The Michelin MX Nationals defied the odds this weekend. The team didn’t just manage to simply run an event, but pulled out all the stops to stage an impressive full set of races for its youth, adult and Pro classes, whilst making an emotional Steven Lenoir tribute in the process.
Hot, hot, hot was the order of the day for the second leg of the penultimate round of the Michelin MX Nationals at Canada Heights, and the massive investment made in track watering equipment proved to be worthwhile. The riders struggled with the heat and hydration and, except for the Pro classes, the races were shortened slightly. Thankfully though, there were no major incidents.
2017 MX1 Pro champ Graeme Irwin took advantage of a break in the MXGP schedule to return to the ‘Nationals’. He posted the fastest time in morning qualifying, just 1.161 seconds ahead of current series leader Jake Nicholls, with Estonian Gert Krestinov in third. Josh Gilbert went fastest in the MX2 category.
As the racing got underway, it was clear that Nicholls was going all out for both Pro MX1 moto wins. He led Elliott Banks-Browne and Irwin to the finish line in the first race, and then Irwin and Gert Krestinov in the second. In MX2, Josh Gilbert and Mel Pocock each shared a win and second, with the Husqvarna rider taking the last moto win to take the overall on the day.
The penultimate round at the popular Kent circuit witnessed a number of clean scores with MX2’s Jason Meara taking pole and four race wins, as did Harry Fletcher in Clubman MX1, Joel Rizzi in MXY1, Ryan Mawhinney in BW85 and Ollie Colmer in SW85. And, there was a change at the top in the Experts MX1 class with Connor Hughes and Luke Smith sharing a win apiece.
RESULTS
Pro MX1
Race 1; 1. Jake Nicholls (Buildbase Honda), 2. Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Husqvarna), 3. Graeme Irwin (Hitachi ASA KTM), 4. Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Tools Honda), 5. Liam Knight (Trevor Pope KTM), 6. Dan Thornhill (CAB Screens Honda).
Race 2; 1. Jake Nicholls (Buildbase Honda), 2. Graeme Irwin (Hitchai ASA KTM), 3. Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Tools Honda), 4. Kristian Whatley (Rob Hooper Yamaha), 5. Jamie Law (RSS Apico Husqvarna), 6. (Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Husqvarna)
Overall; 1. Jake Nicholls (Buildbase Honda) 50, 2. Graeme Irwin (Hitachi ASA KTM), 42, 3. Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Tools Honda) 38, 4. Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Husqvarna 37, 5. Kristian Whatley (Rob Hooper Yamaha) 31, 6. Ryan Houghton 31 (Rob Hooper Yamaha) 28.
Pro MX2
Race 1; 1. Josh Gilbert (Buildbase Honda), 2. Mel Pocock (Revo Husqvarna), 3. Taylor Hammal (Trevor Pope KTM), 4. Brad Anderson (Verdesports Substance KTM), 5. Martin Barr (Revo Husqvarna), 6. Ashton Dickinson
Race 2; 1. Mel Pocock (Revo Husqvarna), 2. Josh Gilbert (Buildbase Honda), 3. Martin Barr (Revo Husqvarna), 4. Lewis Tombs (Putoline Planet Racing), 5. Taylor Hammall (Trevor Pope KTM), 6. Dylan Woodcock (Revo Husqvarna)
Overall; 1. Mel Pocock (Revo Husqvarna) 47, 2. Josh Gilbert (Buildbase Honda) 47, 3. Martin Barr (Revo Husqvarna) 36, 4. Taylor Hammal (Trevor Pope KTM) 36, 5. Lewis Tombs (Putoline Planet Racing), 32, 6. Dylan Woodcock (Revo Husqvarna) 26.
Experts MX1
Race 3; 1. Connor Hughes, 2. Edward Briscoe, 3. Richard Bird
Race 4; 1. Luke Smith, 2. Connor Hughes, 3. Richard Bird
Overall; 1. Connor Hughes 89, 2. Richard Bird 82, 3. Brad Cavill 76
Experts MX2
Race 3; 1. Jason Meara, 2. Ben Clark, 3. Jake Edey
Race 4; 1. Jason Meara, 2. Charlie Putnam, 3. Ben Franklin
Overall; 1. Jason Meara 100, 2. Charlie Putnam 78, 3. Jake Edey 74
Clubman MX1
Race 3; 1. Harry Fletcher, 2. Scott Bates, 3. Aiden Christie
Race 4; 1. Harry Fletcher, 2. Scott Bates, 3. Scott Aylmore
Overall; 1. Harry Fletcher 100, 2. Scott Bates 82, 3. Aiden Christie 80
Clubman MX2
Race 3; 1. Tallon Aspen, 2. Fabio Rizzi, 3. Ryan King
Race 4; 1. Harry Foster, 2. Richard Roberts, Ben Thomson
Overall; 1. Tallon Aspden 74, 2. Richard Roberts 72, 3. Ryan King 67
MXY2
Race 3; 1. Callum Green, 2. Denny Rapson, 3. Kacey Hird
Race 4; 1. Callum Green, 2. Denny Rapson, 3. Kacey Hird
Overall; 1. Kacey Hird 90, 2. Denny Rapson 88, 3. Jake Winnard 72
MXY1
Race 3; 1. Joel Rizzi, 2. Bobby Bruce, 3. Sam Price
Race 4; 1. Joel Rizzi, 2. Bobby Bruce, 3. Sam Price
Overall; 1. Joel Rizzi 100, 2. Bobby Bruce 80, 3. Sam Price 78
BW85
Race 3; 1. Ryan Mawhinney, 2. Callum Baldwin, 3. Trystan Williams
Race 4; 1. Ryan Mawhinney, 2. Trystan Williams, 3. Callum Baldwin
Overall; 1. Ryan Mawhinney 100, 2. Trystan Williams 86, 3. Callum Baldwin
SW 85
Race 3; 1. Ollie Colmer, 2. Arai Elcock, 3. Boston Gilbert
Race 4; 1. Ollie Colmer, 2. Boston Gilbert, 3. Charlie Reynolds
Overall; 1. Ollie Colmer 100, 2. Arai Elcock 82, 3. Boston Gilbert 80
