Carless in hot form at Warmingham! 2023 AMCA Motocross Championship Round 4 – Race Report, Results & Interviews

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With thunderstorms expected to arrive on raceday, it meant that Middlewich MXC, the host club for round 4 of the AMCA British Motocross Championship were faced with a major dilemma regarding track preparation at their Warmingham Lane venue!

Race Report, Images and Interviews by Mike Wood

Should they literally flood the dry, hard surface and then hope the predicted storms fail to materialise or instead get just enough moisture into the ground to control the dust threat whilst hoping for some extra assistance from that big watering can in the sky. Well, thankfully the club went for option one and it certainly proved to be the correct choice, being just about sufficient to see the meeting completed with three blocks of racing. The extensive pre-event watering also helped make the track far more technical, creating plenty of monster crazy, deep ruts and offering a whole host of corner entry and exit lines.

Will Hughes (205) leading Henry Williams in the Open class

Loving the conditions, James Dodd (FUS Marsh Geartec Husqvarna),a rider very much in top form, scorched to Open Class maximum points ahead of his regular rival Henry Williams. The runaway Championship top two did not have things totally their own way though as Will Hughes made them work very hard by leading both the opening couple of moto’s before Mark Roberts also grabbed the final race holeshot. After getting past Hughes in the opener, Dodd then had to chase Williams, eventually snatching a very dramatic win by making a daring pass on the very last corner. Then in a super race two, Hughes was in control for a frantic seven laps before first Williams then eventual winner Dodd came through. The last moto was a little more straight forward as Doddy hit the front early on before clearing off and build a winning margin of some 18 seconds.

Also, from the FUS camp, there’s no stopping that Welsh wizard Shane Carless in MX2 as he bagged another maximum points score. He had a real battle on his hands though in a sizzling moto one clash. Lying 4th early on he worked hard to pass Lee Truman and Jimmy Margetson before chasing after leader McKenzie Marshall. Using all of his vast experience, Shane eventually hit the front just two laps from home and take the win ahead of Marshall, Margetson, Truman, Lewis Hall, Corey Hockey and Rory Jones who had a terrific ride after starting last!

In both motos two and three of MX2, Truman on the CPMX Racing KTM grabbed the holeshot eventually getting home in a fantastic 2nd place on both occasions with Carless taking the wins. Hall, Marshall, Jones, Liam Gale and Jake Preston were also in the mix but spare a thought for Midwest Racing Husqvarna pilot Hockey. With his bike stopping during timed qualification and not having a spare, Corey lying 3rd in the Championship standings was forced to borrow a 125cc machine from his Midwest teammate Will Turner. Despite not having rode an eighth-litre engine for seven years, Corey was still competitive at Warmingham going 6/8 before a tyre blow-out on the opening lap of the final moto! So, on the podium it was Carless, Truman and Marshall and that super result for Truman as also hauled him up into 3rd in the title standings as the unlucky Hockey now drops to 5th.

Tight turn one action from the 125cc class

There’s no stopping Meredith MX Fantic pilot Luke Dean in the AMCA 125cc series at present. Quickly getting past holeshot taker Matt Ridgway and Chris Povey early in moto one, Luke raced onto victory as Nev Bradsahw came up to take 2nd with Povey, Harry Linton, Jack Cox, Charlie Palmer, Yarin Evans and Damon Strydom also in the big points. Having started the season as a potential title winner the season is going a little pear shaped for Damo at present! Following a big crash during the last round at Lower Drayton, he announced on Sunday that he has torn knee ligaments which require surgery at some point during the year!

Matt Ridgway leading the opening 125cc moto

With Bradshaw leading the second 125cc moto from start to finish, early on Dean was stranded back in 10th. However, showing his class though, the Fantic was on full chat and quickly moving forward, hauling him back to 2nd. Then lap by lap, Luke was closing rapidly on Bradshaw finishing just a couple of bike lengths down at the flag. Also going well again, Povey was strong in 3rd with young Palmer, Linton, Luke Newman, Olly Hathaway and Evans next up. After just missing out in the second clash, Dean was quickly back in the winning habit for the final moto as Bradshaw this time elected to bring out his EVO Honda CR125cc bike for a run. Despite those injuries already mentioned, Strydom put a second moto mechanical issue behind him by having his best result of the day in the last clash taking 3rd and even beating his FUS teammate Povey!

Shane Jones is a rider very much in top form at present and aboard his Apex GasGas UK machine he scorched to another classy maximum score during Sunday’s Youth 125cc racing. In the opening moto though Tom Goodfellow was quickest away leading for three laps before Jones came through and thus take victory with Wyatt McGregor going from 14th up to a great 2nd despite racing with a damaged shoulder. With early leader Goodfellow having to settle for 3rd, Jack Evans, Phillip Tchorek, Will Turner and Aston Phillips were also right in the mix. As Jones proved to be again victorious with a start to finish success in moto two, the lively Logan Jay Powell was runner-up.

Phillip Tchorek leading a Youth 125cc battle

In last Youth 125cc clash, Jones, Goodfellow, Tchorek, Powell and Turner were really going for it early on until Powell fell and dropped back to 7th. With Jones then racing onto victory number three, the injured McGregor was to produce another heroic ride climbing from 8th up to 2nd. So, on the podium it was Jones, McGregor and Evans whilst in the Championship standings Jones has taken over at the top!

Hollie Roberts leading Marni Saunders in a BWMA Womens battle

In the BWMA Woman’s class it was another overall win for Marni Saunders on the 250F Kawasaki ahead of Hollie Roberts and Hannah Jones. In moto one Marni, Hannah, Caitlin Newman, Hollie and Millie Sweeney filled positions 11th to 15th respectively. Hollie was then top Woman in the second clash of the day in a super 11th as Grace Bates in 13th was the next best just ahead of Marni. After gating 11th in the final moto, Marni then maintained that position throughout just ahead of Hollie and Grace with Caitlin (15th), Hannah (16th), Amber McGregor (17th), Autumn Jenkinson (18th) and Abbie Piggott (19th) next. So, in the title standings after three rounds completed, Marni is leading the way on 524 points with Caitlin on 489 and Hannah 465.

Although Oakley Kettle took the Youth 85cc overall win from George Clark and Toby Adamson, it’s fair to say that Leah-Rees Evans, Checoby Rainey and Holly Williams were the real Sunday stars in this class! Leah went a terrific 9/5/4, Checoby 8/9/6 and Holly 7/7/11. In the last moto, Checoby was holding a superb 3rd early on and really giving the boy’s something to think about before Leah then took up the challenge. For the lads, Arthur Moore won moto one before a DNF in the second clash ruined his chances of figuring in the overall reckonings. So, in what was an entertaining 85cc competition, Oakley Kettle after winning both motos two and three was top pilot for the lads whilst Leah was the first girl home ahead of Holly and Checoby. In the Championship table, Oakley as also soared to the top of the Youth 85cc table with Holly topping the girls title chase and Ryan Jackson heading the SW85cc lad’s battle.

In what proved to a dramatic opening Vets race, both Simon and James Lane fell in turn one as Clint Mears led the way. Undeterred though the Lane brothers stormed back although James did fall twice again and in the same corner! Meanwhile with Mears losing his advantage when stalling, Simon now hit the front but regaining his composure and rhythm, James was on a serious charge and soon on his elder brother’s tail!

And, with just 2 laps remaining, James’s comeback was complete as he hit the front for victory as Matt Ryder took 3rd from Adam Wilkinson, Richard Meakin and David Wilcox. With Simon then leading moto two all the way, it set up an exciting last race decider for the Warmingham overall verdict. In that one, Simon led early on but James was to hit the front on lap three and there he remained. Despite a break from the sport, Meakin has quickly got back on the pace and in the groove taking another great 3rd and a deserved place on the podium. In the title race it’s getting tight at the top as Simon leads James by just 11 points whilst Ryder is rather more comfortable in the Vets Over50 class, controlling proceedings and currently 47 points clear of Brian Staples.

Results

Open

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	James Dodd	150	50	50	50
2	Henry Williams	141	47	47	47
3	Will Hughes	135	45	45	45
4	Mark Roberts	127	43	43	41
5	Josh Canton	125	41	41	43
6	Matt Burrows	117	39	39	39
7	Adam Wells	109	35	37	37
8	Sean Wainwright	107	37	35	35
9	Aaron Collins	99	33	33	33
10	Kian Bown	93	31	31	31

MX2

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Shane Carless	150	50	50	50
2	Lee Truman	137	43	47	47
3	McKenzie Marshall	131	47	43	41
4	lewis hall	125	41	45	39
5	Rory Jones	119	37	37	45
6	Liam Gale	107	35	39	33
7	Jake Preston	105	29	33	43
8	Alfie Calvert	96	31	30	35
9	Jonathan Roderick-Evans	91	30	31	30
10	Ben Margetson	86	23	26	37
11	Jimmy Margetson	86	45	41	–
12	Rhys Walker	83	24	28	31
13	Logan Wilcox	80	26	29	25
14	Joshua Fletcher-Williams	76	22	25	29
15	Corey Hockey	74	39	35	–
16	Jack Griffiths	71	21	22	28
17	Troy Jones	71	27	20	24
18	Jordan Meredith	66	20	19	27
19	Harry Bebb	66	19	21	26
20	Jordan Wright	60	33	27	–
21	Joe Field	48	25	23	–
22	Jamie Comley	28	28	–	–
23	Martin Jones	24	–	24	–
24	Jordan Kinsella	39	16	23

125

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Luke Dean	147	50	47	50
2	Neville Bradshaw	144	47	50	47
3	Chris Povey	133	45	45	43
4	Charlie Palmer	119	39	43	37
5	Harry Linton	119	43	41	35
6	Jack Cox	115	41	33	41
7	Luke Newman	109	31	39	39
8	Yarin Evans	105	37	35	33
9	Olly Hathaway	97	30	37	30
10	Jordan Ridgway	93	33	31	29
11	Billy Bayliss	84	27	30	27
12	Stuart Owen	82	28	26	28
13	Damon Strydom	80	35	–	45
14	Oliver Davis	79	26	28	25
15	Jack Jordan	76	25	27	24
16	Cameron Jackson	60	–	29	31
17	Matt Ridgway	29	29	–	–
18	Richy Roberts	26	–	–	26
19	Jamie Johnson	24	24	–	–
20	Sean Veness	23	23	–	–

Vets

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	James Lane	147	50	47	50
2	Simon Lane	144	47	50	47
3	Richard Meakin	131	41	45	45
4	Matt Ryder	129	45	43	41
5	Adam Wilkinson	127	43	41	43
6	David Wilcox	117	39	39	39
7	Matthew Chaplin	105	33	35	37
8	Richard Tudor	105	35	37	33
9	Brian Staples	93	31	27	35
10	Russell Hartill	91	30	30	31
11	Russell Grove	86	27	29	30
12	Aidan Wright	86	29	28	29
13	Stuart Kilmarten	79	26	25	28
14	Sean Crowley	78	25	26	27
15	Clint Mears	70	37	33	–
16	Alexander Carson	59	28	31	–

BWMA Womens

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Marni Saunders	145	50	45	50
2	Hollie Roberts	140	43	50	47
3	Hannah Jones	129	47	41	41
4	Caitlin Newman	127	45	39	43
5	Amber McGregor	115	39	37	39
6	Autumn Jenkinson	109	37	35	37
7	abbie Piggott	101	33	33	35
8	Daisy Blackwell	96	35	30	31
9	India Hodgkinson	95	31	31	33
10	Grace Bates	92	–	47	45
11	fern ingham	85	29	28	28
12	Millie Sweeney	84	41	43	–
13	Izzi Wright	60	30	–	30
14	Aaliyah Hulbert	58	–	29	29
15	Katie Lancaster	28	28	–	–

125 Youth

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Shane Jones	150	50	50	50
2	Wyatt McGregor	139	47	45	47
3	Jack Evans	129	43	43	43
4	Phillip Tchorek	121	41	35	45
5	Logan Jay Powell	121	33	47	41
6	Tom Goodfellow	121	45	37	39
7	Will Turner	115	39	41	35
8	Travis James	111	35	39	37
9	George Bromley	95	31	31	33
10	Liam Morrod	94	30	33	31
11	Max Brick	88	29	29	30
12	Tyler Lane	85	28	28	29
13	Ashton Phillips	67	37	30	–

Big Wheel 85

1	Oakley Kettle	147	47	50	50
2	George Clark	135	41	47	47
3	Toby Adamson	135	45	45	45
4	Oliver Bebb	123	43	43	37
5	Bobby Watson	113	39	39	35
6	Jack Bullock	82	28	23	31
7	Igor Zelezik	82	23	30	29
8	Cameron Gerrard	59	16	20	23
9	Charlie Walker	58	18	19	21
10	William Siddons	57	31	26	–
11	Albie Hall	43	27	–	16

Small Wheel 85

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Arthur Moore	91	50	–	41
2	Aston Whitehead	87	30	31	26
3	Ryan Jackson	86	25	28	33
4	Jacob Ince	79	26	25	28
5	Alfie Pincher	75	22	35	18
6	Lewis Day	63	19	22	22
7	Jenson henney	59	21	21	17
8	Kaleb Copeland	51	15	17	19

BWMA Girls

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3
1	Leah Rees-Evans	117	33	41	43
2	Checoby Rainey	107	35	33	39
3	Holly Williams	104	37	37	30
4	Erin Howes	85	29	29	27
5	Sophie Jones	76	24	27	25
6	Poppy Banning	68	20	24	24
7	Cameron Mansbridge	55	17	18	20