Dodd does the business at Warmingham! 2022 AMCA British Motocross Championship Round 3 – Race Report & Results

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What a massive variation in track conditions round three of the AMCA British Motocross Championship sponsored by Dunlop was to produce! Testing a riders technical ability, determination and concentration to the maximum, day one at Warmingham Lane in Cheshire offered a dry, slick circuit with an ever-increasing amount of dust followed then by very wet going on day two after the venue had been battered by overnight rain.

Feature Image courtesy of Mike Wood

Indeed that rain then continued to fall throughout Sunday’s proceedings but thanks to some extensive track preparation by the organising Middlewich MXC during the break between the two days, the event was completed with five full blocks of action. And that action was to prove very interesting, creating new leaders in the MX1, 125cc and Vets Championship standings.

So, let’s start with those changes in Championship leaders as Josh Waterman now tops the MX1 class. The opening race in MX1 was to really set the pattern for just about the entire weekend as Waterman, James Dodd and Luke Burton broke away from the pack to indulge in their own quality battle for honours. In style, Waterman won both moto’s on day one from Dodd and Burton as Adam Wells, Tony Craig, Jake Shipton and Ashley Greedy were the best of the rest.

On a wet day two, Dodd and Burton proved victorious early on before the sequence of dominance was finally broken in the final clash. In the early exchanges, Burton was forced out when a sub-frame bolt on his Husqvarna machine came loose leaving Dodd and Waterman to fight it out at the front. And, what a battle they were to produce, swapping positions before Dodd regained the advantage. Then, in a frantic conclusion, Waterman closed the gap and took the verdict right down to the final turn. Diving for the outside line, Josh just failed in his attempt to snatch glory as a delighted Dood took the win by the very narrowest of margins, in the process also scoring his first ever AMCA Championship overall victory. That result means that Josh leads the title charge just 5 points clear of James with Shipton now 3rd and Burton 4th. Going into the Warmingham event, Burton had led the standings but now finds himself 47 points off top slot!

With early 125cc Championship leader Kristian Whatley a non-starter at Warmingham, it meant that there would definitely be a change at the top in this class. And, once again, regardless of the difficult conditions these 125cc boy’s were to provide plenty of thrill a minute action during the five hotly contested moto’s as Matt Bayliss became the new series pace setter. Riding in his local area, it was though the talented young Joel Fisher who was fastest away in the weekend opener, leading for two laps before Luke Dean took control. From here onwards, Luke was the man, keeping his Fantic’s throttle wire tight and racing onto the win as Bayliss came from 6th up to finish 2nd ahead of Fisher, Danny Lanfear, Wesley McGavin, Jordan Wright, Louis Vincent and Kieran Cooke.

Charlie Hucklebridge(123) leading Logan Jay Powell in 125ccCharlie Hucklebridge(123) leading Logan Jay Powell in 125cc

Moto two was to arguably be the best 125cc contest of the weekend as Fisher was again very quick off the start with Bayliss in tow and Dean rapidly finding a way past Cooke, Matt Ridgway and Chris Povey to thus slot into 3rd. Generating terrific speed, Dean then gradually reeled in the front two and so the race was on. With one lap remaining, both Bayliss and Dean overhauled Fisher then in a thrilling finish, Luke snatched a dramatic victory right at the death, what a race!

Consistently quick off the gate, Matt Ridgway got the holeshot in Sunday’s muddy opening bash only to disappear from proceedings early on. With conditions probably at their worst, Cooke took control for the next five laps before Dean who had gated 8th moved through to bag his third consecutive win of the weekend. Taking 3rd in this one was Povey as Bayliss had to settle for 4th after initially being down in 11th.

Suffering his first defeat of the weekend, Dean had to settle for 2nd in the next 125cc moto with Bayliss victorious this time around. After grabbing the earlier holeshot, the all-action Liam Gale got home in 3rd with Wright, Cooke, Jordan Ridgway and Yarin Evans next up. Having his best ride of the weekend after making his Championship return following injury, Charlie Hucklebridge took 9th in this one, sandwiched by Fisher and Povey.

Leading from gate to flag, Bayliss was the final 125cc moto victor as Dean saw off Povey in a super battle for 2nd with Gale, Wright, Fisher, Vincent and Lanfear finishing off their respective weekend with strong performances. So, at the head of the series standings, Bayliss has a nice 24 point advantage with Dean now up to 2nd following his show topping Warmingham Lane performance.

Over in the Vets, former AMCA 125cc Champion Shane Holmes is the new title pacesetter following a dramatic, action-packed Warmingham contest. The weekend started to plan for series leader and defending Champion Phil Mercer as he led Holmes and Gary Davies . However proving just how quickly fortunes in motocross can change, Phil was passed by Shane before clouting his left hand on a track marking post. Badly lacerating a finger and in massive pain, Phil still managed to bring it home in 2nd as Shane riding a 250F Honda, his third different bike of the series, took the win. Next up in this one was Davies ahead of Robert Lewis, Jamie Powell, James Lane and Simon Lane who had a stunning ride coming from last place after his start gate failed to drop!

With a very swollen clutch hand and damaged finger, Mercer could have taken the easy option and now withdrew from the meeting, but determined to try and keep his title hopes alive he remarkably appeared for moto two. Struggling to even grip the handlebars, he then reared up on the start before later crashing off the track but still got home in a brave 6th as Davies took a classy gate to flag win from Holmes and Lewis.

Rob Lewis(23) and Sean Smith getting close in a Vets clash

Day two in the Vets was then all about a terrific trio of battles for victory featuring Davies and Holmes. In the first one, Holmes passed Davies for the win before the roles were reversed in moto two as Gary timed his ride to perfection, taking control late on the final lap. Then in a classic last tussle, the verdict went right down to the wire and final corner with Holmes winning by the tightest of margins. The top six overall was Holmes, Davies, Mercer, James Lane, Simon Lane and Sean Smith with Lewis missing out following a last moto DNF. In the series table, Holmes is on 480 points with both Mercer and Davies just 14 points behind on 466, it’s all to play for!

Adam Cook(73) and Henry Williams(15) dispute the early lead in MX2

Rory Jones went fastest in MX2 qualifying but when the gate dropped it was Adam Cook who led the charge. Cookie was really giving it some gas and remained in control until lap four, eventually being passed by eventual winner Henry Williams and Shane Carless. Next up in this opener was Corey Hockey, Zac Stealey, Jake Preston, Brooklyn Evans and Tommy Alba. Moto two and the classy Carless led it all the way with Hockey having a super ride to get home in 2nd.

From the dry of Saturday to the wet of Sunday, but the result was the same as Welsh Wizard Carless reeled off another gate to flag win but this time Alba was right on it and signalling his intent by getting home in 2nd with Evans a great 3rd just ahead of Preston. Following that ride in Sunday’s opener, Alba then went one better to take the next MX2 victory of the day after quickly passing Carless. With Williams in 3rd, Cory McShane had his best ride of the weekend by scoring a very strong 4th just ahead of Hockey and Cook. On a borrowed Fantic very kindly lent to him by Meredith MX after encountering problems on day one with his own Yamaha bike, LRT rider Luke Newman finished 7th in this one.

In a great final MX2 moto, Carless and Williams were really going for it at the front. However although Williams led for most of the contest, Carless timed his attack to perfection, taking control two laps from home. Alba, Stealey, Harry Linton, Preston and Cook were next up but you have to feel for 11th place finisher Hockey. With his start gate failing to drop, Corey had to storm from last place and up through the pack. That result left him 4th overall and just outside the podium top three. In the MX2 title race its still Carless the pacesetter, 34 points clear of Alba with Williams a further 21 in arrears.

Boasting an undefeated record in the Youth 85cc races completed so far, Ollie Bubb’s chances of extending that run suffered a severe blow in qualifying at Warmingham following a crash which wrecked the front end of his bike and also resulted in him requiring medical attention. Undeterred though, young Ollie jumped aboard his spare machine and proceeded to then put another maximum point’s score on the board.

He didn’t have it all his own way though, typified by moto one when the fast starting Oakley Kettle and Sebby Moore both took turns to lead the way before Bubb moved through on the final lap for the win. Kettle was the holeshot King again in moto two but this time Bubb took just two laps to get control as Jack Evans got home in 2nd with Kettle 3rd, Will Turner 4th, Harrison Davies 5th and Lewis Couzens 6th.

Oakley Kettle grabs the final Youth holeshot

Showing great resolve, most of the 85cc pack still managed to master the difficult conditions in Sunday’s opening race, a moto red-flagged but which saw Bubb victorious again. Moto two on the second day and with ruts becoming deeper and the track getting rougher, the contest was now becoming a true battle of determination and attrition with Bubb passing Kettle early on. In this one, Moore proved to be Bubb’s closest challenger

Results

MX1

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	James Dodd	241	47	47	50	47	50
2	Josh Waterman	239	50	50	47	45	47
3	Jake Shipton	209	39	43	43	41	43
4	Ashley Greedy	207	35	39	45	43	45
5	Adam Wells	181	43	33	35	31	39
6	Luke Burton	181	45	45	41	50	–
7	Mark Roberts	177	30	30	39	37	41
8	Josh Canton	162	28	29	37	35	33
9	Sunny Thompson	155	31	27	29	33	35
10	Sion Talbot	154	29	28	30	30	37
11	Jack Griffiths	139	26	26	28	29	30
12	George Clarke	138	37	31	–	39	31
13	Mark Young	95	27	37	31	–	–
14	Tony Craig	82	41	41	–	–	–
15	Josh Taylor	68	33	35	–	–	–
16	Patrick Gilligan	33	–	–	33	–	–
17	Bradley Wheeler	25	–	25	–	–	–

MX2

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Shane Carless	251	47	50	50	54	50
2	Henry Williams	233	50	45	41	50	47
3	Tommy Alba	230	35	43	47	60	45
4	Corey Hockey	202	43	47	37	45	30
5	Zac Stealey	201	41	39	39	39	43
6	Adam Cook	197	45	41	31	43	37
7	Jake Preston	183	39	31	43	31	39
8	Cory Mcshane	172	29	33	30	47	33
9	Rory Jones	171	31	37	35	33	35
10	Harry Linton	163	30	27	28	37	41
11	Jack Timms	148	24	29	29	35	31
12	Brooklyn Evans	138	37	30	45	26	–
13	Billy Duke	120	21	28	26	24	21
14	Lee Truman	119	28	25	20	17	29
15	Keelan Southwood	116	17	21	23	29	26
16	Rhys Walker	116	23	22	22	25	24
17	Luke Newman	111	22	–	21	41	27
18	Tomos Wright	107	13	18	24	27	25
19	Callum Baldwin	101	18	15	25	21	22
20	Logan Wilcox	95	8	19	17	23	28
21	Josh Peters	93	25	35	33	–	–
22	Macauley Davies	84	6	20	13	22	23
23	Tim Burrows	82	20	24	18	20	–
24	Jordan Meredith	79	12	13	16	18	20
25	Aaron Collins	71	9	17	12	15	18
26	McKenzie Marshall	68	26	23	19	–	–
27	Joshua Fletcher-Williams	67	11	11	7	19	19
28	Daniel Preston	67	14	26	27	–	–
29	Joe Russell	46	10	10	10	16	–
30	Aaron Hardiman	46	16	16	14	–	–
31	Ray Rowson	33	33	–	–	–	–
32	Taylor Johnson	30	15	–	15	–	–
33	Callum McCaul	30	19	–	11	–	–
34	Mitchell Perry	30	7	14	9	–	–
35	Jaydon Murphy	27	27	–	–	–	–
36	Josh Lansbury	25	5	12	8	–	–

125’s

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Luke Dean	244	50	50	50	47	47
2	Matthew Bayliss	237	47	47	43	50	50
3	Jordan Wright	201	39	41	37	43	41
4	Joel Fisher	195	45	45	31	35	39
5	Chris Povey	189	25	43	45	31	45
6	Liam Gale	180	18	35	39	45	43
7	Danny Lanfear	164	43	26	30	30	35
8	Wesley McGavin	163	41	30	33	26	33
9	Jordan Ridgway	155	28	24	35	39	29
10	Louis Vincent	152	37	37	41	–	37
11	Yarin Evans	148	26	27	27	37	31
12	Cameron Jackson	136	24	28	25	29	30
13	Kieron Cooke	123	35	–	47	41	–
14	Olly Hathaway	118	23	25	22	24	24
15	Troy Jones	117	19	18	28	27	25
16	Logan Jay Powell	113	20	19	26	22	26
17	Joe Wright	101	31	–	23	28	19
18	Ezra Blackwell	100	10	21	19	23	27
19	Toby English	96	–	23	29	16	28
20	Benjamin Sullivan	94	14	20	20	20	20
21	Jack Davis	84	12	15	17	19	21
22	Sion Wright	82	8	12	18	21	23
23	Alfie Bebb	78	6	10	15	25	22
24	Joe Jordan	77	15	13	14	18	17
25	Billy Bayliss	77	27	29	21	–	–
26	Oliver Rigby	67	21	22	24	–	–
27	Stuart Owen	63	30	33	–	–	–
28	Conner Challinor	62	29	17	16	–	–
29	Charlie Hucklebridge	61	22	6	–	33	–
30	Jamie Johnson	56	17	11	11	17	–
31	Dylan Williams	53	33	7	13	–	–
32	Matt Ridgway	44	5	39	–	–	–
33	Harry Bebb	41	9	14	–	–	18
34	Alfie Crealock-Lovell	32	16	16	–	–	–
35	Harry Ridgway	31	11	8	12	–	–
36	Aaron Colley	31	–	31	–	–	–
37	Mitchell Hartill	16	7	9	–	–	–
38	Jack Wankling	13	13	–	–	–	–

Vets

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Shane Holmes	244	50	47	50	47	50
2	Gary Davies	239	45	50	47	50	47
3	Phil Mercer	219	47	39	45	45	43
4	James Lane	211	39	43	41	43	45
5	Simon Lane	195	37	41	39	37	41
6	Sean Smith	179	33	37	37	39	33
7	Robert Lewis	172	43	45	43	41	–
8	Alan Jones	166	28	31	35	33	39
9	Brian Staples	166	35	35	29	30	37
10	Matthew Chaplin	163	31	33	33	35	31
11	Stephen Sankey	134	24	25	28	29	28
12	Ryan Thomas	130	23	23	30	27	27
13	Alan Reese	127	21	21	27	28	30
14	Richard Tudor	125	29	30	–	31	35
15	Russell Hartill	109	26	26	31	26	–
16	Russell Grove	106	25	27	–	25	29
17	David Bullock	63	19	20	24	–	–
18	Stuart Kilmarten	62	18	19	25	–	–
19	Richard Partridge	61	17	18	26	–	–
20	Gareth Dunsford	58	30	28	–	–	–
21	Shaun Brooker	56	27	29	–	–	–
22	David Edge	44	20	24	–	–	–
23	Dale Hunt	44	22	22	–	–	–
24	Jamie Powell	41	41	–	–	–	–

85’s

Pos	Competitor	Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Ollie Bubb	250	50	50	50	50	50
2	Sebby Moore	225	47	37	47	47	47
3	Jack Evans	225	45	47	45	43	45
4	Will Turner	217	43	43	43	45	43
5	Oakley Kettle	205	41	45	37	41	41
6	Oliver Bebb	173	35	31	35	33	39
7	Harrison Davies	152	39	41	–	37	35
8	Harley Piper	150	24	23	31	35	37
9	Lewis Couzens	142	37	39	27	39	–
10	Tallis Price	136	31	35	41	29	–
11	Millie Sweeney	126	28	29	39	30	–
12	Sophie Jones	125	20	17	26	31	31
13	George Bromley	122	30	30	29	–	33
14	Jonas Brown	95	29	33	33	–	–
15	Tyler Lane	94	19	20	25	–	30
16	Braedon McGinn	87	33	26	28	–	–
17	Logan Chinnock	84	27	27	30	–	–
18	Ashton Phillips	75	25	28	22	–	–
19	Taylor Collins	68	26	24	18	–	–
20	Jack Couzens	66	22	25	19	–	–
21	Oliver Walker	64	21	22	21	–	–
22	Bobby Watson	64	23	21	20	–	–
23	Luie Lewis	60	18	18	24	–	–
24	Lewis Day	55	16	16	23	–	–
25	Jack Bullock	53	17	19	17	–	–
26	Kaleb Copeland	15	15	–	–	–	–