KENSINGTON RIDES TWO STROKE TO WIN EXPERT RACE

Report and Photos by Dave Rich

 

Last Sunday the Premier MX team made the trip over to Pontrilas Nr Hereford to run round 5 of the Phoenix Tools Ifly Premier motocross Championship. A lot of motocross events had been cancelled prior to the weekend, but on arrival to Pontrilas on Saturday the track was in prime condition and was thought would make some excellent racing on the Sunday. However Sunday morning saw a bit of a difference to the track as rain had fallen early morning and was to continue drizzling which made things a bit slippery. The entry had been pretty good in all classes, but with many riders not turning up and some deciding not to compete on the day in the treacherous conditions it made some classes very small and with the track deteriorating even more as the day went on the decision was made to cancel the rest of the meeting after the first block.    

 

In the Pro Expert race it was wildcard Luke Dean on the Meredith MX Suzuki who seemed to get the better grip of the line with the holeshot from Championship leader on the Oakleaf Motorsport Honda Shane Carless (Pictured No 68), but it wasn’t the best of starts for second place rider in the standings Jamie Skuse on the Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki who got stuck behind his gate. Dean seemed to relish in the tricky conditions and with a clear track in front of him tried to get away from the Welshman Carless, but Carless was to stay within striking distance and on lap 5 closed right up on Dean out the back and emerged at the front when they reappeared and from there Carless gradually pulled away and went on to take the Chequered flag from Dean with Skuse after his bad start coming through the field to take a well deserved 3^rd.

 

In the Expert race there was no stopping the D S C Cornwall Kawasaki of Ben Butler who totally blitzed the rest of the field and took an early lead and within no time started to pull away at the front. David Keet on the Danger UK Husqvarna was to get the better of Wildcard Ben Milward on the Inchains KTM at the second corner and moved in to 2^nd and these two were to have a real battle for a couple of laps, but Milward was to make a mistake on lap 4 and up in to 3^rd was now James Kensington (Pictured) on the 2-stroke Rocket World/M D Tony Maunders Racing KTM. Butler was to lead the race until lap 6 when he took a nasty tumble and up in to the lead was now Keet, but his lead was to come to an end 2 laps later when he slid off on a right hander which now put Kensington leading who was to ride the 2-stroke all the way to take the Chequered flag with Championship leader Charlie Putnam on the Phoenix Tools Ifly Husqvarna with a smoking bike coming home in 2^nd just a head of Keet who took 3^rd.  

 

In the combined Over 35, Over 40 and Over 50’s race there were very few riders on the line, but one that was on the line was Chris Brown on the Cheddar MX Store Honda who was like a duck on water as he handled the conditions really well and took a convincing win from the Crescent New Milton Tyres Suzuki of Terry House with Justin Gibbs on the Gibbs Performance/Tyremarks KTM taking a well-earned 3^rd.

 

In the Junior Championship race this was well supported with a full line up. Championship leader Jamie Carpenter on the Phoenix Tools Ifly Husqvarna had put in a stunning qualifying lap some 11 seconds quicker than anyone else and he was to continue this form in the race with the holeshot and from there he was to race away and took the win by over 3 minutes from wildcard Joshua Canton who was the only rider that Carpenter didn’t lap.

 

RESULTS

Phoenix Tools Ifly Pro Expert Championship Race 1

1^st Shane Carless (450f Oakleaf Motorsport Honda) 2^nd Luke Dean (Meredith Mx Suzuki) 3^rd Jamie Skuse (450f Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki) 4^th Kelvin Townsend (450f Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha) 5^th Jake Shipton (450f Crescent Racing/Strudwick KTM) 6^th Alfie Smith (350f Phoenix Tools Ifly Husqvarna)

Tony Maunders Expert Championship Race 1

1^st James Kensington (250 Rocket World/M D Racing/Tony Maunders Racing KTM) 2^nd Charlie Putnam (250f Phoenix Tools Ifly Husqvarna) 3^rd David Keet (250f Danger UK Husqvarna) 4^th Ben Milward (450f Inchains KTM) 5^th Jack Stevens (450f D S C Cornwall Kawasaki) 6^th Ben Butler (450f Fusion Shelters/D S C Cornwall Kawasaki)

M D Racing Over 35’s Championship Race 1

1^st Jamie Deadman (450f Gibbs Performance KTM) 2^nd James Knatchbull (450f Suzuki) 3^rd Ross Parry (450f KTM) 4^th Stephen Elford (450f Gabriel Insulation Services/Chichester Honda) 5^th Rick Hanson (350f Readypower KTM) 6^th Richard Marsh (450F Yamaha)

M D Racing Over 40’s Championship Race 1

1^st Chris Brown (450f Cheddar Mx Store Honda) 2^nd Terry House (450f Crescent Racing/New Milton Tyres Suzuki) 3^rd Justin Gibbs (350f Gibbs Performance/Tyremarks KTM) 4^th Shaun Brooker (350f S B Surfacing KTM) 5^th Richard Tapscott (250f MVRD Honda) 

M D Racing Over 50’s Championship Race 1

1^st Mark Gleadhill (250 Honda) 2^nd Adrian Toy (150 KTM) 3^rd Brian Pugsley (250f Solar Engineering KTM)

Tyremarks Junior Championship Race 1

1^st Jamie Carpenter (350f Phoenix Tools/Ifly Husqvarna) 2^nd Joshua Canton (????) 3^rd Luke Craig (250f KTM) 4^th Billy King (250f R J King Kawasaki) 5^th James Bailey (450f Yamaha) 6^th Olly Toms (????)

Junior B Race 1

1^st Billy Sheppard 2^nd James Pithers 3^rd Jordan Spence

 

(Next round Sunday August 16^th at Marshfield)