Round 6, and two thirds of the way through the Nora MX Championship saw a return to the very well prepared ACU Events circuit of Milton Park and it was the first time since 2014 for the quad boys. The challenging track of seasons past had been calmed down and lead to some of the best racing of the season to date.
In addition to the Quad classes was the ACU British Maxxis Sidecarcross Championship. This boosted the entries on the day to an incredible 163, and was certainly no side show, as the crowd were treated to a spectacular event of quality fast racing by the 34 two man teams. Added to this a full paddock of spectators which would be the envy of any club in Europe! And the weather was kind even kicking up dust by 3pm.
Out first were the 50cc/100cc Group and the main question was could Alfie Walker continue his winning streak from round 5? ----Well no ...and yes! Race 1 saw Alfie take the holeshot and was looking like a win until a very spirited Luke Berlyn took the lead in lap 5 and held on for the win. He also set the fastest lap of the day in lap 5 with a lap of 2.06 mins. Races 2 and 3 were Alfie's over Luke with Alfie setting the fastest lap in both races The podium was: 1st Alfie Walker (2, 1, 1), 2nd Luke Berlyn (1, 2, 2), 3rd Woody Jackson (4, 3, 4). Ross Dillon took the 50cc sub class, Aled Davies the 100cc sub class and Jago Jackson the 125cc sub class.
On to the 250cc Class and what's already looking like a two way battle for the title between Dean Dillon and Ayrton Knowles. Again, both riders along with Tom Day showed their pedigree, with some fast racing and some of the closest finishes. Dean was ahead on holeshots with at least 2 on the day, and he also set the fastest laps in races 1 and 3. Not to be outdone Ayrton set the fastest lap of the day in race 2 with a lap of 1.52 mins. The largest winning margin from the 3 races was only just over 6 seconds. The important wins all went the Irishman's way which meant a podium of; 1st Dean Dillon (1, 1, 1), 2nd Ayrton Knowles (2, 2, 2), 3rd Tom Day (3, 5, 3). Scot Irons took the 250 mod sub class win after putting in a good showing in the overall class (5, 6, 6). Other sub class winners were Myles Mott (250 Std) and Reece Swann (150cc).
Third out and a 20 strong line up in the Pro/Pro Am class. Luke Cooper went in to this round as Championship leader with a 22 point lead over George Callaway, but would he be by the end of the day? .... Yes but just!! It was George Day who took the holeshot in race 1 over Mark McLernon and Dafydd Davies, so no early showing for the Championship leaders. But as the race developed Callaway came on strong to take the win over McLernon. Race 2 and it was a straight swap in 1st and 2nd with McLernon taking the win over Callaway. On to the final race and McLernon led and was looking strong until he lost the back end of his exhaust and decided to pull in to the pits (just before he was black flagged!). With the door open Callaway took the win by 6.5 secs over George Day. Overall 1st George Callaway (1, 2, 1), 2nd George Day (3, 4, 2), 3rd Carl Bunce (4, 3, 4). Dafyyd Davies again took the Pro Am sub class with a 6th and two 7ths in the overall. So Coopers lead over Callaway going into round 7 is down from 22 points to just 2!
Next out the Sidecars and what a treat for the spectators and was totally dominated by the number 1 team of Stuart Brown and Josh Chamberlain who set the fastest time in all 3 races and were combined with 3 comfortable wins with their smallest winning margin being 24 seconds in race 3. Podium 1st Brown/Chamberlain (1, 1, 1), 2nd Wilkinson/Kirwin (2, 2, 2), 3rd Etheridge/ Grahame (3, 4, 5)
Race 5 and two of the normal race groups of Masters "A" and Masters Support / Evo / OTB were combined to produce the biggest race of the day with 35 riders.
The question here was would the OTB stars of Jack Holmes and Ben Richmond be able to match the Masters of Ed Davies and Ant Barrett ?...... In short "no!" Ed Davies put on a near perfect display with 3 holeshots, 3 fastest lap times and 3 wins. His smallest winning margin was 15.3 secs and his largest 23.6 secs. Ant Barrett showed he was the best of the rest with three second places. Podium 1st Ed Davies (1, 1, 1), 2nd Ant Barrett (2, 2, 2), 3rd Ben Richmond (3, 5, 5). Sub class winners were Ben Richmond (OTB), Geoff Otway (Masters B) (9, 13, 11).
The final group out were the 34 strong Clubman / Elite. Following round 5 it was Davino Bruneel who was leading the championship over Jack Norris and Tom Chell. So how would they fair in round 6? Norris and Chell both had small offs in race 1 which put them down in 19th and 13th respectively. No more needed to be given to the Brilliant Belgium who produced his best display of the season by coming from behind in all 3 races to take all 3 wins. Overall 1st Davino Bruneel (1, 1, 1), 2nd Rhydian Owen (4, 2, 3), 3rd Iestyn Rowlands (2, 6, 2).
Next is Round 7 at the ever popular Pontrilas on 17th July
Report by Peter Chell
Photos by John Cook