Maxxis heads for the Hill
By TMX Archives on 1st Apr 15
With the controversy surrounding the opening round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship powered by Skye Energy finally fading, the countrys premier domestic MX series will hopefully get back on track on Sunday (April 5) at Cadders Hill, Lyng.
Extensive work to the old-school circuit has been carried out including some new jumps and a different entry to the fearsome bombhole section.
Shaun Simpson (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) dominated the MX1 class at the opening round at Hilton Park, racing to a pair of wins in the shortened programme.
The Scot's the fastest racer in the UK at present and excels in sand so he's got to start favourite in Norfolk but it's a stacked class with some seriously quick men.
Estonian Tanel Leok (LPE Kawasaki) and Brad Anderson (MBO Power ASA Yamaha) tied on points at round one and will be podium threats again.
And you can never count out former champion Kristian Whatley (Buildbase Honda) who was just off the pace at Hilton Park but usually shines on traditional tracks with lots of line choices.
Whatley's team-mate Gert Krestinov is also very fast in sand and Irish pair Martin Barr (ERT KTM) and Graeme Irwin (Heads & All Threads Suzuki) should figure at the end of the day.
Irwin in particular was off the boil at round one and is a lot faster than his ninth place in the standings suggests.
Following last week's ACU Enquiry into Hilton Park there's a change to the points table in MX2 with the penalties against four riders – the most notable being Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM) – for not slowing sufficiently for yellow flags scrapped.
This has no effect on the top of the table where Ben Watson (Hitachi Revo KTM UK) sits with a 50-point maximum but it does shake things up further down the order.
Frenchman Steven Lenoir (Dyer & Butler KTM) holds down second with a 3-2 card from the opening round with Bryan MacKenzie (Pendrich Kawasaki) third.
MX2's also packed with talent so look to Liam Knight (Dyer & Butler KTM) and Jordan Booker (AMS JBR KTM) to build on their solid starts to the season along with Erki Kahro (Route 77/MVR-D Honda) who has moved up to sixth place in the standings thanks to the ACU's recent ruling.
European 250cc champion Steven Clarke (Apico Husqvarna) should also make his presence felt.
If one rider can threaten Watson's unblemished record it's Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM).
Sterry – who made a storming GP debut in Argentina at the weekend – was desperately unlucky at Hilton Park where he finished second in the opener before being docked 10 places.
He was also leading the second moto before throwing his chain. With his points back he moves up to eighth in the series but his race-two DNF could prove costly.
The rising stars of the MXY2 class will be in action on Sunday which means a packed programme of events.
Organising club is Norwich Viking MCC and the event is supported by Stebbings Car Superstore of Kings Lynn.
Practice starts at 9.30am with the first race at 12.30pm. Please note, no dogs are allowed at the track.
Cadders Hill is located just off the A47 east of Dereham. Postcode is NR9 5QZ.
FOR MORE MX DIARY STORIES SEE TMX NEWS, APRIL 2 (ISSUE 1965)
