Edmonds Wins Carville Irish Motocross Championship
By Robert Lynn
As the 15-second board rose for the start of the opening MX1 moto, all eyes were transfixed upon the blue TM of Edmonds and the orange KTM of Garrett’s. It was Garrett who got the jump and left the starting gate like a bat out of hell to round the first corner at the front of the pack. Staying out of trouble he pulled clear from the chasing pack that was lead by Kawasaki mounted Gary Gibson to take the race win. Buried in the midpack, Edmonds put in a brave first lap and worked his way to 3rd. A costly stall dropped him down to 6th and Greedy inherited 3rd. By mid distance Edmonds had found his way back to 4th but with Garrett out front, 4th wouldn’t do. Digging deep he slowly inched his way to Greedy’s rear mudguard and with two laps to go, the crowd could feel a overtake was imminent. Sizing him up, Stuart went for the pass and made it stick and held on to take 3rd at the chequered flag. He had done enough.
Entering the final moto of the year, Edmonds lead had shrunk to 7-points and it seemed like Garrett had momentum on his side. The championship had come down to the wire and neither side could afford a slip up. It was title time. Greedy shot out front to hold the early advantage, just in front of Gibson, while Garrett and Edmonds were stationed in 3rd and 4th respectively. All Stuart needed to do was hang on to Wayne’s shirttails, while Wayne needed distance between the two. In an instant, Edmonds single handily offered Garrett the title when he crashed hard off a jump dropping down to 7th. With Wayne up to 2nd and Stuart in the dirt, he was the champion elect. The apple cart had fallen all by itself. Unfortunately for Wayne but luckily for Stuart, the race had only reached half distance, time was still on his side and Lady Luck was on his graphics. Mounting a charge he worked his way to 6th, then 5th before taking 4th off Ross Brown on the final corner of the final lap. With Wayne 2nd had he done enough? It was clear the TSR KTM rider wasn’t content in 2nd he needed the win now more than ever. By winning the race the duo would draw level on overall points but on the count back the championship would be his. Showing a wheel at every given opportunity the crucial pass wouldn’t stick and he crossed the line dejectedly less than a second behind Greedy and with Edmonds narrowly beating Brown by one second, that was all it took for Stuart Edmonds to become the 2009 Carville MX1 Irish champion.
2009 Carville Irish Motocross Champions
MX1: Stuart Edmonds
MX2: Stuart Edmonds
Grade B
MX1: David Ferguson
MX2: Jim O’Neill
Grade C
MX1: Ryan McKeown
MX2: Steven May