Former champion and 2019 series leader Shaun Simpson (RFX KTM powered by PAR Homes) ripped to a double win at round three of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship powered by Pro Clean at Canada Heights on Sunday to extend his MX1 lead to eight points.
After banging bars with Tommy Searle (BOS Kawasaki) at the opening two rounds the Scot – champion in 2014 and 2015 – finally managed to nail a maximum score in Kent.
“I’ve managed to come away with the win today so I’m very happy with that,” he said. “It’s a track that I really enjoy and the weather’s been great. The track preparation was on-point and I started this morning with first place in timed qualifying which gave me a great feeling for the day.
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“In the first race I just missed out on the holeshot but passed for the lead on the second lap and then led it right to the end. The second one was a little bit tougher and I was third out of the first corner but got into the lead just after the end of the first lap.
“Tommy [Searle] was closing me down and really bringing the heat on the last two or three laps and it was more or less a photo finish but I’m really happy to get the win. We’ve got an eight-point lead in the championship now and I’m really feeling at home on the bike which is just testament to our hard work.”
Searle was second with a 2-2 card ahead of Jake Millward (Chamber’s Racing Husqvarna) who ran 3-5 to take the final step of the podium from Harri Kullas (Cab Screens Deos Group Racing Honda) and Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Tools Apico Kawasaki).
In the MX2 class it was a REVO Husqvarna UK lock-out with Alvin Ostlund taking the overall thanks to his 2-1 scores from his team-mate Dylan Walsh who went 4-2 to finish two points clear of third-placed Josh Gilbert (Buildbase Honda).
Series leader heading into round three, Conrad Mewse (Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee) won the opening moto but crashed out at the start of race two and his no-score gives Ostlund the red series leader’s plate heading into round four at Blaxhall on June 2.
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“It was a very good day for me,” said the Swede. “I took the win and the lead in the championship. It feels good. I needed a little bit of time to learn the track but then I took both holeshots and went 2-1 which is very good for me. It’s close but I’ve got the red plate so I’m happy.”
In the closely-contested MX2 Youth class Joel Rizzi (RFX KTM powered by PAR Homes) lost his unbeaten race run after going 2-1 against Ike Carter (GL12 Husqvarna) but still did enough to take the overall – his third on the trot – from Carter whose 1-2 card meant he missed out on the top step of the podium on a tie-break.
“The track was really deep and it was tough on the 125 but I felt good in race one and got a decent start and made my way to the front pretty early,” said Rizzi. “The race was then red-flagged due to an injured rider and from the restart I had a good race with Ike Carter who beat me to the line.
“I felt ready for race two and holeshot it and crossed the line in first so I’m happy to get the overall and now I’m really looking forward to the next round.”
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