Masters and Commanders!
By Mike Wood on 8th Mar 11
2010 was a very successful year for Ken Winstanley and his Wulfsport British Masters series, again proving its incredible popularity as a total of nearly 600 different riders contested at least one round, all chasing a part of what was the largest overall prize fund in Europe.
That prize fund not only included some tasty monetary rewards but also brand new 250F bikes, race clothing, spares budgets and a wide variety of motocross apparel.
Whether you were a Pro, Youth or Amateur, young or old, the Wulfsport Masters was the series to be seen at and so it was no surprise that come the opening round at Mallory Park on the weekend of March 13/14, just about every class was oversubscribed. With further rounds to come at Dean Moor, Whitby, Foxhill, Landrake, Hawkstone Park and Pontrilas and a long list of reserves waiting to grab a slice of some great motocross action, it was time to go racing!
With a Maxxis ACU British Championship round due to be held at the venue just one week later, Mallory attracted a whole host of top Pro riders including Zach Osborne, Evgeny Bobryshev, Gareth Swanepoel, Gordon Crockard and Scott Elderfield. Despite having seriously considered quitting the sport during the Winter, Elderfield starred at Mallory, along with a rapid Osborne. Having double entered in both the MX1 and MX2 classes, American Osborne stylishly won both MX2 races before being defeated by Elderfield in a super, bar-banging MX1 tussle.
Other overall victors during round one were Dan Thornhill, Adam Sterry, Casey Connelly, Zac Stealey, Sean Scrivens, Jamie Dobson, Daniel Brough and Oliver Lisles. The only rider to boast an unbeaten score following the first round of Masters action was the immaculate Scott Smith who aboard his Honda 250F reeled off four super wins in the Michelin MX2 class.
Osborne, Bobryshev and Swanepoel were all absent for round two as they went off in search of World Championship glory. However, joining in the fun were the likes of Brad Anderson, James Noble, Martin Barr, Nathan Parker, Neville Bradshaw and top North American youngster Ben LaMay.
Making it a memorable Masters debut, Ben was to take the overall Pro MX1 victory on the day with a brace of second placings behind Crockard and Anderson. Having a very profitable pay-day at Dean Moor, Anderson also blasted his way to both MX2 moto wins. In the other racing, Zac Stealey and Tom Watts were laying the foundations for a season-long, rip-roaring battle as they again filled the top two places in the Kawasaki Masters class. Also starring was Scott Smith, who for the second consecutive round, went through the card unbeaten to stretch his lead in the Michelin MX2 Masters.
In the Youth classes at Dean Moor, first round MXY2 winner Thornhill was restricted to fifth overall behind James Dunn, Andrew Smart, Alexander Hussey and Ryan Williams. With Sterry a non-starter in BW85cc, Sam Winterburn topped the podium whilst Connelly was yet again the top lad in SW85cc.
Martin Barr was to be top performer in the Pro racing during round three staged at the awesome, spectacular Whitby circuit. The PAR Honda rider took the overall win in both the MX1 and MX2 classes with his only defeat of the day coming in the second MX1 moto.The Whitby results meant that Crockard topped the early MX1 standings,10 points ahead of the consistent Elderfield with LaMay third.
Over in MX2,Elderfield was already beginning to forge an healthy advantage in the title table, 84 points ahead of James Dodd with Barr in third. Whilst Barr took the top Pro honours,the other outstanding performances of the weekend came from Kawasaki Masters series leader Stealey and Non-Qualifiers winner Jamie Ashbrook who both produced perfect four out of four moto victories in their respective classes. Having scored maximum points in the opening two rounds of the Masters, Scott Smith was to suffer his first moto defeat of the campaign at Whitby. Guess who his conquer was?,only his own brother Sam Smith!
Following the great Whitby action,the Masters Championship was now taking shape with the promise of some super tussles to come in the race for glory. In Amateur MX1, Scott Beevers led the way just three points ahead of Matthew Williamson, Darren Carter topped the GSP Race Products Amatuer MX2 class with a 21 point advantage chased by Daniel Brough and only an incredibly narrow two points separated Alexander Hussey and Dan Thornhill at the summit of the Proppa.com MXY2 contest.
Take a top quality motocross series catering for riders of all ages and abilities and a spectacular former GP circuit.
The end product was a simply awesome round four staged at the iconic Foxhill.
Returning from a recent blood viral infection, Wiltshire resident Stephen Sword and Scott Elderfield were the Pro class winners on the day. Although Sword and Elderfield starred, their performances were more than matched by MXY2 youth rider Luke Norris and Kawasaki Masters title contender Tom Watts. Having to display tremendous stamina in sweltering heat, the two lads proceeded to reel off maximum Masters points. Although Norris scored a full house in the Proppa.com MXY2 contest,the ever consistent Thornhill was to take a great second overall and also move to the top of that particular title race. The Foxhill event also saw Ryan Williams further relegate early series leader Hussey down the standings.
After suffering his first defeat of the season during the previous round at Whitby, it was to get far worse for Scott Smith at Foxhill. Suffering a big crash in qualifying and a trip to hospital, Scott was overhauled in the Michelin MX2 standings by both Marc Roe and his brother Sam Smith. Also crashing out at Foxhill was Amateur MX1 leader Scott Beevers. With Beevers out, Matthew Williamson chased local lad Kristofer Ayres home to head the championship table from George Walton and Michael Smith. Over in the ultra competitive Moto-Pro Mini Masters, Sam Winterburn still led the BW85cc contest ahead of Adam Darbyshire and Murray Clunie despite having to settle for third overall behind first time Masters riders James Harrison and Jack Gardiner. Scoring yet another super overall win, Casey Connelly continued to top the SW85cc class ahead of Tyron Cleaver and Charlie Hamlet.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX MARCH 5