Once again the British Motocross arrived at the Blaxhall Circuit near Woodbridge on Sunday for the sixth round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship as a large crowd packed into the sandy circuit on a hot sunny summer’s day.
After weeks of preparation the Woodbridge DMCC played host to some of the best riders in the country. With the track and venue in fantastic condition as always, both the riders and race fans were treated to a great day’s action.
Heading into the event a lot of focus was on Bury St Edmunds MX1 rider and former double MX2 Champion Elliott Banks-Browne who was on a rich run of form of late.
The local rider didn’t disappoint in the morning qualifying session where he set the fastest time and secured pole position. Also putting on a good show for the local crowd was Chelmsford-based Ryan Houghton who finished third fastest. In MX2 Essex based youngster Dylan Woodcock finished fourth fastest and Lewis Tombs was twelfth fastest but less than a second off the top five.
The racing in the MX2 class produced some fantastic action across the two races. In the opening race it was New Zealand rider Josiah Natzke who took the holeshot and ran away with the race win, but the local interest was behind him with Lewis Tombs running in second place and getting the fans cheering over the fences.
Tombs would eventually finish in a superb third place behind Mel Pocock and ahead of Todd Kellett and Brad Todd.
The second of the MX2 race was see Tombs make another good start inside the top five and battling with the leading riders once again.
This time it was Todd Kellett who took the race win and the overall victory with his team-mate and series leader Ben Watson second in the race. But all eyes were on the battle for third place where six riders were closely fighting over positions on every corner.
When the race ended it was Martin Barr who took third ahead of Josh Spinks and Mel Pocock with Lewis Tombs taking seventh place for sixth overall on the day.
After taking Pole Position in the MX1 class the local crowd were hoping to see Banks-Browne at the front of the field. When the gate dropped he rounded the first corner just outside the top five and was quick to move forward into the leading trio when a small mistake would see him crash heavily leading to the race being stopping.
After a few minutes Elliott was able to get to his feet and walk to the Medical Centre but would take no further part in the meeting.
In the re-run the race win went to series leader Graeme Irwin after a battle with Brad Anderson in second, the local fans still had plenty to cheer about as Ryan Houghton produced a great ride to finish in third place ahead of Rob Davidson and Dan Thornhill.
The second race of the MX1 class would see another action packed race between Irwin and Anderson as they traded positions many times. As the race went on Irwin took the victory as Anderson slipped behind Gert Krestinov into third. Ryan Houghton once again produced a great ride to finish fourth and third overall on the day, with Jamie Law rounding out the top five.
Supporting the event was the all new British 2 Stroke Championship and this class was dominated by James Dunn who took both race wins ahead of Northampton’s Neville Bradshaw who finished second overall with a 2 -3 scorecard, third overall on the day was Italian Manuel Lacopi.
The top local rider in the class was Luke Gidney from Norfolk who took ninth overall after a super sixth place result in the second race.
Results
MX2 Race 1
1 – Josiah Natzke
2 – Mel Pocock
3 – Lewis Tombs
4 – Todd Kellett
5 – Brad Todd
MX2 Race 2
1 – Todd Kellett
2 – Ben Watson
3 – Martin Barr
4 – Josh Spinks
5 – Mel Pocock
MX2 Overall
1 – Todd Kellett - 43
2 – Mel Pocock - 38
3 – Josiah Natzke – 37
4 – Ben Watson – 36
5 – Martin Barr - 35
6 – Lewis Tombs - 34
MX1 Race 1
1 – Graeme Irwin
2 – Brad Anderson
3 – Ryan Houghton
4 – Rob Davidson
5 – Dan Thornhill
MX1 Race 2
1 – Graeme Irwin
2 – Gert Krestinov
3 – Brad Anderson
4 – Ryan Houghton
5 – Jamie Law
MX1 Overall
1 – Graeme Irwin - 50
2 – Brad Anderson - 42
3 – Ryan Houghton - 38
4 – Gert Krestinov - 37
5 – Dan Thornhill 29
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here