Graeme Irwin goes into this Sunday’s seventh round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship supported by Pro Clean at Preston Docks knowing he could leave at the end of the day as the new MX1 champion, and Ben Watson is on the verge of clinching the MX2 crown, too.
Buildbase Honda rider Irwin has taken six wins from six races to dominate the last three rounds and move into a 52-point lead in the standings ahead of Gert Krestinov (Phoenix Tools Honda Racing).
Two-time champ Brad Anderson (Verde Sports Racing KTM) is 15 points further adrift in third and along with Krestinov is the only other rider still in with a mathematical chance of depriving Irwin of his first Maxxis crown.
After his double win at Blaxhall two weeks ago the Irishman was in a determined mood.
“There was a lot of talk before this race from a lot of guys who were all coming here to win so it’s good to be the man who actually did win both races today,” he said. “This is all that matters to me – I don’t care about any other series, this is the one that I want to win and to go 1-1 here and extend my lead to 52 points is perfect.
“I can wrap the title up one round early at Preston Docks and that’s the goal now.”
Robert Davidson (SJP Moto Husqvarna) holds fifth in the title chase behind the late Steven Lenoir but is 59 points behind Ando and just eight ahead of Jamie Law (Apico Husqvarna).
Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartec Husqvarna) is seventh in the points table but there’s a question mark hanging over his fitness after he crashed out of the opening moto at Blaxhall.
In MX2 Ben Watson leads by 42 points and the Hitachi KTM UK rider could also wrap up the title one round early but simply beating second-placed Martin Barr (Buildbase Honda) at Preston Docks wouldn’t necessarily be enough.
Watson’s new team-mate Todd Kellett had a dream debut at Blaxhall, racing to his first moto win and first Maxxis overall and will be determined to keep this momentum going to maintain his third-placed postion in the championship.
A double winner at round two at Lyng in April, Harri Kullas (MVR-D Route 77 Husqvarna) has lost some impetus over the last couple of rounds and is now three points behind Kellett and just six ahead of Mel Pocock (REVO Husqvarna UK) who’s the last of the riders who could potentially still beat Watson to the title.
Sitting sixth is Kiwi Josiah Natzke (Hitachi KTM UK) who’s won two motos this year and could figure in the final destination of the title.
Also on the programme is round four of the MXY2 championship which is currently led by Keenan Hird (Craigs Motorcycles Kawasaki) who holds a 13-point advantage over Lewis Hall (Team Green) with Tom Grimshaw (HCR Putoline Apico Factory DBC Yamaha) a further three points behind.
The action gets under way at 9am with the first race at 11.55am. Admission is £20 for adults and £5 for children with family tickets priced at £45.
Preston Docks is situated on Riverside Park off Wallend Road. Postcode is PR2 2HW.