Watson Expressed himself
By TMX Archives on 1st Apr 09
THE ACU Express Insurance British Youth Motocross Championship season kicked-off in style at the Motoland circuit, at Mildenhall, Suffolk, on Saturday and Sunday.Organised and run by the excellent CJSC club, who had put a lot of hours into getting everything ready for this, the season opener, along with Cliff and his team at Motoland for the track preparations. All must be congratulated for their tireless efforts over the weekend.
Conditions on the track were perfect for the season opener and produced some spectacular racing, and a few early season woes for some of the fancied runners.
Riders awoke on Saturday to a damp and misty morning, to get the qualifying and timed practice over before the racing started in earnest. The changeable weather all day of hailstones, rain, and a glimpse of sunshine made the track a bit sticky in places, but some good racing by all the classes made sure that all got their two races in.
The Big-wheel 85cc riders were first to the line, and it was PAR Honda youngster Nathan Watson who hit the front, with Ben Howell, Jamie McCanney, James Dunn, Luke Norris, Matthew Fleming and Ryan Houghton all nose-to-tail behind him, scrapping for the other places.
Ryan Houghton took second, and McCanney took third, after some tussles with Howell and Matthew Fleming.
Watson again hit the front in race two and held it until lap six, when Houghton overhauled him. Dunn also ousted him on the next lap, pushing him down to third. Here he stayed, but not without a fight from Sunny Thompson who was ninth at the start and ended in fourth.
Yet another Watson hit the front in race one of Small-wheel 85cc, this time PAR Honda's Ben Watson, who headed Manxman Callan Cooper, Tom Neal, and Brad Freeman.
Watson dominated and left the rest to scrap for the minor placings. Tom Neal relegated Cooper on lap three and stayed second to the flag. Cooper was looking to maintain third, but a last-lap error cost him dearly as Connor Clark secured third spot, with Matthew Callaghan fourth, while Cooper remounted to take an eventual fifth.
Watson took the lead again in race two and stayed there throughout, leaving Cooper and Freeman to battle for second and third. They stayed in that order for some time but then Freeman came under extreme pressure from Robert Davidson who moved ahead to secure third. Tom Neal and Clarke also demoted Freeman take fourth and fifth. Freeman eventually finished eighth.
The Junior 65cc class, sponsored by Cobra Motorcycles, was always going to be a battle by a few of former GP star Justin Morris' prodigies – and it was a battle!
In race one, young Sid Evans was the early leader ahead of Keenan Armstrong and Conrad Mewse, with the pack all close behind. Mewse took the lead on lap two and held it for two laps until Henry Williams ousted him and went on to win. Mewse had to settle for second. Daniel Knight finished third, just ahead of Will Keogh.
Mewse took the lead in race two with Daniel Knight second until he was hunted down by Williams, Connor Hughes, Evans and Jamie Carpenter. Mewse claimed victory with Williams second and Hughes third.
EXPRESS INSURANCE BRITISH YOUTH MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 1 – Motoland, Mildenhall, Suffolk (CJSC)
Big-wheel 85cc: 1 Ryan Houghton 205 points, 2 Nathan Watson 204, 3 James Dunn 195, 4 Sunny Thompson 189, 5 Matthew Fleming 175, 6 Aaron Piper 169, 7 Jake Millward 157, 8 Josh Brine 156, 9 Luke Norris 148, 10 Luke Newman 148.
Small-Wheel 85cc: 1 Ben Watson 225, 2 Tom Neal 198, 3 Connor Clark 193, 4 Robert Davidson 190, 5 Callan Cooper 190, 6 Liam Knight 177, 7 Brad Freeman 163, 8 Brad Todd 157, 9 Matthew Callaghan 156, 10 Stuart Fee 145.
Cobra 65cc Junior: 1 Conrad Mewse 217, 2 Henry Williams 206, 3 Jamie Carpenter 181, 4 Daniel Knight 181, 5 Aaron Piper 176, 6 Connor Hughes 172, 7 Jack Camwell 166, 8 David Keet 159, 9 Ryan Vickers 155, 10 Will Keogh 151.
PAR Youth Open: 1 Josh Waterman 216, 2 Josh Spinks 207, 3 Jack Rowland 194, 4 Daniel McCanney 175, 5 Christy Harnett 165, 6 Ewan McLaren 165, 7 Aaron Jenner 160, 8 Steven Smyth 158, 9 Connor Walkley 151, 10 Ryan King 132.
Adult Clubman Expert: 1 Ryan Pottenger 219, 2 David Fearne 216.
Adult Clubman Junior: 1 George Baldwin 222, 2 Peter Eccles 207, 3 Zac Stealey 196, 4 John Richardson 184, 5 Justin Edgar 169, 6 Darren Richardson 169.
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2009
Josh Spinks had a good weekend at the Motoland circuit, in Suffolk, finishing overall second in the PAR Youth Open class.