PLEWS TYRES BRITISH MASTERS MOTOCROSS powered by ROCK OIL
ROUND 5, LITTLE SILVER, EXETER, DEVON
Report: Chris CZORA
Images: Courtesy of REMINISCENT IMAGERY
Image: Chris CZORA
In a season where sunscreen and a straw hat have been as much a paddock essential as a pair of goggles and a helmet, the Plews Tyres British Masters powered by Rock Oil served up another summer scorcher, as the riders travelled to Exeter, and Little Silver for the penultimate round of the championship.
The rolling Devon hillsides provided a scenic backdrop for this important championship round, with the hardpack surface and off cambered corners providing a good challenge for the riders.
The meeting got off to an awkward start, as on Friday afternoon a large grassland fire broke out on the verges of the neighbouring M5 / A38 interchange, with the fire soon encompassing the surrounding fields and the access lane that leads to the circuit entrance. Whilst thankfully the blaze did not get close enough to directly endanger the paddock, it nonetheless created a logistical problem as with the motorway and access lane closed, it meant that many of the travelling competitors faced significant delays in accessing the circuit. Following a nervous few hours the fire brigade were able to bring the fire under control, and with some extended opening times for signing on, all competitors and officials were in place and ready for Saturday’s 9am start.
Despite the sunny forecast, both days started off quite cloudy, with Saturday in particular feeling rather chilly. However this soon gave way to bright sunshine and hot temperatures, with an occasional breeze providing some respite to the brunt of the hot weather. This was of little consolation to the riders however, as the hot weather and hardpack conditions proved a tough challenge, with many an unforced error from the riders.
It should be noted here that the Little Silver track crew did a fantastic job of keeping the dust at bay. Significant track watering ahead of the event was punctuated during the races by occasional watering breaks, as a team of three water bowsers made trips onto the circuit to keep some moisture in the soil. Once racing had finished on Saturday night, the crews were on the track grading the surface and watering late into the evening, with a few more watering breaks on Sunday keeping the conditions safe. Meanwhile the paddock certainly had a summer festival feel with a few impromptu parties in the evening, whilst the neighbouring Exeter Bike Park was open for a couple of hours on Saturday evening, with more than a few riders swapping their engines for pedal power!
Onto the serious business though, and with it being the penultimate round the races took on some real significance with the last opportunity to stake a claim for the championship. Added into the equation was the absence of several championship regulars, due to the event clashing with the FIM Junior World Championship at Jinin, in the Czech Republic. With updates from the international event being relayed to the paddock via the public address system, at the track it created a fresh dynamic as some of the remaining riders had a good opportunity to rack up some championship points.
The action kicked off with the Amateur MX2 class, and with red plate George Hopkins an unfortunate non-starter, it provided a golden opportunity for rivals Beau Brown and Harrison Greenough to grab hold of the title race.
No-one had any answer to the impressive wildcard Josh Taylor in the first moto, as he powered to the front, with the fast starting Mitch Armour, Alfie Calvert, Brown and Greenough in close pursuit. The weekend got off to a bad start for Will Haddock who had a heavy crash on the first lap and retired, although not injured the former 65cc champion endured a difficult weekend only scoring points in one further moto.
At the front, Taylor was able to control the race but soon had a challenger in former MX1 champion Harry Bradley who fought through the leading group to second, getting past Brown who due to mechanical issues was forced to race on a KTM 250 two stroke, as opposed to his regular Yamaha four stroke machine. Brown seemed to be coping well on the unfamiliar machine, but had no answer to Bradley in the closing stages as he settled for third, Taylor taking the moto win but with runner up Bradley showing some fast pace.
The threat was there from Bradley if he could get the start, and he did so in moto two as he trailed Taylor in the opening laps before managing to find a way through to control the race from the front, snatching the win from Taylor to leave the two level on points after Saturday’s racing. The impressive Calvert had to settle for fourth in moto one, but recovered in the second to grab the third place finish, whilst it was a nightmare for Brown, after a bad start and a few mistakes he was cut adrift from the pack and had to resort to circulating at the back of the pack to salvage some points.
Moto three kicked off Sunday’s action, and a good start was essential on a slippery, freshly watered track. It provided plenty of action as Mitch Armour grabbed the Rip ‘N Roll holeshot prize and led the early stages from Bradley, with Harrison Greenough, who had endured a tough Saturday with crashes, flying in third. A brave move from Bradley on the slippery track got him through into the lead and he was able to control the race as Armour had to shield himself from a train of challengers. Amongst them was Greenough, desperate to get back into the title race, however there was drama at the mid stage as he retired from the race with mechanical issues, a furious Greenough left to rue what might have been. Fortunately for him though, Brown’s race wasn’t much better, mired in the mid pack as Bradley powered on to another win, Armour’s perseverance paying off as he held on to a comfortable second. Charlie West had his best moto of the weekend with third.
Taylor had struggled with a bad start en route to fifth in moto three, but made amends in the final outing with a holeshot, from there he was able to control the race to the flag. Greenough bounced back from his disappointment to keep his title hopes alive with second, with Calvert taking third. Behind them was Bradley, who had his only bad start of the weekend and looked frustrated as he crossed the line in fourth. His disappointment was short lived however, as the fourth was enough to snatch the overall by two points from Taylor, with Calvert’s consistency paying off with third overall.
The topsy-turvy nature of the weekend leaves an intriguing title decider in prospect, as Brown holds onto the lead, increasing his gap to 34 points after Greenough’s third race DNF. However Bradley’s brilliant weekend means he is just 36 points behind in third, whilst reigning champion Zac Stealey, who took a solid fifth overall, still remains a title outsider 66 points back.
Things were a little more clear cut in Amateur MX1 as Mackeznie Marshall, unbeaten since the second round at Hawkstone Park, looked to consolidate his championship lead from Raife Broadley. The first two motos went to form, as Marshall enjoyed a close battle with the fast starting Charlie Hamlet in the first two motos, Hamlet providing quite a tough challenge in the second moto in particular before Marshall got through to make it another clean sweep on Saturday. Things were a bit more difficult for Broadley, as he was narrowly beaten to third place by the charging Leon Williams in moto one whilst in the second moto he finished behind Williams, Ed Briscoe and the charging Harvey Cashmore, who was still looking to keep his own outside title hopes alive.
Things were a bit different in moto three as Hamlet was hampered by a first lap crash, and Cashmore got the jump on the field. However Broadley was in second and knew that with Marshall behind him, it was an ideal opportunity to claw back some championship points, which he took advantage off as he passed Cashmore for the win. Marshall tried to fight back for the win but suffered a small tumble which dropped him to fourth just behind Ed Briscoe.
Broadley got the jump on the field in the final moto, to control the pack as he powered through to his second race win of the weekend. Marshall followed in second, and opted not to take any chances fighting for the win, he took second and grabbed the overall from eight points from Broadley. Third in the final moto was the local star Leon Williams, the Cornishman one of the few riders who had travelled north to Little Silver! His good weekend saw a trio of third places and was rewarded with third overall, just ahead of the unfortunate Hamlet, whose bad starts on Sunday cost him the podium spot. Hamlet’s disappointment was certainly curtailed however as by virtue of being the leading Plews Tyres runner, he received a £50 prize from the Plews Tyres agent JKJ Racing.
In terms of the championship, Marshall is very well placed with a 52 point gap, however Broadley’s two vital wins means he remains within striking distance, and certainly means a DNF is not an option for either rider! Cashmore’s good weekend keeps him a title outsider 146 points back.
The Clubman class was pretty close going to Little Silver, and after the weekend’s motos still remains incredibly close! It was all about the wildcard riders in moto one as Kyle Myatt-Ibbs took the win from Tallon Aspden and Elliott Cook, whilst Aspden again took second place in moto two with the victory going to the former Clubman champion Richie Roberts, Myatt-Ibbs in third.
Sunday saw the results get shaken up as Myatt-Ibbs dropped out of contention, a fall in moto three saw him finish well down the pack before a DNF in the final. On what was still a slippery track in the third moto, championship contender Hayden Stevens fought through to take the win from Max Aspden, Tallon in third. A little further back the red plate holder Frank Elwell had been struggling across the weekend on the edge of the top ten, whilst former leader Kyle Briggs, absent at Schoolhouse was slowly beginning to bag some results with a fourth in the third moto.
Stevens again took the win in the final moto, but consistency paid off for Tallon Aspden as he took second. He’d been the only frontrunner not to suffer a bad race, and despite not taking a single victory, comfortable bagged the overall. Stevens second win meant he was easily the best of the rest as he took second overall, whilst Elliott Cook was able to stay ahead of Richie Roberts in the final moto, in a close battle Jack Batchelor had his best moto finish of third, but with Cook just behind in fourth ahead of Roberts, he was able to snatch the final podium spot.
Elwell’s tough weekend, coupled with Stevens’ two victories, means the the red plate is on the move again, with Stevens grabbing the title lead by just five points. Elwell is still very well placed in second, but the story here is far from over. The consistent Elliott Pugh has got into third, 45 points back and still well placed, whilst a whole group of riders behind him are covered by a mere nine points. The ninth place Jamie Collins is just 64 points off the title lead, so we could be in for an incredible finish with so many riders still in with a shout of the title!
Things were a little more clear cut in the 125s however, as Ryan Waggott, who had begun to reassert his authority on the class at Schoolhouse, really got back to winning ways on Saturday as he took the first two motos. He faced a close challenge in the first moto from the fast starting wildcard Fabian Junior Morrison who led the early stages before Waggott got through to bag the win, former champion Jordan Bachelor enjoying one of his best races of the year as he took third. Bachelor went even better in moto two as he snatched second from Morrison, whilst Waggott powered on to his second win.
The third moto saw some fantastic racing as Waggott grabbed the lead before Morrison powered though with a brave and aggressive move on the first lap to snatch the lead. He was in a no-nonsense mood and keen to stake a claom for the overall win as he powered to a comfortable win from Waggott, who was able to stay ahead of Batchelor.
Waggott’s second place meant he still pulled away from his rivals, as a wildcard Morrison’s scores not being counted towards the championship. What this meant was that Waggott had a chance, albeit a very slim one, of taking the championship in the final race if his closest rivals Batchelor and Jack Leese both failed to finish.
That certainly proved not to be the case as Batchelor swept to the front with Morrison in tow as the two disputed the lead, with Waggott a little further behind in third after battling with Dexter Hind and Jack Leese.
A small mistake from Morrison allowed Batchelor to sweep ahead to the front, as Waggott nipped through into second at the flag, a result which gave him a comfortable overall win with Batchelor and Morrison tied on points for second, Batchelor getting the verdict thanks to his final moto win.
The result means that Waggott holds a healthy 161 point lead over Batchelor, who nips past Leese into second place, and at this stage is now the only mathematical challenger.
The Big Wheel 85 class has evolved into a two way fight for the title, as Riley Ray Barrow arrived at Little Silver with a narrow four point lead over Franky Donoghue. The first moto saw Barrow take first blood as he swept to the win from Donoghue, with Ethan Gawley putting in a good shift to finish third. Unfortunately for Barrow he suffered a bad start in moto two, and had to sweep through from an initial fifteenth place at the start to finish sixth, on a fast surface where passing was difficult. Thankfully for Barrow the damage was limited as Donoghue finished third, the winner being Henry Lewis, with Jensen Branney enjoying his best moto of the year with second. Donoghue fought back on Sunday though as he swept to two moto wins, closely followed by Barrow. Henry Lewis took a third in moto three but a DNF in the final dropped him out of overall contention, Tommy Hutchinson following the leaders home. This all gave Donoghue the win from Barrow, with the consistent Jamie Thorpe putting some solid motos together to take a comfortable third overall, Tommy Hutchinson, Dylan Standing and Jensen Branney all putting together a strong finish to round out the top sixth.
The result means that Donoghue now leads the title race, those dropped points from Barrow dropping him to second, although again, by only four points! Jamie Thorpe and Ethan Gawley sit a little further behind and still remain title outsiders.
A little further back in the Big Wheel 85 class, there was some special recognition for Harrison Bascombe, sitting 27th in the championship he plugged away in the midfield to an 18th overall finish, and was rewarded with the Yamaha ‘Rider of the Meeting’ award thanks to Yamaha dealer Manchester Xtreme.
Image: Plews Tyres British Masters
Last year’s 65cc champion Forest Roberts swept to an opening moto vicory in the Small Wheel 85s, his first won since the championship opener at FatCat, as he looked to keep his championship hopes alive. The rider to beat in recent weeks however is Frankie Noll, who followed home Roberts in moto one from Tommy Gaddes, whilst Noll also had a little bit of luck as main rival Ronan Watson could only manage seventh after an early fall.
From there however Noll made his own luck as he swept to the remaining three wins to grab a comfortable overall victory. He beat the opening winner Roberts in moto two before Roberts dropped back a little bit on Sunday after a tricky third moto put him out of the top ten. Conversely, Ronan Watson had a much better day on Sunday as he pressured Noll in the final two races to take two second positions and grab the second overall. Tommy Gaddes backed up his strong opening moto to snatch third in the final and secure third overall, just ahead of Harrison Chiddey who had another good weekend with a best result of third in the third moto, Roberts despite his difficult day salvaged fifth overall just ahead of Talen Hodgson who had enjoyed his best weekend of the season, his sixth overall also putting him to eighth in the championship.
Speaking of that championship, Noll’s strong weekend gives him a 23 point lead over Watson, who will still be fancying his chances of the gold plate. Tommy Gaddes, Harrison Chiddey and Forest Roberts are a little further behind, all within 90 points of the leader.
The 65cc class was set for another shakeup, as after Mason Foreman had taken the red plate from Roy Townley last time out, both riders, along with frontrunner Blake Marks Bracey were on international duty in the Czech Republic.
This led second-placed Kobe Roberts with an ideal opportunity to seize the title race, but he had some trouble in moto one after he dropped the machine on the very fist lap and had to fight back to thirteenth, although he still took the red plate. The winner was Cohen Llewellyn, who has improved throughout the year and took his first moto of the season, the impressive Freddy Budgen finishing second from Olly McLean.
Roberts fought back in moto two for the win, this time it was Llewellyn’s turn to hit trouble as he fought back from a first corner crash to finish third, Olly McLean enjoying his best race of the year as he took second.
Llewellyn was in top form though and no one could get near him on Sunday as he took the final two motos to grab a comfortable overall win. Roberts followed him home in both motos, but that costly first race result meant he just missed out on the top three, with Freddy Budgen weighing in with a third in the final moto to snatch second overall, just ahead of Olly McLean, whose best weekend of the season was rewarded with a string third overall. The aforementioned Roberts was fourth overall, whilst there were two new visitors to the top-six prizegiving awards as Taylor Clarke and Hugo Jackson both enjoyed their best weekend of the season with some good solid top-six finishes, taking fifth and sixth respectively.
In the topsy-turvy title race, Roberts is now the third rider to have held the red plate, despite the fourth overall he obtains a thirty point lead. The absent riders gave a great opportunity for someone further back to jump forward in the title race, and it was the winner Llewellyn who now jumps to second place and will be hoping to capitalise on his winning weekend with a late charge. Olly McLean’s good weekend puts him in third, and 54 points back is still a contender, whilst you can’t write off the absent Mason Foreman, who is still 97 points down and retains an outside chance of the title.
The very last race of the weekend was MXY2 and although a little low on numbers, it served up a treat. Jayden Jones looked to preserve his title lead and did so in moto one as he took the win, and had a little bit of extra luck go his way as main title rival Malachi Allen could only manage third behind Marley Alder, who’d put in a good race to finish second.
Jones kept up his good form in the second and third motos as he won both, whilst Allen had a better start in both to finish second, the same narrative in MXY2 as despite taking the majority of wins, Allen’s consistency means there is still no margin for a bad moto score, let alone a DNF for the red plate holder.
The very last race of the weekend was one of the best as Jones was unable to repeat his previous fast starts, this time Marley Alder swept to the front from Allen, as Jones quickly slotted into third.
Marley Alder is the only rider apart from Jones or Allen to win an MXY2 moto this year, and he was determined to repeat that accomplishment as he headed the three rider train. The three leaders pushed each other along, as Ryan Clift was forced to plough a lonely furrow as he settled into fourth.
At the front Allen knew this was a great opportunity to claw some points back from Jones, but equally knew that Jones was close behind so could ill afford a mistake. The pace was fast, but the racing action cautious as the three riders knew there was a lot to lose with a rash overtake and the risk of a DNF.
It looked like Alder was going to win but there was despair on the final lap as a bad line choice round the back of the circuit allowed bith Allen and Jones though, and although Jones put a bit of pressure on, Allen made his long trip from Scotland worthwhile with the final moto win.
Despite missing out on the clean sweep it was another win for Jones, who retains his winning record at every round. Allen’s win put him a narrow second with Alder in third. Ryan Clift put in a solid weekend for fourth overall ahead of regular frontunner Joe Grainger, whilst Trisitian McGrath enjoyed his best result of the year with sixth.
This all sets up a tense title decide at Culham as Jones leads Allen by 33 points, with no room for a bad score from either rider! Alder’s consistency sees him in third, and 84 points back still an outside challenger if the two frontrunners hit trouble.
Despite the busy day on Sunday and the frequent watering intervals, the slickly-run race schedule was completed by half three, which was certainly well appreciated by many of the well-travelled competitors who could return home by a sensible hour! All that was left was to bask in the late afternoon sunshine and reflect on what had been a brilliant summer’s weekend of motocross action.
The series now pauses for a summer brak, and whilst there’s still plenty of race action elsewhere, the focus will return back to the Plews Tyres British Masters on the 19th/20th September, as the series finale and traditional end of year party will be hosted at Culham to bring this fantastic season to a close.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER FIVE ROUNDS
AMATEUR MX1
1: Mackenzie Marshall 796pts
2: Raife Broadley 744pts
3: Harvey Cashmore 650pts
4: Charlie Hamlet 635pts
5: Ed Briscoe 579pts
6: Liam Smith 536pts
7: Simon Booth 510pts
8: Leon Williams 487pts
9: Dale Brockhurst 465pts
10: Tom Dodsworth 462pts
AMATEUR MX2
1: Beau Brown 699pts
2: Harrison Greenough 665pts
3: Harry Bradley 663pts
4: Zac Stealey 633pts
5: George Hopkins 574pts
6: Alfie Calvert 569pts
7= Mitch Armour / Aaron Ongley 531pts
9: Charlie West 481pts
10: Logan Wilcox 459pts
CLUBMAN
1: Hayden Stevens 625pts
2: Frank Elwell 620pts
3: Elliott Pugh 580pts
4: Ryan Christian 577pts
5= Jack Batchelor / Richie Roberts 575pts
7: Kyle Briggs 568pts
8: Dan Chapman 566pts
9: Jamie Collins 561pts
10: Lewis Roberts 427pts
125cc
1: Ryan Waggott 894pts
2: Jordan Bachelor 733pts
3: Jack Leese 710pts
4: Harry Hall 645pts
5: Max Fletcher 599pts
6: Dexter Hind 586pts
7: Jenson Severn 554pts
8: Ryan Jackson 479pts
9: Steven Clarke 455pts
10: Joel Winstanley-Dawson 432pts
MXY2
1: Jayden Jones 800pts
2: Malachi Allen 767pts
3: Marley Alder 716pts
4: Ryan Clift 638pts
5: Joe Grainger 602pts
6: Braedon McGinn 555pts
7: Aston Phillips 653pts
8: Jacob Wilson 527pts
9: Tristian McGrath 498pts
10: Finley Easton 421pts
Big Wheel 85
1: Franky Donoghue 731pts
2: Riley-Ray Barrow 727pts
3: Jamie Thorpe 657pts
4: Ethan Gawley 638pts
5: Tommy Hutchinson 589pts
6: Dylan Standing 551pts
7: Ryan Taylor 543pts
8: Jensen Branney 538pts
9: Henry Lewis 493pts
10: Tyler Peaty 398pts
Small Wheel 85
1: Frankie Noll 745pts
2: Ronan Watson 722pts
3: Tommy Gaddes 699pts
4: Harrison Chiddey 672pts
5: Forest Roberts 655pts
6: Bradley Thompson 562pts
7: Jacob Wright 530pts
8: Talen Hodgson 450pts
9: Charlie Farmer 439pts
10: Tate Vincent 392pts
65cc Junior
1: Kobe Roberts 662pts
2: Cohen Llewellyn 632pts
3: Olly McLean 608pts
4: Mason Foreman 565pts
5: Freddy Budgen 549pts
6: Taylor Clarke 515pts
7: Hugo Jackson 513pts
8: Blake Marks-Bracey 471pts
9: Archie Pearce 459pts
10: Jake Sayers: 445pts
FIX AUTO UK TRIPLE CROWN (Final Standings after Round 3 – Wroxton)
1: Conrad Mewse 270pts (Champion)
2: Jamie Carpenter 227pts
3: Josh Vail 209pts
4: Carlton Husband 206pts
5: Charlie Putnam 177pts
6: Tyla Hooley 159pts
7: Jamie Keith 154pts
8: Bobby Bruce 144pts
9: Charlie Richmond 136pts
10: John Adamson 135pts
11: Glenn McCormick 132pts
12: Syd Putnam 125pts
13: Luca Pegg 102pts
14: Jonny Roderick 89pts
15: Ben Edwards 87pts
16= Taylor Hammal / Josh Gilbert 86pts
18: Ben Mustoe 84pts
19: Lennox Dickinson 68pts
20: Joel Rizzi 65pts
Chris Czora 
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