Preview: 2019 Acerbis Amateur Nationals - Hawkstone Park
By Team TMX on 3rd May 19
The men and women of the Acerbis Amateur Nationals will be in action on Sunday and Monday as the series takes its traditional May Bank Holiday trip to Hawkstone Park. Following the opening round at FatCat at the end of March, Ed Briscoe is the man in charge of the Paradise MX-backed MX1 class.
The defending champions four wins and a third allowed him to open up a six-point advantage over series newcomer and race one winner Lewis Trickett with Andy Wilson a further 18 points behind in third. In the Craigs Motorcycles MX2 class Troy Jones took the FatCat overall on a tie-break from Jordan Martin with Sammy Beresfords win in race two helping him to third.
Reigning champion Scott Hamilton won the other four motos but a DNF in race two means he currently sits fourth. Teenage talent Dylan Spencer kicked off the campaign to retain his Moto Connection 125cc crown with the overall win but after sharing the race wins between the registered riders with Nathan Claughan theres only 12 points between the top two. James Hanscomb leads the chasing pack in what is promising to be a very competitive class.
Theres no shortage of competition in the MX Dreams 250cc Two-stroke class either where Denny Rapson leads after sweeping all five races at FatCat but he had James Lassu on his tail and we can expect more of the same at Hawkstone. Adam Harris was the leading pairs main opposition at round one and hell be aiming to get closer to them this time around.
World enduro star Jane Daniels was the rider to beat in the Matthew Rudd Photography-supported Ladies class at FatCat. After backing up her second-place finish in the opening moto with four straight wins, shes opened up a 10-point lead over Charlotte Hall.
This class is full of talent and expect Cath King, Nadiya Jones and Kady Moore to be among the riders pushing for podium positions. The fast females race alongside the LS2 Vets Over 40s and it was no big surprise when Brian Wheeler claimed a full-house of wins at the opening round.
As long as he stays upright the former champ is going to be a hard man to beat this season but the likes of Adam Wilkinson, Danny Tollett and Danny Blakely will be determined to make his life as tough as possible.
The closest fight this season could very well come in the Roberts Plant Vets Over 50s class. Chris Brown and Morton Hannah head to Hawkstone locked together at the top of the points table and Nev King is only four points off their pace in third.
Andy Watkins built steadily all weekend at FatCat and his wins in the final two motos underline his credentials as a serious contender. As always, the biggest field is in the Manchester Xtreme Junior Open class which was dominated by maximum man Ben Stanley who took a five-race maximum score away from the opening round.
Aiden Carney snatched second overall from Richard Evans in the final moto of the day. The action kicks off on both days with practice at 9am with racing starting at 10.15am. Please note, tear-offs and charcoal barbecues are banned at this venue.
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