Crescent Yamaha team-mates Jake Shipton and Martin Barr won both pro classes at last weekend’s re-scheduled round one of this year Bridgestone British Masters at Culham in Oxfordshire. Shipton, with a second and a first place won the pro MX1s while Barr did the same in the pro MX2s.
With the cancelling of the what was then the first round at a water logged Hawkstone Park over 360 riders made their way to the breezy and cool hill-side track on the bank for the river Thames for two days of competitive racing with all but the pro riders getting four races. All start-lines where full.
Jake Millward set fastest MX1 qualifying time from Ryan Houghton, Shipton with Elliott Banks-Brown making a return to racing after an injury to the Hawkstone international last month. Barr was will on the pace riding his MX2 machine to fourth fastest out of all the rider’s, but fastest in his class. Ashton Dickinson was second fastest MX2 with Matt Burrows third.
The on-form Millward got the holeshot at the start of the first combined pro MX1 and MX2 from Shipton, Banks-Browne, with Todd fifth on his MX2 machine.
The lead of the race swopped between Millward and Shipton a couple of time as the un-race fit slipped back into the pack on the fast-challenging track till the red flags came out as the luckless Jay Hague lay in a very vulnerable place at the bottom of one of the fast-down hills. In the interest of safety, the race was stopped and declared a result. The groggy and hurting Hague did manage to get up, with help and stagger to the first aid car with an expected dislocated shoulder.
Houghton came from sixth to finish third with Dan Thornhill fourth MX1 rider home as defending champion Banks-Browne finished sixth.
Dickinson had mixed it with the big 450s going into turn one and came out in fourth but lost out to both Brad Todd and Houghton’s MX1 machines on the long straights on the opening lap. He re-passed Todd on lap three, and then took full advantage of the un-race fit Banks-Browne by passing him a lap later to be credited with fourth of the track, but first MX2 rider home.
Barr spent most of the race in seventh place till the last two laps when he made his way up to fifth and second place in his class.
Taylor Hammal had a great race as he started twelfth but passed many of the MX1 riders on his way to sixth on track but third of the MX2’s
Thornhill got the holeshot from Shipton at the start of the second race but as the pair rode around turn one it was all going wrong behind them. Houghton had lost control and cartwheeled his machine down the hill. Bank-Browne had nowhere to go and hit his fallen Yamaha as other riders piled into the downed bikes with the luckless Banks-Browne under them all.
After picking himself up he rode slowly back to the paddock and took no further part in the meeting. He said after, “I crashed in to Ryan’s bike and as other riders fell on top of me my hand was trapped under it all with the full weight of the bikes and riders on it. It’s hurting right now, and I will have to wait and see if I can ride and the Maxxis next weekend”
Houghton, with his thoughts of the championship, picked himself up a set off after the others who were already half a lap in front. He finished fifteenth for twenty-six valuable points.
Back at the front, Shipton passed the flying Thornhill for the lead and was never really challenged as Thornhill hung on to second.
Race one winner Millward was also caught up in the second turn incident and finished the opening lap in twenty-ninth place but finished the race in seventh place, but fifth MX1 for third overall.
Barr was mixing it with the 450’s and finished third on the track but first MX2 home, while Hammal had another great ride from fourteenth to fifth, just behind Barr for second MX2 in the race, and overall.
Liam Knight was third MX2 but had Matt Burrows and Carlton Husband behind him and those two seem to spend both races in each other company.
A happy Shipton said after racing had finished when asked about his recent success, “I things it’s a confidence thing really. It’s been a year and two days since I broke my back and it’s been a hell of a road to travel but the confidence is coming back, and the results prove it. In the first race I lead and that caused a bit of a panic but Jake (Millward) was riding really well and came past me. Shame it was red-flagged. In race to I got the holeshot again and I felt good. Dan (Thornhill) but me under pressure for a couple of laps but I managed to pull away and the just maintained the gap till the finish”.
MX2 winner Barr said, “I am pleased with my result today, but I haven’t been feeling that well all day. I was up and down all night with a fever. Just getting real bad sweats feeling hot and cold. I even went for a walk in the early hours to try and cool off. I feel terrible write now and am happy the days racing is over. I didn’t really get going in race one but still managed second and in race two while in the class lead, I just did what I had to do to get to the finish. I am leading two of the three national championships at the moment, which is nice, but it’s early days yet and I just need to get myself sorted out for Lyng next weekend”.
The rest
Luke Sturgeon was the man to beat in the amateur MX1s as he had four wins from four starts. The biggest winning margin was just over half a minute but in race three Adam Day chased him over the finish line a couple of seconds behind him.
Gareth Artus finished in the top three in all but one of his races but faded to sixth from third in the second race on Saturday. Even with that results he did enough for second overall, with Day third and Harry Bradley just missing out on the podium by four points.
Olly Benton won three out of his four races on his way to the amateur MX2 overall but in the other race he crashed out of third, dropped back to eighth place before working his was way up to third by the time the race ended.
Race two winner Jack Rowland backed up that win with two second and a third for second overall with George Clarke taking the third step on the podium.
Greg Fisher must have liked the conditions of the track more on Saturday the Sunday as he won both clubman races on day one but was runner up twice on day two. He still won the overall with race three winner Charlie Sutton second and race four winner Mark Kinsley third.
The 125cc two-stroke class produced the closest overall finish as Chris Povey and Troy Willerton shared the win’s, two each as Povey climbed on to the top step of the podium by just two points as Willerton had to settle for second. Jordan Bachelor was a distant third with James Hanscomb fourth.
Ike Carter had a great battle with Kyle McNicholl in the first race of the MXY2’s and had to settle for second place but from then on he won the other three races for the overall win. McNicholl was second in each case and the pair of fast young riders are separated by just four points going into the next round. Todd Leadbitter was third overall with Troy Jones just missing out on the top three.
Sam Atkinson was in control of the big wheel 85s as he won all three races but behind him second could have been any one of three riders. Tye Jones, Arai Elcock, and Reece Ross finished second, third and fourth overall but where separated by just nine points in a very close finish.
Will Haddock won the small wheel overall without winning a race. Ben Mustoe had won the first three but an incident on the opening lap of race four would give him a DNF and drop him down to seventh overall.
Mckenzie Marshall put in four strong rides for second overall, just four points behind Haddock, while race four winner Tyla Hooley was third overall.
With three wins and a sixth Brandon Buckley was the junior 65’s from Noah Eastwood and Charlie Richmond with race three winner Freddie Gardener fourth. Round two will be at Wroxton on May 11-12. Words and pics by Dick Law
Pro MX1:
1 Jake Shipton (Crescent Yamaha) 43 + 45 = 88
2 Dan Thornhill (Cab Screens DEOS Group Honda) 39 + 43 = 82
3 Jake Millward (Chambers Husqvarna) 45 + 37 = 82
4 Brad Todd (Gabriel Yamaha) 35 + 41 = 76
5 Josh Waterman (IDS Yamaha) 33 + 35 = 68
6 Ryan Houghton (RHR Yamaha) 41 + 26 = 67
7 Robbie Dowson (Bikesport Kawasaki) 34 + 32 = 66
8 John Mears (KTM) 31 + 34 = 65
9 Gavin Stevenson (Manchester Husqvarna) 32 + 31 = 63
10 Luke Norris (MNE Kawasaki) 21 + 39 = 60
Pro MX2:
1 Martin Barr (Crescent Yamaha) 43 + 45 = 88
2 Taylor Hammal (RHR Yamaha) 41 + 43 = 84
3 Liam Knight (Pope KTM) 37 + 41 = 78
4 Matt Burrows (Apico Husqvarna) 34 + 39 = 73
5 Carlton Husband (Phoenix Tools Kawasaki) 33 + 37 = 70
6 Ben Franklin (Chambers Husqvarna) 35 + 35 = 70
7 Dominic Lancett (Verde KTM) 31 + 32 = 63
8 Josh Coleman (Husqvarna) 29 + 33 = 62
9 Luke Smith (Yamaha) 32 + 30 = 62
10 Charlie Putnam (RFX KTM) 30 + 31 = 61
Sport Tec Amateur MX1:
1 Luke Sturgeon (Kawasaki) 4 5+ 45 + 45 + 45 = 180
2 Gareth Artus (BBMX KTM) 41 + 35 + 41 + 43 = 160
3 Adam Day (Sand Box Husqvarna) 37 + 33 + 43 + 39 = 152
4 Harry Bradley (KTM) 43 + 31 + 39 + 35 = 148
5 Jamie Dixon (Yamaha) 35 + 39 + 32 + 41 = 147
6 Jack Seaborne (Offroad World KTM) 39 + 43 + 33 + 37 = 143
7 Lewis Dowdeswell (Design Scaffolding KTM) 29 + 41 + 37 + 34 = 141
8 Luke Houghton (KTM) 34 + 37 + 34 + 32 = 137
9 Daniel Ashmore (Tyre Doctor KTM) 33 + 30 + 35 + 31 = 129
10 Sean Williamson (Husqvarna) 31 + 27 + 31 + 28 = 117
CI Sports Amateur MX2:
1 Oliver Benton (Hitachi KTM) 45 + 41 + 45 + 45 = 176
2 Jack Rowland (Husqvarna) 43 + 45 + 43 + 41 = 172
3 George Clarke (Yamaha) 43 + 45 + 43 + 41 = 158
4 Denny Rapson (MRS KTM) 39 + 37 + 41 + 33 = 150
5 Rory Jones (KTM) 33 + 34 + 32 + 43 = 142
6 Mitchell Warhurst (KTM) 35 + 35 + 34 + 28 = 132
7 Josh Greedy (Yamaha) 37 + 30 + 31 + 31 = 129
8 Todd Ritchie (Yamaha) 32 + 32 + 24 + 37 = 125
9 Mitch Young (LRS Husqvarna) 30 + 29 + 33 + 29 = 121
10 Olly Jones (CPS Husqvarna) 28 + 25 + 28 + 34 = 115
Spanish MX Clubman:
1 Greg Fisher (Jack Horsemen Kawasaki) 45 + 45 + 43 + 43 = 176
2 Charlie Sutton (KTM) 43 + 41 + 45 + 41 = 170
3 Mark Kinsley (Suzuki) 39 + 39 + 41 + 45 = 164
4 Josh Watson-Bailey (M-Tech KTM) 41 + 35 + 39 + 33 = 148
5 Kyle Jenkins (J. Jenkins Yamaha) 33 + 34 + 37 + 35 = 139
6 Max Wood (EPC Yamaha) 35 + 31 + 33 + 39 = 138
7 Jason Queenan (Skirting-4u KTM) 37 + 33 + 32 + 34 = 136
8 Peter Sargent (Honda) 29 + 37 + 35 + 31 = 132
9 Alex Harvey (Pedmore Roofing Honda) 26 + 32 + 34 + 37 = 129
10 John Barnes (KTM) 34 + 29 + 30 + 29 = 122
Putoline 125:
1 Chris Povey (FUS Husqvarna) 43 + 45 + 41 + 45 = 174
2 Troy Willerton (TM UK TM) 45 + 39 + 45 + 43 = 172
3 Jordan Bachelor (Yamaha) 37 + 41 + 39 + 39 = 156
4 James Hanscomb (Apex KTM) 39 + 43 + 35 + 33 = 150
5 Dylan Spencer (CPS Husqvarna) 35 + 35 + 37 + 41 = 148
6 Jude Morris (Midwest Husqvarna) 41 + 37 + 34 + 32 = 144
7 Billy Wilson (KTM) 34 + 34 + 33 + 35 = 136
8 Buster Hart (KTM) 32 + 24 + 32 + 34 = 122
9 Thomas Casebeard (BCK KTM) 30 + 32 + 30 + 28 = 120
10 Jack Bachelor (Yamaha) 28 + 29 + 31 + 31 = 119
SMPro Wheels MXY2:
1 Ike Carter (DEP / CI Sport Husqvarna) 43 + 45 + 45 + 45 = 178
2 Kyle McNicholl (Manchester Husqvarna) 45 + 43 + 43 + 43 = 174
3 Todd Leadbitter (KTM) 41 + 41 + 39 + 39 = 160
4 Troy Jones (Midwest Racing Husqvarna) 39 + 35 + 41 + 41 = 156
5 Casey Lambley (ABS KTM) 37 + 39 + 37 + 37 = 150
6 Aaron Mcloughlin (Preston Husqvarna) 35 + 34 + 35 + 35 = 139
7 Kurt Griffiths (KTM) 34 + 37 + 34 + 33 = 9138
8 Leo Whordley (RS Honda) 28 + 26 + 32 + 32 = 118
9 Billy Wynn (KTM) 33 + 27 + 21 + 34 = 115
10 Ben White (Whites Husqvarna) 31 + 32 + 31 + 19 = 113
CPS Motorcycles BW 85’s:
1 Sam Atkinson (KTM) 45 + 45 + 45 + 45 = 180
2 Tye Jones (Dynamic KTM) 39 + 35 + 39 + 41 = 154
3 Arai Elcock (Sandifords Husqvarna) 43 + 32 + 33 + 43 = 151
4 Reece Ross (HCR KTM) 41 + 41 + 26 + 37 = 145
5 Ronnie Reeves (KTM) 34 + 39 + 34 + 31 = 138
6 Leon Ongley (Westsole Husqvarna) 31 + 33 + 35 + 34 = 133
7 Ayden Smith (JB KTM) 30 + 34 + 37 + 30 = 131
8 James Barker (SJP Husqvarna) 37 + 21 + 41 + 28 = 127
9 Ben Pratt (KTM) 32 + 28 + 32 + 32 = 124
10 Alby Smith (KTM) 28 + 30 + 30 + 33 = 121
Spanish MX SW 85’s:
1 Will Haddock (MJW KTM) 41 + 37 + 43 + 43 = 164
2 Mckenzie Marshall (Husqvarna) 43 + 43 + 37 + 37 = 160
3 Tyla Hooley (KTM) 34 + 35 + 41 + 45 = 155
4 Finlay Boxhall (Husqvarna) 35 + 41 + 35 + 39 = 150
5 Warren Clarke (KTM) 37 + 31 + 39 + 41 = 148
6 Joel Fisher (Tech 4 KTM) 28 + 39 + 34 + 35 = 136
7 Ben Mustoe (KTM) 45 + 45 + 45 + 0 = 135
8 Ryan Waggot (JGR Revo Husqvarna) 33 + 30 + 32 + 34 = 129
9 Kyron Carron (Pass-Suspension KTM) 30 + 3 + 33 + 29 = 125
10 Billy Askew (STP Husqvarna) 31 + 29 + 31 + 33 = 124
Rikki Priest Training Junior 65’s:
1 Brandon Buckley (RSS KTM) 45 + 45 + 35 + 45 = 170
2 Noah Eastwood (DEP KTM) 43 + 41 + 41 + 39 = 164
3 Charlie Richmond (KTM) 39 + 43 + 43 + 31 = 156
4 Freddie Gardener (Matt Gardiner KTM) 23 + 39 + 45 + 43 + 150
5 Rhys Whyment Duns KTM) 35 + 34 + 32 + 41 = 142
6 Archie-Ray Girdham (SJP Husqvarna) 41 + 29 + 37 + 35 = 142
7 Riley Ingram (KTM) 27 + 35 + 33 + 34 = 129
8 Drew Stock (Husqvarna) 32 + 33 + 31 + 30 = 126
9 Jamie Keith (MBR KTM) 33 + 32 + 27 + 33 = 125
10 Ollie Bubb (KTM) 34 + 37 + 34 + 17 = 122