Mark McLernon, Justin Reid and Harry Walker won a race apiece last Sunday, the 7th of July, at the sixth round of the Cromwell Trucks British QX Championship held at Cusses Gorse in Wiltshire.
McLernon’s first and two second-place finishes were enough to award him the overall on the day and marginally increase his championship lead over Walker. Walker’s second, third and win placed him second overall on the day, and clear leader of the Under-21 Championship. Reid kept the youngsters in check by posting a sixth, first and fourth to take third overall on the day, and in the championship.
In the morning’s timed qualifying, McLernon was quickest with a best lap time of 1:50.717. A couple of U-21 contestants in the form of Walker and Tom Day posted the next two fastest times.
In race won, McLernon shot off the line with Murray Graham keeping him company for a couple of laps but mechanical issues saw him fall back to ninth. McLernon was never bettered and kept the lead from start to finish. Walker quickly went from fourth to second, setting the fastest lap in the process, whilst Dafydd Davies recovered from a brief spell in fourth to take third at the line.
Davies was the one to beat in the second race, holding a strong lead off the start gate, but his charge was brought to an abrupt halt on the penultimate lap when he suffered engine problems, leaving the way open for Reid to take advantage and the win. McLernon, who’d been sitting in fourth place for the majority of the race, made a charge in the final stages, to take second, ahead of Walker in third.
Graham was first away in the final moto but was again beset by machine problems and ended up 12th. Oli Sansom, recovering from a qualifying crash, led the race briefly but couldn’t hold on to it once Walker got past and raced away to an emphatic win. Fifth off the start, McLernon picked his way through to second around half-race distance and kept it pinned to the flat. Wildcard Christopher Tveraen, clearly got to grips with the track by the last race as he put in a blinding performance to pick his way through from 11
th to round out the race three podium.
There are two rounds of the British still to go at Dean Moor and Canada Heights; the top three (provisional) are McLernon 404 points, Walker 359 and Reid 336. With 75 points up for grabs at each of the remaining two rounds and Walker and Reid piling the pressure on McLernon; this is a championship that is set to go to the wire.
RESULTS
Race 1
1. Mark McLernon, 2. Harry Walker, 3. Dafydd Davies, 4. Dean Dillon, 5. George Callaway, 6. Justin Reid
Race 2
1. Justin Reid, 2. Mark McLernon, 3. Harry Walker, 4. George Callaway, 5. Christopher Tveraen, 6. Simon Hammersley
Race 3
1. Harry Walker, 2. Mark McLernon, 3. Christopher Tveraen, 4. Justin Reid, 5. Oli Sansom, 6. Tom Day
Overall
1. Mark McLernon 69, 2. Harry Walker 67, 3. Justin Reid 58, 4. Christopher Tveraen 50, 5. Dean Dillon 46, 6. Dafydd Davies 44, 7. George Callawa 44, 8. Tom Day 39, 9. Oli Sansom 36, 10. Tom Roch 28
Under-21
1. Harry Walker 75, 2. Dean Dillon 62, 3. Tom Day 58
Report: www.quad-online.co.uk
Images: John Cook