After a tough round one, the 2018 AMCA British Motocross Championship powered by Datatag and supported by Dunlop is quickly back in action this weekend, Sunday 13th May. Venue for the next battle is the very tight confines of Boraston in Shropshire, the meeting being presented by Teme Valley MXC.
During the opener at Norley, MX1 provided three different moto winners in Josh Waterman, Gary Gibson and Ryan Crowder. In what is a very competitive, high quality class, the first overall victory of the campaign went to Crowder. This determined and totally focussed young Lancastrian as already proved that intends to be a very hard man to beat and has already shown that he’s certainly going to be a serious title contender in 2018! With MX1 though being able to produce an whole host of potential moto winners and spoilers, it’s still odds on that this is a contest that will possibly go right down to the wire! So as well as the above mentioned riders being in the mix you can expect James Dodd, Ray Rowson, Andrew Smart, Jansen Day, Shane Carless, Luke Meredith, Luke Mellows and Paul Neale to be charging hard at Boraston as they attempt to keep Crowder in their sights. After taking 2nd in the opening round, Ashley Greedy is also definitely a serious podium taker although at this stage it appears likely that he may be only contesting selected events in this series.
In MX2, James Wainwright leads the way after round one in the process also scoring both his maiden AMCA Championship overall and moto win along the way. New to the AMCA series, Josh Coleman was very impressive in finishing as runner-up at Norley with Luke Dean in 3rd. During round one, Wainwright, Coleman and Luke Burton all took a moto win each. The day had begun badly for Burton though as he was left totally stranded at the start in race one but still fought back strongly for 4th overall. Expect Burton to be right on it at Boraston as he attempts to close the gap and claw back points on the series leaders. Also in the mix and starting the 2018 series with some impressive performances were Jack Gardiner, Clinton Barrs, Lewis King, Lee Sealey, Bradley Tranter, Lee Truman and Matt Ridgway.
After flying to maximum points in the 2T class opener, Yorkshireman Richard Cannings will be looking to further extend his early series lead. At Norley, Sean Eckersley and Stuart Owen completed the podium so expect them to be in contention again. During round one, Jordan Saunders was well on course for a top three finish before suffering a last moto crash so will be determined to bounce back this weekend with a big points haul. In what is always an ultra-competitive class, also look out for the likes of Jason Kenderick, Bradley Doyle, Jake Parker, Jack Waterman, Ashley Benniston and James Lane, recovering from a whole series of crashes during round one!
After being the Vets ‘Nearly man’ in both 2016 and 2017, Terry House started 2018 in style with the overall win. The very consistent Simon Lane again proved that he will be a serious contender this year with a strong runners-up spot at Norley. Taking 3rd at round one was the 2016 Champion Matt Gordon and you certainly know that there’s more to come from him along with Gary Jones, Sean Smith, Richard Chinn, Brian Staples, Stephen Elford and not forgetting Colin Conduit on the little 125cc 2T Yamaha!
New for the 2018 series is a Youth 85cc/150cc Championship and starting his campaign in great style, Joseph Brooks stormed to a superb maximum points haul. The only rider to seriously challenge Brooks was Charlie Palmer who led both moto’s two and three, eventually taking 2nd overall from Matt Tolley who finished all third in all three moto’s. Other names to possibly look out for in this exciting new Championship include Joshua Main, Joshua Fletcher Williams and Harry Ridgway. At Norley, 22 riders came to the start line so let’s hope this class is equally well supported this weekend.
So set the satnav for WR15 8NB and get along to Boraston in Shropshire this Sunday for some quality AMCA British Championship Motocross action, you’re certainly going to enjoy it! Words and pic by Mike Wood. In the picture: AMCA MX1 and MX2 title leaders Ryan Crowder and James Wainwright