As the 2023 AMCA British Motocross Championship approaches round 6 at Long Lane, near Telford this coming Sunday, 30TH July, it’s certainly getting very close at the front end of some of the standings!
Preview and Images by Mike Wood
In the very entertaining BWMA 85cc Girl’s series, just an incredible 2 points separate leader Holly Williams and chasing Checoby Rainey. That battle though could well have been a three-way affair with Leah Rees-Evans also involved. Leah has topped the score charts at Fatcat, Warmingham and Hawkstone, her progress only hampered by a disastrous round two at Lower Drayton. With Holly and Checoby in such superb form, Leah’s chances of now catching that top two looks a tough ask as she would also first have to overhaul Poppy Banning, Sophie Jones, Cameron Mansbridge and Erin Howes.
The girl’s contest is incorporated into the Youth 85cc Championship and that’s also a very tight, close tussle for glory. At the top is Oakley Kettle but his lead as been cut down to just 6 points with George Clark in 2nd and charging hard as Oliver Bebb is next up and only a further 24 points in arrears. Also, in the mix in this one is Bobby Watson, Mason Care and Ryan Jackson. The latter rider is also holding a nice advantage at the head of the SW85cc title race.
You can’t beat a highly competitive family tussle to earn major bragging rights, and that’s just what’s happening in the 2023 AMCA Vets Championship title race! Simon Lane currently sits on top of the pile just 3 points better off than younger brother James. Also, right in the hunt for glory is Adam Wilkinson, winner of round one at Fatcat and new to the AMCA Championship scene. Matt Ryder, Rich Meakin, Matthew Chaplin and Brian Staples are next up in the standings whilst Ryder also tops the Vets O50 class, 60 points clear of Staples.
Riding as a combined class, Shane Jones is the 125cc Youth Championship pace-setter with Marni Saunders the BWMA Women’s Championship leader. Although Jones has scored 13 straight moto wins and three consecutive overall victories, his advantage at the top of the 125cc Youth is just 12 points! That’s due to a serious, consistent and very determined challenge coming at him from the lad in 2nd place at present, Wyatt McGregor. Indeed, there’s some very fast boys in this one with the likes of Jack Evans, Will Turner, Phillip Tchorek, Rees Jones, George Bromley and Logan Jay-Powell also chasing hard. In the BWMA Women’s title contest, Marni Saunders topped the score charts in the opening three rounds but had to settle for 4th overall last time out at Hawkstone behind a trio of wildcard riders. The Championship race though shows Marni on 647 points and ahead of Caitlin Newman 594, Hannah Jones 586, Hollie Roberts 545, Grace Bates 545 and Amber McGregor 487.
Although it was 3rd overall for Shane Carless at Hawkstone, the Welsh ace is still setting a hot pace at the top of the MX2 standings. In his search for a third consecutive MX2 crown, Shane holds a 42-point lead over Rory Jones with Lee Truman in 3rd. Truman has worked very hard to get into the top three but he is now coming under some serious pressure from both Jake Preston and Liam Gale. Both riders have steadily climbed the standings and are currently in great form. Holding 7th at present is Lewis Hall and he is also putting in some big performances as the season unfolds. Having joined the AMCA series at round two, Lewis is right on it and will have been buoyed by a great podium spot last time out at Hawkstone.
Showing super consistency and even bagging by his own admission an unexpected podium at the Hawkstone round, Luke Dean continues to surge ahead in the AMCA 125cc title race. Luke’s advantage at the top is a nice 61 points with former MX2 Champion Jack Cox now slotting into 2nd. Following a big moto one crash during round five, Chris Povey has dropped to 7th in this class. Jumping above Chris now in the standings are the fast quartet of Harry Linton, Damon Strydom, Charlie Palmer and Luke Newman.
The final 2023 AMCA contest is for Open class riders and it’s still James Dodd on top and closely followed by Henry Williams. At Hawkstone, Henry took full advantage of some last moto electrical problems for James by bagging the race win and overall verdict. That means that the gap at the summit is now 14 points with the consistent Will Hughes in 3rd ahead of Adam Wells, Mark Roberts and Aaron Collins.
Satnav code for Long Lane motocross track is TF6 6HR with admission costs for the event being Adults £10, OAP’S £5 and Children Under 16 FREE if accompanied by a paying Adult.
