The penultimate round of the 2016 Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship was another nail biter, with impressive rides from Shaun Simpson in MX1 and Adam Sterry in MX2 at Preston Docks MX.
Before the racing, the ACU announced Team GB for the 2106 Motocross of Nations. No surprises in the rider lineup with Tommy Searle, Simpson and Max Anstie. You can read more about that here.
MX1 and MX2 got even tighter at the sharp end of the championship table with Tommy Searle holding on to the top of the standings in MX1, despite Simpson taking the overall at the Lancashire sand circuit.
Searle made it hard for himself with a poor start in the first moto -fighting back from outside the top 10 to third at the chequers. Buildbase Honda’s Graeme Irwin bagged the holeshot followed by Hitachi Revo Husqvarna’s Jake Nicholls and Simpson. Nicholls tried to hold off Simpson but the reigning champion wouldn’t be denied the moto victory.
So the pressure was on in moto two for the Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki rider.
I-Fly JK Yamaha Racing’s Jeffrey Dewulf took the moto two holeshot with Verde Sports Racing KTM’s Brad Anderson and Searle behind, while Simpson was in seventh.
It didn’t take long for Searle and Simpson to work their way past Dewulf and Anderson, with Simpson closing on Searle every lap. Searle couldn’t shake Simpson and the KTM pilot took the flag for a perfect weekend, with Searle, Dewulf, Nicholls, and MVR-D Fuel 10K Husqvarna’s Tanel Leok rounding out the top five. Simpson, Searle and Nicholls took the podium spots respectively, with Leok and Irwin completing the top five overall.
Wilvo Virus Performance KTM’s Sterry and Apico Husqvarna’s Steven Clarke were the two on fire in MX2 – at times it felt like they were chained together, but it was Sterry that broke Clarke in both motos with virtually faultless riding. The double moto wins from Sterry were enough to wrestle ownership of the MX2 red plate from Clarke by just one point. Barr and Clarke made up the other two podium spots with Jordan Booker and Mel Pocock (who had a spectacular off in the first corner in the second moto) in fourth and fifth overall.
In MXY2, Alexander Brown was untouchable, the Apico Husqvarna pilot owned the track. Henry Williams, Michael Ellis, and red plate holder James Carpenter had to slug it out for second and third. Williams would go 2 – 2 and Ellis went 3 – 3 to complete the podium.
The series will host its eighth and final round of the 2016 season next month, September 18, from Foxhill in Swindon, Wiltshire. Get yourself there if you can, it’s going to be a stunning end to a brilliant national championship.
