Carpenter, Nash & Horn triumph at 2023 Weymouth Beach Race – Race Report, Results & Interviews

.

With the sun popping up over the Dorset horizon, the Purbeck MXC went to work and completed their construction of the circuit for the 2023 Weymouth Beach Motocross. By the time that sun had settled in position, thousands of spectators were already arriving in readiness for the action that was about to unfold.

Race Report and Results by Mike Wood

Come 12 noon and the practice session, that crowd had swelled even further in numbers, lining the Esplanade and grabbing literally every available vantage point. Once again, this super charity event which is run in conjunction with the local Weymouth and Portland Lions club provided racing for Juniors, Seniors and Expert riders.

So, at 1pm, it was time for the serious action to commence as the Beach race legend Mr Jim Shipton, better known as ‘Mr Starter’ signalled the start of Juniors moto one. Following the thunderous charge of a fantastic 100 strong entry down the beach and around the sweeping opening turn, it was Alfie Irons leading the way. On that first circuit, Irons got a little excited though, stalling his motor but still maintaining control with James Adams, Danny Miller, Chris Johnson, Riley Saunders, Harry Burton and Andy Salt in close company.

By lap two, Irons had slipped back to 5th as Adams was the new pacesetter but under intense pressure from a hard charging Saunders. In what was proving to be an unpredictable contest and making it another change in moto leadership, Saunders then hit the front and stayed there for another three laps before a mistake dropped him down the order but the fun was far from being decided! With just two circuits remaining, Adams returned to the pole position and there he remained to bag the first victory of the day with Finley Horn, a Weymouth debutant producing a stunning ride to move from 14th up to a great 2nd following an earlier crash. Completing the top points scoring positions in this frantic opener were Johnson, Irons, Burton, Salt, Lee Johnson, Josh Wilson, Ryan Mabey and Miller whilst early leader Saunders was to finish 11th.

With his bike back on full song following earlier problems during practice, Horn took just a lap to pass Luke Budziszewski in Juniors moto two before racing onto a big win. Horn finished over a minute ahead of Adams who had held 2nd throughout the duration. In this one, Johnson, Josh Wilson, Saunders, Chris Johnson, Miller and Sam Perrin finished on the same seven laps completed total as victor Horn. That second moto victory for Horn also earned the 16-year-old pilot the overall win after being locked on the same 114 points total as Adams.

Moto two start line action from the Seniors

The Seniors racing at Weymouth also produced a very impressive full entry list and it was to be Oliver Hurst who led the pack in moto one for a couple of laps before dropping down to 9th. At the front it was now Mark Morris (Snr) in control until he was overhauled by Andy Peeble who had started in 10th. Peeble became the leader on lap six showing great composure and determination to then bring it home for victory nearly 14 seconds clear of Oliver Macrae with Morris, Ricky Harrison, Richard Lloyd, Moss Macriner and Thomas Watson next up.

Taking 8th in this one was Matt Nash who had endured a very eventful moto. Struggling to fire his machine into life at the mandatory dead engine start, he then crashed on more than one occasion! So, his recovery to haul himself right back inside the top ten was later to prove to be absolutely crucial!

Seniors action from Byron Payne and Lewis Dowell

Making a far more productive start in moto two, Matt gated 4th before locking into a battle with Tallon Veale, Finly Abbott the 2022 Juniors class winner at Weymouth and Watson. Three laps in and Nash had hit the front before going onto take the win in a contest which did not run its full distance after a red flag incident. With first moto winner Peedle down in 12th, the top six home in this one had a slightly different appearance and featured Veale, Watson, Jake Gay, Morris and Macrae. That meant a big swing in the potential overall standings propelling Nash to the top on 99 points and proving just how crucial his perseverance in the opening clash was to be! Taking the overall runners-up spot was Macrae with Morris in 3rd.

Having already won twice at Weymouth, James Carpenter was back and looking for an Experts hattrick. And in super style that’s just what he was to achieve, scorching to a couple of classy moto wins. Carpenter’s preparation though for this sand bash had not gone totally to plan having injured his shoulder at the recent Matterley Basin British GP and parted company with the Cabscreens Crescent Yamaha team. Undeterred though he climbed aboard a KTM on Sunday and looked quickly dialled into his mount.

After setting the quickest time in practice, he then led moto one all the way chased home by the always hard-charging Suzuki mounted Tommy Alba. Gating right down in 19th, Chambers Racing Henry Siddiqui had a stormer to get right back to a great 3rd. In what was a frantic and highly entertaining encounter, only Harry Linton and Alfie Calvert also completed the same 14 lap total as the leading three riders. For Linton having campaigned all season on a 125cc 2T before climbing aboard the big 4T KTM, this result must have been especially pleasing. Other riders to impress and giving themselves a chance of later taking home some silverware were Charlie Griffiths, Lee Truman, Aaron Patstone, Simon Booth and Ryan Allen. For one of the expected front runners though this opener did not go quite to plan! After falling on turn one, Phil Mercer worked overtime to haul himself back to 16th.

In super form again and right on the gas, Carpenter then sailed to another start to finish win in moto two as Alba overhauled Siddiqui for 2nd. Right on the pace Linton started last, got up to 16th early on then came through the pack for a brilliant 4th with Griffiths in 5th being the only other rider to complete 14 laps. Once again, the consistent Truman, Calvert and Booth were inside the top ten along with Jamie Smith and Luke Oldfield. So those results meant that remarkably it was to produce a carbon copy of the 2022 Weymouth Experts top three with Carpenter taking the overall from Alba and Siddiqui.

With this being a charity event, Purbeck MXC stalwart Alf Stearn on completion of proceedings handed over a cheque for £1,800 to the local Lions Club before then presenting the hard- earned silverware to the riders. So, another fabulous Weymouth Beach motocross was done but don’t forget the date for the 2024 bash, it’s Sunday, 20th October.

Results

Experts sponsored by Dirtworx Motocross and Enduro

Moto one 1 James Carpenter 2 Tommy Alba 3 Henry Siddiqui 4 Harry Linton 5 Alfie Calvert 6 Charlie Griffiths 7 Lee Truman 8 Aaron Patstone 9 Simon Booth 10 Ryan Allen.

Moto two 1 Carpenter 2 Alba 3 Siddiqui 4 Linton 5 Griffiths 6 Truman 7 Calvert 8 Booth 9 Jamie Smith 10 Luke Oldfield.

Overall

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2
1	James Carpenter	120	60	60
2	Tommy Alba	108	54	54
3	Henry Siddiqui	100	50	50
4	Harry Linton	94	47	47
5	Charlie Griffiths	88	43	45
6	Alfie Calvert	86	45	41
7	Lee Truman	84	41	43
8	Simon Booth	76	37	39
9	Jamie Smith	70	33	37
10	Luke Oldfield	62	27	35
11	Aaron Coupland	58	29	29
12	William Saunders	56	23	33
13	Phil Mercer	56	25	31
14	Bradley Rowland	53	31	22
15	Travis Reynolds	51	24	27
16	Benjamin Milward	45	20	25
17	Daniel Hartley	45	22	23
18	Aaron Patstone	43	39	4
19	Edward Mountjoy	42	16	26
20	Mark Bracegirdle	41	17	24
21	Alex Harvey	41	21	20
22	Ryan Allen	40	35	5
23	Niles Reid	37	18	19
24	James Lane	37	19	18
25	Tallon Aspden	36	15	21
26	Henry Life	32	26	6
27	Brett Moore	30	14	16
28	Jack Hooper	26	11	15
29	Bradley Hicks	25	8	17
30	Shay Arnold	24	12	12
31	Leigh Williams	23	9	14
32	Adam Ford	19	6	13
33	Jamie Watts	18	7	11
34	Vinnie Guthrie	17	10	7
35	Tom Moore	14	13	1
36	Lewis Dorling	10	–	10
37	Oliver Barnes	9	–	9
38	Emily Hall	8	–	8
39	Troy Jones	5	5	–
40	Chris Talbot	3	–	3
41	Brett Rowland	2	–	2

Seniors

Moto one 1 Ady Peedle 2 Oliver Macrae 3 Mark Morris(snr) 4 Ricky Harrison 5 Richard Lloyd 6 Moss Macriner 7 Thomas Watson 8 Matt Nash 9 Dean Clark 10 Joshua Senter.

Moto two 1 Nash 2 Tallon Veale 3 Watson 4 Jake Gay 5 Morris 6 Macrae 7 Macriner 8 Harrison 9 Finly Abbott 10 Clark.

Overall

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2
1	Matt Nash	99	39	60
2	Oliver Macrae	97	54	43
3	Mark Morris SNR	95	50	45
4	Thomas Watson	91	41	50
5	Ady Peedle	91	60	31
6	Ricky Harrison	86	47	39
7	Moss Macriner	84	43	41
8	Dean Clark	72	37	35
9	Richard Lloyd	71	45	26
10	Tallon Veale	69	15	54
11	Finly Abbott	62	25	37
12	Joshua Senter	62	35	27
13	Lewis Gigg	58	29	29
14	Scott Sloane	56	31	25
15	Will Haysham	55	33	22
16	Shaun Brooker	49	26	23
17	Jake Gay	47	–	47
18	Kye Williams	43	27	16
19	Cameron Doleman	42	21	21
20	Jamie Wilson	39	20	19
21	Ross Walter	35	22	13
22	Joe Beaumont	33	–	33
23	Grant Laming	33	23	10
24	Richard Burridge	31	14	17
25	Lloyd Molineau	24	–	24
26	David Ind	24	19	5
27	Dean Cummings	24	24	–
28	Ben Payne	23	16	7
29	Luke Scriven	22	10	12
30	Harry Titcombe	20	–	20
31	Chris Toulson	20	9	11
32	Mark Wyatt	18	–	18
33	Joe Cross	18	12	6
34	Dean Abbott	18	18	–
35	Oliver Hurst	17	17	–
36	Sam Wilson	15	–	15
37	Harvey James	14	–	14
38	Adam Dixon	13	5	8
39	Paige Felipes	13	13	–
40	Kai Bradbury	11	11	–
41	Stuart Leicester	9	–	9
42	Daniel Salmon	8	8	–
43	Charley Jarman	7	7	–
44	Luke Dewey	6	6	–

Juniors sponsored by Caroline Racing

Moto one 1 James Adams 2 Finley Horn 3 Chris Johnson 4 Alfie Irons 5 Harry Burton 6 Andy Salt 7 Lee Johnson 8 Josh Wilson 9 Ryan Mabey 10 Danny Miller.

Moto two 1 Horn 2 Adams 3 Lee Johnson 4 Wilson 5 Riley Saunders 6 Chris Johnson 7 Miller 8 Sam Perrin 9 Harry Burton 10 Terence Marsh.

Overall

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2
1	Finley Horn	114	54	60
2	James Adams	114	60	54
3	Chris Johnson	93	50	43
4	Lee Johnson	91	41	50
5	Josh Wilson	86	39	47
6	Harry Burton	82	45	37
7	Riley Saunders	78	33	45
8	Danny Miller	76	35	41
9	Andy Salt	72	43	29
10	Alfie Irons	65	47	18
11	Terence Marsh	61	26	35
12	Jack Wajtknecht	60	27	33
13	Sam Perrin	55	16	39
14	Harrison Boyd	54	29	25
15	Tom Hobbs	53	22	31
16	Ross Curtis	50	24	26
17	Brett Moore SNR	43	23	20
18	Danny Morris SNR	41	17	24
19	Adam Moore	41	20	21
20	Leonard Paget	41	25	16
21	Mark Richmond	37	10	27
22	Ryan Mabey	37	37	–
23	Freddie Lenihan	33	11	22
24	Andy Biles	31	31	–
25	Jamie Aitken	26	12	14
26	Sam Warren	23	–	23
27	Antony Rashbrook	23	8	15
28	Charles Blundell	21	21	–
29	Charlie Blake	20	15	5
30	Ryan Lutman	19	–	19
31	Joe Workman	19	6	13
32	Luke Budziszewski	19	7	12
33	Luke Vernalls	19	19	–
34	Grant Reed	18	18	–
35	Danny Morris JNR	17	–	17
36	Jack Harris	14	5	9
37	Danny Nash	14	14	–
38	Jacob Fry	13	13	–
39	Tyler Lane	11	–	11
40	Jeremy Tidball	10	–	10
41	Steve Matthews	9	9	–
42	Mike Payne	8	–	8
43	Adam Harvey	7	–	7
44	Greg Brice	6	–	6