British MMX Championship Report
It’s hard to believe that the new season is upon us already, but upon us it is! After nearly five months of scratching about trying to think of things to write about, the racing season finally kicked off with the first round of the MMX Championship at Little Silver in Devon. With the track in excellent condition, and the weather doing its bit to help, the fans enjoyed an excellent days racing as the Open, Under-21s and Ladies kicked off their campaigns in style. A quick glance at the entry list confirmed that nobody would be having it easy, with several of the British-based GP teams taking the opportunity to have a run out before their season gets started, including CCM in their first competitive rides since Dave Thorpe took on the role as Sporting Director.
OPEN
In the Open class, CCM’s Jason Dougan put himself at the pointy end in race one until a crash further back in the pack resulted in the race being red flagged after about four laps. In the resulting restart, it was MVR-D Suzuki’s Carl Nunn who rounded turn one in first, with pole-sitter Brad Anderson getting tangled up, going down and joining the race in dead last. Nunn started to check out while Bryan Mackenzie and Stephen Sword had a dice up for a couple of laps before Red Bull KTM UK’s Sword put in a pass for second and started trying to reel in the fast-departing Nunn. By the end of the third lap, Mackenzie dropped back to fifth, while CCM’s Tom Church moved into third, one spot ahead of ex-CCM rider Refurb Hanson Kawasaki’s Kristian Whatley. Sword did his best to catch up with Nunn, but it was all in vain as the MVR-D man crossed the line six seconds ahead of the Scot, with Church finishing in an excellent third.
Race 1
1. Carl Nunn
2. Stephen Sword
3. Tom Church
4. Kristian Whatley
5. Lewis Gregory
In the second race, there was drama as soon as the gate dropped, as Nunn and Sword touched on the uphill drag to the first corner, dropping them both back in the pack, and Par Honda’s Brad Anderson grabs the holeshot with MotoXtreme Kawasaki’s Lewis Gregory sitting in second. At the end of the first lap, Sword was way back in 12th,, but with the bit between his teeth starts putting in some awesome laps on his 250F, passing plenty of 450s as he made his way up the leaderboard. At the front, Anderson put a few seconds on the rest of the field and kept it mistake-free as he brought the Honda home in first place, with Tom Church having another good ride to second and Sword passing Lewis Gregory on the last lap to take third.
Race 2
1. Brad Anderson
2. Tom Church
3. Stephen Sword
4. Lewis Gregory
5. Alex Snow
Overall
1. Tom Church 42 pts
2. Stephen Sword 42pts
3. Carl Nunn 41pts
Under 21
At the end of the first lap, it was Moto One KTM’s Shane Carless heading the pack, but it’s not long before GP runner Jake Nicholls puts his Red Bull KTM to the front and starts to pull out a small gap on the rest of the field. Rather than have it all his own way, Nicholls soon has PAR Homes Honda’s Scott Elderfield breathing down his neck and the two of them pull out a gap on the rest of the pack. Nicholls seems to have the measure of the PAR rider and, try as he might, Elderfield cannot get close enough to attempt a pass. As the race winds down, Nicholls pulls out a one-second buffer, which he maintains to the flag to take the win ahead of Elderfield in second and Graeme Irwin in third.
Race 1
1. Jake Nicholls
2. Scott Elderfield
3. Graeme Irwin
4. Shane Carless
5. Richard Sandberg
In the second race, lady luck smiles on Nicholls, as by the end of the first lap he is sitting pretty in first with Elderfield way back in ninth. Nicholls puts in a run of super smooth laps and pulls out a huge gap on the rest of the field, with MVR-D Suzuki’s Mattis Karro being the only person keeping him honest. Further back in the pack, both Elderfield and KTM UK’s Graeme Irwin put in excellent rides to climb back through the field to put themselves in third and fourth place, respectively, while Nicholls cruises for the last couple of laps to take the win by 3.5 seconds from Karro.
Race 2
1. Jake Nicholls
2. Mattis Karro
3. Scott Elderfield
4. Graeme Irwin
5. Richard Sandberg
Overall
1. Jake Nicholls 50pts
2. Scott Elderfield 42pts
3. Graeme Irwin 38pts
Ladies
A quick glance at the qualifying times and it was pretty obvious who was the favorite, as MVR-D Suzuki’s Natalie Kane was a full 10.4 seconds a lap quicker than second-fastest qualifier, CRM MC’s, Mickey Oates MC’s Kawasaki’s Kerry Wilson. This proved to be no fluke, as Kane checked out from the start in both races, the only question being was how much she would win by! In race one, it was by a mere 1 min 42 seconds, then along came race two where she really pulled the trigger and finished an incredible 2 mins and 18 seconds ahead of CCM Racings newest signing Alix Dunlop. With a qualifying time that would have had Kane qualifying within the top 30 of the Under 21s, the future is bright for this young lady.
Race 1
1. Natalie Kane
2. Stacey Fisher
3. Kerry Wilson
4. Nerys Williams
5. Alix Dunlop
Race 2
1. Natalie Kane
2. Alix Dunlop
3. Hannah McLeod
4. Kerry Wilson
5. Stacey Fisher
Overall
1. Natalie Kane 50 pts
2. Alix Dunlop 38 pts
3. Kerry Wilson 38 pts