Burton bursts back at Hawkstone! 2022 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 4 – Race Report & Results

.

Just like marmite, the iconic Hawkstone Park is a circuit that divides opinions and one which riders either love or hate! Last Sunday, the famous old location hosted round four of the AMCA British Motocross Championship sponsored by Dunlop and the Shropshire going was to be in absolute prime condition. Displaying their affection and love for Hawkstone, Matt Bayliss (125cc), Gary Davies (Vets) and Freddie Gardiner (Youth 85cc) all scorched to maximum points whilst Luke Burton (MX1) and Nev Bradshaw (MX2) were also overall winners on the day.

Feature Image courtesy of Mike Wood

The first rider to go through the card was 125cc Championship leader Bayliss on his Darjen Contractors GasGas. Grabbing the holeshot though in moto one was a rider who has completed plenty of laps around Hawkstone as Kristian Whatley controlled the early proceedings ahead of Joel Fisher, Luke Dean, Jordan Ridgway and Bayliss. By lap three, Bayliss was up to 2nd and took just one further circuit to become the new race leader and ultimately the victor. Pushing Matt all the way to the finish was Whatley, just 3 seconds down at the flag as Fisher, Charlie Griffiths, Dean, Chris Povey, Liam Gale and Ridgway were next up.

Kristian Whatley(227) makes a quick getaway in a 125cc clash

In both of the remaining 125cc moto’s, Bayliss was in fantastic form, leading from gate to flag, his last race winning margin being a massive 29 seconds! On each occasion, Whatley was the runner-up with just about all of the above mentioned riders right in the mix along with Louis Vincent and Jordan Wright. Making his debut for the LRT Race team, Wright certainly had an interesting day. Falling in moto one and having to come from 31st up to 13th, he then went 7/8 for 7th overall. So on the Hawkstone podium it was Bayliss from Whatley and Dean. In the Championship standings, Bayliss now holds a 43 point advantage ahead of Dean with Povey moving above Fisher and up into 3rd. After starting the day with a 3/6, young Joel had a last moto DNF, going out on lap three which means that he has slipped one place in the main table although he does still top the separately scored 125cc Youth Championship from Vincent and Yarin Evans.

Maximum man number two was the very experienced Apex GasGas UK Vets rider Gary Davies. Racing on what is just about home territory, Gary was certainly turning on the style, seeing off his main title chasing rivals Phil Mercer and Shane Holmes in three very entertaining moto’s. For defending Champion Mercer though the day did not start well, already competing with an injured hand he was forced off into the chestnut paling during qualifying thus suffering yet more pain!

Back to the racing though and in moto one, Davies led all the way as Mercer moved up from 4th to finish as runner-up with Holmes, James Lane, Simon Lane and Jamie Powell out on 2T Fantic next up. Vets moto two was to then arguably produce the race of the day as Davies, Holmes and Mercer disputed the leadership for just about the entire duration. With the lead changing hands, Davies even dropped to 3rd before regaining the advantage only to then stall his engine and have it all to do yet again! In determined fashion, Gary did get back to the front with Mercer in 2nd and Holmes riding a 250F and with a horsepower disadvantage when attacking that hill having to settle for 3rd. As per the opener it was also the same names in the frame and included Robert Lewis, Sean Smith, Matt Chaplin and Brian Staples.

In the last Vets tussle, Davies led all the way despite intense pressure early on from Mercer. The Hawkstone results now mean that it’s very tight at the top of the Championship standings with Davies the new leader just a single point clear of Holmes and Mercer only a further 8 points in arrears. Mercer though does lead the Vets Over 50’s class with Smith and Staples, despite a heavy last moto tumble next up.
Despite only being a wild-card entrant at Hawkstone, Youth 85cc competitor Freddie Gardiner was the final maximum points winner. Producing a motocross masterclass, Gardiner was pure quality on his way to three faultless gate to flag victories in the process inflicting the first defeat of the season for Youth 85cc series leader Ollie Bubb. The Passion Racing GasGas rider was though an equally comfortable runner-up in all three moto’s as the combination of Wyatt McGregor, Sebby Moore, Jack Evans, Will Turner and Travis James proved to be the closest challengers to the dynamic front two.

Even at its best, Hawkstone is an imposing venue for the young aces on their small 85cc machines so well done to everyone for the manner in which they bossed and expertly attacked the sandy circuit. On the podium on Sunday it was Gardiner from Bubb and McGregor who really produced a trio of very determined performances to thus fully deserve the eventual 3rd overall . In the Championship table, Bubb holds a nice 65 point advantage ahead of Moore, Evans, Turner and Oakley Kettle who was a non-starter on Sunday. Lying 6th in the main series is Oliver Bebb and he’s also the SW85cc class leader from Harley Piper and Lewis Day.

Freddie Gardiner leading the opening Youth 85cc moto

After winning at Culham, Nev Bradshaw has not appeared at an AMCA Championship since round one but was back for more MX2 action at Hawkstone, and he was certainly to be right in the thick of the action! It started in moto one, gating 7th he got up to 2nd by lap three then proceeded to reel in the very fast leader Henry Williams. In a super finish, Nev closed the gap right up only for Williams to cleverly deny every move by the experienced star to thus take a great win by the narrowest of margins. Getting home 3rd was Jake Preston from Rory Jones, Corey Hockey, Howard Wainwright, Tommy Alba and Zac Stealey. Taking 9th was the MX2 series leader Shane Carless, enduring a bit of a nightmare, the Welsh ace fell twice and certainly had to work hard for his points.

Howard Wainwright(99) going around the outside in MX2

Regaining his composure, Shane got it all together for moto two and grabbed the holeshot leading for two laps before Bradshaw came through then racing onto the win. With another quality ride, Williams and Preston were next up in this one as consistent performers Jones, Alba and Hockey got right in the top end mix.

The stacked MX2 class blast off in moto one

In what was a stacked MX2 line-up, the last moto of the day then proved to be arguably the most dramatic as both Alba in 8th and Bradshaw 14th did not make the best of starts and had a bit of work to do! Meanwhile at the front, Carless was comfortably in control and on his way to bagging his compulsory victory by leading all the way as Williams initially held 2nd with Preston in 3rd. But as the contest unravelled and in a serious 2T raid, by lap four Alba was already up to 4th with Bradshaw right on his tail before the pattern changed on the final circuit. Passing Preston, Alba then with two corners remaining dived hard under Williams, the Apex GasGas UK youngster tasting the sand and dropping to a 5th place finish. So in that frantic conclusion it was Alba in 2nd, Preston 3rd and Bradshaw 4th, that last race result meaning that Bradshaw took the overall win. Joining him on the podium was Williams and Preston, enjoying his best result of the season so far. Although Carless did not make the box, he has slightly increased his lead at the top of the standings as Callum Baldwin continues to be the MX2 Cup pace-setter with Josh Peters, Adam Cook and Cory McShane challenging.

FUS Marsh Geartec Husqvarna pilot Luke Burton was in fantastic MX1 form at Hawkstone Park taking a richly deserved overall win ahead of series leader Josh Waterman and wildcard Jayden Ashwell who had set the fastest qualifying time. In moto one though it was Tony Craig who led the initial charge only to crash on lap one when exiting the bomb-hole. Quick to take advantage, Burton hit the front and there he remained all the way as Waterman drove past Ashwell and James Dodd to bag 2nd with Craig recovering to get home 5th from Ashley Greedy. Moto two and although Dodd got the initial holeshot, Burton was soon in control before racing onto victory with Waterman bagging another 2nd from Dodd whilst Ashwell had to come from 8th up to 4th.

The last MX1 moto was to definitely prove to be the most dramatic as Ashwell got the holeshot with Burton down in a distant 7th. At the front, Greedy having his best ride of the day then took control but appeared far from happy with his machines performance, gesticulating to his pit-crew. For three more laps though Greedy remained in contention for the leadership despite having Ashwell, Dodd and Waterman all snapping at his rear wheel before eventually then slipping back to 5th place . It was Dodd’s turn to now hit the front only to be quickly passed by Ashwell. While all of the action was going on out front, Burton was rapidly catching the leading pack and got right back to a fantastic 3rd behind eventual winner Ashwell and Waterman.

Josh Waterman looking at his opposition in MX1

That result meant that Burton took the overall from Waterman and Ashwell whilst in the Championship table, Josh with those three very consistent rides has increased his advantage at the top to 13 points with Dodd chasing hard. With Jake Shipton missing Hawkstone due to injuries sustained at the recent Patchquick Trophy event, the race for the 2022 AMCA title looks like now being a three-way fight featuring Waterman, Dodd and Burton. Seventh in Sunday’s MX1 class was Josh Canton and he also tops the separately scored Cup competition.

Results

MX1

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Luke Burton	145	50	50	45
2	Josh Waterman	141	47	47	47
3	Jayden Ashwell	136	43	43	50
4	James Dodd	133	45	45	43
5	Ashley Greedy	121	39	41	41
6	Tony Craig	119	41	39	39
7	Josh Canton	107	33	37	37
8	Mark Roberts	107	37	35	35
9	Sion Talbot	101	35	33	33
10	Josh Greedy	93	31	31	31
11	Adam Wells	89	29	30	30
12	Joe Roberts	83	27	27	29
13	Jack Waterman	79	26	26	27
14	Connor Newell	77	24	25	28
15	Sunny Thompson	59	30	29	–
16	Peter Hamlett	56	28	28	–
17	Nathan Lewis-Reilly	49	25	24	–
18	Harry Greetham	23	23	–	–

MX2

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Neville Bradshaw	140	47	50	43
2	Henry Williams	136	50	45	41
3	Jake Preston	133	45	43	45
4	Shane Carless	130	33	47	50
5	Tommy Alba	123	37	39	47
6	Rory Jones	123	43	41	39
7	Corey Hockey	113	41	37	35
8	Jimmy Margetson	101	31	33	37
9	Josh Peters	95	30	35	30
10	Harry Linton	90	28	31	31
11	Zac Stealey	87	35	23	29
12	McKenzie Marshall	86	29	24	33
13	James Hanscomb	83	27	30	26
14	Lee Truman	79	24	27	28
15	Luke Newman	77	22	28	27
16	Cory Mcshane	76	25	29	22
17	Daniel Preston	73	23	26	24
18	Logan Wilcox	65	26	19	20
19	Brooklyn Evans	62	20	17	25
20	Callum McCaul	62	19	20	23
21	Adam Cook	61	18	22	21
22	Jack Cox	59	16	25	18
23	Mitchell Perry	56	21	16	19
24	Tomos Wright	49	15	18	16
25	Callum Baldwin	44	17	12	15
26	Rhys Walker	40	13	13	14
27	Howard Wainwright	39	39	–	–
28	Jack Timms	38	–	21	17
29	Keelan Southwood	34	12	10	12
30	Macauley Davies	33	9	11	13
31	Tim Burrows	33	14	8	11
32	Joshua Fletcher-Williams	30	10	14	6
33	Billy Duke	26	11	15	–
34	Joe Russell	23	7	6	10
35	Adam Hill	21	4	9	8
36	Jordan Meredith	20	6	5	9
37	Aaron Collins	15	8	7	–
38	Josh Lansbury	12	3	2	7
39	Aaron Hardiman	8	5	3	–
40	Conner Challinor	6	2	4	–

125s

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Matthew Bayliss	150	50	50	50
2	Kristian Whatley	141	47	47	47
3	Luke Dean	131	41	45	45
4	Chris Povey	125	39	43	43
5	Charlie Griffiths	125	43	41	41
6	Liam Gale	105	37	31	37
7	Jordan Wright	100	28	37	35
8	Jordan Ridgway	99	35	33	31
9	Louis Vincent	98	30	35	33
10	Matt Ridgway	93	25	29	39
11	Cameron Jackson	90	33	28	29
12	Joel Fisher	84	45	39	–
13	Yarin Evans	83	23	30	30
14	Joe Wright	81	26	27	28
15	Troy Jones	77	27	25	25
16	Olly Hathaway	75	22	26	27
17	Logan Jay Powell	66	21	23	22
18	Harry Bebb	62	19	22	21
19	George Pool	60	18	19	23
20	Jack Jordan	57	17	21	19
21	Sion Wright	56	14	24	18
22	Joe Jordan	55	31	–	24
23	Jack Davis	55	15	20	20
24	Toby English	47	29	18	–
25	Ezra Blackwell	42	16	–	26
26	Alfie Bebb	42	10	16	16
27	Oliver Davis	40	11	15	14
28	Joshua Barnett	38	24	14	–
29	Zachary Church	32	–	17	15
30	Benjamin Sullivan	30	13	–	17
31	Harry Beach	22	9	13	–
32	Charlie Hucklebridge	20	20	–	–
33	Mitchell Hartill	13	–	–	13
34	Owen Pitts	12	12	–	–
35	Billy Bayliss	8	8	–	–

Vets

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Gary Davies	150	50	50	50
2	Phil Mercer	141	47	47	47
3	Shane Holmes	135	45	45	45
4	James Lane	125	43	43	39
5	Jamie Powell	123	39	41	43
6	Simon Lane	121	41	39	41
7	Robert Lewis	109	37	35	37
8	Sean Smith	107	35	37	35
9	Matthew Chaplin	97	31	33	33
10	Richard Tudor	90	30	29	31
11	Shaun Brooker	88	28	30	30
12	Alan Jones	86	29	28	29
13	Alun Joyce	79	25	27	27
14	Russell Grove	76	27	23	26
15	Mark Kirby	75	23	24	28
16	Stephen Sankey	75	26	25	24
17	Alan Reese	71	24	22	25
18	Brian Staples	64	33	31	–
19	Stuart Kilmarten	63	19	21	23
20	David Bullock	58	17	19	22
21	Guy Langmead	48	22	26	–
22	Stephen Guest	41	21	20	–
23	Paul Hughes	20	20	–	–
24	Richard Partridge	18	18	–	–

85s

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Freddie Gardiner	150	50	50	50
2	Ollie Bubb	141	47	47	47
3	Wyatt McGregor	129	41	43	45
4	Sebby Moore	129	45	41	43
5	Jack Evans	125	39	45	41
6	Will Turner	119	43	39	37
7	Travis James	113	37	37	39
8	Logan Chinnock	99	33	35	31
9	Ashton Phillips	97	31	33	33
10	Braedon McGinn	89	25	29	35
11	George Bromley	89	30	31	28
12	Oliver Bebb	87	29	28	30
13	Harley Piper	84	28	27	29
14	Taylor Collins	80	27	26	27
15	Lewis Day	74	26	24	24
16	Jack Bullock	73	22	25	26
17	Liam Dorman	72	24	23	25
18	Tyler Lane	68	23	22	23
19	Jonas Brown	65	35	30	–