Crendon Tru7 Honda’s Conrad Mewse made his and the team’s 2025 race debut a successful one when he raced to two heat wins and then took second in the pro final at the Wembley Arenacross on Saturday night in front of a packed house.
The 25-year-old Briton, who missed the opening round two weeks ago after injuring his shoulder in a pre-season test session, was in amazing form and looked right at home on the all-new Honda CRF450R.
He raced to a wins in both his heat races, despite having to come through the pack after less-than-perfect starts.
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That means he went straight through to the final, where his main competitor was fellow Honda rider Dean Wilson, a former AMA champion who has raced US Supercross full-time for more than a decade.
This time Mewse made a better start, right behind holeshot man Tommy Searle, with Wilson soon in third on the opening lap. Mewse had battled hard with Searle in one of his heats but was in no mood for second place and by the end of the first lap, the Honda man managed to take the lead.
On the very next lap, Mewse over-jumped a rhythm section, landing hard and jarring his wrist. While Mewse was shaken by the hard landing, Wilson scorched past Searle and then reeled in and made the pass on Mewse for the lead.
But refusing to give up, Mewse soon regained his composure and was back on the pace. Towards the end of the moto, Wilson got caught up to backmakers and Mewse closed back in but the sprint race was over just too soon and Wilson took the win from Mewse and Searle.
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Mewse said: “I had no issues with my shoulder and was feeling confident all night. I felt good and the bike and the new CRF450R is just amazing. I didn’t get the best of starts in my heats but got the wins in the end so that was all that matters. I just wanted to get a clean start and ride my own race in the final.
“I tried my best, it was all I could do. I’m never happy with finishing second – it’s not what I came here to do. I got in to the lead and there was a kicked-out berm leading into the rhythm section. I hadn’t managed to triple in during my heat races. I did it in the main but it was smaller than I thought and I completely overjumped it.
“From that moment on my arms pumped up – it was a nightmare. I tried to come back towards the end but there were a few things Dean was doing that made the difference. But I’ll go away, work harder and make sure I can get closer to him at Belfast in two weeks.”
