Conrad Mewse took a decisive victory at Britain’s toughest off-road race, the Weston Beach Race on Sunday – the first win at the event for the 25-year-old and also for the Crendon Tru7 Honda team.
On a punishing, deeply rutted course on the beach at Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, Mewse was in a class of his own as he picked his way through the man-made sand dunes and muddy holes, along the 2km-long straight and past 649 other racers.
It was a last-minute decision to race as he was diagnosed with a broken bone in his ankle after last weekend’s Motocross of Nations. But by Wednesday, he decided he should be able to compete despite the obvious discomfort in the historic 41-year-old event that really tests the endurance of man and machine.
The Crendon Tru7 Honda team quickly prepared his regular CRF450R motocross bike by fitting the larger fuel tank from a Honda CRF450RX enduro model, along with other detail changes needed for the high-speed straight and wet, sandy terrain. As many of the beach race regulars use super-size fuel tanks so they only have to make pitstops twice, it meant Mewse had to make three stops which added around 30secs to his time.
The CRF never missed a beat as Mewse rode with precision and skill to win by more than 3mins from second place rider, Weston regular Ashley Greedy. Mewse and Greedy were the only riders to compete 21 laps, with Mewse’s best lap time of 8mins 33secs comparing to Greedy’s best of 8mins 45secs. They were the only two riders to break the 9min mark around the course, although third fastest was former AMA champion Justin Barcia on 9mins 1sec. The native New Yorker finished seventh on his Weston debut.
Mewse said: “Weston is a massive event and I’ve always wanted to win it. And I really had a great time – one of the most enjoyable races of the whole year. But my ankle is very sore now! I stayed off the bike all week to let it heal, then strapped it up and the first time I rode was on the beach at the start of the race. But I knew I had the fitness to last.
“I got a good start, second behind Greedy around the first corner, then passed him along the straight to take the lead but fell off later on that lap. Greedy passed me so I followed him and learned what I had to do to win.
“The team were amazing in the pitstops, and I had no pressure to win as it’s a one-off event, which made it so much fun.”
Team principal Dave Thorpe, a former Weston winner, said: “Conrad really wanted to race the event so was determined to give it a try despite his injury. So the team worked incredibly hard to get a bike ready for him at short notice as a bike for Weston needs a very different set-up from motocross.
“In the race, he was in typical form – riding like only he can on the deep sand while going incredibly fast. Weston is always tough just to get to the finish so to win proves what a supreme athlete he is. And of course it’s testament to the Honda CRF450R and the team for building such a strong, fast and reliable machine.”
Results
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon Tru7 Honda 21 laps
2 Ashley Greedy 21
3 Dan Thornhill 20
4 Shane Carless 19
5 Josh Greedy 19
6 Ricky Wigg 19
7 Justin Barcia 19
8 Reece Jones 19
9 Tyler Westcott 19
10 Charlie Frost 19
Photos courtesy of Steve Milner MX/ RHL