All aboard the Tranter train! AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 9 – Race Report, Interviews and Results

It’s nine down with one event to go in the 2021 AMCA British Motocross Championship. And, following the latest action held at Long Lane, near Telford on Sunday, it’s still certainly very tight at the top in the race for the seven titles on offer! At present, Ashley Greedy, Shane Carless, Bradley Tranter, Phil Mercer, Andy Watkins, Oliver Rigby and Harley Prickett are leading the respective title chases, but there’s still plenty of work to do!

Feature Image courtesy of Mike Wood

Following heavy rain showers on the previous day, conditions were rather heavy during the early exchanges on raceday before the sun then  put in a welcome but unexpected appearance, thus rapidly drying the track and making the going absolutely prime! First in action was the big bike MX1 class and after the very much in-form Luke Hawkins had posted the quickest qualifying time, Josh Waterman, another rider in current red-hot form was to grab the first of a holeshot hat-trick and lead moto one.

Despite Waterman coming under early heavy pressure from the defending AMCA MX1 Champion Luke Burton in that opener, he eventually managed to build a gap at the front and race onto the win. With Burton in 2^nd, current series leader Greedy bagged a solid 3^rd followed home by James Dodd, Jayden Ashwell, Hawkins and Adam Wells. Whilst Waterman enjoyed the win, the meeting was already over for the unfortunate Luke Meredith. Having recently recovered from Covid, the Kawasaki rider crashed on turn one, suffering a broken arm, get well soon Luke!

As the gate dropped for moto two, it was again Waterman who was quickest away but on the second circuit, Josh crashed hard, remounting in 6^th. At the front it was Hawkins taking the win from Burton, Greedy and Ashwell who in the closing stages had to work overtime to fend off the recovering Waterman. With Dodd in 6^th, Jamie Skuse was next up after recovering from a very painful moment in the opening clash when he got his leg stuck in a fellow riders back wheel!

Making amends for that moto two tumble, the fast Waterman then led the last MX1 clash of the day from gate to flag. Again showing fantastic consistency, series pace-setter Greedy got home in 2^nd with Hawkins 3^rd. Having easily his best round of the series, Wells got home in 6^th with also a special mention to 15 year-old Harvey Tillotson. Having been injured for most of the campaign, young Harvey is back and mixing it with the big boy’s, earning a solid 12^th overall at Long Lane. On the podium it was Waterman, Greedy and Burton who after enduring a recent lean time by usual very high standards was delighted to be back on the box. Having led the series right from round one, Greedy is  still topping the Championship table on 1047 points from Waterman just 13 behind on 1034, Dodd 1007, Hawkins 994 and Burton 916.

It was to be the FUS Marsh MX Husqvarna one-two again in the MX2 racing at Long Lane as Shane Carless went 1/1/2 to take the overall win ahead of his teammate Nev Bradshaw who recorded a 2/2/1 scorecard. Making their intentions perfectly clear, Shane led the opening moto all the way ahead of Bradshaw. Running very true to form, next up in this first clash were Henry Williams, Rossi Beard, Josh Coleman, Lewis Dowdeswell and Lee Truman.

In moto two, 2T mounted Bradshaw was the holeshot master as Carless on the booming 250F giving chase. While the fun was beginning at the front, title contender Williams was making a very uncharacteristic mistake, falling on lap one and so finding himself right at the back of the field. Whilst Williams began the long charge upfield, at the front Carless eventually took over the race leadership on lap five and there he remained for another crucial victory.  Beard took 3^rd  with Coleman, Harry Linton, Dowdeswell, Truman and Rory Jones earning top ten finishes, Williams eventually came through for a 9^th place finish.

Stretching that Husqvarna throttle wire to the max, Bradshaw again took theMX2 holeshot in the last moto but this time he was not to be denied and in determined fashion took the win. Early on Carless had chased him hard and narrowed the gap right down but when about to challenge for the lead, Shane stepped off and briefly dropped down to 3^rd. Quickly the series leader was back onboard to repass Williams as Beard, Jones and Coleman finished the day with strong performances. So Sunday’s results means that Carless will carry a 15 point advantage over Bradshaw going into the finale with Williams 997, Beard 884, Coleman 736 and Truman 714 completing the top six at present.

Wildcard rider Charlie Palmer on the GasGas led the early exchanges of the opening 125cc clash at Long Lane ahead of Matt Ridgway and series leader Bradley Tranter. Riding on his home club circuit and backed by an army of supporters, Tranter was though in a very determined mood and hungry for glory. Three laps in and he surged to the front before holding off Palmer and scorching onto an important win. Crucially in this one, his closest title rival Kieran Banks had to work very hard to move through stubborn traffic after gating in 7^th. Eventually finding a way past Joel Fisher, Harrison McCann, Clinton Barrs and Ridgway, Fantic mounted Banks had to settle for 3^rd.

In 125cc moto two there was drama on the opening lap as Banks was right down in 21^st whilst Tranter had made another supersonic start to tuck into 2^nd place behind leader McCann. By the completion of lap one, Tranter had then moved into pole position but the man on the move in this moto was the very fast KTM pilot Bayliss. After falling on turn two of the opener, Bayliss took just four laps to become the race leader in this one before gliding on to take the win. Tranter though was in the big points again with a strong 2^nd ahead of Ridgway, Timms, Palmer and Banks.

Young Palmer then led the last 125cc clash for two laps before Bayliss came scorching through and take total control then racing onto a big win. Early on Tranter had looked like further increasing his title chasing advantage over Banks. Whilst the KTM rider was in a solid 3^rd, Banks was surprisingly circulating down in 8^th but it soon was to change! With Tranter dropping to 5^th, Banks produced a very strong finish, moving in the opposite direction and get home in that 3^rd spot. On the Long Lane podium it was Tranter from Palmer and Bayliss whilst the Championship table now shows Tranter leading on 976 points with Banks 964, Ridgway 901, Fisher 827, Jordan Wright 824 and Timms 810 in the hunt.

Vets series leader Phil Mercer started his Long Lane adventure in style with a great gate to flag victory. Taking 2^nd was Mercer’s closest title rival Gary Davies with Simon Lane, Paul Burn and Andy Marchant next up. After an earlier tumble, James Lane was to produce a great effort and get home 6^th whilst Sean Smith who also crashed and on a bike which looked distinctly second-hand took a gritty 12^th. In the big points again, Over 50’s Vets series leader Andy Watkins got his day off to an impressive start bagging 7^th in this one.

Vets moto two and it was again Mercer all the way from Davies as the fast starting Burn took 3^rd from the Lane brothers James and Simon. Having another consistent ride, Marchant took 6^th with Smith on a repaired bike in 7^th. Saving the best until last, the final Vets moto was an entertaining affair as Burn, Mercer and finally Davies all took turns to lead. In the closing stages, Mercer tested just about every available line in an effort to try and find a way past Davies bit it was not to be! Phil though did claim another overall win and extend his lead at the top of the standings to 59 points. Davies is still in 2^nd on 1082 with James Lane 968, Burn 948 and Simon Lane 900 the closest challengers. In the race for the Vets Over 50’s crown, former AMCA Champion Andy Watkins now as a 94 point advantage with Brian Staples and Gareth Dunsford next up.

Going into Sunday’s event, 14 points separated the Youth 85cc top two of leader Oliver Rigby and Charlie Hucklebridge. Taking the overall win at Long Lane with another composed and calculated maximum score, Hucklebridge has now got the gap down to just 3 points. Grabbing the holeshot though in moto one was Jack Evans before Hucklebridge came sailing through after the completion of the opening lap. Gating in 6^th, Benjamin Sullivan took 2^nd with Rigby 3^rd, Wyatt McGregor 4^th and early leader Evans 5^th. Also in the frame were Will Turner, Jack Davis and Sion Wright. Sullivan was fastest away in moto two but in a repeat of the opener, young Hucklebridge took just one lap to move into pole position before racing onto the win as Rigby finished runner-up.

In a super final moto, Evans, Sullivan and eventual winner Hucklebridge all took turns to lead the way. This was a particularly impressive win for Charlie having earlier dropped down to 7^th after making a mistake before coming back for victory. In the closing stages he also had to hold off a very determined and brave Rigby who is still recovering from a collarbone injury as Sullivan took 3^rd from Davies, Evans, Tyler Smith and Turner. In the separately scored SW85cc contest, it’s also just 3 points splitting the top two title chasing riders with Harley Prickett  ahead of Oakley Kettle.

The Championship table toppers have now just two weeks to plan their strategy and decide just how they are going to get over that final finish line and go onto  claim the titles. The finale at Lower Drayton on September 4^th and 5^th  is a ‘Double Header’ weekend so that means five moto’s each and a possible 250 vital points to be contested, it’s going to be tense, dramatic and very exciting!

Results

MX1

MX2

125’s

Vets

85’s