There is a weekend in the motocross calendar every year that every rider in the Maxxis British Motocross Championship looks forward to. Yes, it’s Milton MX Park. Ok, so that’s not entirely true, but even the most cynical of motocross fans has to admit that this track, so centrally and conveniently located just outside Northampton on the M1 motorway, has delivered some very interesting racing this year.
After the scorcher of a May Bank Holiday last week, this weekend gets off to a wet start when a rain front drenches the paddock on Saturday and makes setting up just a little bit more slippery on the clay dirt; Sunday’s weather is not much better either.
Although this round lacks the big names of Tommy Searle, Jake Nicholls and Matiss Karro, it regains one of Britain’s home boys, Steven Clarke, who will be racing for the HM Plant KTM UK team, and he soon makes a statement in the first qualifying session of the day, although it’s team-mate and current MX2 champion Elliott Banks-Browne who takes pole. In the super-pole session, it’s Putoline Honda’s Neville Bradshaw who snags the top spot with a 1:42.923. In the MX1 class, it’s Buildbase Honda Racing’s Nicolas Aubin who takes pole both in the qualifier and the super-pole with a 1:37.979, and the final qualifying session sees MJW Kick Energy Kawasaki’s Robert Davidson take pole in the MXY2 class with a 1:46.969.
So – onwards to the MX2 class then. Here the day revolves around only four or five riders. Banks-Browne is out for war again, and he soon shows that by checking out in front in the first race, closely shadowed by Bradshaw, leading from start to finish. Then out of nowhere comes ‘Scuba’ Clarke, who slots himself into second, ahead of Heads + All Threads Suzuki’s Graeme Irwin. In the second race, Evotech Stevens KTM’s Steven Lenoir gets the lead early on, followed by Banks-Browne and Pendrich Kawasaki’s Bryan Mackenzie. Clarke has to start dead last with Irwin after the first corner left them in the dirt. What is impressive though is Clarke and Irwin’s return to sixth and seventh within a 20-minute race!
With a persistent soft rain blanketing the countryside, the MX2 class goes to the line for its final session on what is now an ice rink. In this race, Bradshaw goes on the offensive in a last-ditch attempt for a podium spot. Unfortunately for him, he has to concede not only the lead, but the second place as well, as leader Banks-Browne slots back into second to make this round yet another KTM-only podium with Clarke, Lenoir and himself having the honours.
In the MX1 class, it appears that there will be one clear winner, Route77energy Honda’s Tanel Leok, but that’s not to be after all. Although Leok wins the first race convincingly after a killer start, the second race is more a mixed affair in which a battle develops between himself and his great Spanish rival, Team STR KTM’s Jonathan Barragán, before he takes the honours again. In the third race though, whilst in second, things go horribly wrong. As with team-mate Jason Dougan in the first race, fate strikes and Leok’s bike just loses drive and frustratingly he has to watch his podium chances disappear by a meagre point.
The podium is a wild affair as Welshman Shane Carless makes his Maxxis début on the podium for Oakleaf Kawasaki, and his Welsh fan contingent let loose with the bull horns, while MBO Sport Yamaha’s Kristian Whatley takes second place with a fourth and two third places, and Barragán the win.
The MXY2 class also sees a few upsets in the front as AAA Bikesport KTM’s John Adamson is embroiled in a heated battle with RSS Recognise GFX PDMX Honda’s Mathew Callaghan. Although it looks like Callaghan will take the first race, a last lap crash costs him two positions with Adamson solidly back in the driving seat and Davidson in second. In the second race, Adamson has a bit of a mare and drops to fourth, while Davidson returns to the front with a solid lead, followed by Watt Motorcycles’ Glenn McCormick. iFly Lanes Kawasaki’s Ben Putnam also sneaks in under the radar to end in third, but misses the podium by a mere point. The podium sees Adamson and Davidson tied, with Davidson declared winner based on the second race result. McCormick is third.
With the halfway point reached, the championships start to firm up and it will be interesting to see who will be the top dog at one of Britain’s iconic venues in early June – Foxhill!
MX2 Overall: 1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 72, 2. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 65, 3. Steven Clarke (HM Plant KTM UK) 55, 4. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 54, 5. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 48, 6. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 48, 7. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 32, 8. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 30, 9. Jake Millward (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 28, 10. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 28.
MX2 Championship: 1. Elliott Banks-Browne (HM Plant KTM UK) 206, 2. Steven Lenoir (Evotech Stevens KTM) 166, 3. Neville Bradshaw (Putoline Honda) 148, 4. Graeme Irwin (Heads + All Threads Suzuki) 138, 5. Nathan Watson (HM Plant KTM UK) 131, 6. Bryan Mackenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) 113, 7. Adam Sterry (Team STR KTM) 61, 8. Lewis Tombs (JAR Honda by IFS) 82, 9. Jake Nicholls (Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM) 75, 10. James Cottrell (Putoline Honda) 67.
MX1 Overall: 1. Jonathan Barragán (Team STR KTM) 64, 2. Kristian Whatley (MBO Sport Yamaha) 58, 3. Shane Carless (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 51, 4. Tanel Leok (Route77energy Honda) 50, 5. Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda Racing) 49, 6. Brad Anderson (Maxxis Kawasaki by LPE) 41, 7. Scott Elderfield (iFly Lanes Kawasaki) 40, 8. Jamie Law (Dyer & Butler Racing KTM) 40, 9. Gert Krestinov (Apico ANSA Racing Kawasaki) 36, 10. Stuart Edmonds (CCR TM) 33.
MX1 Championship: 1. Tanel Leok (Route77energy Honda) 174, 2. Kristian Whatley (MBO Sport Yamaha) 156, 3. Jonathan Barragán (STR KTM) 148, 4. Tommy Searle (CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki) 146, 5. Nicolas Aubin (Buildbase Honda Racing) 138, 6. Brad Anderson (Maxxis Kawasaki by LPE) 110, 7. Gert Krestinov (Apico ANSA Racing Kawasaki) 100, 8. Steve Ramon (Buildbase Honda Racing) 82, 9. Shane Carless (Oakleaf Kawasaki) 81, 10. Scott Elderfield (iFly Lanes Kawasaki) 79.
MXY2 Overall: 1. Robert Davidson (MJW Kick Energy Kawasaki) 43, 2. John Adamson (AAA Bikesport KTM) 43, 3. Glenn McCormick (Watt Motorcycles KTM) 36, 4. Ben Putnam (iFly Lanes Kawasaki) 35, 5. Josh Gilbert (Bikesport Honda) 35, 6. Mathew Callaghan (RSS Recognise GFX-PDMX Honda) 34, 7. Brad Todd (KTM) 28, 8. Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) 25, 9. Tom Neal (Motoshack KTM) 24, 10. Jack Kelly (Malin KTM Racing) 21.
MXY2 Championship: 1. Robert Davidson (MJW Kawasaki) 101, 2. Brad Todd (KTM) 94, 3. Ben Putnam (iFly Lanes Kawasaki) 94, 4. Mathew Callaghan (RSS Recognise GFX-PDMX Honda) 88, 5. John Adamson (AAA Bikesport KTM) 86, 6. Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) 64, 7. Jack Kelly (Malin KTM Racing) 59, 8. Glenn McCormick (Watt Motorcycles KTM) 51, 9. Joe Bamfield (Evotech Stevens Honda) 50, 10. Josh Gilbert (Bikesport Honda) 47
Text: Stefan Paetow