Last Sunday the St Blazey Mx Premier Motocross Championship made its way down to deepest Devon to Plymouth City Moto Parc for round 6 in the series. A lot of work had been put in to the track which was in perfect condition on arrival, but unfortunately as practice got underway down came the rain which was to make things very slippery and rutty and with further rain falling all day the clerk of the course deemed it was getting too dangerous after the second block of racing and put a stop to the proceedings. Entries were a bit lower than usual as riders were committed to other meetings in the area, but never the less the racing was still pretty good considering the treacherous conditions.
In the St Blazey Mx Expert Championship Dan Thornhill onboard the Cab Screens Husqvarna returned after missing the last round which was to lose his Championship lead and it was the Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki of Jamie Skuse who went in to round 6 with 98 points lead over Thornhill, but lining up beside them was early Championship leader Todd Kellett on the Hitachi Construction KTM who was out to make his mark again in the Championship.
In the opening race, it was the DSC Cornwall Kawasaki of Luke Sturgeon who had the holeshot from Thornhill with Kellett tucked in 3
rd, but within three corners Thornhill was to take over the lead and with less than half a lap completed Kellett moved up in to 2
nd as not to let Thornhill get away at the front. Kellett soon caught Thornhill and was all over him on lap 2 and was to take the lead getting the better traction out of a righthander and was soon on the gas. Sturgeon was still there in 3
rd, but he was being pressured all the time by Championship leader Skuse which went on for several laps before a slight mistake from Sturgeon was enough to see Skuse go through in to 3
rd, but he wasn’t going to catch the leading two with Kellett taking the win some 14 seconds ahead of Thornhill.
In the second moto, the track had really got rough and this time it was Kelvin Townsend on the Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha with the best start from Thornhill with Kellett again tucked in 3
rd, but by the end of the opening lap Kellett got pass Thornhill and Townsend and took over the lead and was soon in to a rhythm and was starting to ease away at the front. Thornhill was trying his upmost to get pass Townsend which he eventually did on lap 2, but by this time Kellett was well gone at the front. Skuse again was involved in a good tussle with teammate Townsend for a couple of lap before Skuse managed to get pass and was to go on to take 3
rd behind Thornhill who took 2
nd behind Kellett who took the win by 21 seconds.
In the R C Motorhomes MX1 2-Stroke Championship there was a welcome return for wildcard Adam Harris on the Gibson Technology Yamaha who seemed to like the wet conditions as he was to win both races in style from Championship leader on the J D Racing KTM Leighton Holmes who increased his Championship lead as being a registered rider and taking 3
rd place in both races was the JCT Developments/Inchains Yamaha of Ben Milward.
In the R C Motorhomes MX2 2-Stroke Championship class there was only one rider in attendance and that was young 15-year-old Tom Darlow on the N D Cycles KTM who was leading the Championship going in to round 6 and has now extended his lead to 191 points with two rounds remaining.
The M D Racing Over age classes things were a bit different to normal, as in the opening Over 35 race Darren Banwell on the Cheddar MX KTM was to beat Championship leader Wayne Shimell which was only for the second time in the series this year, but the TyreMarks/St Blazey Honda of Shimell was to bounce back in the second moto to beat Banwell who took 2
nd which was to give Shimell the overall on the day and still leads the Championship by 41 points.
In the Over 40’s there was some good battles especially between the top two in the Championship Stuart Rawlings and Leigh Williams, but there was only one winner and that was wildcard Ben Harmon, but with Williams on the J D Racing KTM beating Rawlings in both races and leading registered rider he cut Rawlings lead in the Championship to just 35 points.
The Over 45’s saw Championship leader Richard Green yet again dominate proceedings to keep his hundred percent record up beating Mark Gleadhill in both races with Justin Napier taking 3
rd in both races.
There was a surprise in the Over 50’s class as Championship leader Steve Elford who broke his wrist at the last round was in attendance riding through a lot of pain, but it was David Ford who took the honours pipping Elford in both races and now trails Elford by just 15 points.
In the JCT Developments Junior Championship there was a welcome return to one of Cornwall’s top young riders Jake Curtis-Stevens on the D S C Cornwall Kawasaki who had been leading the Championship before breaking his collarbone and he showed that he was back ready to do battle again and took a comfortable win in the opening race with Championship leader Jordan Barrs after a good old tussle mid race with Ross Kersey taking 2
nd with Luke Oldfield also getting the better of Kersey in the closing stages taking 3
rd.
In the second race Stevens had another flyer off the line and led the way and was soon easing away from Oldfield who was under pressure from Barrs on the opening couple of laps with Barrs eventually finding away pass on lap 3. Stevens looked to have control of this one, but on lap 4 he went off the track and up in to the lead just came Barrs, but his lead was only for a lap as Stevens was soon back in front passing Barrs over one of the jumps and from there went on to take the win with Jamie Dixon taking 3
rd in this one.
Report and Photos by Dave Rich
OVERALL RESULTS St Blazey Mx Expert Championship
1
st Todd Kellett (250f Hitachi Construction KTM) 2
nd Dan Thornhill (450f Cab Screens Husqvarna) 3
rd Jamie Skuse (450f Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki) 4
th Jordan Carter (450f Tony Maunders Racing Kawasaki) 5
th Luke Sturgeon (450f DSC Cornwall Kawasaki) 6
th James Kensington (250 Tony Maunders Racing / MDR KTM)
R C Motorhomes 2-Stroke MX1 Championship
1
st Adam Harris (250 Gibson Technology Yamaha) 2
nd Leighton Holmes (250 J D Racing KTM) 3
rd Ben Milward (250 JCT Developments/Inchains Yamaha)
4
th Jamie Buckingham (250 J D Racing KTM) 5
th Leigh Williams (250 J D Racing KTM) 6
th Steve Elford (250 Gabriel Insulations Honda)
M D Racing Over 35’s Championship
1
st Wayne Shimell (450f TyreMarks/St Blazey Mx Honda) 2
nd Darren Banwell (250f Cheddar Mx KTM) 3
rd Tim Pearce (350f KTM) 4
th Luke Dewey (450f Milton Tyres Suzuki) 5
th Mark Osborne (250f Tony Maunders Racing KTM)
M D Racing Over 40’s Championship
1
st Ben Harmon (300XC KTM) 2
nd Leigh Williams (450f J D Racing KTM) 3
rd Stuart Rawlings (450f Honda) 4
th James Knatchbull (350f KTM) 5
th Robert Topp (350f KTM)
M D Racing Over 45’s Championship
1
st Richard Green (450f T R Green Engineering Husqvarna) 2
nd Mark Gleadhill (250 Honda) 3
rd Justin Napier (350f TyreMarks KTM)
M D Racing Over 50’s Championship
1
st David Ford (450f Projuice KTM) 2
nd Steve Elford (450f Gabriel Insulations Honda) 3
rd Alan Packer (450f Simpsons Plant Hire Honda) 4
th Stephen Thomson (250 Yamaha) 5
th Steve Whiting (????)
JCT Developments Junior Championship A
1
st Jake Curtis-Stevens (250f DSC Cornwall Kawasaki) 2
nd Jordan Barrs (450f Honda) 3
rd Jamie Dixon (350f P & S Autoservices KTM) 4
th Scott Ardren (450f Kawasaki) 5
th Brad Thornhill (250f Cab Screens Husqvarna) 6
th Luke Oldfield (250 Tonic Racing KTM)
Junior Championship B
1
st Jordan Watts 2
nd Scott Hooper 3
rd Ryan Thomas 4
th Brian Hutchings 5
th Reegan West 6
th Adam Bush