Last weekend a perfectly prepared Hilton Park fired into life for two days of winter riding. With the championship coming to a close in just a few weeks, big fields lined the gates with a great depth of talent across all classes.
The autos and novice 65cc riders were back on the main track this week, with some of the top UK riders out in force, making for some great action over the weekend.
Corey Hockey was back again looking to continue his dominance in the A group after a successful weekend last time out at Wilden Lane. The B group adults witnessed another tantalising lineup with Nadiya Jones and Jack Vincent squaring up for an epic battle following on from their round five bout.
The small wheel auto riders hit the track first with Riley Ray Barrow firing into life with an opening race holeshot. Oakley Kettle made his way to the front early gapping the field, riding smooth fast lines. Three race wins were enough for Kettle to bag the overall win adding a welcome 135 points to his championship campaign. Kyle Hancox was hoping for more settling for second overall with a pair of seconds in the first two races just edging out Brinley Green in third.
Once again, Dirtpro extremes Ben Casey was a dominant force in a talent-filled BW auto class – taking all three wins and showing great speed in the final race where he put half a lap on the field in conditions that challenged even the adults. Shane Jones was the best of the rest in second overall taking two confident second-place finishes having to fend off Freddy Gardener who looked threatening at times. Gardener would drop off the podium though after a poor race one result, which opened the door for Hayden Yend who clinched third overall in the final race where he took third spot.
The 65cc class saw another fantastic performance from rising star Keelan Hope. The #200 commanded the class taking a clean sweep of wins ahead of Jake Davies in second. Harrison Roberts had a strong ride for third overall with his results reading 3-3-3. The novice 65cc win went to Malachi Stock who was getting stronger by the lap, stamping his authority on the class and making his championship intentions clear. Grant Robinson had a great ride for second overall in the novices, scoring his best result of the season so far. Third overall went to Ashton Philips, just fending off Leo Rumbold in fourth.
Arai Elcock and Toby English fought out the overall in the SW 85cc class, with Elcock coming out on top at the close. A final race win wasn’t quite enough for English to snatch the win, finishing short of Elcock by just a single point. Sonny Shipton wrapped up the podium, taking a well-earned third just clear of Brody Salt.
In the BW 85cc, Robbie Scott was finally starting to look like his old self after six months off from riding. Scott claimed the opening two races ahead of Caiden Wilkinson in second. An obvious absentee from the first two races was Cory Flynn who was struggling to find his rhythm until the final race where it all come together to see him take the win, getting himself back on top momentarily. Kenzie Horlock rounded off the BW podium in third overall, just a couple of points clear of Leo Whordley and Lewis Hynam respectively.
Aaron Hanson was a welcome addition to the Rookies lineup, throwing a new challenge at Declan Hunter who was commanding the championship chase. Hanson took a trio of wins wrapping up the overall in style. Hunter had a challenging day having to battle through the field after falling in every race. Second overall was a great result considering the quality of the riders he had passed on his way back up the timesheets. Marshall Smith mastered the tough conditions to take third overall on his beautiful TM 125cc ahead of Nathan Etheridge in fourth.
Mechanical difficulties in practice saw C group championship front-runner Casey Buckley’s day end before it even started dealing him a heavy blow. With Buckley not scoring Wez Cooper stepped up continuing his recent run of good form and clinching the overall in the C group. Josh Murphy took a convincing second overall with 121 points just clear of Dane Savage in third. Just missing out on a podium spot a further two points back was Ross Hepburn settling for fourth overall.
There was drama from the start in the Adult B class when Jack Vincent crashed out of contention coming together with Dan Marshall in the first race. With Vincent out of the picture, it opened up a prime chance for Jones to stretch the points lead. Taking the overall though after a strong ride was David Dunn making his return after missing several rounds. Having to settle for second overall despite winning the final race was Jones whose 129 points would sit nicely on her championship tally. James Park was unable to advance any further than third overall after a disappointing final race. Nathan Heath and Jack Gotts were unlucky to not be on the podium with both riders missing out by just a single point.
Corey Hockey was in great shape in the A group only being been beaten in the final race. Gavin Stevenson was riding with nothing to lose, pushing hard in every race to take the challenge to Hockey for the win. Stevenson finally made the break through in the final race, snatching the win to bring him within three points of Hockey at the top. Putting the work in early wrapped up the win for Hockey though with 132 points surely sitting the winter crown on his head. Aled Bellis was booting four-stroke machinery this week and it seemed to suit him as he rounded off the podium in third. A coming together with another rider in race one only spurred him on, setting a great pace throughout the day. Luke Houghton would have been hoping for higher than fifth overall but 109 points would still go a long way at the end of the championship.
Oli Sansom was dominant in the quads taking a pair of wins ahead of Jamie Morgan who managed to get the better of Sansom in race one. Elliot Downes clinched third overall just two points clear of a fast charging Ben Morgan in fourth.
Results: Wilden MXC – Hilton Park
Adult A
- Cory Hockey
- Gavin Stevenson
- Alec Bellis
- Rob Barney
- Luke Houghton
- Adam Pierce
Adult B
- David Dunn
- Nadiya Jones
- James Park
- Nathan Heath
- Jack Gotts
- Daniel Marshall
Adult C
- Wez Cooper
- Josh Murphy
- Dane Savage
- Ross Hepburn
- Chris Ryder
- Aiden Beazer
Rookies
- Aarron Hanson
- Declan Hunter
- Marshall Smith
- Ethan Etheridge
- Ale Thornton
- Kyle Bell
Two-Stroke
- Callum Charnock
BW 85cc
- Robbie Scott
- Caiden Wilkinson
- Kenzie Horlock
- Leo Whordley
- Lewis Hynam
- Cody Anderson
SW 85cc
- Arai Elcock
- Toby English
- Sonny Shipton
- Brody Salt
- Tyler Sheddon
- Billy Austin
65cc Expert
- Keelan Hope
- Jake Davies
- Harrison Roberts
- Jack Dando
- Leo Skinner
- Joey Benfield
65cc Novice
- Malachi Stock
- Grant Robinson
- Ashton Phillips
- Leo Rumbold
- Ethan Lochrie
- Will Turner
Auto BW
- Ben Casey
- Shane Jones
- Hayden Yeend
- Frankie Jubb
- Sonny Rooney
- Freddy Gardener
Auto SW
- Oakley Kettle
- Kyle Hancox
- Brinley Green
- Bailey Williams
- Finley Nials
- Zane Sibley-Deakin
Quads
- Oli Sansom
- Jamie Morgan
- Elliot Downes
- Ben Morgan
- Andy Downes
- Jack Melody
