Size matters!
By TMX Archives on 17th Jan 06
The Cardiff crowd might well be smaller than ever before but the Future West crew have managed to attract a bumper entry and shoehorn the biggest supercross track seen in Britain for almost 20 years into the Millennium Stadium!Around 200 truckloads The Cardiff crowd might well be smaller than ever before but the Future West crew have managed to attract a bumper entry and shoehorn the biggest supercross track seen in Britain for almost 20 years into the Millennium Stadium!Around 200 truckloads of dirt are shipped into the arena and MX-Tracktech's Paul O'Gorman sculpts out a technical but safe circuit that's chock-full of doubles, triples, rhythm sections and those killer whoops that are many a Brit SXers downfall.The 125 class Main Event's a bit of a yawner as Mike Alessi does his usual thing of yanking the holey then checking out. Lil brother Jeff fights through to second before collecting a rear wheel puncture and slipping back to third behind Canada's Colton Facciotti but ahead of Bike-It Dixon Yamaha guest rider Kyle Beaton. But the 15-lap Open class final is a very different story indeed...Beaton and Facciotti are back out for this one but they'll have their hands full if they're gonna beat off the other top contenders. When the gate drops and the 20-strong pack head into turn one it's UKXC champ Ryan Voase who looks like he's nailed the holeshot on his LPE Kawasaki - but he hasn't quite got it in the bag. "I thought I was in the lead but just at the last minute Kyle Beaton dived up the inside and took me clean off the track," reckons Ryan. "By the time I got going I was more or less last."But Ryan's not the only Kawasaki contender who's got his work cut out as Facciotti gets no further than turn two before getting snarled up in some dirt bike carnage of his own.Breaking clear of the commotion is Bike-it Dixon Yamaha star Martin Barr who's holding down the lead ahead of Kiwi Scotty Columb, Beaton, Glen Phillips and Neville Bradshaw as the riders settle down into a rhythm in the early laps.But on lap four it all goes off. Columb makes a move on Barr to steal the lead and Beaton pans himself which allows Bradshaw to get on the tail end of Barr and make it a three-man battle for the lead.Columb pushes hard and manages to pull out a small gap on the chasing pair but the Kiwi seems to be getting a little over excited and his timing goes to pot which allows both the Ulsterman and the South African to catch up again and apply some serious pressure.A mixture of increased pressure from behind and an ever roughening track finally get to be too much for Columb as the imported Hooper Suzuki star chucks his bike down the track! Barr gobbles up the lead and Bradshaw gets by too even though Columb's up and going again in what must be some sort of record time.With just Barr between himself and the lead Bradshaw can almost taste victory but tonight's not gonna be Nev's night. Even though the Nevster blows by Barr for the lead he doesn't hold it for long as Facciotti blazes past and disappears into the distance.It's an awesome ride from the young Canadian who after starting last and surviving a mid-race collision with Glen Phillips - which unfortunately causes the Welshman to DNF with an injured arm - picks off the leading pack one by one much like the Washington sniper popped off pedestrians.With the Canuck taking a fine win and Bradshaw finishing second Columb keeps it a truly cosmopolitan podium by filling out the third and final step. Gordon Crockard and Voase battle it out for fourth with the nod going to the Ulsterman while Barr slips back to fifth after coming off just a few laps from home.results125 Pro1Mike Alessi(Red Bull KTM)2Colton Facciotti(Molson Kawasaki)3Jeff Alessi(Red Bull KTM)4Kyle Beaton(Bike-it Dixon Yamaha)5Neville Bradshaw(Motovision Suzuki)6Jim Murro(KTM)Open Pro1Colton Facciotti(Molson Kawasaki)2Neville Bradshaw(Motovision Suzuki)3Scott Columb(Hooper Suzuki)4Gordon Crockard(Bike-it Dixon Yamaha)5Ryan Voase(LPE Team Green Kawasaki)6Martin Barr(Bike-it Dixon Yamaha)Words and photos by Sutty