Thursday March 29, 2018 at 4:07pm
It’s the final countdown to the British Motocross Festival where the Maxxis British Motocross Championship and St Blazey Premier MX is going ahead with off-track entertainment as planned on Sunday April 1 and Monday 2 at Culham MX Park in Oxford.
While the RHL Activities team has had to concede to the weather conditions in the lead-up to the weekend, which has meant that the 2018 British Motocross Festival will not see the Judd KTM British Youth National Championship line-up to race, there’s still plenty to see and do in the now-shortened event. There will be an array of off-track activities including the Kids Zone, Trade Village, Big Red Milwaukee stand and more comprised with the kick-off to the ultra-prestigious Maxxis British Motocross Championship and Clubman Series of the St Blazey Premier MX, fans will not be disappointed with what’s on offer.
In the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship supported by Pro Clean the field is strong in both MX1 and MX2 classes and we are looking forward to a weekend of ultra-competitive racing. Last year’s MX1 (450cc class) champion Graeme Irwin, who is racing for the Hitachi KTM UK ASA Scaffolding Team, will be looking to kick his national season off in style to defend his crown that was won in dominant form last season. Jake Nicholls, Evgeny Bobryshev, last year’s runner-up Gert Krestinov, and 2017 third overall Brad Anderson are all names to look out for, while Tommy Searle will make a one-off wildcard appearance for the Bike It DRT Kawasaki team.
In the Maxxis British MX2 class supported by Pro Clean last year’s runner-up Martin Barr is sure to be a firm favourite, while Revo Husqvarna UK teammate Mel Pocock will also be establishing himself as a threat. Darian Sanayei won the final two rounds last year and is racing GPs for local team, the Bike It DRT Kawasaki squad, and his wildcard appearance is expected to be a fruitful one for the American racer – he finished fourth overall in the Red Sand MX2 World Championship category and has been a podium contender at Grand Prix level. Conrad Mewse recently enjoyed two top sixes overall in the MX2 World Championship, while the recovering Todd Kellett will also be looking to make his mark alongside the likes of Joasiah Natzke, who is recuperating from a crash in the EMX250 championship last weekend.
In addition, there’s racing from the British 2-stroke series, as well as the St Blazey Premier MX series to enjoy during the two-days.
RHL Activities is extremely disappointed to have had to postpone the opening round of the Judd KTM British Youth National Championship, in which they were looking forward to the juniors racing on the same weekend as the pros for the very first time as part of the British Motocross Festival. Unfortunately, due to the wet weather leading up to the event, despite everyone’s best efforts to prepare the track to suitable standards, it was decided that for Friday and Saturday’s proceedings the conditions would not be suitable for a junior national event. The opening race for the series will now be at Preston Docks in the coming weeks. RHL Activities will be looking to re-plan this initiative in future with the goal of nurturing young talent within the series, showcasing the riders to the teams and inspiring the juniors, which is at the core of the company’s overall vision.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the Maxxis British Motocross Championship kick off on Sunday and there are still plenty of activities off the track, as well as the St Blazey MX series on Monday. We’re expecting to see some quality bar-bashing action from the best riders in the UK for the opening round of their season. Obviously, a lot of work has gone into the British Motocross Festival and it’s a real understatement to say that we are disappointed to have had to postpone part of the schedule. We felt that in keeping with our promise, putting the juniors on the track on Friday and Saturday would not be an experience that is useful to them, even with the additional activities we planned to get them meeting some of the teams. While it won’t be quite what we envisaged, we are still really looking forward to a great weekend with some fantastic racing from some of the best riders in the world. We are sure that the concept of the full event we have strived to create will go ahead in future,” said Director of RHL Activities, Gareth Hockey.
For more information and the schedule for this weekend please visit www.rhlactivities.com