After an unscheduled seven-week break, the Acerbis Nationals fired back into action with round four of the series at the famous Farleigh Castle. With brilliant weather leading up to the event and the warm sun beating down on the circuit, a four-race format was announced due to the fast-drying track.
Race Report by Arran Murphy – Images courtesy of Matt Rudd Photography
The first class up was the California MX Dreams Open 2 stroke class, and after trailing in the standings all year, Joe Jones took a solid overall win and, with it, the series lead going into the finale at Culham as he took home a 2-1-1-2 scorecard. Liam Gale took his first open 2-stroke race victory in the first outing, which helped him to a solid runner-up spot overall ahead of the final race winner, Josh Taylor, who managed to fend off Jones for the honours. Archie Hicks and Mark Young rounded out the top five.
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In the Moto Connection 125 2-stroke category, wildcard rider Paul Neale once again showed his prowess on the hard pack and took a maximum haul of points and stood on the top step of the podium from former 125 champ Jimmy Margetson, who was making a guest appearance aboard his AJP GasGas machine. Damon Strydom retook the points lead with a third place overall and carries a slender advantage going into the final round. Matt Ridgway was always in the hunt and was rewarded with fourth, while Ryan Waggott is still in the title fight, salvaging a fifth.
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Everything got turned upside down in the LS2 Helmets Vets Over 40 class in the first turn in Moto One as series leader Paul Johnston went down and ultimately out with a knee injury, meaning his 26-point gap at the top disintegrated. Wildcard Will Payne took the overall victory with 1-2-1-1 results, giving himself an 8-point cushion overall from second-race winner Carl Stannard. Stannard took his first moto win in the class in style, and it helped him climb to the runner-up step of the podium, pipping new points leader Lee Martin by just a mere 2 points. Matt Chaplin finished the weekend fourth, and Sean Hunter took home fifth.
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With runner-up and third in the championship not racing at Farleigh, Grace Richards has one hand on her third Motoverde Ladies class title as she stormed to four dominant wins and enjoys a healthy points gap of over 150 points with just 200 left on the table. Rebecca Newham managed to salvage runner-up overall, even with a final race seventh beating Caitlin Newman to the runner-up by three points. Amber McGregor was on course for her first podium, but a final race crash saw her slip to fourth overall, while Emily Noon took her best result of the year with a final moto third to slot into fifth overall.
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In the Acerbis MX1 class, Jayden Ashwell had a brilliant weekend, taking two wins, a runner-up and a fourth, which gave him the overall victory from James Dodd, who was always there or thereabouts in the fight for the win and was rewarded with runner-up overall when all was said and done. Series leader Josh Spinks was having a solid points weekend by taking two wins and a second from the first three outings, but a front end wash and a heavy crash down one of the hills caused him to have to come through the pack and salvage an eighth dropping him to third overall however still gaining points on closest rival Chris Mills who could only manage fourth overall. Defending champ Jack Beniston took the fifth spot overall.
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In the Craigs Motorcycles sponsored MX2 class, there was a guest appearance from arenacross specialist Adam Chatfield, who managed to take home the overall honours with a bag full of race wins. The Honda man was pushed all the way by Luke Grundy who managed to claim runner-up overall by just a couple of points from top championship regular Josh Waterman who managed to capitalise on the misfortune of series leader Henry Williams who had a run-in with the ropes in the final moto and dropped a chunk of points in the process. Zac Stealey was just off the podium in fourth, and Archie Hicks racing his second class of the weekend, benefited from Williams’s issues and took fifth overall.
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The Manchester Xtreme Junior Open category was hotly contested, as always, with three different race winners over the four races. Billy Wieczorek was the eventual overall winner, however, with 2-1-2-2 results giving him a solid 12-point cushion at the top of the sheet. Lewis Griffiths was the only rider who took two wins throughout the weekend, but a sixth and fifth in the other two races put pay to the overall win. Hayden Stevens had a solid weekend and stood on the lower step of the podium, tied with Griffiths but losing out on runner-up by way of the final race result. Jack Griffiths took a race win on his way to fourth overall, and Luke Price rounded out the top five.
![](https://www.dirthub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/9B6A4133.jpg)
The Roberts Plant Engineers Vets Over 50 class were last up, and FUS Marsh GasGas man Phil Mercer extended his cushion of 26 points out to close to a full race as he managed to take a maximum haul of points from the Farleigh circuit. Danny Tollett finished runner-up yet again as he keeps the pressure on Mercer for the title and isn’t giving him any breathing space for mistakes. Simon Bonsor finished the weekend in third overall back in the series after missing a few rounds, whilst Adrian Bradley took home the fourth-place prize. Former champion Chris Brown had a consistent weekend, taking four fifth-place finishes for fifth overall.
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With just one more round to run, each championship is still up for grabs. The deciding round will be held at Culham at the end of September.
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Results
MX1
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | JAYDEN ASHWELL | 152 | 38 | 40 | 34 | 40 |
2 | JAMES DODD | 146 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 38 |
3 | JOSH SPINKS | 146 | 40 | 38 | 40 | 28 |
4 | CHRIS MILLS | 138 | 32 | 32 | 38 | 36 |
5 | JACK BENISTON | 134 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 34 |
6 | JAYDEN MURPHY | 122 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 32 |
7 | BRADLEY FLAGG | 111 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 29 |
8 | DAN PARRY | 110 | 22 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
9 | SIMON BOOTH | 103 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 |
10 | JAKE WINNARD | 102 | 28 | 26 | 21 | 27 |
11 | BILLY COLLINS | 98 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
12 | ED BRISCOE | 95 | 29 | 22 | 28 | 16 |
13 | JAKE STRANGE | 91 | 25 | 27 | 20 | 19 |
14 | BRAD BARFOOT | 86 | 21 | 19 | 24 | 22 |
15 | REECE WAINE | 83 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 24 |
16 | JOSH SCOTT | 77 | 16 | 16 | 22 | 23 |
17 | CHRIS JACKSON | 75 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
18 | LEWIS BARFOOT | 72 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
19 | BEN WALKER | 62 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 |
20 | THOMAS SORRELL | 55 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
21 | JOE ROE | 50 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
22 | JOHN McKENZIE | 44 | – | – | 23 | 21 |
23 | MARCUS FELTHAM | 44 | 14 | 15 | 15 | – |
24 | BEN MARGETSON | 42 | 19 | 23 | – | – |
25 | HARRY LINTON | 40 | 23 | 17 | – | – |
26 | JOHN BRAMWELL | 35 | 12 | 11 | 12 | – |
27 | ROCKY PEACOCK | 24 | – | – | 11 | 13 |
MX2
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | ADAM CHATFIELD | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | LUKE GRUNDI | 148 | 36 | 38 | 36 | 38 |
3 | JOSH WATERMAN | 146 | 38 | 34 | 38 | 36 |
4 | ZAC STEALEY | 130 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
5 | ARCHIE HICKS | 120 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
6 | ALIFE CALVERT | 119 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 32 |
7 | HENRY WILLIAMS | 118 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 14 |
8 | SCOTT HAMILTON | 111 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
9 | BEN WHITE | 102 | 26 | 21 | 27 | 28 |
10 | SAM BROWNING | 101 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 26 |
11 | LUKE POSS | 99 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 27 |
12 | ADAM NEVITT | 98 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 23 |
13 | TOM SHUTTLER | 94 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 25 |
14 | JOE FEILD | 89 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 22 |
15 | AIDEE SMITH | 84 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 21 |
16 | ARRAN MURPHY | 80 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 20 |
17 | DAN NEVITT | 77 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 |
18 | BRAD JONES | 71 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
19 | SCOTT BARROW | 65 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 17 |
20 | 15664739 | 65 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
21 | RICKY CASS | 59 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
22 | PATRICK GILLIAN | 52 | – | 28 | – | 24 |
23 | IAN POSS | 13 | – | 13 | – | – |
Open 2 Stroke
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | JOE JONES | 156 | 38 | 40 | 40 | 38 |
2 | LIAM GALE | 146 | 40 | 34 | 38 | 34 |
3 | JOSH TAYLOR | 133 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 40 |
4 | ARCHIE HICKS | 130 | 36 | 38 | 27 | 29 |
5 | MARK YOUNG | 128 | 34 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
6 | LEE TRUMAN | 123 | 29 | 36 | 36 | 22 |
7 | PATRICK JACKSON | 122 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 36 |
8 | MITCH AMORE | 120 | 27 | 29 | 34 | 30 |
9 | TOM HIRONS | 100 | 25 | 22 | 26 | 27 |
10 | OLLY JONES | 100 | 23 | 27 | 24 | 26 |
11 | CALLUM BALDWIN | 99 | 24 | 26 | 21 | 28 |
12 | STEFAN HOOPER | 93 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 23 |
13 | MACAULEY DAVIES | 87 | 17 | 23 | 22 | 25 |
14 | JORDAN RIDWAY | 85 | 22 | 19 | 23 | 21 |
15 | JOE JORDAN | 82 | 28 | 24 | 30 | – |
16 | CONNOR C | 67 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
17 | JAY LEWIS | 64 | – | 20 | 20 | 24 |
18 | RILEY LOWE | 64 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 19 |
19 | JACK WATERMAN | 60 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
20 | JESSE PEARCE | 59 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 18 |
21 | CHARLIE PARKER | 55 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 16 |
22 | BEN JAMES | 49 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 15 |
23 | ROSS BENTON | 47 | 26 | 21 | – | – |
24 | RICH FRANKCOM | 36 | 21 | 15 | – | – |
25 | PHIL LEWIS | 35 | 18 | 17 | – | – |
26 | TOM WEARING | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | – |
27 | JOSH GRIFFITHS | 25 | 12 | 13 | – | – |
28 | BEN LANGLEY | 22 | 11 | 11 | – | – |
29 | JAKE WINNARD | 19 | 19 | – | – | – |
30 | BEN MASON | 16 | 7 | 9 | – | – |
31 | WILL STEEDS | 12 | 6 | 6 | – | – |
32 | THOMAS COOPER | 10 | 5 | 5 | – | – |
125’s
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | PAUL NEAL | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | JIMMY MARGETSON | 150 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 36 |
3 | DAMO STYDOM | 144 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 38 |
4 | MATT RIDGWAY | 132 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 32 |
5 | RYAN WAGGOTT | 130 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
6 | JAMES HANSCOMB | 107 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 28 |
7 | LEE SEALEY | 106 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 23 |
8 | LUKE NEWMEN | 102 | 13 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
9 | FABIAN JR MORRISON | 102 | 28 | 22 | 26 | 26 |
10 | WYATT McGREGOR | 101 | 22 | 26 | 29 | 24 |
11 | CHARLIE PALMER | 93 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 27 |
12 | TOM GOODFELLOW | 92 | 26 | 19 | 18 | 29 |
13 | TROY JONES | 91 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 14 |
14 | SEAN VENESS | 89 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 19 |
15 | JACK EVANS | 84 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 22 |
16 | BEN SULLIVAN | 79 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 15 |
17 | CAMERON JACKSON | 77 | 18 | 16 | 22 | 21 |
18 | JUDE HARTWELL NR | 73 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 17 |
19 | WILL TURNER | 71 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 18 |
20 | SPENCER STANBRIDGE | 67 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 20 |
21 | AARON COLLEY | 64 | 34 | 30 | – | – |
22 | FRANK BURTON | 61 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
23 | JORDAN HANDS | 50 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 13 |
24 | TREY YOUNG | 44 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 |
25 | JAMIE ALLAN | 43 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
26 | OLLIE HARRIS | 28 | 14 | 14 | – | – |
27 | HARRY LINTON | 25 | – | – | – | 25 |
28 | CHRIS CARTER | 24 | – | 12 | 12 | – |
Ladies
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | GRACE RICHARDS | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | BECCA NEWHAM | 143 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 29 |
3 | CAITLIN NEWMAN | 140 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 38 |
4 | AMBER McGREGOR | 136 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 28 |
5 | EMILY NOON | 130 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 36 |
6 | LILY MORELAND | 119 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 27 |
7 | AALIYA HULBERT* | 118 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 34 |
8 | SHASHA TOLLET | 115 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 32 |
9 | SOPHIE JONES | 115 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 30 |
Vets Over 40
1 | WILL PAYNE* | 158 | 40 | 38 | 40 | 40 |
2 | CARL STANARD | 150 | 36 | 40 | 36 | 38 |
3 | LEE MARTIN | 148 | 38 | 36 | 38 | 36 |
4 | MATT CHAPLIN | 129 | 34 | 29 | 32 | 34 |
5 | LEE LARKIN | 128 | 32 | 30 | 34 | 32 |
6 | SEAN HUNTER* | 108 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
7 | CHRIS DOWSWELL* | 105 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 27 |
8 | PETER DIXON * | 104 | 27 | 24 | 29 | 24 |
9 | DALE HUNT * | 96 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 23 |
10 | SEAN ASKINS* | 94 | 30 | 34 | – | 30 |
11 | JAMES BARKER * | 91 | – | 32 | 30 | 29 |
12 | ROB MILLS * | 90 | 23 | 20 | 26 | 21 |
13 | STURAT HARROW * | 89 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 25 |
14 | SHANE HOGG* | 85 | 22 | 19 | 24 | 20 |
15 | NATHAM PALMER | 82 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 19 |
16 | ROB PEARCE | 73 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
17 | STEVEN DUNFILELD | 72 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 15 |
18 | DAVID BOTTERILL | 67 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
19 | RONNIE BONETTI* | 66 | – | 21 | 19 | 26 |
20 | DAVID GRIFFITHS * | 60 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
21 | RICHARD MOULDER* | 57 | 29 | 28 | – | – |
22 | KEVIN PRIDE | 47 | – | – | 25 | 22 |
23 | MICK DUCKETT* | 45 | – | 13 | 16 | 16 |
24 | ANDY DUFIELD | 28 | 28 | – | – | – |
25 | DAVE ELLIOTT | 27 | – | – | 14 | 13 |
26 | MATT WICKENS | 14 | – | 14 | – | – |
Vets Over 50
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | PHIL MERCER | 160 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
2 | DANNY TOLLETT | 146 | 38 | 34 | 36 | 38 |
3 | SIMON BONSOR | 137 | 34 | 29 | 38 | 36 |
4 | ADRIAN BRADLEY | 130 | 30 | 36 | 34 | 30 |
5 | CHRIS BROWN | 128 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
6 | PAUL WILDMAN WILLS | 117 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
7 | ANDY WATKINS | 113 | 36 | 38 | 5 | 34 |
8 | DAVE DUNN | 113 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 27 |
9 | PAUL WIECZOREK | 105 | 26 | 23 | 28 | 28 |
10 | PAUL COWARD | 105 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
11 | EWAN JOHNSTON | 94 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 25 |
12 | LEE DAVIES | 91 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
13 | RICHARD EVANS | 90 | 16 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
14 | COLIN BERRY | 85 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 16 |
15 | DALE SILK | 82 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 20 |
16 | PAUL CURTIS | 78 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 22 |
17 | CHRIS STEMP | 75 | 27 | 3 | 24 | 21 |
18 | PAUL SLIGHT | 71 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 19 |
19 | MARK DUDLEY | 71 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 17 |
20 | ANDREW PROSSER | 53 | 13 | 20 | 20 | – |
21 | MICHAEL JOHNSTON | 51 | 14 | 8 | 15 | 14 |
22 | ADRIAN JESSOP | 51 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 11 |
23 | STANLEY MORPHET | 49 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
24 | STEVE HUMPHRIES | 45 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
25 | DAVID HOPKINS | 43 | 17 | 26 | – | – |
26 | BRYAN | 42 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 15 |
27 | ROB LEWIS | 42 | 20 | 22 | – | – |
28 | PHIL WEST | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | – |
29 | STEVE RILEY | 27 | 15 | 12 | – | – |
30 | DAVID IBBETSON | 25 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
31 | MARTIN PERRIS | 24 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
32 | IAN POSS | 18 | – | – | – | 18 |
33 | ANDY STEPHENS | 16 | 2 | – | 6 | 8 |
34 | IVOR GILFORD | 14 | – | 2 | 12 | – |
35 | PETER STRANGE | 12 | 1 | – | 4 | 7 |
36 | IAN JONES | 10 | 6 | 4 | – | – |
37 | ED BRISCOE | 7 | – | – | 1 | 6 |
38 | 5381869 | 7 | – | 7 | – | – |
39 | BRIAN LINTON | 4 | 4 | – | – | – |
40 | TIM RIGGS | 3 | – | – | 3 | – |
41 | KEVIN MCCATHEY | 2 | – | – | 2 | – |
Junior Open
Pos | Competitor | Total Points | r 1 | r 2 | r 3 | r 4 |
1 | BILLY WIECZOREK | 154 | 38 | 40 | 38 | 38 |
2 | LEWIS GRIFFITHS | 142 | 40 | 30 | 32 | 40 |
3 | HAYDEN STEVENS | 142 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 36 |
4 | JACK GRIFFTHIS | 136 | 28 | 34 | 40 | 34 |
5 | LUKE PRICE | 131 | 25 | 38 | 36 | 32 |
6 | 14626624 | 122 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 29 |
7 | BEN WALSH | 115 | 32 | 27 | 30 | 26 |
8 | GEORGE POOL | 114 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 |
9 | HARRY WEST | 107 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 23 |
10 | KYLE NOBLE | 104 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 27 |
11 | TYLER WILCOX | 102 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 18 |
12 | JOSH BAILEY | 97 | 17 | 22 | 28 | 30 |
13 | STUART PERRY | 93 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 25 |
14 | SHEA RYAN | 84 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 24 |
15 | SAM HAMER | 79 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 20 |
16 | JACK TOMPKLINS | 77 | 26 | 25 | 26 | – |
17 | MATT READMAN | 76 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 22 |
18 | SAMUAL RAYNER | 74 | 22 | 24 | 20 | 8 |
19 | AYJAY SIMPSON | 66 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 21 |
20 | JACK JORDAN | 60 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 19 |
21 | LLOYD CLARKE | 58 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 10 |
22 | JAMIE MCCARTHEY | 57 | 24 | – | 16 | 17 |
23 | TY MATTHEWS JONES | 51 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 16 |
24 | RYAN NEAL | 48 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 15 |
25 | MATT BENNETT | 47 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
26 | LOUIE SMITH | 47 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 13 |
27 | TOM BERRY | 46 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 12 |
28 | TOM BARFOOT | 31 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
29 | BEN PROSSER | 29 | 12 | 5 | 12 | – |
30 | JAMIE CASSIDY | 26 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 7 |
31 | STANLEY POOL | 26 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
32 | CHRIS DUCKETT | 8 | 4 | – | 4 | – |