Tuesday April 3, 2018 at 2:25pm
Defending MX1 champion Graeme Irwin and MX2 series newcomer Conrad Mewse made it a double delight for ASA Hitachi KTM UK at the opening round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship supported by Pro Clean at a super-tough Culham Moto Park on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Irishman won the opening moto from Jake Nicholls (Buildbase Honda) and backed this up with third in race two behind Russia’s Evgeny Bobryshev (Lombard Express/SRD Suzuki UK) and Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Husqvarna) for the overall win and a two-point lead in the standings.
“Nearly the perfect day but in the second one the track was sketchy and I was too easy at the start,” said Irwin. “Bobby came by me and I could see where he was faster so I caught on to a few of his lines.
“He got by someone who I got stuck behind for a couple of laps and it just killed the flow. I came strong again and nearly got Elliott at the end but I knew I’d done enough to get the overall.”
Bobryshev – the 2010 champ – had been forced to come from a long way back in the opener to take a fourth-placed finish and this combined with his race two win gave him second overall, just ahead of Jake Nicholls (Buildbase Honda) who ran a solid 2-4 in his first Maxxis moto since April 2016.
Mewse, who’s currently sitting fifth in the world, has contested just one Maxxis round – at Lyng in 2016 when he finished second – but was the man in form at Culham, racing to two dominant MX2 victories.
“It’s been a fantastic day,” said the 18-year-old. “I came in here not really knowing what to expect and I was quite shocked. I won every session on track and I’m over the moon about that.
“We’ve had a good start to the season in the world championship so I came here on a high and feeling great and it showed in my riding.”
Josh Gilbert (Honda Adventure Centre) had a day of career-best finishes, running 2-2 to finish second overall with Mel Pocock (REVO Husqvarna UK) carding 3-4 for third on the podium.
In the new Expert category Tony Craig topped MX1 from Declan Whittle and Ross Rutherford and Liam Knight won MX2 from Dickinson and Alexander Brown.
Culham also saw the opening round of the ACU British Two-stroke Championship and defending champion Mike Kras (GL12 Racing KTM) smashed out a pair of wins to take maximum points.
“It’s been a good day and if all season is like this then I couldn’t be more happy,” said the Dutchman. “Of course, it’s going to be harder and I’m going to lose some of the races maybe but it is a good start. I want to get as many points and to be there in the championship fight and to make it a double title.”
Series newcomer Ashley Wilde (RMJ Husqvarna), who withdrew from last year’s MX1 championship with an injury, ran 2-2 for second overall from Neville Bradshaw (272 Race School Yamaha) whose 6-2 card earned him third.
Picture © Imagerich Media