DEP Two-Stroke British Championship 2007
Just like round one the staff from championship prepped the track to perfection according to the MCFederation requirements and everything was set for a wicked days racing.
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Riders and their families were pulling into the Mildenhall circuit on Friday evening where they enjoyed a whole host of events being held at the venue including greyhound racing on the Friday evening and stock car racing on the Saturday night, which added to a pleasant and friendly environment.
Just like clockwork the qualifying sessions took place bang on 10am with the 125cc riders out first, all gunning for the A class race but some also enjoying their moment of racing at this level of competition motocross.
Topping timed practise was series leader David Willett closely followed by Matt Ridgway.
When the gate dropped for the first race you just knew the racing was going to be tight and it certainly proved that way.
Willet blitzed to a seven second lead in race one over hard charging Nicky Watts, Watts then set the pace in race two and with five laps completed the moto was halted due to an accident, this gave the race to the elated Watts but Willet looked determined to settle the score in moto three.
Willet didn’t take any prisoners and hounded early race leaders Watts and TM rider Stuart Edmonds, when the time was right the Honda rider ripped passed the pair of teenage championship rivals and took an impressive win and the overall.
Nicky Watts came home in second overall with Relentless Suzuki’s Matt Ridgway taking third. Stuart Edmonds finished fourth and that was after a huge off in the last race but came away unscathed, another Relentless Suzuki rider Jim Davies was fifth and the consistent Steve Bixby sixth.
A special mention goes out to a number of juniors who qualified for the A class race and they were Adam Reynolds, Bradley Smith, Jack Rowland and Sean Stevens who all performed heroically against such stiff competition.
There were three different race winners in the 125 B class, Sam Arbon, Ashley Crossley and Luke Dowsing. Just like there expert rivals they performed superbly well in the deep sand of Mildenhall. Other riders in the group who chased them throughout the day include John Maher, Anthony Mcgladdery, Mathew Verbeeten and Mark Haigh.
Broc Gale managed to secure two race wins in the 125 C category with Michael Randall taking the other; again the racing was tight and competitive.
No matter what they tried the 250 A class riders couldn’t put a dent into the current championship leaders unbeaten run, Mark Eastwood may well go through the entire season unbeaten if he had it his way.
In race one Eastwood had to work hard to pass riders of the calibre of Ryan Voase, David Willet and Andre David but once he did he sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the ride to the line with a twelve second advantage over second place man Voase.
The GP veteran looks unbeatable thus far but there is along way to go before the final season championship round at Culham in Oxfordshire.
Moto two took the same path with Eastwood battling away with Willet for a few laps then making his killer pass and moving on. Willet who just may be the fittest rider in the championship made life difficult for Eastwood but settled for a healthy second at the line. Voase was third, Andre David, Gavin Robertson, Ben Taylor and Chad Yarranton finished in that order.
It was Voase who set the early pace in moto three and gave Eastwood plenty of trouble in the early stages of the race; Voase was blocking his lines well but couldn’t cage the Honda rider’s determination on gaining yet another maximum. Even with another win under his belt, you can tell Mark Eastwood still enjoys the sweet taste of victory which was shown with a clenched fist salute as he crossed the finish line.
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This made the overall result interesting with Eastwood obviously topping the leader board followed by Willet, Voase, David, James Lassu and Ben Taylor.
Speaking to Mark afterwards he had this to say, “The championship so far has been excellent and with six race wins, it’s been really good for me and both tracks have been excellent. The racing has been tough and with guys like Willet, Voase and Flockhart they’ve been pushing me real hard throughout the race.
I know I’ve been winning by a few seconds at the end but I’ve had to dig deep to get the lead and stay there, it’s not been easy”.
There were two different race winners in the 250cc B class; Ashley Pennycook took moto’s one and two with Drew “Showtime” Smith taking moto three after knocking himself senseless at the end of race two. Both riders were followed closely by James Hudson, son of former world champion Neil. Sam Beddows, Scott Senter and Sam Lewis all managed to find themselves within the top three throughout the eventful day.
The championship now takes a two week lay off and then heads to Landrake in Cornwall for the third round on May 20th, expect more fireworks from all groups in what is turning out to be one of the most professionally run championships in the UK.
Full results and images can be found at www.2strokebritishchampionship.co.uk
