Last Sunday the Phoenix Tools Premier motocross Championship took place at a brand new venue which was Plymouth City Moto Parc which played host to round 4 in the Championship and round 2 of the 2-Stroke Championship. A lot of preparation had been made in getting this venue to the necessary requirements to host what was to be its first competitive meeting. Heavy rain had fallen during the night and mid morning which made things a bit slippery, but the track was soon to dry and was to produce some excellent racing.
In the Gabriel Insulations Expert Championship it was a blistering start in the opening race for Kelvin Townsend on the Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha ahead of the Meredith Mx Suzuki of Luke Dean (Pictured No 52) who had set the fastest time in qualifying with current Championship leader Jamie Skuse on the Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki there in 3
rd. Dean was all over Townsend on the opening lap and was soon to get pass over one of the jumps and was soon on his way. Team mates Townsend and Skuse had a real ding dong for a couple of laps before the latter found away pass on lap 4. Skuse was to give his all and did close on Dean mid-race, but then on lap 7 Skuse found himself with no back brake and was to soldier on to take second behind Dean with Jordan Carter on the Stones Supplies / MotoXtreme Kawasaki coming through from not the best of starts to take 3
rd.
In the second moto Dean led from the off, Townsend had settled in 2
nd for the first half of the race before he was caught and passed by Skuse, but this was short lived as Skuse took a tumble on lap 7 and Townsend regained 2
nd, but he wasn’t going to catch Dean who took the win with the D S C Cornwall Kawasaki of Tommy Alba having a good ride taking 3
rd.
In the last race again it was Townsend with the best start from Dean and Loukas Maggio on the Dave Thorpe Off Road Honda with Skuse tucked in 4
th who was soon to pass Maggio and now had his sights set on Dean who was soon breathing all over Townsend for the lead which he took on lap 4. Skuse managed to get pass Townsend a lap later and was closing in on Dean who seemed to be slowing as he had no back brake just as Skuse had in the opening race and a lap later Skuse hit the front and went on to take the win from Dean with Townsend a distant 3
rd.
In the Over 35’s Championship class there was a few riders missing, but the top runners were all there and it was Championship leader Wayne Shimell on the TyreMarks Husqvarna who had set the fastest time in qualifying, but in the opening race it was the Ace Comfort Cooling Kawasaki of James Price who had the early lead, but it wasn’t long before Ben Harmon took over and Shimell moved up in to 2
nd. Harmon on the Cheddar Mx / M D Racing Honda was on a mission in this one and was to ease away from Shimell who didn’t have any reply with Harmon going on to take the win with Price along way back taking 3
rd.
In the second moto Shimell hit the front from the off and with a clear track soon had a comfortable lead and was to take the chequered flag some 20 seconds ahead of Harmon with Price again taking 3
rd.
The last race and it was a repeat performance from Shimell with a start to finish win ahead of Harmon, but taking 3
rd this time after a long hard battle for most of the race was Jonathan Morrissey who held of Price.
In the Over 40’s again there was one rider to beat and that was Stuart Rawlings who once he got the lead was unstoppable and was to take a comfortable hat trick of wins to extend his Championship lead.
In the Over 50’s current Championship leader David Ford’s domination who had not been beaten as yet was to come to an end as making his first appearance in the Championship was Cornishman Mark Roberts who was to take a hat trick of wins with Ford 2
nd in all three races.
In the R C Motorhomes 2-Stroke Championship it was Leighton Holmes (Pictured No 564) on the Moto 64 KTM who went in to what was round 2 in the Championship unbeaten and it looked as if it was going to stay that way when he won the opening 2 races in style, but in race 3 it was a blistering start from the RC Motorhomes/Gibbs Performance / Armaid KTM of Will Worden who really was determined at the front who was to hold of the early pressure from Holmes and then gradually eased away to take his first win in the Championship to keep his hopes alive with 4 rounds remaining.
In the Junior Championship class the day belonged to Championship leader on the Bridgestone KTM Harry Linton who literally blitzed the rest of the field to take a hat trick of wins with Jamie Buckingham on the Alex Buckingham M/c Husqvarna finishing 2
nd overall after taking two 2
nd’s and a 3
rd.
Report and Photos by Dave Rich
OVERALL RESULTS Gabriel Insulations Expert Championship
1
st Luke Dean (450f Meredith Mx Suzuki) 2
nd Jamie Skuse (450f Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki) 3
rd Kelvin Townsend (450f Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha) 4
th Tommy Alba (450f D S C Cornwall Kawasaki) 5
th Jordan Carter (450f Stone Supplies / MotoXtreme Kawasaki) 6
th Loukas Maggio (250f Dave Thorpe Off Road Honda)
M D Racing Over 35’s Championship
1
st Wayne Shimell (350f Tyremarks Husqvarna) 2
nd Ben Harmon (450f Cheddar Mx / M D Racing Honda) 3
rd James Price (450f Ace Comfort Cooling Kawasaki) 4
th Jonathan Morrissey (350f KTM)
M D Racing Over 40’s Championship
1
st Stuart Rawlings (450f Honda) 2
nd James Knatchbull (350f KTM) 3
rd Richard Green (450f T R Green Engineering Kawasaki) 4
th Rob Lewis (450f Tony Maunders Racing Honda) 5
th Richard Tapscott (350f Tony Maunders Racing KTM) 6
th Mark Gleadhill (250 Honda)
M D Racing Over 50’s Championship
1
st Mark Roberts (450f Alan Roberts Garage Honda) 2
nd David Ford (450f Projuice KTM) 3
rd Alan Packer (450f Simpsons Honda) 4
th Adrian Toy (250 KTM) 5
th Dave Watson (250f Honda) 6
th Nicholas Greeney (450f Honda)
R C Motorhomes 2-Stroke Championship
1
st Leighton Holmes (250 Moto 64 KTM) 2
nd Will Worden (125 RC Motorhomes/Gibbs Performance / Armaid KTM) 3
rd Ben Millward (250 Inchains Yamaha) 4
th Scott Rundle (250 KTM) 5
th Giles Davis (????) 6
th Grant Bryant (150 KTM)
Tony Maunders Junior Championship
1
st Harry Linton (250f Bridgestone KTM) 2
nd Jamie Buckingham (250f Alex Buckingham M/c Husqvarna) 3
rd Ross Churchill (350f Topline KTM) 4
th Jay Lewis (450f Tony Maunders Racing Honda) 5
th Darren Toy (250 KTM) 6
th Bradley Barfoot (450f Yamaha)
Junior B
1
st Andy Bushin (250 Mark Rowe & Son Honda) 2
nd Daniel Griffin (450f KTM) 3
rd Matt Bowen (????) 4
th Adrian Whitcombe (????) 5
th Mathew Morgan (450f Honda) 6
th Alex Groves (450f KTM)