Weston’s a big hit for British Youth Nationals finale - report
By Max Hind on 2nd Nov 18
It was a brave move from Gareth and the RHL crew to run the final round of the Judd KTM British Youth Nationals and Steve Benton Transport Under-21s British Championship on the infamous beach at Weston-Super-Mare during the final weekend in October.
However, it was a move that proved to be a masterstroke, after a weekend of spectacular racing, bright sunshine (for the most part) and the most picturesque backdrop you could wish for. The 2018 season has seen a titanic battle between Irishman James Mackrel and young gun Rossi Beard in the Under-21s.
The championship went down to the wire and as the gates dropped on Saturday Beard held a six-point advantage over the Hardcore Yamaha rider.Mackrel threw down the gauntlet in race one taking a convincing win, as Beard made a few rare mistakes and finished in third behind Mackrel and two-stroke ace Oli Benton.
In race two, with conditions now more challenging, both contenders set an electric pace and Beard took the win under constant pressure from the Irishman, to claim a four-point advantage going into the final day.
Race three saw one of the best battles of the weekend as Beard got the holeshot with Mackrel tucked in behind.Both riders gave it everything but again Beard kept his nerve, soaking up everything Mackrel threw at him.
This meant Beard only had to finish the final moto to take the title and he crossed the line in third place as champion, as Mackrel took the victory and the overall on the weekend.Aaron-Lee Hanson has been the dominant force in the Open class this year and held a comfortable lead going into the final round.
However, Josh Greedy has been improving all year and loves the deep sand at Weston and he opened proceedings with a race win ahead of Hanson and Christopher Moore.Race two was reversed as Hanson took the win over Greedy and claimed enough points to wrap-up the championship with two races to spare. On the final day Greedy set the pace and took the opening win ahead of Hanson after a hard-fought battle.
With the championship already in the bag Hanson needed one last push to finish a perfect season with the final overall win, which is exactly what he did, as Greedy came home second with Moore again third.
The battle for the 125 crown took a hit when Ike Carter had to bow out of the final round due to a head injury suffered a couple of weeks prior to the event. This left the door wide open for Drew Anderson, to swoop in and take the title but he still had to endure the sands of Weston before he could lift the trophy.
Sam Nunn started the weekend off with a bang as he took the opening moto win ahead of Anderson and Preston Williams. Anderson answered back in a tough race two to take the victory ahead of a hard-charging Ben Kennedy and Sam Nun to get one hand on the trophy.
Williams came out swinging on Sunday morning and the Husqvarna rider was flying around the rough and rutted circuit to cross the line for his first ever national win.
For the final race of the year Anderson knew all he needed to do was finish the moto to be crowned champion.
But he wanted to finish off the season on the box and he came home in third behind race winner Kyle McNicol and Max Ingham to wrap up the the overall for the the weekend and the championship title. Alfie Jones suffered a nightmare weekend at the previous round of the series.
He had led the championship all year but an injury at Sherwood saw him drop down to third in the points behind Jack Grayshon and the new championship leader Sam Atkinson. All three lads were in with a shot at the title.
Atkinson had the worst possible start to the weekend with a bike issue at the first corner of race one leaving him stranded at the side of the track.He managed to get going on the penultimate lap to salvage a few points but it pretty much knocked him out of contention.
Grayshon took full advantage and ripped to a convincing race win ahead of a flying Ethan Lane and Alfie Jones. Race two saw Grayshon repeat the feat with another impressive win. Lane was again second, followed by Atkinson.
Grayshon seemed to thrive on the pressure, taking the third race win ahead of Atkinson to leave himself needing just a handful of points in the last race for the title. Atkinson took the consolation of a final race win but Grayshon followed him home to take the overall on the weekend and the coveted British title.
Wal Beaney and Bailey Johnston have been phenomenal all year in the Small-wheel 85 class. Although Johnston had a 40-point lead going into the final round it was still mathematically possible for Beaney to wrestle the crown away.
Beaney was a man on a mission and took both wins on the first day ahead of Johnston and Reece Ross, who looked particularly comfortable in the sand. Johnston turned the tables on the final day taking both race wins ahead of Beaney and Ross to claim the overall for the weekend and the title.
Ashton Boughen arrived at the final round with a healthy points lead in the Juniors 65s, but the deep sand of Weston was a real test for the bikes. Billy Askew shot out of the gate in race one and set the pace to take the win ahead of Kalvin Kelly and Boughen.
Boughen bounced back with the race two win ahead of Shaun Mahoney and Askew, while race three saw Mahoney at the front from Kelly and Askew.
Boughen crossed the line in fourth which was enough to give him the title with a race to spare.
The final race saw Mahoney take another win and the overall on a really impressive weekend for the young Welshman and a great way to finish the year. The Auto class has been a great addition to the series this year with some very talented riders appearing on the National radar for the first time.
Archie Britton is one for the future but unfortunately for him his championship hopes were ended at the previous round as he suffered an ankle injury. This left Hayden Statt, Joel Winstanley-Dawson and Robbie Daly to duke it out for the title.
Statt did what he needed to do taking three race wins, the overall on the weekend and the championship crown.Robbie Day took the other race win in moto three after a superb ride and there were strong performances from Lucas Lee and Joel Winstanley-Dawson.
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