The weather’s boiling hot considering it’s a Bank Holiday weekend and the M1 is blocked solid but at least it’s business as usual for Zach Osborne and Brad Anderson as they rack up more Maxxis moto wins at Milton Malsor…
With southbound traffic at a standstill for more or less all of Sunday afternoon and nothing headed north, the crowd for round four of the British championships is even bigger than normal although most of the new race fans are watching for free from the embankment of the M1 which runs alongside the Milton Malsor circuit. A new venue on the series schedule for 2011, the ACU-operated circuit isn’t the best track the championship will visit this year but at least it’s the same for everyone.
Slipping in under the radar for round four of the series is local lad Nev Bradshaw who lives within earshot of the Milton Park circuit. Injured in a winter SX accident, the South African is only just making his season debut on an Evo-Tech tuned Honda and bangs out the fastest lap in the MX2 Superpole session – what a comeback! What makes it even sweeter is the fact Nev is running out of a VW Transporter and Surf n’ Turf shelter which proves that you don’t need a big truck and awning to go fast on the track – something he was keen to point out when we interviewed him over the winter.
But come race time it’s business as usual for Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha team-mates Zach Osborne and Arnaud Tonus who go at it hammer and tongs at the front of the pack on their indecently fast Yamahaulers. Osborne takes the first two and looks set to make it three on the bounce until a last lap slip-up allows Tonus to snatch it from under his nose. Third overall – but some distance behind the Yamaha team-mates – is DB Racing’s Elliott Banks-Browne who runs 3-5-3 to solidify his third place in the series standings behind Osborne who leads Tonus by just six points at the midway point of the British championship season.
In MX1 Anderson really has to work for the win in race one. Some 10 seconds back from the leader at the halfway point, the 2009 champ puts in an awesome ride to reel in Kristian Whatley who takes the holeshot then tries to disappear on the Samsung Yamaha. The result’s in doubt until the very last lap when Ando finally manages to get close enough to make a move.
There’s no stopping Whatley in the second encounter though as he makes another early break for it as Anderson’s mired in the pack. By the time Brad’s through to second, K-What’s sitting on a comfortable seven-second lead which he holds to the chequered flag putting the pair level for the overall on the day as they enter the final moto.
But Whatley’s dream of taking the win is over in turn one of the final encounter as Ando exits with the lead while Kristian hits the deck. Not even an inspired ride through the pack to fourth – on a track that many riders complained was too narrow and difficult to pass on – could save the day as Ando romped home with the win to extend his championship lead even further. Joining Anderson and Whatley on the podium is Proppa.com KTM’s Martin Barr who runs 3-4-3 on the day to earn a season best third overall.
Results
MX1
1 Brad Anderson PAR Honda 25+22+25=72
2 Kristian Whatley Samsung Yamaha 22+25+18=65
3 Martin Barr Proppa.com KTM 20+18+20=58
4 Jason Dougan Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha 9+20+22=51
5 Stephen Sword Buildbase CCM Racing 18+16+16=50
6 Alex Snow Lanes Kawasaki 15+14+15=44
MX1 series standings
1 Anderson 248 points, 2 Whatley 229, 3 Sword 197, 4 Dougan 194, 5 Tom Church 183, 6 Barr 183
MX2
1 Zach Osborne Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha 25+25+22=72
2 Arnaud Tonus Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha 22+22+25=72
3 Elliott Banks-Browne DB Racing Honda 20+16+20=56
4 Mel Pocock Relentless Suzuki by TAS 16+20+18=54
5 Neville Bradshaw two7two Honda 15+18+14=47
6 Scott Elderfield Lanes Kawasaki 11+15+13=39
MX2 series standings
1 Osborne 263 points, 2 Tonus 257, 3 Banks-Browne 213, 4 Pocock 178, 5 Ray Rowson 139, 6 Bryan MacKenzie 139
