Cwmythig Hill Evening Motocross – Race Report

Rhayader Motor Club – Midweek Motocross

Cwmythig Hill, Rhayader

Report: Chris CZORA

Images: From Author and with courtesy of Rhayader Motor Club – taken by INSIGHT MEDIA

Conrad Mewse fought through to victory on Wednesday in the Cwmythig Hill Evening Motocross, at Rhayader, Mid-Wales. Mewse headed a top selection of riders to take two victories from three, and with it become the first rider to win the event for three consecutive years.

 The midweek motocross has long been a rider and spectator favourite. Rider entries in  most classes had sold out within 24 hours of being made live, and as the competitors and officials arrived during the late afternoon, they were gradually joined by spectators, just a few eager arrivals at first, before the venue really got packed out as racing got underway, over 3,000 eventually lining the hillside and packing out the spectator areas at the bottom of the hill.

Along with some of the local stars, they were there to see an action packed evening from the Pro riders, with the big talking point being Conrad Mewse’s matchup against his main British Championship rival Ben Watson. The sweltering late spring weather did not let up, as everyone enjoyed some sunny weather and one of the hottest evening events that many could remember. The hot weather later gave way to cool breezes, and there were a few nervous glances from course officials later on at the nearby thunderstorms, although fortunately they missed the circuit!

As DJ Francis Brad played out the traditional ‘Hells Bells’ start music on the huge speakers, the Pro riders kicked off the ten race programme at 6:45 on the button! With short-sharp races, a good start here is always essential and Conrad Mewse did just that as he grabbed the early lead from Taylor Hammal, with the fast starting Jamie Keith fending off Todd Kellett, Bobby Bruce, Ben Watson and Charlie Cole. Watson did not quite get the start he wanted, and spent the first lap battling up to third, however by this stage Mewse and Hammal had already disappeared out of sight. Hammal was able to keep the pressure on Mewse over the remaining laps, meaning there was certainly no room for a mistake from the leader.

However Mewse was able to withstand the pressure from Hammal and took the opening win by three seconds, with Watson another eleven seconds further back. Behind Watson, Jamie Keith really impressed as he held off Todd Kellet and Bobby Bruce, whilst Charlie Cole finished just ahead of local enduro star and lead Expert Sam Hughes, with another local star, Henry Williams rounding out the top ten.

The second Pro race saw things get a little crowded on the first corner, and it was Todd Kellett who grabbed the holeshot from Watson, whilst Mewse was pushed back and had to fight past Hammal and Bruce to get into third.

A win for Watson in moto number two would have brought him level with Mewse, and so the Dirt Store Triumph rider kept the pressure on as the moto got underway. However Kellett, despite being a beach racing specialist nowadays, certainly knows his way around a motocross track, and looked very fast and stylish as he took the lead on his SR Motoblouz Honda, Watson following a close second. Mewse was able to establish third place early on in the moto, but could not quite get with the leaders, whilst Taylor Hammal tagged onto the back of this lead group as they pushed each other along, well over 20 seconds ahead of the fifth place Bobby Bruce.

There was not much overtaking going on, but a closely formed train of riders at the front making for a great spectacle with none of the leaders putting a foot wrong as they chased each other round the hillside.

At the end however Kellett was able to hold on and take the victory by less than a second from Watson, with Mewse and Hammal just a little further behind. Bobby Bruce rounded out the top five holding a decent gap from Charlie Cole, who was involved with a close battle at times with the seventh place Jamie Carpenter. Jamie Keith recovered from a tricky start to finish eighth, whilst the local stars Sam Hughes and Henry Williams again rounded out the top ten.

There was drama at the beginning of the all-important third moto, a collision just after the first corner saw Charlie Griffiths go down, with Jamie Keith caught in the melee and crashing spectacularly, his bike cartwheeling down the track. Fortunately Keith was uninjured, but did not continue.

The race turned into a repeat of moto one, Mewse and Hammal getting much better starts to control the race from the front, Mewse just ahead. Ben Watson was able to get into third and keep well ahead of the chasing pack, but could not quite get past Hammal. Bobby Bruce settled into a solid fourth, from Kellett who did not quite get the start in the third moto, so had to settle into fifth.

With Kellett not directly able to challenge, and with the lead of the race established, Mewse knew that victory was in his hands, and he was able to maintain a small gap on the challenging Hammal to take the moto win, and the overall victory, taking the unprecedented three straight wins at the event. Hammal’s second place gave him second overall, with Watson following the same pattern as he swept to third overall.

Bobby Bruce and Todd Kellett rounded out the top five, whilst Jamie Carpenter managed to get the better of Charlie Cole on this occasion in the battle for sixth. Liam Garland had a much better race and was able to finish eighth, whilst again the local stars Sam Hughes and Henry Williams rounded out the top ten.

All in all, a happy night’s work for Conrad Mewse! Three wins on the bounce, although he still has a bit of work left to catch Brad Anderson’s record five wins at the event. However he hopes to back next year to try and challenge for win number four!

The Pros were joined by an Expert class which saw quite a few of the top Welsh amateur racers fighting it out for victory. Sam Hughes had been mixing it up with the pros throughout the evening, and was able to secure the Expert victory with three moto wins. Jonny Roderick-Evans was just on the periphery of these battles and was also able to mix it with some of the Pro riders, he took second overall, having enjoyed a close battle with Jayden Jones in the final moto. The Wulfsport Suzuki rider has been making a real name for himself in the MXY2 youth class this year, and certainly held his own in the adults, despite losing out to Reegan Rogers in the second moto, he finished just behind Roderick-Evans in moto three, snatching third overall.

The remaining race classes saw Clubman and Vet (35+) riders, along with the Novice / Ladies race during the fast-paced nine race format.

With both races fully subscribed a good start was essential, and in the first Clubman/Vets moto it was Kurt Owen-Talbot on his Stark Varg electric bike who swept to the early lead. He made the early running, but it was Clubman star Linc Hasted who quickly got to the front, from where he controlled the race taking the first of three victories on the night.

Alfie Lewis had challenged at the front, but trouble in the second moto meant he dropped out of the podium reckoning, although he fought back to second in the final moto. Scott Bates improved during the night, taking best positions of second and third in the following two Clubman races which gave him second overall and made his long journey from Northamptonshire worthwhile! A little bit closer to home was Gruff Morgan, the mid-Wales rider on his TM finished narrowly behind Bates as he took third overall.

The Vets category was pretty close cut, Arran Wells managing to take the final two moto wins in order to grab the overall victory from Rhys Davies, who followed behind with a brace of second place finishes. Tim Foreman of nearby Caersws had plenty of local followers and was able to overcome a very close battle with Dain Traynor as he took third overall.

The Novice / Ladies race saw another packed gate, and all eyes were on Ria Truman in the first moto, as she swept to the lead. Truman has been the rider to beat at Rhayader in recent years, but she had a fresh challenger this year as Lauren May Collingwood challenged strongly in the first moto as they raced closely to the flag, Truman ahead  by just half a second.  

They got even closer in moto two as they went bar to bar on the final lap, Truman coming off best, whilst a poor start in the final moto cost her dear, as Collingwood’s perseverance paid off with victory. The overall went to Truman however, whilst third overall went to Hannah Jones. She had a tricky start to the night, being caught up twice in first lap crases, but recovered well to get on the podium.

The Novice class saw Jayden Morris take the first moto win, but a DNF in the second put him out of the reckoning. Consistency paid off for Thomas Mumford who despite not winning a race, was able to take the overall victory with a third and two second places. Charlie Walters took a brilliant second moto victory, however had dropped some points in the first moto missing out on the victory by just one point.

He was just ahead of the third moto winner Liam Wilkes on his well-turned out YZ250, he improved throughout the night and the final victory ensured a solid third overall.

The action was rounded off by the tenth race, the ‘Dash for Cash;’ seeing a ten minute sprint into the sunset!

Conrad Mewse once again got the lead, and for the first time all evening had a close battle with his main championship rival Ben Watson. The two riders went head to head, pulling well away from the third place Todd Kellett, Mewse able to fend off Watson to take the victory by three seconds. Kellett stayed just ahead of Carpenter for third, with Charlie Cole just ahead of a recovered Jamie Keith, who took the cash prize for top MX2 rider, with Jonathan Roderick-Evans the second MX2 rider, and Christopher Brindley’s efforts throughout the night being rewarded by third in MX2.

So as the crowds slowly dispersed into the evening, a few hung around the bar to savour a drink and toast what had been another fantastic evening’s racing. A real favourite in the Welsh motocross calendar, Cwmythig Hill had been another cracking event!

OVERALL RESULTS

PRO

1: Conrad Mewse 55pts

2: Taylor Hammal 47pts

3: Ben Watson 47pts

4: Todd Kellett 42pts

5: Bobby Bruce 34pts

6: Jamie Carpenter 28pts

7: Charlie Cole 27pts

8: Henry Williams 21 pts (Top MX2)

9: Jamie Keith 21pts

10: Liam Garland 20pts

EXPERT

1: Sam Hughes 60pts

2: Jonathan Roderick Evans 49pts

3: Jayden Jones 45pts

4: Reegan Rogers 35pts

5: Christopher Brindley 33pts

6: Jack Evans 30pts

7: Harrison Davies 29pts

8: Ben Nichols 28pts

9: Charlie Kent 19pts

10: Charlie Griffiths 19pts

CLUBMAN

1: Linc Hasted 60pts

2: Scott Bates 43pts

3: Gruff Morgan 41pts

4: Alfie Lewis 35pts

5: Mitch Conway 32pts

6: Dylan Tinker 29pts

7: Steven Owen 21pts

8: Sean Smout 21pts

9: Kian John 20pts

10: Antoine Moulin 20pts

VETS 35+

1: Arran Wells 50pts

2: Rhys Davies 49pts

3: Tim Foreman 46pts

4: Dain Traynor 43pts

5: Nathan Davies 29pts

6: Adam Uka 26pts

7: Kurt Owen-Talbot 26pts

8: Kevin Hughes 25pts

9: Lee Gould 24pts

10: Timothy Warnes 20pts

LADIES

1: Ria Truman 57pts

2: Lauren May Collingwood 54pts

3: Hannah Jones 45pts

4: Myle Evans 13pts

NOVICE

1: Thomas Mumford 49pts

2: Charlie Walters 48pts

3: Liam Wilkes 42pts

4: Preston Ellins 37pts

5: Jayden Morris 31pts

6: Luie Lewis 30pts

7: Freddie Ellins 22pts

8: Ryan Evans 19pts

9: Freddie Dowell 16pts

10: Lloyd Cross 14pts

DASH FOR CASH

MX1

1: Conrad Mewse

2: Ben Watson

3: Todd Kellet

MX2

1: Jamie Keith

2: Jonny Roderick Evans

3: Christopher Brindley