Dean triumphs in Long Lane 125 Thriller! 2023 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 6 – Race Report & Results

The combination of a Long Lane circuit running in reverse direction mixed with a nice sprinkling of ‘Wildcard riders’ and changing track conditions resulted in a very interesting round 6 of the AMCA British Motocross Championship on Sunday. That decision to go in the opposite direction proved popular with the riders, making the going more technical and a little slower. Those ingredients also meant that battles raged right throughout the day in most classes and created several very close finishes!!

Race Report and Images by Mike Wood

The first thriller and tight finish occurred in the opening moto of the day, and what a classic 125cc contest it was! Nathan Bache grabbed the holeshot ahead of Corey Hockey, series leader Luke Dean, Bradley Tranter and Yarin Evans. Two laps in and both Hockey and Dean had passed Bache and so the fun was about to begin! On a mission both the Midwest Husqvarna of Hockey and the Meredith MX Fantic of Dean were at full gas and reeling off some very fast laps. Racing just a couple of yards apart this one went right down to the wire with Dean getting the verdict by the narrowest of margins as Nev Bradshaw who had gated 9th bagged a very strong 3rd spot followed by Jack Cox, Damon Strydom and early leader Bache.

In moto two, Charlie Palmer led the pack away before Hockey again hit the front with Cox in tow on this occasion. And in another super tussle, there was very little to chose between the leading duo until Cox unfortunately stalled his motor. Although able to quickly restart, both Dean and Bradshaw passed Cox and turned up the heat as they started to reel in Hockey. Eventually Dean, a rider in simply super form, overhauled Hockey to hit the front as the latter rider hung onto 2nd just ahead of a simply rip-roaring tussle which saw Bradshaw just edge out Cox for the right to finish 3rd. Next up was Strydom and young South African ‘Wildcard’ Luke Grundy.

Typically tight 125cc action as Corey Hockey leads NevBradshaw

Over in the UK for one-month, South African Champion Grundy started the day with a fall in the opening moto but then showed his true talent by dialling into the Long Lane circuit. In the last race of the day, Grundy produced a classy performance leading from start to finish as Dean, Bradshaw, Cox, Hockey and Strydom were right in the mix.

Charlie Palmer 9th in the 125cc class

On a day which produced some super racing, arguably the opening Youth 85cc/BWMA Girls 85cc was the best of the lot!

In moto one, Mason Care, Oakley Kettle, Arthur Moore and Riegan Rogers were involved in a simply stunning four-way battle at the front. Although Care went onto take the victory, for the entire duration he was under pressure with Rogers getting home in 2nd from Kettle 3rd, Moore 4th, Jenson Severn 5th and George Clark 6th. After that moto one thriller, surely the second 85cc clash could not be as good, oh yes it was! The fast Care again led the way with Severn, Kettle and Moore inserting the pressure. Despite being on a small-wheeled machine, it was though Moore taking a brilliant win as Kettle also relegated Care.

Grace Bates leading Caitlin Newman in a BWMA battle

In the last one with rain falling and changing track conditions, Care took another win by the tightest of margins with Kettle chasing hard and Moore in 3rd. Currently in great form, Leah Rees-Evans made it four out of five overall wins in the BWMA Girls 85cc contest as Checoby Rainey and Holly Williams, the two girls fighting it out at the top of the standings at present were next up. Showing no fear as the track became rougher and wetter, Rees-Evans went 10/17/12 to earn her Long Lane BWMA success.

Jack Evans, 3rd in Youth 125cc

So far this Championship season, it’s been the old one-two at the front of the combined Youth 125cc/BWMA Women’s series with the immaculate Shane Jones on his Apex GasGas UK machine taking the win ahead of KTM mounted Wyatt McGregor. In moto one though at Long Lane it all changed with Wyatt’s motor coughing and spluttering as it struggled for power whilst Jones again marched away at the front. That sick engine left Wyatt in last place, losing another 44 points on Jones in the title race. In that opening contest, Travis James, Jack Evans, Caiden Jai Griffiths, Will Turner and Phillip Tchorek were next best.

Early Youth 125cc and BWMA action

With the engine fault rectified and the motor again sounding sweet, it was back to normal business in the last two moto’s as Jones led home McGregor. In the overall reckonings, James was to take a well-deserved runners-up slot as the always consistent Evans did enough to earn the final podium step with Turner, McGregor and Linc Hasted filling places 4th to 6th. Turner’s hopes of a place on the box realistically disappeared in a scary last moto moment when he went off course and got tangled in the track marking! Quickly freeing himself, Will managed to climb back up to 8th. Over in the BWMA Women’s series, Championship leader Marni Saunders took another overall win ahead of her closest rival Caitlin Newman and 21st birthday girl Hannah Jones. Marni steered her Kawasaki to a 14/12/14 scorecard in the three moto’s which featured a stacked entry.

Shane Carless(68) powering to another MX2 win

Back to the big boy’s and Shane Carless on the FUS Marsh Geartec Husqvarna showed just why he is the boss of the MX2 class by bagging another smooth, quality maximum score. Going very much to plan, Shane led the way in moto one from gate to flag with Rory Jones comfortably filling 2nd place as the rest gave chase.

MX2 start action

Youngster McKenzie Marshall took 3rd from Jake Preston having a rare outing on a 250F instead of the usual 250cc 2T FUS Husqvarna in 4th and just ahead of a superb two-stroke battle which raged for just about the entire duration featuring Lee Truman, Wildcard Josh Coleman and Charlie Griffiths. Getting home in 8th, Liam Gale had a very interesting start to the event after having to swap to his spare bike when his number one mount had stopped on the start line! In moto’s two and three, Gale was 15th and 8th as all of the above-mentioned names disputed the leading positions along with Kawasaki mounted Lee Sealey and Logan Wilcox on the Wulfsport Meredith MX Suzuki.

Typical Open class battle as Henry Williams(15) and James Dodd sort it out

After the first Open class moto of the day had kept very much to the storyline of the season so far, with James Dodd nicking a very narrow win ahead of title rival Henry Williams, it was then all change in the remaining two moto’s. Stirring it up was ACU Revo Championship rider Callum Green who was to take both of the victories. Entered as a Wildcard, Green led moto two all the way as Williams and Dodd disputed 2nd place with the latter getting the verdict by making a very daring pass on the final lap and with the chequered flag insight! Taking a strong 4th in this one was Will Hughes ahead of Harvey Tillotson and Ryan Mawhinny who had travelled to the event from Northern Ireland.

Enjoying himself and showing that he had discovered the fastest lines around the Long Lane circuit, Green again controlled proceedings in the last moto, leading from start to finish. Looking like a repeat of the earlier contest, Williams and Dodd were at it again in another classic battle for 2nd, circulating the track at high speed and in close proximity! Unfortunately, though that tussle came to a shuddering halt when Dodd crashed heavily. Thankfully unhurt following that tumble, Doddy was still able to safely remount and get home in 3rd with Shaun Mahoney, Hughes and Mark Roberts next up.

Simon Lane(73) gets the Vets moto one holeshot

What a dramatic day it was to be in the AMCA Vets Championship as series leader Simon Lane made his customary fast start and head moto one from Matt Ryder, Danny Blakeley, Sean Smith and James Lane. Quickly James got up into 2nd and started to reel in brother Simon, the battle for top spot was now definitely on! That race for victory though was never to materialise with Simon picking up a rear-wheel puncture. With James taking the win, Simon still managed to hang on for a vital 2nd as Smith, Ryder, Rich Meakin and Blakeley filled the eventual top six. Moto two and Simon was again fast out of the traps only to be reeled in by James with just a couple of laps remaining. That result meant it was now all change in the title standings with James going 3 points clear of Simon at the top but there was to be a very dramatic twist in the final moto of the day!

Vets runner up Matt Ryder

Making his best start of the day, James led the way and despite heavy rain now falling he looked to be comfortably on his way to another win. On a lap seven though his handlebar clamps became totally loose forcing him out of contention both for the moto and overall win but more importantly possibly the title race! With the unlucky KTM rider scoring a DNF, Simon Lane took what could well prove to be a vital win chased home by Ryder, Meakin, Smith, Blakeley and Brian Staples. That result meant it was Simon Lane, Ryder and Smith on the podium and Ryder also continues to top the Vets Over 50’s class.

Alfie Calvert, 9th in MX2

Results

Open

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Callum Green 143 43 50 50
2 James Dodd 142 50 47 45
3 Henry Williams 139 47 45 47
4 Will Hughes 129 45 43 41
5 Harvey Tillotson 115 39 39 37
6 Shaun Mahoney 110 41 26 43
7 Ryan Mawhinny 103 31 37 35
8 Mark Roberts 102 30 33 39
9 Sean Wainwright 101 33 35 33
10 Luke Ryder 88 27 30 31
11 Aaron Collins 87 29 31 27
12 Jake Marsh 86 28 28 30
13 Kian Bown 79 26 27 26
14 Bradley Caesar 72 23 25 24
15 Edward Briscoe 69 41 28
16 Max Lewis 66 37 29
17 Luke Davies 54 25 29
18 Jayden Caesar 49 24 25
19 Cory Mcshane 35 35
20 Jayden Caesar 24 24

MX2

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Shane Carless 150 50 50 50
2 Rory Jones 141 47 47 47
3 McKenzie Marshall 129 45 45 39
4 Josh Coleman 127 39 43 45
5 Lee Truman 123 41 39 43
6 Jake Preston 117 43 37 37
7 Lee Sealey 106 30 35 41
8 Liam Gale 96 35 26 35
9 Alfie Calvert 95 33 31 31
10 Logan Wilcox 91 25 33 33
11 Patrick Gilligan 89 31 29 29
12 Jamie Richmond 88 28 30 30
13 Martin Jones 85 29 28 28
14 Charlie Griffiths 78 37 41
15 Conner Challinor 71 20 24 27
16 James Smith 70 17 27 26
17 Richy Roberts 68 22 21 25
18 Mitchell Perry 67 21 22 24
19 Jack Griffiths 67 24 20 23
20 Jordan Meredith 66 19 25 22
21 Harry Bebb 56 16 19 21
22 Lewis Glynn 49 26 23
23 Rhys Walker 27 27
24 Troy Jones 23 23
25 Jordan Wright 18 18

125cc

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Luke Dean 147 50 50 47
2 Neville Bradshaw 135 45 45 45
3 Corey Hockey 135 47 47 41
4 Jack Cox 129 43 43 43
5 Damon Strydom 121 41 41 39
6 Luke Grundy 107 18 39 50
7 Matt Ridgway 103 37 35 31
8 Harry Linton 101 31 33 37
9 Charlie Palmer 97 30 37 30
10 Stuart Owen 96 33 30 33
11 Simon Booth 94 28 31 35
12 Luke Newman 87 29 29 29
13 Nathan Bache 84 39 22 23
14 Lewis Proud 80 25 28 27
15 Olly Hathaway 78 27 27 24
16 Billy Bayliss 76 22 26 28
17 Cameron Jackson 75 26 23 26
18 Joe Jordan 71 21 25 25
19 Finlay James 70 24 24 22
20 Yarin Evans 64 23 21 20
21 Jamie Johnson 58 17 20 21
22 Mitch Evans 57 20 19 18
23 Oliver Davis 53 16 18 19
24 Scott Corfield 49 15 17 17
25 Bradley Tranter 35 35
26 Joe Wright 19 19

Vets

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Simon Lane 144 47 47 50
2 Richard Meakin 127 41 41 45
3 Danny Blakeley 119 39 39 41
4 Richard Tudor 101 33 35 33
5 James Lane 100 50 50
6 Jon Littler 98 30 31 37
7 Matthew Chaplin 96 31 30 35
8 Russell Grove 87 28 28 31
9 Aidan Wright 84 27 27 30
10 Dain traylor 68 35 33
11 Luke Neary 26 26

Vets Over 50

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Matt Ryder 135 43 45 47
2 Sean Smith 131 45 43 43
3 Brian Staples 113 37 37 39
4 Christopher Elcock 87 29 29 29
5 Stuart Kilmarten 79 25 26 28
6 Nigel Reed 48 23 25
7 Michael Holloway 24 24

BWMA Womens

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Marni Saunders 150 50 50 50
2 Caitlin Newman 139 45 47 47
3 Hannah Jones 129 43 43 43
4 Grace Bates 125 47 45 33
5 Amber McGregor 121 39 41 41
6 Hollie Roberts 119 41 39 39
7 Lilly Moreland 117 35 37 45
8 Autumn Jenkinson 102 37 35 30
9 India Hodgkinson 101 33 31 37
10 Daisy Blackwell 96 31 30 35
11 Izzi Wright 90 30 29 31
12 Jasmine Watson 84 28 27 29
13 Katie Lancaster 80 26 26 28
14 abbie Piggott 60 27 33
15 Aaliyah Hulbert 57 29 28

Youth 125

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Shane Jones 150 50 50 50
2 Travis James 133 47 45 41
3 Jack Evans 131 45 43 43
4 Will Turner 117 41 41 35
5 Wyatt McGregor 115 21 47 47
6 Linc Hasted 111 27 39 45
7 Caiden Jai Griffiths 111 43 37 31
8 Logan Jay Powell 105 35 31 39
9 Aston Phillips 101 37 35 29
10 Troy Weaver 97 30 30 37
11 Phillip Tchorek 94 39 22 33
12 Liam Morrod 94 31 33 30
13 Benjamin spurr 85 29 29 27
14 Lewis Roberts 82 26 28 28
15 Max Brick 76 25 25 26
16 Tristan Caesar 73 24 24 25
17 Tyler Lane 68 23 21 24
18 Sebby Moore 60 33 27
19 Albie Hall 54 28 26
20 Ricky Ryder 45 22 23

BWMA Girls

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Leah Rees-Evans 147 50 50 47
2 Checoby Rainey 140 45 45 50
3 Holly Williams 139 47 47 45
4 Poppy Banning 125 41 43 41
5 Cameron Mansbridge 121 39 39 43
6 Sophie Jones 117 37 41 39
7 Erin Howes 117 43 37 37

Big Wheel 85’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Mason Care 145 50 45 50
2 Oakley Kettle 139 45 47 47
3 George Clark 123 39 41 43
4 Oliver Bebb 113 37 39 37
5 Riegan Rogers 111 47 25 39
6 Jordan Kinsella 101 33 33 35
7 Bobby Watson 92 30 29 33
8 Jack Bullock 82 27 28 27
9 Louis Tilley 76 26 27 23
10 Lewis Day 57 18 18 21
11 Olly Hadwell 52 16 17 19
12 Toby Adamson 52 29 23
13 Charlie Walker 48 15 16 17
14 Cameron Gerrard 48 22 26

Small Wheel 85’s

Pos Competitor Points R1 R2 R3
1 Arthur Moore 138 43 50 45
2 Jenson Severn 125 41 43 41
3 Ryan Jackson 101 35 35 31
4 jimmy Whiston 71 23 24 24
5 Aston Whitehead 70 24 21 25
6 Jacob Ince 63 17 20 26
7 Alfie Pincher 47 10 22 15
8 Ryan Tilley 46 12 12 22
9 Terry Challinor 43 14 15 14
10 Kaleb Copeland 21 11 10

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