British Motocross arrived at the Blaxhall Circuit near Woodbridge on Sunday, when Round 5 of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship took place and even a mix of sunshine and showers didn’t deter the thousands of spectators who descended on the Suffolk venue.
After weeks of preparation the scene was set for a great day of racing in all three of the Championship classes and with plenty of local stars to keep the crowd entertained.
The day started with the crowds being treated to some intense action as the riders got to grips with the track layout and set about posting the fastest lap times in the qualifying sessions.
In the MX1 class it was Frenchman Steven Frossard on the Wilvo Forkrent KTM who took pole position by the narrowest of margins from series leader Shaun Simpson on the Hitachi Construction Machinery REVO KTM UK, while Bury St Edmunds star Elliott Banks Browne finished third fastest in his return to British Championship action, ahead of Ipswich-based Jake Nicholls in sixth place on the second of the Wilvo Forkrent KTM.
In the MX2 class it was GP rider Max Anstie who continued his recent domination by winning the MX2 qualifying session on his Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki by over one and a half seconds ahead of Bryan Mackenzie and series leader Steven Lenoir in third.
The supporting MXY2 class saw former World and European 85cc Champion Conrad Mewse make a wildcard appearance at Blaxhall and dominate the qualifying session ahead of the two title contenders Oliver Osmaston and Jay Hague.
When the races started it was Simpson who took the overall victory in the MX1 class after claiming a second in the opening race followed by two race wins, although Blaxhall was to be his toughest overall victory of the year after crashing on the opening lap of the final race and having to charge from last to take the race win.
Frossard secured second overall on the day after taking the opening race win and two second place finishes while Kristian Whatley on the Buildbase Honda took third overall after producing three consistent results to finish 3-9-7.
Whatley just beat the returning from injury Jake Nicholls who missed out on the lower step of the podium by a point after making a dramatic last corner move on Brad Anderson in the last race.
After making a promising start to the day in qualifying Banks Browne suffered a problem in the opening race and missed on points but recovered in the other two races to take two 10 finishes.
Anstie dominated the MX2 class by taking three moto wins and the accompanying 75 points which now means he leads the championship after Steven Lenoir needed to dig deep in the final race after a first lap crash with Bryan MacKenzie meant the pair had to fight their way through the whole field on a rough track.
Eventually Lenoir limited the damage to climb up to eighth by the chequered flag which was still just enough to give him the second step on the podium with Steven Clarke recording his best result of the current campaign with 3-5-3 finishes to take third overall on the day.
Ipswich-based James Cottrell suffered a tough opening race of the day when he crash in the opening laps and then was forced out of the race when a stone became lodged in his brake.
In the remaining two races Cottrell was able to turn things around to claim a sixth and ninth place finishes and secure a solid ninth overall on the day.
The event also incorporated the third round of the MXY2 championship which was turned upside down with the main series contenders having a difficult day.
After three gruelling races, Wildcard Rider Conrad Mewse riding a 125cc two stroke KTM topped the podium with 4-1-1 results which just edged out Robbie Dowson who recorded 1-2-3 finishes with Robert Yates third with 3-5-5 moto finishes.
Despite recording a DNF in the second moto, Oliver Osmaston now leads the championship after his main challenger Jay Hague crashed out of the first moto and was not deemed fit to ride for the remainder of the day.
All round, the day proved a great success and Blaxhall showed it can put on the very best British motocross action.
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