VMXDN Foxhill promoter Dave King said of the 2024 staging of their epic event “this is the toughest one I have ever done”, but when the “going gets tough the tough get going”, and Dave his partner in crime Doc Wob and the VMXDN team once again pulled off a fantastic event against the odds, the weather gods and many other things that were thrown at them this Bank Holiday weekend.
Images courtesy of Dave Rich
With the track rain-sodden and drenched from overnight and morning rain, Saturday’s race action was cancelled. This meant Sunday was to be an all-in Showdown, which included Practice/Qualifying Sessions and two races for each class.
Getting underway just after 8.3oam, going was tough in the early quali sessions but, with lines forming and a few breaks for the Languish club to undertake some track work and scrape away the excess mud the track was in prime condition by the midway point of race block one.
Anticipation was high for the first International race, and powering to the holeshot was the classy American Mike Browne, but he couldn’t contain the onslaught of Team GB’s Tommy Searle and Northern Irelands Martin Barr, who elevated the pace of the race by moving to the front on Lap two. Although Searle looked smooth, fast and comfortable in the lead, he couldn’t shake the evergreen Barr, who kept on the Dirt Store Kawasaki rider’s tail for the remainder of the race, finishing less than two seconds behind Tommy when he took the chequers at the end of the race.
Browne also had his work cut out in third, some six seconds behind the leader as Team GB’s Elliott Banks Browne and Team Merica’s impressive Luke Dean were snapping at his heels, but the American held on for third, Banks Browne made a move on Dean at the end of the moto for fourth with Dean in fifth. Josh Spinks finished an excellent sixth just ahead of third Team GB rider Brad Anderson, who made a poor start and had to work his way through the field for seventh. Lewis Tombs was always on the attack in eighth, and the Italian duo of Alessio Chiodi and Daniele Bricca were in ninth and tenth.
In Moto Two, Searle again emerged from the hectic first lap with the lead with the American Brown hot on his heels, where he would stay for the full moto with Searle unable to back off at all. Cheered on by the partisan crowd, though, Searle kept his cool and didn’t put a foot wrong on his way to race victory ahead of Brown, with Barr again riding superbly in third. Anderson made a better start in this moto just behind his Team GB compatriot Banks Browne, who was fourth. These two would swap places but would almost team ride it home to finish fourth and fifth in the moto and bring home the title for Team GB to the delight of a noisy and raucous crowd. David Phillipaerts for the second Italian team would finish sixth, Canada’s Tyler Medaglia was seventh, Chiodi was eighth, Spinks was ninth, and Dean was tenth.
Joining Team GB on the International Team race podium would be Italy White Mamprin in second with Team USA in third.
The Wright Engineering Team Race was stacked with talent throughout and served up great racing of epic proportions. In terms of individual success, Team Stolen’s Todd Kellett proved unstoppable, going 1-1 and giving his team a big boost when it came to the title fight. In moto 1, youngster Ben Mustoe for Team Dirt Worx held off a charging pack of Tom Grimshaw and Martin Barr of Apico Honda in third and fourth and Sam Nunn of Team Stafford Van Sales in fifth for an impressive second. Jake Shipton looked good for the Stolen team in sixth, while Liam Garland from Team JMR 101 was seventh, Jason Meara of Team Mourne and Glens was eighth, Jamie Law backed up his Apico Honda teammates with ninth, and Josh Colemon from Team Dirtworx was tenth.
As the racers emerged and raced into the valley at the start of race two, it was clear the Team title contest would go down to a two-way fight between Team Stolen and Apico Honda. With one score from the six to be deducted, fans were working out the permutations as Kellett once again stormed into the lead. As in race one, all of the action was going behind the leader, with Barr eventually getting the better of Nunn for second. However, all eyes were on Barr’s teammates and Kellett’s compadre to see what points they would accumulate towards their team’s totals.
Grimshaw fought hard for fourth for Apico while Shipton would pitch in with fifth for Stolen, meaning the top two riders of each team would accumulate 6 points apiece. (the scoring format is the same as the Motocross of Nations with 1 point for first, 2 points for second and so on with the lowest scoring team taking the win). Dan Thornhill for Team Dirt Worx would finish the moto in sixth, Meara would be seventh, Adam Chatfield for Team S Briggs would be eighth, and in a decisive ninth would be Apico Honda’s Jamie Law. Colemon would round out the top ten. It all came down to where the third rider of the Stolen team, Dylan Woodcock, would finish – he was working up through the pack after a poor start, but he could only manage to finish fourteenth, which meant the title would go the way of Apico Honda in what was a fantastic weekend for the team.
Overall, Apico Honda won with 22 points, Stolen Brand came in second with 25, and Dirt Worx came in third with 39.
The racing in the EVO Ultra class was outstanding, with Sam Nunn and Tom Grimshaw going at it hammer and tongs in both motos. In the first moto, Nunn would hold off the advances of Grimshaw to take the chequers, but in moto 2, after an epic tussle, the roles would be reversed, with Grimshaw holding off Nunn by less than a second at the line to take the overall win. Dan Thornhill put in two good motos, going 3-3 for third overall. Young gun Reece Jones rode well for fourth overall, while Josh Vail, on his little 125, rode his socks off and put on a great show.
In the Evo Plus Over 50 group, American ace Mike Brown put on a masterclass with two super dominant wins for the title over Mark Eastwood, who rattled off two seconds for the number two spot on the box. Americans Keith Johnson and Doug Dubach tied on points for third, with Johnson earning a trip to the podium for beating his compatriot in the decisive second moto.
Luke Dean was a class act in the Super Evo 125 Over 25 category, railing his Cr125 to two stunning victories on his way to the title. After an epic dual in moto two, Jordan Keogh would edge out Nev Bradshaw for second, with race two being the decider.
British Arenacross Champion Jack Brunell traded in his Stark Varg Electric Dirtbike for a Honda CR 2 Stroker to take victory in the Evo Open over 30 class. Lewis Gregory, making a welcome return to the track, earned second overall with a 3-3 scorecard. Steve Bixby fought off a whole gaggle of riders for the final podium spot with a mighty fine second place in the final moto.
Mike Brown was back at it again in the Evo 125 Over 30 group, taking the chequers comfortably in both motos with his old rival Nev Bradshaw in third, who couldn’t quite get on terms with the American after being out with injury for a good portion of the year. Elliot Barrs had two great motos to finish an excellent third.
Jamie Skuse was a classy winner in the Super Evo Over 30 group, sticking in two fantastic wins for the title ahead of Richard Bird, who kept close to Skuse in moto 2 but couldn’t get close enough to attempt a pass. James Lassu would finish the weekend in third.
The Evo Plus Open class was a real treat, pitting Sand master Todd Kellett against AMA MX and Supercross legend Ryan Villapoto. Kellett prevailed on both occasions, though, on his way to the overall victory, although Villapoto kept it close in the second moto. Bradley Pocock rode well for third and a spot on the box.
All in all a great day’s racing and another successful VMXDN Foxhill in the bag. Roll on 2025.
For the Full Results >>CLICK HERE<<
