While the changeable English weather had a major effect on round four of the Motul Fastest 40, powered by Michelin, the small but dedicated band of workers soldiered tirelessly on and made the event happen while other organisers cancelled their meetings.
It had been raining on and off since Thursday at the location of the event at Brookthorpe in Gloucestershire, but it looked as if it would be usable on Friday. But overnight, the heavens opened, and it just rained and rained.
The track crew made the soft, claggy track ridable, and the Pro classes and 125 two-strokes went ahead. However, with more rain overnight on Saturday and another lot of track work first thing Sunday, the day races did go ahead, but unfortunately, only two of the scheduled three blocks ran because of the lack of time.
Conrad Mewse, on his Crendon Tru7 Honda once again, dominated the Apico Pro MX1 class. But as Mewse did his thing in the MX1s, Dylan Walsh, riding an MSR Kawasaki, was doing the same thing in the Leatt Pro MX2s, although his arch-rival, Tommy Searle (Dirt Store Kawasaki), was pushing him all the way to the checkered flag in the second race.
With the track conditions the way they were, getting the holeshot would be more critical than usual. And we all know how good Mewse is at starts.
As expected, Mewse got the holeshot at the start of the first Apico Pro MX1 race and, in his smooth, fast, almost effortless riding style, led from start to finish nearly forty-seven seconds clear of second place rider Tristan Purdon (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna). Purdon had gated fifth but passed Taylor Hammal (Crendon Tru7 Honda), and with second and third placed at the start, Tom Murphy (GRM Apico Yamaha) and Jack Timms crashing out, found himself in second on lap two. He then held that place, almost on his own, till the finish flag.
Hammal spent most of his race in third but had John Adamson (LEXA MX Husqvarna) closing him down till, with three laps to go, Adamson had his drive chain come off in one of the deep corner grooves, ending his race.
Chris Mills (Yamaha) had gated eighth but moved up two places at the expense of Murphy and Timms crashes and then found a way past Dan Thornhill (Chambers Husqvarna) on lap six, on his way to finish fourth, with Thornhill chasing him over the line in fifth.
Martin Barr (Apico Honda) must have been asleep at the start as he rounded the first turn in fourteenth place, but Barty, being Barty, pounded out the laps to come home in eighth place and the last rider on the lead lap.
Once again, Mewse got the holeshot at the start of the second and last Pro MX1 race, but this time, he only won by just under forty-three seconds. However, behind him, things were all messed up.
Barr and Hammal had gated second and third, but Hammal crashed out on the second lap and dropped to ninth. Barr held on to second until the halfway point, when Jason Meara (Moto-Cycle Racing Honda), who had DNFed in race one, passed him.
But Purdon had a worse start in the ninth but was in fourth by the halfway stage. He slipped past Barr and a lap later and snatched second place from Meara on the very last lap.
After his crash, Hammal regrouped and worked his way back up the field to fourth place by the end of the race.
Barr held onto fifth, with Tom Grimshaw (Apico Honda) having his best ride of the day in sixth.
It was Mewse from Purdon and Hammal on the podium, with Barr just missing out.
It must be said that the track was at its worst for the first Leatt Pro MX2 race. Walsh got the holeshot from Searle and Josh Coleman's two-stroke Yamaha, and that’s the order in which the top three finished.
Behind them, on the opening lap, riders swopped places countless times. Lee Truman had gated fourth but ended the lap in thirteenth, while Howard Wainwright (HWR Honda) dropped from fifth to eleventh place.
Joel Rizzi (Dirt Store Kawasaki), Charlie Cole (Phoenix Even Strokes Kawasaki), and Charlie Heyman (SC Sporthomes Husqvarna) did get the best of starts in ninth, tenth and thirteenth places but fought their way up to Cole in fourth. After another crash, Rizzi ended seventh, with Heyman struggling to eighth place.
Ben Franklin (Chambers KTM) and teammate Glenn McCormick swopped places several times before the pair finished, with Franklin in fifth and McCormick one spot behind him.
Once again, Walsh got the holeshot at the start of race two from Coleman and Searle, but by the end of the second lap, Searle was in second place and starting to close on the race leader Walsh.
It took Heyman four laps to replace Coleman in third, and the top three stayed in the same order until the end of the race. Searle closed in on the leader Walsh without the opportunity to affect a pass.
Colman was in a solid fourth place till, with two laps to go, Josh Waterman (Honda) and, later in the lap, Rizzi, from another bad start in thirteenth, both passed him as they finished fourth and fifth, with Colman ending his race in sixth.
Overall, on the track, Walsh was on the top step, from Searle and Coleman, with Heyman and Cole, who were separated by a single point, missing out.
In the under-twenty-one side of the event, Heyman was the top scorer from Westcot, Bennett, and Cashmore.
The first of the ACU Apico 2-stroke 125 championship races was all over the place. Neville Bradshaw (Yamaha), fresh back from a horrific crash early in the year, got the holeshot from Jamie Keith (MBR / PXM KTM), Luke Dean (Yamaha) with Josh Vail (SJP Moto KTM) in third. But, by the end of the opening lap, Dean was in the lead with Vail on his tail. The pair swapped places for the rest of the race until Vail won the first race.
Keith passed Bradshaw for third place on lap five, while Bradshaw hung on to fourth place at the end of the race. Such was the pace of the lead five that they lapped the rest of the field.
Keith led the second race from start to finish. Harry Lee (Dirt Store KTM) was second going into the first turn, followed by Matt Bayliss (S Briggs Gas Gas), Jorden Bachelor (Yamaha) and Bradshaw, with Vail way back in the eighteenth.
By the end of lap two, Dean was pushing Bayliss hard for second place, which he took on lap five only to lose it again two laps later. Vail was in Bradshaw’s wheel tracks as the pair fought over fourth and fifth. But Bradshaw re-passed Vail for fourth by the flag.
Overall, Keith, from Dean and Vail, won, but in the youth championship, Keith, from Vail and Bubb, won. The adult top three included Dean from Bayliss and Bradshaw.
With two race wins, Henry Williams (Honda) won the Honda Cup overall from a hard-charging Howard Wainwright (Honda). Shane Carless (Honda) was third.
Scott Aldridge (Feehily MX KTM) and Josh Greedy (Yamaha) tied on points at the top of the Fly Racing Amateur MX1s with Aldridge awarded the win by his highest score in the last race of the day. Josh Canton (Concept CCF UK Yamaha) was third, and Keelan Southwood (JK Jointing Honda) missed the podium.
With two race wins, Harrison Greenough (Simpson & Associates KTM) won the overall in the Bell Amateur MX2s. With two third places, Charlie Hamlet (Feehily MX KTM) was second, and Mark Young was third.
Matt Dowse (KTM) and Charlie West (Tim Feeney Super MX KTM) tied at the top of the Oakley Clubman MX1 score sheets as they both finished the day with a win and a third place each. Dowse was awarded the overall win because he won the last race. Billy Saunders (WMS Honda) took the last spot on the podium, while Harry Fletcher (Honda) just missed out.
Like the clubman MX1s, Alex Hamer and Richard Roberts (Ruzz Racing KTM) finished the day on the same points in the Bell Clubman MX1s, with Hamer at the top of the box. Harry Foster (KTM) was third.
With two race wins, David Rushden (Fantic) took the additional open clubman overall from Will Payne (Kawasaki) and Charlie Guttridge (Kawasaki).