Determined riding on a roughening track saw points scoring rides for both Charlie Heyman and Callum Green in the ACU British championship round at Blaxhall on Sunday. Heyman hauled a solid 25 points for eighth overall in the MX2 class to move up to 11th in the series, just one point outside the top ten. And in the super-competitive MX1 class, Green got back into points scoring with an 18th place on his Honda CRF450R.
The MX2 class was blighted by a string of restarts for a damaged start gate, jumped start and red flags so injured riders could be seen to. For the two motos, there were a total of seven start attempts which added a lot of time and frustration.
Heyman, fourth in qualifying, went down in the very first start, which was then re-started as the start gate had a mechanical fault. It was then a flag start which was called back after a rider jumped the start, then finally the race got underway.
The Honda CRF250R rider didn’t get the greatest jump and was in a disappointing 19th at the end of the first lap. But he rode incredibly well and pulled through to a creditable ninth place after some fast and aggressive riding to get through slower traffic.
The second race was also re-started twice, but Heyman was determined to go one better. He tagged into the leading group from the very first lap, being as high as sixth place. As the more experienced men jockeyed for position, the 17-year-old mixed it with the riders in front and brought the Tru7 Honda Racing Academy machine home in eight place, good enough for eighth overall.
Heyman said: “The start gates fell so slowly, it was such a problem. It was a tough weekend. My starts were better but there were so many re-runs. I rode a lot more settled than I have been doing this season. So if I keep going like that, I’ll improve and the results will come. It’s a big learning curve moving up from 125s as there are so many riders on the same level. I just need to relax and not expect to too much. I will get better with more experience. And the bike is just perfect for me right now, too.”
In the MX1 class, Callum Green continues to get back into the highest level of UK racing despite only contesting a handful of races in the past few seasons due to injuries. In the first moto he was 27th at the end of the first lap but worked hard to get up as high as 17th spot as they pack entered lap four. But the pace took its toll, and he took 22nd place.
In the second moto he was outside of the points-paying top 20 on the first lap but kept on pushing hard despite a front puncture slowing his charge. But his reward for perseverance was an 18th place and three championship points.
Green said: “I got better as the day went on. I was not great in qualifying as I seem to struggle with putting in the intensity for a fast lap. In the first race I passed some other riders straight away and I tried so hard in first 15 minutes. Then I really faded as it was so rough out there. The second race was much better, even though I had flat front tyre which caused a couple of scary moments. But I got some points so onwards and upwards!”
ACU British MX2 championship round four:
1 Isak Gifting 50
2 Elliott Banks-Browne 40
3 Bobby Bruce 40
4 Charlie Cole 34
5 Taylor Hammal 32
6 Joel Rizzi 31
7 Jamie Wainwright 29
8 Charlie Heyman Tru7 Honda Racing Academy 25
9 Carlton Husband 23
10 Glenn McCormick 22
Championship points:
1 Isak Gifting 165
2 Bobby Bruce 124
3 Elliott Banks-Browne 122
4 Taylor Hammal 114
5 Charlie Cole 99
6 Jamie Wainwright 84
7 Jake Millward 75
8 Glenn McCormick 72
9 Carlton Husband 65
10 Jack Chambers 63
11 Charlie Heyman Tru7 Honda Racing Academy 62
MX1:
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon Fastrack Honda 50
2 Josh Gilbert Crendon Fastrack Honda 44
3 Harri Kullas 40
4 Evgeny Bobryshev 36
6 Tristan Purdon 31
7 Ashton Dickinson 28
8 Liam Knight 26
9 James Carpenter 26
10 Tom Grimshaw 18
21 Callum Green Tru7 Honda Racing Academy 3
Championship points:
1 Conrad Mewse Crendon Fastrack Honda 158
2 Harri Kullas 151
3 Josh Gilbert Crendon Fastrack Honda 147
4 Ashton Dickinson 80
5 Brad Todd 79
6 Tristan Purdon 77
7 Evgeny Bobryshev 76
8 Shaun Simpson 70
9 James Carpenter 70
10 John Adamson 67
26 Callum Green Tru7 Honda Racing Academy 12
