping for the same again in the second race but Isak Gifting had a bit of the upperhand in that one and he ran away with it. But this is probably one of the best racing weekends of the year so far, and the riding was good, so I think we can be satisfied.”
From third place on the podium, Banks-Browne was asked if he was doing any training. "No. It sounds bad, doesn't it?” he said. “I haven't been riding between rounds either. The last time I rode before today was at Blaxhall. When I come to racing now, I just come because I enjoy racing, and it's the only racing I do, and I just do the best I can. I ruin myself for the rest of the week after and can sometimes hardly stand after. To be up the front again is really nice." When asked if it was all about less pressure, he added, "Perhaps, but there is more pressure now as I have been doing good. But I still don't feel any more pressure as I am just doing this for me.”
Once again, Billy Askew (GTCI Revo Kawasaki) won all four 250cc Youth races but that only tells part of the story. As his first three races of four, he got the holeshot and romped to his usual convincing win. But in his fourth race, he got his usual holeshot but dropped it and came around at the end of the first lap way down in 13th place and looked like he would be handed his first defeat of the series.
But such is the youngster's talent that he powered his way past the whole field of riders, passing the then-race leader, Mackenzie Marshall (DK Offroad Yamaha), on the last lap of the 10-lap race to keep his race-winning run alive. Marshall was second in each race for second overall, with Liam Bennett (GMR Husqvarna) third.
Reece Jones (SJP Moto KTM), with a win, two-second places and a third was the overall winner of the 125 class from Jake Walker in second. Wal Beaney won three of the four motos but dropped to third overall after a DNF in race two.
With three race wins and a second place, Josh Vail (SJP Moto KTM) dominated the BW85s from Jamie Keith (MBRPX Husqvarna) and Lewis Spratt.
Joel Winstanley-Dawson (Cattle Trucks KTM), with a couple of first and two second-places, won the SW85 from Jenson Severn (Rob Sten Brickworks GASGAS) and race one winner Arthur Moore (3-Flo Madison Crescent Yamaha).
Only five points separated the top two in the 65 class as Harley Marczak (JMR Foundation GASGAS) won the overall from Cohen Jagielski (Fast Eddy Racing GASGAS) with Carey Lister (VIP Motocross GASGAS) third.
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