Huge crowds of motorsport fans descended on Blaxhall, near Woodbridge to witness the fourth round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship on Sunday, writes Rick Blyth
The action on track was as hot as the temperature trackside on one of the hottest days so far this year with local riders provided plenty of strong results to keep the crowd entertained.
In the MX2 class there was plenty of exciting racing with Josh Gilbert claiming the opening race win after two of his championship rivals suffered mechanical problems.
The second race would see Dutchman Bas Vaessen take the win to recover from his earlier bike problems. After claiming a fourth-place finish in the second race it was Gilbert who claimed the overall victory and the first of his career.
Club member and regular at the Blaxhall venue, Tom Grimshaw finished a career-best fourth overall with King's Lynn based Calum Mitchell in seventh overall and Braintree's Ben Clark in 13th overall and Sam Nunn in 15th.
Unfortunately, a big first corner crash in the opening MX1 race put a dampener on the day with Chelmsford's Ryan Houghton needing medical treatment prior to being air-lifted to hospital with a broken femur.
The crash also involved a number of front runners including Bury St Edmunds' Lewis Tombs who injured his hand and withdrew from the rest of the event.
Following the lengthy delay, the racing resumed with Jake Millward taking a start to finish race win in the opening moto, but a crash and DNF in the second moto ruined his chances of an overall victory.
Those honours went to Tommy Searle who recovered from the earlier crash to claim the overall with a 3-1 scorecard to also secure the championship lead. Second and third overall went to Gert Krestinov and Brad Anderson.
In the MX2 Youth class it was Ike Carter who took the victory with Joel Rizzi in second and Braintree rider Josh Peters in third and claiming his first ever British Championship podium.
The 85cc class saw plenty of action with the countries best young riders competing, in the Big Wheel it was Sam Atkinson who took win ahead of Bailey Johnston and Charlie Palmer with Norfolk rider Thomas Harris in fourth. In the Small Wheels it was tie between Ben Mustoe and Tyla Hooley with Mustoe getting the victory and Ryan Waggott in third and Rocco Hands in fourth.
Results
MX1
1 Tommy Searle 45
2 Gert Krestinov 35
3 Brad Anderson 33
4 Shaun Simpson 32
5 Mel Pocock 32
MX2
1 Josh Gilbert 43
2 Dylan Walsh 42
3 Ashton Dickinson 32
4 Tom Grimshaw 28
5 Michael Ellis 27
MX2 Youth
1 Ike Carter 47
2 Joel Rizzi 45
3 Josh Peters 36
4 Kyle McNicol 36
5 Dominic Lancett 34
85cc Big Wheel
1 Sam Atkinson
2 Bailey Johnston
3 Charlie Palmer
85cc Small Wheel
1 Ben Mustoe
2 Tyla Hooley
3 Ryan Waggott
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