On Sunday the 29th of September, the Norwich Viking MCC hosted the 7th and final round of the 2024 ACU Eastern Centre Championship. With title sponsors Stebbings Car Superstore and Norton Way Honda Group in attendance, the season finale would play out in dry but testing conditions at the famous Cadders Hill circuit.
With 2024 expert champion Sam Nunn (John Banks Honda) and Junior champion Tim Warnes (MPM, RWT Kawasaki) already sealing their respective titles up at Blaxhall two weekends ago, the fight within the podium places in both classes were still up for grabs and it was sure to go down to the wire in a frantic finish.
Premier class race 1 kicked into life and the two team-mates Nunn and Tombs were fighting it out on the early laps as youngster Will Farrow (Southside Mx KTM) made a cracking start in the top 3. Luke Parker (MPM Kawasaki) started the day 23 points ahead of Tombs in the battle for second spot in the championship and closely followed the leaders through but was never close enough to make a move. Fastest qualifier from the morning Jake Rackham was starting to move up in the top five alongside Luke Benstead, while Sam Nunn passed Tombs and breezed his way past the back markers and over the line to take the first race win. Tombs was second and Benstead moving into third on the final lap past Rackham. Parker home in fifth and would see his gap decrease to Tombs after race 1.
In the Premier class race 2, it was Rackham out of the gate first with the Honda trio of Tombs, Nunn and Dylan Woodcock close behind. A good start for Tony Craig would see him sit comfortably in the top 5 all race long while Luke Parker had a real battle on his hands, after a poor start would see him lurking outside the top ten, he would then fight his way onto the rear wheel of Craig by the end of the race. The Honda quartet however put on a fantastic display of racing at the front. Nunn would first pass Tombs and then set his sights on Rackham, and as the youngster was struggling with lapped traffic, Nunn pounced and made the move. He would go on to take his second win of the day with Rackham in second place, Tombs in Third and Woodcock in fourth.
The final Premier class race of the season would see Local Star Luke Parker gain the holeshot and Into an early lead, Nunn was never too far away on the opening laps and again Tombs putting in a consistent pace to stay in touch. Dylan Woodcock made some smart moves in the top ten past his rivals alongside Max Broadbelt who was on the comeback trail from a nasty injury only a few months ago. Parker would delight is home crowd up until just after halfway through when Nunn would emerge in the lead and never looked back, taking the checkered flag for the third time to wrap up the season in stunning fashion. Parker finished in second ahead of Tombs, Woodcock and Craig.
Sam Nunn was crowned the 2024 Eastern Centre Champion after a season of top displays and completely deserves the plaudits. Luke Parker would stand on the second step of the podium and Lewis Tombs ended the season third.
In the Junior championship, Tim Warnes would win the 2024 title ahead of top junior placed rider on the day Harry George. On the third step of the podium was Jae Jeffries after a great display all year long.
The support A overall was taken by Sam Rogers with a 1-1-5 ahead of Gareth Lane with a 2-4-2 finish. In third was Lee Kirkpatrick with a 7-3-7.
In support B the honors went to Joseph Henthorn with a 1-1-1 ahead of Max Hale with a 2-2-2. In third was Reece Horne with a 6-3-3.
Support C class overall went to Shaun Tacey with a 1-1-2 ahead of Andrew Webster with a 3-3-1 and Shaun King with a 2-2-4.
Full results available here:- ACU Eastern Motocross Championship R7, ACU Eastern, United Kingdom - Official Event Results, MYLAPS Speedhive
The Norwich Viking MCC would like to congratulate the championship winners and thank all the marshals, medics and of course the riders for another successful year in 2024, we look forward to welcoming you back next year!
Race Report by Stefan Hicks
Images Courtesy of Max Leveridge/Narna Media