After the cancellation of round 3 on Bank Holiday weekend, the AMCA British Motocross Championship returns to action this coming Sunday, June 10th. This time it’s a visit to Lower Drayton in Staffordshire for an event promoted by the Cannock MXC.
So far in a highly competitive MX1 class, Ashley Greedy, Ryan Crowder and Josh Waterman not only fill the top three places in the standings but have also grabbed all the podium places on offer and scored all but one of the moto victories! The only other rider to get past that chequered flag in pole position as been Gary Gibson who holds 7th in the series. You can be sure that there is plenty more to come from Gary as he attempts to not only reel in that classy top three but also catch James Dodd in 4th, Shane Carless 5th and Ray Rowson 6th. Dodd and Carless have both been plagued by injury (past and present) but are still looking strong challengers in this class whilst Jansen Day, Luke Meredith, Paul Neale, Andrew Smart, Luke Mellows and Ashley Thomas are sure to be right in the MX1 shake-up.
After taking the overall MX2 win during the latest action at Boraston, top title contender Luke Dean looks very likely to be a non-starter at round three after crashing on Bank Holiday weekend. Suffering a very nasty wrist injury, Luke currently sits 2nd in the standings just 10 points behind leader Jamie Wainwright but is almost certain to now loose vital ground in the Championship chase! In the two rounds completed so far in this very exciting, all-action class, young Wainwright has been in fantastic form, looking ultra-smooth, confident and fast, taking the overall win at Norley before finishing runner-up at Boraston. Also on the podium at both rounds was the impressive Josh Coleman and he will surely now be the man to take the challenge to Wainwright in Dean’s expected absence! 36 points behind Coleman in 3rd comes Lewis King, getting stronger week by week whilst next up its Jack Gardner, certainly enjoying his best start to a season for a while. Also putting in some big early season performances, Clinton Barrs, Bradley Tranter, Luke Burton, Lee Truman, Matt Ridgway and Lee Sealey look serious contenders. Keep a special eye open for pre-season favourite Burton who if recovered from a recent shoulder injury will be looking to quickly close the gap on the MX2 top three places!
Only a misfiring engine in the opening moto at Boraston as prevented 2T series leader Richard Cannings from boasting a perfect unbeaten score. At present a very determined Cannings holds a 24 point advantage over Sean Eckersley, the rider who took the overall win at Boraston. Putting in some great early season performances, Jake Parker currently holds a well-deserved 3rd spot in the standings ahead of Bradley Doyle, Jordan Saunders the 2017 2T runner-up, Danny Lanfear, James Lane, Ashley Beniston, Ben Gillett and Adam Hill.
In the Vets class it’s Terry House and Simon Lane currently dominating proceedings. So far these very fast Vets have took the top two places in 5 of the 6 moto’s completed. At present House leads the title chase just 8 points better off than Lane with Gary Jones the only rider to break their results sequence in 3rd. With House in gold and Lane in silver, Matt Gordon and Sean Smith have filled the other available final podium step at Norley and Boraston respectively and you can be sure that these two aces will continue to be serious contenders all the way through to the final chequered flag of the season. Also producing impressive Vets performances so far, Richard Chinn, Colin Conduit, Brian Staples, Stephen Elford and Stephen Marlow round out the early top ten.
Two rounds down and the Youth 85cc/150cc Championship as already delivered some super action. So far, Joseph Brookes has been in simply stunning form, winning all six races completed with Charlie Palmer in 2nd and Matt Tolley 3rd. With those three lads in such fine form the main challenge to their dominance at present is being provided by Joshua Main, Harry Ridgway, Joshau Fletcher Williams, Reece Leverton, Ben Dutton, Jake O’Gorman and Mitchell Hartill. So if you want to see if Ashley Greedy, Jamie Wainwright, Richard Cannings, Terry House and Joseph Brookes can maintain their respective AMCA Championship advantages then get along to Lower Drayton in Staffordshire on Sunday, 10th June. The circuit will be signposted from Penkridge Town Centre and Junction 13 of the M6, postcode ST19 5RE. Words and pic by Mike Wood.