It’s certainly a very busy month for the riders competing in the 2017 AMCA British Motocross Championship powered by Datatag and supported by Dunlop. Just one week after battling it out in a tough opening round, they have to dust themselves down and find the energy to go again this Sunday, 16th April.
Venue for round 2 is the hillside circuit of Nympsfield in Gloucestershire with the hard working Dursley MXC the hosts. Despite feeling unwell, defending Champion Luke Burton(FUS Husqvarna – pictured above) has started the new campaign in fantastic form, taking maximum points although the quality of the challengers will certainly again test him to the limit. Joining Burton on the round 1 podium were Shane Carless and James Dodd and you can surely expect them to be right in the frame again along with Gary Gibson, Richard Cannings, John May, Ryan Crowder and Luke Meredith all of whom made strong starts to their respective 2017 title quests. During round one, Paul Neale made his MX1 debut and being a Nympsfield track expert could well be a serious contender this weekend.
During round one, the MX2 title chasers produced some stunning action and they are sure to thrill again at the spectacular Nympsfield track. After the opener, Ray Rowson holds a five point advantage over defending Champion Josh Waterman with also the very fast trio of Jansen Day, Luke Dean and Lewis King looking to move up the early title standings. Just like MX1, this class throws up a whole list of potential moto winners with stylish, high flying pilots such as James Wainwright, Jack Cox, Clinton Barrs, Jack Gardner, Luke Mellows and Bradley Tranter all more than capable of getting on the podium. This class is going to be well worth watching!
After badly breaking his wrist last June, Brad Turner decided to leave the MX1 class and move over to the 2T contest for 2017. And on the evidence of his round one performance, he’s certainly going to be a very difficult rider to beat on his KTM two-smoker after blasting to three untroubled wins. Jason Kendrick, Bradley Doyle, Tony Griffiths, Jordan Saunders, Ashley Beniston, Shaun Buchan and Sean Eckersley fill the next eight places in the early Championship table. Surprisingly, last year’s runner-up James Lane could only manage 10th overall at round one so will be in determined mood come Easter Sunday whilst also look out for young Rory Jones on his 144cc KTM.
In a great Vets contest at round one, the top three of Simon Lane, Terry House and James Russell all finished on a total of 164 points so expect battle to rage again at Nympsfield. Other early contenders could be Martin Atherton, Stephen Elford, Gary Jones, Richard Chinn, Darren Bennett and Brian Staples, Richard Vincent, Sean Smith and Stephen Marlow.
The track can be found on the unclassified road which links Forest Green and Nympsfield village with a postcode of GL10 3UJ. Admission charges for the event are £7 and £2 OAP’s and Children Under 12. By Mike Wood.